On Friday, June 3, I had the honor and pleasure of attending the MAREPORT 2022 conference in Piraeus. The main objective of the conference was, through a constructive dialogue, in the context of geopolitical and developmental technological changes, the update on the latest developments in the commercial sector, as well as the presentation of strategic directions and solutions with the aim of correctly positioning our country on the world map . Distinguished speakers, including executives from shipping companies, logistics and transportation companies, investors and funds, construction and real estate companies, as well as technology companies, participated in a 7-hour conference with a wealth of important information, the highlights of which, I will try to transfer you.
From the beginning of the speeches, it became clear that in the period we are going through, in the post-Covid-19 era, the European Union is focused on changes in energy policy, on accelerating the transition to a green economy, and on establishing the digital age with transparency, security and their application in all sectors of the economy.
Greek businesses (public and private) face a new challenge, which was productively analyzed at the start. The urgent need for our country to become a pioneer in the combined transport of goods, with the aim of all goods from Asia entering Eastern and Central Europe through Greece, was set as a goal for public bodies and entrepreneurs.
In order to achieve such an important goal, the obstacle of bureaucracy and the change of the outdated Master Plan created 20 years ago and which no longer corresponds to today's conditions of the post-Covid-19 period will have to be overcome.
With the new regulations of the European Union, it is inevitable that the public and private sectors will have to join forces in order to streamline and modernize ports in the areas of technology, so that ports can communicate with each other in real time, the use of technology from logistics companies and connecting our major ports with the hinterland by building railways.
To implement all of this, the speakers pointed out funding tools and programs that currently exist in the European Union and pointed out that, unfortunately, there is ignorance about them and they are not properly utilized by entrepreneurs.
Afterwards, the discussion was framed by people, who already hold the first place in their industry at a global level, and this industry could not be other than shipping. From the beginning of the discussion, it was immediately clear that the new European Union regulations do not leave shipping unaffected. All these technological and environmental changes will have to be integrated into our fleets. Logistics will now take over the construction of ships due to the development of technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. All these changes increase the cost of building new fleets, with the result that merchant ship owners are required to take a large risk in a time of crisis of war and stagflation, in order to stay at the top of the supply chain.
Then, distinguished speakers in the field of technology took the floor, who without much difficulty emphasized the fact that businesses in our country lag behind by at least a decade, comparatively, in functional and technological structures, without meaning that this cannot change rapidly and catalytically within the next three years. The panelists acknowledged that we are living in an era where everyone is trying to survive and protect themselves to at least be present the next day, yet they point out to entrepreneurs the need to take risks by starting with business transformation and then incorporating digital transformation in their businesses. The message was clear: our technological development is already huge and one more step forward, it should not scare us, on the contrary, technology gives the present to make our lives more favorable. In our country, there are already established technology companies that can meet the modern needs of businesses with their services, however, unfortunately, most of their customers today are from abroad.
The European directions were the main topic of discussion, without the most ideal way of their implementation having been clarified. This is what the 4th panel of speakers undertook to explain to us, who informed us about ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) in Financial Analysis. So what is ESG? It is a method used by banking companies and financial institutions to assess whether a company/business or an investment meets the new criteria.It is clearly an indirect legislation for the banks, who, in order to finance a company/business, should meet the conditions of the regulation. Therefore, in short, companies/enterprises should prepare a sustainability report, which will then be evaluated by external agencies, in order to identify the risks or opportunities of the company/enterprise and ultimately the reports of both companies/enterprises as well as those of external houses will be evaluated internally at the banks. It was made clear by the panel that ESG is not marketing. Banks and investors are hiring people with technology and environmental backgrounds to meet the demands posed by ESG. Through this perspective, banks will also examine older loans.
In the end, the very interesting discussion was divided into two categories: a) alternative forms of lending beyond banks according to the needs of companies/enterprises and b) new business models and new ways of financing real estate. I will dwell more on the thematic area of real estate (Real Estate), since, especially nowadays, it is an asset in which more and more people invest. Certainly, in continuation of the above, the attempt to transition to the digitization of real estate would not be absent from the discussion and from the reality, and a shining example is Cyprus, which, as early as next month, will have its digitized Land Registry ready. All European countries will follow the same path, with Greece declaring that it is ready for this change in the next two years. This digitization will bring new financial tools and new opportunities in real estate financing through the prism of Blockchain technology and through the circular economy. With small funds, people will be able to easily purchase part of the property, without having to pay exorbitant amounts for its purchase, in order to receive a desired return. Although it sounds like a far-fetched scenario, in European countries, such as France, such investments have already been institutionalized, with the rest following close behind.
In a few words, the European Union is following the words of a former prime minister of our country "either you change or you sink", in a period when the time horizons are getting narrower. Financial and technological developments are running in leaps and bounds, public and private sector cooperation is considered necessary, and perhaps in the next period we will also observe company mergers in order to catch up with business developments. Businesses should revise their business plan, aiming not at today, but at the next 20 years, in order to survive and along the way to technologically upgrade and grow. Financing, in all these changes, is important and there is a wealth of financing tools, provided that companies have real-time organization and comply with European directives. The funding, which will be given through the planned programs, is important to be placed correctly and in accordance with the needs of the objectives of both the European Union and the objectives of the Greek economy, otherwise they will be distributed or wasted. As for the technology companies present, they exist and are triumphing unfortunately so far mainly abroad, I wish entrepreneurs would invest more in Greek startups, as major restructurings are predicted in many sectors of the economy including the Real Estate sector given that ESG rules will affect this industry as well.
Personally, I feel particularly lucky to have received first-hand the concerns, thoughts and strategic directions of senior executives of the commercial, industrial and shipping sectors of Greece. Informed about the absolute current developments of the European, but also global business, I am at your disposal to inform you about it, but also to help you in any of your investment moves in the specific geopolitical and economic space we are going through.
