Greece’s biggest company, Coca-Cola Hellenic, leaves for Switzerland

The saying came to mind about rodents deserting a sinking ship when news broke on 11 October 2012 that Coca Cola Hellenic (CCH) is leaving the country to seek legal incorporation in Switzerland, together with a London stock-market listing. The material impact on Greece will be limited, the company said. The Greek plants will go on working and the business will be unaffected.

The firm, in which The Coca-Cola Company of the U.S. has a 23 percent stake, bottles Coke and other drinks in 28 countries from Russia to Nigeria. Only five percent of its business is conducted in Greece.

Media say that foreign investors have been steadily reducing their investment in the Athens Stock Exchange since the country was engulfed by the sovereign debt crisis in 2009. Greece’s future in the 17-nation euro zone still remains in doubt.

CCH has become the country’s biggest firm by market value, with a capitalisation of around EUR 6 billion (USD 7.7 billion).

The company, which last year made a net profit of EUR 330 million on sales of EUR 6.85 billion, has also complained of high taxes imposed under the Greek Government’s austerity measures.

CCH said it would delist from the Athens Stock Exchange and then seek to re-enter it with a secondary listing.