According an article in the German financial newspaper Handelsblatt, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are going to sign a memorandum of understanding for the creation of a Greek investment fund, a “Growth institute”, along the lines of the German government-owned development bank KfW.
The purpose of this investment fund will be to support the growth efforts of small and medium-sized businesses, by offering cheap loans. The German newspaper also claims that Greece and Germany will contribute 100 million euros each to the fund.
In the German report it is argued that preparations for the participation of the European Union, the European Investment Bank and France in the effort are also underway, albeit at a slower pace. Germany, on the other hand, wants to expedite the procedure and has decided to act bilaterally with Greece.
The main problem however appears to be the transfer of funds from Germany, since funds that are transferred via the KfW must be approved in the state budget, which for 2014 is expected to come into effect in July.
