Greek PM welcomes Qatar investments

ATHENS Oct 1 (Reuters) - Investments from Qatar in Greece show trust in the debt-choked country's economy, Prime Minister George Papandreou said on Saturday after meeting Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

A senior official at Greek building firm Ellaktor (HELr.AT) told Reuters on Saturday that Qatar Holdings had signed a deal to buy a 10 percent stake in London-based European Goldfields from Ellaktor and will invest another $600 million in the mining company.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the emir, Papandreou did not mention any specific deals.

Qatar played a key role in sealing a merger deal in the battered Greek banking sector in late August. It will own about 17 percent of the lender that will be created by the merger of Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT) and Eurobank (EFGr.AT).

(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Peter Graff)