Why Set Up Your Business in Greece?
Greece is largely known for its breathtaking beaches and historical and archaeological elements. However, apart from its striking beauty, the European country has a lot to offer for those in the business world, if one chooses to seek it.
Curious about the country’s business opportunities? In this article, we list several reasons for starting a business in beautiful Greece.
A High-Income Nation
Greece is a developed nation with an estimated population of 11.3 million. The country is categorised as a high-income nation, which the World Bank defines as nations with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $12,476 or more, making it a viable place for business individuals and corporate entities to branch into.
Ease of Starting a Business
Greece was ranked 61 out of 190 in a World Bank report (benchmarked to June 2016) which ranks countries economies on their ease of doing business. In its website, it described a high ease of doing business as having a conducive regulatory environment to the starting and operation of a local firm. This puts them ahead of other high-income countries such as Brunei Darussalam (72), or European countries such as Malta (76) and Ukraine (80). They are also ahead of economic powerhouse China (78), and countries such as Turkey (69) and Indonesia (91).
Convenient Time Zone for Managing Global Operations
With a time zone of GMT +2, global operations between Asia, America and Europe becomes manageable. For example, London is only two hours behind Greece, which shares the same time zone as Israel. Seven hours behind Greece is New York while Greece is six hours behind Malaysia and Singapore.
Business Opportunities in Tourism and Shipping
Greece, which is located along the Mediterranean Sea, is strategically nestled between Europe, Asia and Africa. Thus, it is hardly surprising why tourism and shipping are among the dominant contributors to the Greek economy. This makes it an ideal place for those in this line of work to venture into.
Lower Trade Tariffs
Greece is a member of the European Union (EU) which makes it easier for them to do business within the EU as they do not suffer from trade barriers that other, and better placed non-EU countries, suffer from.
Ease of Public Transportation
Taxis are widely available in Greece while those operating their business in Athens can rely on the country’s subway system, which is said to be clean and efficient. Many of their towns are small enough to go on foot while major ones are equipped with buses. The country may be largely mountainous but many of their islands are accessible via ferry.
Language
While Greek remains the country’s official language, the locals are also known to be comfortable conversing in English, French and German. With the presence of bilingual locals to hire or to work with, this can make business transactions faster and easier, in addition to cutting costs of using a translator.
If you are thinking of expanding your business operations overseas, perhaps Greece might just be the country for you.
