ATHENS, June 28 (RIA Novosti) - AFK Sistema [LSE: SSA] is considering making a considerable investment in Greece's economy, the head of the corporation said Wednesday.
"Our investment in the Greek economy will be substantial - more than a billion [euros]," Vladimir Yevtushenkov told journalists in Athens.
The head of the leading Russian telecoms and services holding said a deal had been closed on Sistema's subsidiary Sitronics buying 51% in Greece's Intracom Telecom for 120 million euros ($150 mln).
"We have business in many countries and have learnt to evaluate conditions on various markets," Yevtushenkov said. "We like it in Greece a lot."
He said that though market competition was very tough in Greece, his company had some advantages that allowed it to become a global player on the telecom market.
"Our advantage is that we simultaneously produce telecom equipment and own the largest [mobile] operator in eastern Europe [MTS]," he said.
Yevtushenkov said Sistema could also bid for state-owned shares in the Greek telecom monopoly OTE (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA) if a tender were held.
"But so far we are bidding for an OTE asset - ArmenTel," Yevtushenkov said referring to a major Armenian telecoms operator.
He said that Sistema was also interested in real estate projects in Greece.
"We are seriously involved in real estate: we participate in construction projects in many countries," he said.
