How Brexit may affect the Greek economy
“Britain’s exit from the European Union is a heavy blow to European unity and economy,” Bank of Piraeus chairman Michalis Sallas told German newspaper Handelsblatt. “Regarding Greece, because of its small size and the structure of our economic relations, I believe the impact of the Brexit will be limited. Which is why I think the extreme, knee-jerk reaction of the Greek market is not justified.”
Earlier, Bank of Greece officials said the referendum’s impact on Greece will be small and its consequences limited, because of the capital controls.
Concerning exports, the negative result of the British vote could hit all the export-oriented sectors of the Greek economy, said Christina Sakellaridis, the president of the Pan-Hellenic Exporters Association. Speaking to ANA-MPA, she said Britain is Greece’s seventh largest customer and the devaluation of the sterling against the euro makes domestic products more expensive.
In tourism, one risk of the Brexit could be last-minute cancellations to Greek hotels as the purchasing power of British tourists weakens, the president of the Hellenic Federation of Hoteliers (HHF), Yiannis Retsos told ANA-MPA. He said if the devaluation of the sterling continues, there is a very serious possibility that last-minute bookings from Britain could suffer, adding however that at this point we cannot have a long-term evaluation of the consequences.