Ancient and modern?

摘要

Often considered as one of the 'poor relations' of the EU club, Greece would seem to be the last place to look for solace amid the gloom currently enshrouding European telecomms. Yet just over a year after liberalisation, the financial robustness of the country's incumbent operator, OTE, is turning heads... Last month, financial ratings agency Standard and Poor's raised OTE's credit rating from a 'single A minus' to a 'single A', following publication of the Greek incumbent's financial statements for 2001. Not a bad achievement, at a time when many of OTE's counterparts elsewhere in the EU―notably in its leading economies―have seen their ratings downgraded as they frantically search for ways to reduce their onerous levels of debt and grapple with ever-intensifying competition. In five years, OTE has transformed itself from a minnow of EU telecomms―serving just 10m people in its Greek homeland―to a major regional player in the Balkans, with an addressable market approaching 60m.