希腊中小企业寻求新的激励机制

 　　ATHENS, June 13 (Xinhua) -- As a businessman and the President of the National Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE), Vassilis Korkidis knows well the impact of the three-year debt crisis on Greek enterprises, in particular small and medium-size ones (SMEs), the backbone 1 of the Greek economy.

　　Amidst a deep economic recession, the number of padlocks at the entrances of stores is on the rise, fuelling record high unemployment rates. The need for new incentives 2 to break the vicious circle is more urgent than ever.
　　"The impact was very hard for us and certainly for the retail 3 trade. We had a decrease of consumption in the past three years by 66 percent. So you can see the figures are very tough for us. The 77 billion euro (102.7 billion U.S. dollars) of private consumption of 2008 is now less than 48 billions at least for the figures regarding 2012," he told Xinhua during an interview at his Athens office.
　　Korkidis runs an electrical supply shop for ships at Piraeus port. It keeps going thanks to his export-oriented business mentality 4 and Chinese investments to the port rather than help from the state.
　　Still the difficulties most SMEs in Greece faced are giving him a headache. Intense unemployment in combination with an average 40-percent decrease on incomes by rounds of austerity measures over the past three years have shrank consumption. Greece's once booming economy was based on consumption.
　　Today, liquidity 5 and financing problems, over taxation 6 and deficiency of much needed incentives makes it tough for several micro-entrepreneurs to cover their expenses. Closures are increasing, leaving more and more people jobless.
　　"For first time the number of people involved in Greek commerce - employees and employers - is less than 800,000. Nowadays there are 700,000 employers and employees in Greek trade. That means that 278,000 companies employ about half a million people. The closures of stores the past two years were about 68,000 and the unemployed 7 were 175,000 from the commerce sector 8," he said.
　　Commerce contributes to the overall employment in Greece by some 18 percent, and to Greek GDP by 16 percent, according to ESEE's estimates. SMEs hold an important role in Greek economy.
　　Korkidis and other owners of SMEs are trying to react to this freefall of commerce to the benefit of the overall economy.
　　"We are trying to keep our strength. I am joking sometimes that all these SMEs which remained in operation the last three years should have an ISO of endurance and survival. We are trying to see things optimistic, but to be honest every day we have more difficulties. What we are trying to do is to minimize our operation costs. Most Greek SMEs are family companies and each member of the family is trying to help the SME to stay alive," he explained.
　　Pharmacist Litsa Papakostas stays afloat thanks to her family's helping 9 hand, as she struggles to make ends meet each month under the shortage of cash and credit line.
　　"I have spent all my savings 10 by now. My husband's as well... This month I borrowed money from my mother, from my parents' savings. The problem is that even if we wanted to get a bank loan, we wouldn't get it. Banks no longer finance enterprises, in particular shaky businesses, such as pharmacies," she told Xinhua.
　　For the first time in 13 years of running her pharmacy 11 at a central Athens district, she faces padlock fears. As her austerity-hit patients are requesting to get their medication on account and EOPYY, Greece's main public healthcare provider, owes pharmacists thousands of euros, multinational 12 drug manufacturing companies at the same time are demanding in advance payments.
　　As a result, Litsa struggles to order the necessary quantities of medicines in order to cover her customers' needs. She struggles to repay her mortgage and cover the basic needs of her two teenage sons by working hard throughout the day.
　　Under the current conditions, she sees no prospect 13 of hiring employees or seizing the opportunities emerging amidst the crisis, as rents are decreasing.
　　Moving her small pharmacy to a central avenue requires working capital. She does not have it and today Greek banks decline eight out of ten applications for loans.
　　For the remaining two, Greek lenders request up to 12.5 percent interest rates, far higher than the average rates of the euro zone, plus higher collateral 14.
　　Papakostas does not expect much from the government and international lenders who keep Greece afloat since 2010 with multi-billion bailout aid in return of tough austerity and reform measures.
　　"I don't know what could be done. But this tactic 15 of slashing 16 salaries, dismissing employees, doesn't work. Instead of sitting down and thinking about something to do to bring growth to this country from within, they expect that growth will come from abroad. It will not happen. I know that what I have achieved in life, I achieved it through my work," she said.
　　Korkidis has several ideas he has presented to Greek government officials and foreign creditors 17 for the support of SMEs, employment and growth in Greece.
　　ESEE has proposed the creation of an SME Development Bank to resolve liquidity problems in the real economy.
　　Despite initiatives undertaken so far to address issues, the lack of a single entity 18 for the financial support of SMEs and the existence of many institutions instead, creates a complex environment of conflicting actors and programs, Korkidis explained.
　　As a result, European Investment Bank and European Union structural 19 funds are not released at adequate rates to the market to give a push to Greece's economy.
　　He believes that an SME Development Bank would have a positive effect, as well as the creation of open street malls, clusters so that SMEs would cooperate to buy and sell at lower prices and the transformation 20 of micro importing companies into micro exporting companies.
　　For Korkidis, international trade and the upgraded role of Piraeus port as a transit 21 hub for the Mediterranean 22 Sea and Eastern Europe after Chinese Cosco's major investment at the area represent the best opportunities amidst the crisis.
　　Coming from a sector strongly connected to the sea, the shipping 23 industry and international commerce, he believes development will come from the sea, creating much needed jobs and turnover 24.
　　"I live from the sea and I believe in the sea," he said.
　　Papakostas is less optimistic, when thinking about her future and her children's future. "I am trying not to be pessimistic. Certainly it is not that easy. I hope for the better. Of course, always on the back of my mind is the possibility that my children will go abroad."