Guardian: Greece Mulls Selling, Leasing Islands To Cut Debt

Posted on 25 June 2010 by Apostolos Papapostolou ShareThis

Greece is ready to sell or offer long-term leases on some of its islands so as to cut back on its debts, The Guardian reports.
The daily notes that an area in Mykonos, one of Greece’s top tourist destinations, is one of the sites for sale. The area is one-third owned by the government, which is looking for a buyer willing to inject capital and develop a luxury tourism complex, according to a source close to the negotiations, The Guardian reported.
Russian and Chinese investors are also said to be looking at property on the island of Rhodes with billionaire Roman Abramovich allegedly being one of them, the newspaper said.

“I am sad – selling off your islands or areas that belong to the people of Greece should be used as the last resort,” Makis Perdikaris, director of Greek Island Properties told The Guardian.
“But the first thing is to develop the economy and attract foreign domestic investment to create the necessary infrastructure. The point is to get money.”