Syriza heading for victory

Syriza, Greece’s radical left-wing coalition party, is poised to form the country’s next government, early exit polls show.

The result will cause concern among Greece’s shipping industry who face increases in their contribution to the country’s economy.

Syriza, led by Alexis Tsipras, has said it wants to re-examine from scratch all tax concessions given to shipowners.

Shipowners have previously told TradeWinds that if Syriza implements its plans, many of them might consider leaving the country.

Last week Theodore Veniamis, the president of the Union of Greek Shipowners said Greek shipping should remain beyond political parties.

He urged the country’s next government to respect the legal framework under which Greek companies operate.

Veniamis added that with this prerequisite, Greek shipping is willing to contribute more to the national economy of the crisis-hit country.

According to Bank of Greece figures, shipping brought in over EUR 12bn ($13.9bn) in foreign exchange in 2013, down from EUR 13.3bn in 2012, while the 2013 outflow totalled EUR 5.6bn.

Syriza notes that foreign exchange earned from shipping is shrinking and the 2013 total was the smallest incoming amount since 2004.

source:www.tradewindsnews.com