Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 98-07-15

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Commercial Bank annnounces tender for 51% of Ionian through bourse

[02] New hydrocarbon deposits discovered around main Prinos field

[03] EU Commissioner Flynn in Greece for 2-day official visit

[04] Australian scholar awarded 'Aristotle '98' prize

[05] Gov't criticises first instance court ruling regarding Babiniotis dictionary

[06] Reports cite Commission approval for OA equity capital increase

[07] Athens dismisses press reports over Turkish warplanes' 'S-300' training in Israel

[08] Meeting on Olympic 2004 sites

[09] Laliotis visits Aheloos River detour

[10] Pangalos receives Iranian housing minister Ali Abdul Ali Zadeh

[11] Europe-wide crime-fighting convention tabled in Parliament

[12] Austrian national convicted on illegal possession of artifacts charges

[13] Businessman, foreigner injured in car crash

[14] Greek unemployment rate at 10.3 percent

[15] Profit-taking sellingends rally of prices

[16] Farm ministry investments for fishing sector

[17] Alpha Ependyseon results

[18] 'Heleco '99' in Thessaloniki

[19] Union of Greek Banks meeting with employers', traders' groups

[20] HEPO mission in Syria, Lebanon

[21] Committee evaluates 3 bids for Cretabank

[01] Commercial Bank annnounces tender for 51% of Ionian through bourse

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

A bank announcement said that bids should be submitted to the ASE's board on Aug. 24.

Commercial Bank is selling 14.3 million common shares. It will retain a 7 per cent stake in Ionian after the sale. Under the terms of the sale the transaction must be made in cash.

The announcement also underlines that the successful buyer must honour rights and obligations covering Ionian Bank's staff and ensure the self- sufficiency of the bank's insurance fund.

Employees at Ionian Bank last month ended a six-week strike to protest the bank's privatisation after receiving government assurances that Ionian's future buyer will have to honour the terms of collective agreements signed by management and staff.

Employee union's reaction : Commenting on the tender announcement, the Union of Ionian Bank Employees said that jobs are not safeguarded in the event of Ionian's merger or restructuring.

However, the union recognises that a clause on the insurance issue contained in the proclamation is positive although it is linked to the change in the fund's charter, saying Labour Minister Miltiades Papaioannou has committed himself on the issue.

Finally, the Union announced that it has hired a law firm to contest the legality of Commercial Bank's general assembly on June 19, stressing that the issue will be taken to the Eurocourt if necessary.

Athens News Agency

[02] New hydrocarbon deposits discovered around main Prinos field

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The newly discovered deposits are located in regions around the "parent" deposit - the Prinos field - near the island of Thassos. According to reports, obtained data was analysed at the Petroleum Institute in Houston, with results considered particularly encouraging.

The consortium, compising NAPC and the Greek state, has decided to carry out initial exploratory drilling operations, the first of which will start in August west-northwest of Thassos in the Gulf of Kavala.

Depending on results the consortium will decide on a third drilling operation in the same area. The find is considered to give a "new lease on life" of at least 10 years for oil production from the Prinos field.

NAPC officials said that unless the two drilling operations are carried out soon production from the "parent" deposit at Prinos will drop to 5,500-6, 000 barrels a day and the consortium will be obliged to operate at a loss.

Consortium officials also said they are determined to exploit all the new deposits and to expand exports to France, where 50,000 tons of crude oil from the Prinos field are shipped to every month.

The Northern Prinos field is continuing to provide 3,200 barrels a day of relatively good quality crude.

Athens News Agency

[03] EU Commissioner Flynn in Greece for 2-day official visit

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Mr. Flynn will meet on Thursday with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Labour Minister Miltiades Papaioannou and Health and Welfare Minister Costas Geitonas.

The following day, he will visit two psychiatric hospitals, one on the Dodecanese island of Leros and the other in the Dafni district of western Attica. He will be accompanied by Health Undersecretary Manolis Skoulakis. According to Commission officials , Mr. Flynn will discuss EU programmes for the support of employment, proposed by Athens and based on the Luxembourg summit decisions.

He is also expected to raise the issue of low EU fund absorption rates by Greece, especially as regards educational and training programmes.

According to Mr. Flynn's office, Greece has an absoption rate of 35 per cent during the 1993-1999 period, necessitating ways to increase the rate.The EU Commissioner will leave Greece on Saturday.

Athens News Agency

[04] Australian scholar awarded 'Aristotle '98' prize

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

"We believe the influence of Greek culture is evident in both Hellenism and the international community...irrespective of what other countries will do, we will keep departments of Greek studies operating," Prof. Osborne noted.

The award was presented by Macedonia-Thrace Minister Philippos Patsalnikos during a ceremony at the ministry.

Athens News Agency

[05] Gov't criticises first instance court ruling regarding Babiniotis dictionary

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The first instance court on Monday ordered the deletion of an explanation of the word 'Bulgarians' from all future editions of the Greek dictionary, which caused a furor when the reference work was published earlier this year. In the first edition of the dictionary, under the entry 'Bulgarians', chief editor Georgios Babiniotis' second explanation was "the supporter or player of a (sports) team of Thessaloniki, mainly of PAOK".

The entry notes that the term is used as an insult and a term of abuse.

Fans of Athenian soccer and basketball teams, in particular, sometimes chant the word pejoratively to goad fans of Thessaloniki teams. The entry caused an uproar, especially in northern Greece, where several politicians and other leaders denounced it as insulting and demanded its removal. Synaspismos - On its part, the Coalition for the Left (Synaspismos) yesterday said the decision leads to a "backtracking and political insanity." It also noted that while northern Greeks have the right to be upset at abusive and racist terms levelled agai nst them, reaction cannot translate into a banning through the courts.

Athens News Agency

[06] Reports cite Commission approval for OA equity capital increase

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The assurance was given by EU Commissioner for Transports Neil Kinnock to Greek Transport Minister Tassos Mantelis last Saturday, during a visit by the latter to Yugoslavia. Even though the original request was for 35 billion drachmas, the Commission excluded 13 billion drachmas that were used for voluntary retirement and insurance expenses in 1996-97.

According to the same sources, the transport ministry fears the likelihood of the EU requiring evidence of OA's reliability before the disbursement of the funds.

EOT concerns over OA performance : Meanwhile, Greek Tourism Organisation (EOT) secretary general Nikos Skoulas said in a radio interview yesterday that continuing problems in OA's flight schedules could have a negative impact on the nation's tourism flow.

Mr. Skoulas said cancellations were already reported from hotels and travel agencies, a result of the uncertainty surrounding OA's operations.

However, he admitted that since the vast majority of foreign tourist arrivals in Greece were covered by charter flights, OA's flight problems did not seriously affect arrivals.

Scenes of distressed passengers waiting for long-delayed flights at Greek airports are badly damaging the country's tourist image abroad, the EOT official added.

Meeting with pilots : Finally, a scheduled meeting for yesterday evening between Olympic Aviation pilots with OA managing director Theodoros Tsakiridis was cancelled.

Scheduled flights by Olympic Airways were reportedly encountering shorter delays and less flight cancellations yesterday afternoon due to crew shortages which plagued OA throughout last week.

According to Mr. Tsakiridis, the hiring of 74 cabin crew personnel is expected in 10 days' time in order to fill vacancies and further normalise flights of debt-ridden Olympic.

Meanwhile, latest reports claimed that Olympic Aviation pilots, responsible for domestic routes, are requesting the state-run carrier's restructuring and a fleet renewal.

According to reports, OA's management wants normalisation of domestic flights and from September onwards more flights to Balkan countries.

Athens News Agency

[07] Athens dismisses press reports over Turkish warplanes' 'S-300' training in Israel

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

According to the Turkish dailies "Hurriyet" and "Milliyet", Turkish air force personel trained at a base in Israel to practise air strikes against Cyprus in the event that Nicosia proceeds with plans to deploy Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.

Asked to comment on the reports, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas cited a press release from the Israeli embassy in Athens on Monday, categorically denying the content of the press reports as well as a similar statement by an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman.

Mr. Reppas said although Turkey and Israel were indeed conducting joint military exercises, what was of interest to Athens was whether these exercises were aimed against Greece or Cyprus.

He reiterated that Nicosia had every right to bolster its defences, particularly in view of what he called Turkey's provocative and aggressive behaviour.

Athens News Agency

[08] Meeting on Olympic 2004 sites

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Among the projects presented were a sailing centre on the Agios Kosmas coastal site, a rowing centre at Schinias, eastern Attica, and the Olympic village at the foot of Mount Parnitha, which will take up 315 acres instead of the 207 initially planned.

It was also proposed that an equestrian centre be constructed at Markopoulo instead of Tatoi, while several sports facilities may be constructed in Aspropyrgos, western Attica, instead of the Faliro coastal strip due to environmental concerns.

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Undersecretaries of Sports Andreas Fouras and Public Works Christos Varelis presented the plans.

Athens News Agency

[09] Laliotis visits Aheloos River detour

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Mr. Laliotis' visit was part of efforts to underline the government's work within the framework of promoting and implementing regional projects, Thessaly in this case.

He was accompanied by Undersecretaries Nikos Farmakis and Dimitris Sotirlis, both elected from the Thessaly region. The government delegation arrived in the area of the under-construction Sykia dam in the morning. Afterwards, he visited the detour tunne l in the Mouzaki region, which is 18.5 kilometres long and budgeted at 65 billion drachmas.

Mr. Laliotis expressed his satisfaction over the projects' development, expected to be completed in the year 2000. His next stop was Larisa, where he inaugurated a new location for a landfill.

He added said that funds amounting to 100 billion drachmas are available for 30 similar landfill locations to be created around the country.

Athens News Agency

[10] Pangalos receives Iranian housing minister Ali Abdul Ali Zadeh

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Issues discussed between the two officials included Greek-Iranian relations, as well as a tripartite cooperation between Greece, Iran and Armenia on economic issues and details about an ongoing meeting on ancient civilisations with the participation of Iran, Egypt, Italy, and Greece, a foreign ministry announcement said.

Mr. Pangalos also brought up the issue related to Iran's debts to several Greece-based firms. On his part, the Iranian minister said Tehran was willing to settle the issue.

Athens News Agency

[11] Europe-wide crime-fighting convention tabled in Parliament

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The convention, prepared by the Council of Europe (CoE), is aimed at pressuring signatory nations to adopt appropriate measures in their national legislation in order to fight crime.

Athens News Agency

[12] Austrian national convicted on illegal possession of artifacts charges

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Richard Havel, 53, had been found in possession of the 10 amphorae last Friday. He was sentenced by a Halkidiki first instance court.

The sports undersecretariat yesterday unveiled its own Internet site during a ceremony at Zappeion Hall.

The site will provide information on athletic events around Greece and throughout the world. The address is: www.sport.gov.gr

Athens News Agency

[13] Businessman, foreigner injured in car crash

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The drivers of the two cars were fatally injured in the crash. Eight illegal immigrants from Iraq who were spotted yesterday by fishermen on the islet of Aghios Nikolaos have been taken to the reception centre for immigrants on nearby Samos.

The immigrants - four men, two women and two children - told coastguard officials that they had each paid 1,500 US dollars to a Turk to ferry them to a Greek island.

Athens News Agency

[14] Greek unemployment rate at 10.3 percent

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Citing figures from the official employment office OAED, Papaioannou said the Greek government was particularly concerned about the level of youth unemployment and planned to create jobs for 200,000 young Greeks in the next three years.

A third of those new positions would be created by the end of the year. Fifty thousand jobs will be devoted to the unemployed aged between 20-27, he said.

Papaioannou added that roughly half of unregistered foreign workers in Greece had app lied for a work permit, saying 370,000 had signed up since the beginning of the programme to register illegal workers from an estimated total of 750,000.

Athens News Agency

[15] Profit-taking sellingends rally of prices

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The general index ended 1.77 percent lower at 2,638.20 points with turnover at 62.9 billion drachmas.

Dealers said that the market felt uncomfortable near the 2,700-mark barrier and stressed that it would take some time before a final assault above th is level.

Sector indices lost ground. Banks dropped 3.05 percent, Leasing plunged 7.30 percent, Insurance ended 4.24 percent lower, Investment eased 2.65 percent, Industrials fell 1.0 percent, Construction ended 1.25 percent off, Holding dr opped 1.72 percent and Miscellaneous ended 1.70 percent down.

The parallel market index for small cap companies ended 1.91 percent off. The FTSE/ASE 20 index dropped 1.50 percent to 1,608.06. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 155 to 76 with another 21 issues unchanged.

Esha, Lampsa, Balkan Export, Elve, Britannia, Aspis Invest, Dane, Macedonian Mills and Sfakianakis scored the biggest percentage gains.

Attica Bank, Bank of Central Greece, Xiosbank, Development Invest, Intertyp, Ionian Bank and Alpha Leasing suffered the heaviest losses. National Bank of Greece ended at 47,470 drachmas, Ergobank at 32,000, Alpha Credit Bank at 27,800, Ionian Bank at 19,200, Delta Dairy at 3,830, Titan Cement at 22, 690, Intracom at 12,275, Hellenic Petroleum at 2,815 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 8,195. Olympic

Athens News Agency

[16] Farm ministry investments for fishing sector

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The investement plans committee for programmes on fishing (EPAL) approved the plans last Friday.

The 1998 fund absorption rate reportedly reached the 30 per cent mark, while last year it stood at 24 per cent.

Among the 1,405 investment plans, 1,222 involve withdrawal of fishing boats measuring under 10 metres in length, budgeted at six billion drachmas.

Another 124 investment plans involve the building and upgrade of boats, budgeted at 2.6 billion drachmas, while the rest involve fish-farming and fish-processing.

Athens News Agency

[17] Alpha Ependyseon results

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The difference in results was primarily due to an increase in profits from the purchase and sale of securities, which amounted to 10.5 billion drachmas compared to 4.7 billion drachmas in the corresponding period last year, while portfolio revenues rema ined at about the same levels and totalled 1.42 billion drachmas as against 1.44 billion drachmas.

Out of the total portfolio amounting to 70.9 billion drachmas, 87 per cent corresponds to the domestic portfolio and 13 per cent to the overseas portfolio.

The internal value of the share as at June 30, 1998 amounted to 3,450 drachmas, while the bourse value amounted to 3,300 which corresponds to a 7 per cent discount. According to unofficial figures as at July 13, the portfolio's value amounted to 75.6 billion drachmas, the excess value to 19 billion drachmas.

Athens News Agency

[18] 'Heleco '99' in Thessaloniki

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Heleco '99 will be the third such exhibition organised in Thessaloniki, while the first was held in 1993 and the second in 1995.

Athens News Agency

[19] Union of Greek Banks meeting with employers', traders' groups

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

Issues discussed included the funding of companies in connection with their viability, the simplification of processes for granting loans, the high cost of lending (the level of interest rates and bank commissions), the cost of using credit cards, inform ation for the banks' customers on new fiscal products and the euro. The need was also discussed to abolish the Special Banking Operations Tax and the issue of restricting deposits bound with the Bank of Greece.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the EET's administrative council and the presidents of the Federation of Greek Industries (SEB), the Federation of Industries of Northern Greece, the Chambers of Commerce of Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki , the National Confederation of Greek Commerce, the Panhellenic Federation of Exporters, the Commercial Societies of Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, as well as of hotel organisations.

EET President and National Bank Governor Theodoros Karatzas stressed the need for jointly tackling the problems preoccupying bankers and businessmen. In this framework, it was decided that successive meetings between the EET and each production associat ion separately will start as of September with the purpose of discussing issues concerning each branch in greater detail and finding mutually acceptable solutions.

It was also announced that the EET will organise a meeting with the consumers' representatives in November (who also have complaints concerning banks), as well as a conference with the participation of foreign experts and bankers on the issue of support for small and medium-size enterprises by the banking system.

Athens News Agency

[20] HEPO mission in Syria, Lebanon

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The Damascus exhibition is one of the most important commercial events in the region and it is visited by a large number of business people from throughout the Middle East. The mission can be attended by companies involved in the building materials sector, machinery, chemicals, plastics, foodstuffs, electrical products and construction.

Athens News Agency

[21] Committee evaluates 3 bids for Cretabank

Athens 15/07/1998 (ANA)

The bid by the Consolidated Eurofinance Holdings SA, belonging to the Latsis group, to which the Eurobank also belongs, was evaluated with 49.64 points out of a possible 50. Ergobank's bid, as well as a joint bid by the Bank of Piraeus and the Bank of Macedonia-Thrace received 40.53 and 37.83 points, respectively.

The criteria used in the above evaluation are linked to the price offered by the three interested buyers, the relative suitability of each prospective buyer, an operational plan proposed for Cretabank, etc.

A relevant file will be forwarded to the national economy ministry today.

Athens News Agency

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