Business
Danish companies wary of potential Greek Euro exit
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March 18th, 2015
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This article is more than 9 years old.
Public sector a particular concern
As Greece continues to move towards abandoning the Euro zone, big companies in Denmark are keeping a close eye on developments.
A number of the larger companies operating in Greece have cut down their credit payment terms and tightened their payment conditions in order to lose as little as possible should Greek politicians decide to axe the Euro.
“If it ends with a Greek exit, our wares may become twice as expensive because Greece will devalue dramatically,” Steffen Andersen, the senior vice president of Arla Foods, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper.
“And conversely, our debt will become twice as expensive for the customer. So we are trying to reduce the current outstanding amount as much as possible to minimise potential losses.”
Arla enjoys an annual turnover of about 250 million kroner in Greece, mostly thanks to dairy products such as butter and cheese.
READ MORE: Greek election could have serious economic consequences in Denmark
Public sector woes
Pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk – which primarily sells insulin in Greece – is facing issues when dealing with the public sector.
“85 percent of our business is to wholesalers, which works fine because here we operate with set credit payment times,” Mike Rulis, the head of communications at Novo Nordisk, said.
“We are experiencing problems when we deliver medicine to the hospitals and the public sector. Here it's a cash on delivery system – unless the medicine is for a life-threatening situation.”
The Danish-owned global facility services provider ISS – which employs over 500,000 people worldwide – revealed that it was also wary of the Greek public sector.
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