Greece appoints third privatisation chief since July

Greece on Monday appointed its third privatisation chief in a less than year as it struggled to speed up delayed state asset sales to meet bailout goals. The head of Greece's main water provider EYDAP Stelios Stavridis was brought in to spearhead a lagging push to raise 2.6 billion euros ($3.5 billion) in asset sales this year. The previous privatisation head resigned on Saturday amid an investigation into his previous position as head of Greece's main power group PPC. A prosecutor had previously pressed criminal charges against the PPC board over a 2007 power plant construction contract that ran over budget. The general secretaries of the ministries of finance and development -- who previously sat on PPC's board -- also stepped down. The blow came as Greece is in the midst of an audit by international creditors over reforms, including privatisations, that are needed to unlock a new slice of loans this month. The Greek government had previously pledged to meet, if not exceed, its annual privatisation target this year. The first official tasked with heading the Greek state privatisation agency resigned in July 2012, citing a lack of government support and planning delays.