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North Macedonia generally has good business relations with Greece and enjoys substantial inward investment from Greece. However, the naming dispute had inhibited the establishment of full diplomatic relations so far but has not prevented both countries from engaging in military and security co-operation, cross-border investments, and cultural exchanges. [1]
Since the end of the Greek embargo, which lasted between February 1994 and September 1995, Greece has become one of the most important business partners of North Macedonia. Greece is the fourth most important investor in the country (12.1% of total foreign direct investments), behind the Netherlands, Slovenia and Hungary. [2]
The acquisitions of Stopanska Bank by the National Bank of Greece, the OKTA refinery by Hellenic Petroleum, and the mobile operator Cosmofon by the Greek Cosmote Group are some of the largest Greek business undertakings in North Macedonia so far. [3]
According to an interview by then Finance Minister and later prime minister Nikola Gruevski, Greek investment took off after other Western investors were scared off by the 1999 Kosovo crisis:
In the 1999 Kosovo crisis, Western investors and trading partners escaped. Greek investors, who know this region better, came in and picked up enterprises at bargain basement prices. I hope investors from other countries learned the lesson. Since the current crisis started, we have sold our biggest bakery – Zhito Lux – and our biggest fairgrounds – Skopski Saem – to Greek and Slovenian investors. The new owners of North Macedonia's largest bank, Stopanska Banka, (National Bank of Greece) are planning to increase the capital. [4]
By 1999 Greek exports to North Macedonia had reached an annual US$1.32 billion. [5]
The November 2006 European Commission report states that, "In December 2005 the two countries opened an Office for Consular, Economic and Trade Relations in Bitola and a Consulate in Thessaloniki respectively. Co-operation has developed in many areas, including transport, health, security, culture and customs. However, there has been no progress on the name issue which remains an open problem. Renewed efforts are needed, with a constructive approach, to find a negotiated and mutually acceptable solution on the name issue with Greece, under the auspices of the UN, within the framework of UN Security Council Resolutions (EEC) No 817/93 and (EEC) No 845/93, thereby contributing to regional co-operation and good neighbourly relations." [6]
The total value of Greek investment in North Macedonia in the three years to 2007 declined. In the first half of 2007 it reached $6 million, less than the corresponding amounts in previous years. Greek investment had peaked in 2004 at over $30 million a year. . [3] Nonetheless according to newspaper Eleutheros Typos by the start of 2007 about US$263 million had been invested by Greeks. Of the 20 most sizeable investments in the country 17 are financed with Greek capital and over 20,000 (about 6% of the workforce) are employed in Greek-owned enterprises . At the time 28% of Greek investments were in banking, 25% in the energy sector, 17% in telecommunications, 15% in industry and 10% in food.[ citation needed ]
The economy of North Macedonia has become more liberalized, with an improved business environment, since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, which deprived the country of its key protected markets and the large transfer payments from Belgrade. Prior to independence, North Macedonia was Yugoslavia's poorest republic. An absence of infrastructure, United Nations sanctions on its largest market the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and a Greek economic embargo hindered economic growth until 1996.
The National Bank of Greece is a global banking and financial services company with its headquarters in Athens, Greece.
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical region of Europe, consisting primarily of the coterminous Balkan Peninsula. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions as to where exactly Southeastern Europe begins or ends or how it relates to other regions of the continent. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are, in alphabetical order: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and East Thrace. Sometimes, Moldova and Slovenia are also included. The largest city of the region is Istanbul, followed by Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade, and Athens.
Hellenic Petroleum S.A. is one of the largest oil companies in the Balkans and with its roots dating to 1958 with the establishment of the first oil refinery in Greece (Aspropyrgos).
Nikola Gruevski is a politician from North Macedonia who served as Prime Minister of the then-Macedonia from 2006 to 2016, and led the VMRO-DPMNE party from 2003 to 2017. Previously, he was Minister of Finance in the VMRO-DPMNE government led by Ljubčo Georgievski until 2002.
OKTA was founded in 1978 and is a refinery in the Balkan area. OKTA is part of one of the biggest groups for the refining, distribution, and trade of crude oil, oil derivatives and petrochemicals – the Hellenic Petroleum group. Apart from its main activities, OKTA has developed its own retail network, which consists of 26 rebranded petrol stations.
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Stopanska banka is a bank founded in 1944 with headquarters in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia. Currently it is the largest bank in the Republic of North Macedonia by equity and branch network.
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