You may by now be aware that Greece is in some deep financial trouble at the moment. Pretty much everyone knows a Greek too, so we should spare a moment for all Greeks, as Greece prepares to sell off airports, highways, state-owned companies and prime sections of Mediterranean real estate.

Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou, has warned that the country faces immediate bankruptcy and even harder times if it does not face up to the reality that selling assets is the only solution to some of the current economic woes it is experiencing.

European finance ministers said on Sunday that they were on track to give Greece a second huge bailout to keep the government afloat, but reiterated that Athens had to take tough measures to get it.

Apparently, the nation of Qatar has offered €5 billion for a popular section of seaside real estate along the Mediterranean coast.

The Chinese were in on it early and snapped up a prime industrial harbour, and one of Europe’s busiest, Piraeus Port in Athens, for €4.3 billion last year.

Now Greece is seeking to raise the €50 billion it needs by agreeing to meet Eurogroup privatisation targets by 2015. This will occur through the sale of other assets like airports, banks, highways and anything the government might own.

There are also plans to lease or sell some of the 6 000 islands that belong to the Greek island chains.

They have however confirmed that the Parthenon, where construction began in 447 BC, will not be up for sale.

Officials from countries in the Euro economic zone explained:

Ministers recognized the considerable progress achieved by the Greek authorities over the last year (and) are also conscious of the serious challenges that Greek citizens are facing in these difficult times.

They added that in order to keep Greece solvent, which seems to be the only logical solution so as to avoid further defaulting and debt, was to finance it through an ambitious restructuring programme.

The latest measures are added to further cuts in public spending and more tax increases, coupled with reductions to the public sector workforce and social grants.

The tough moves should help reduce Greece’s public deficit to less than three percent of gross domestic product, in accordance with the EU target.

[Source: CNN]