Asian investment in Greece still low, UNCTAD report says
NEWS IN DETAIL
Stock prices drop sharply; ministry reassures investors
The National Economy Ministry reassured investors today that recent
developments on the Athens Stock Exchange were perfectly normal after share
prices dropped sharply following nine consecutive days of explosive
trading.
The general price index closed today at 1367.16 points, down 5.95 per cent
on Wednesday.
Bourse sources attributed the sharp drop to statements yesterday by the
president of the Capital Market Committee, Stavros Thomadakis, who
expressed concern about the creation of a climate of ''unfair games and
speculation'' on the Athens Stock Exchange following recent surges in
trading.
National Economy Ministry general secretary Apostolos Fotiadis said today
that Thomadakis' statements were aimed at warning new investors to be
careful in choosing securities and the way their transactions were
handled.
''The recent positive course of the stock exchange is perfectly normal and
all the prerequisites have been secured for the continuation of this course,
'' Fotiadis said.
''Political stability, the success of the government's economic policy, the
positive developments with regard to all economic indicators, the drop in
inflation and interest rates, in combination with our undoubted will to
safeguard the credibility of the institution have contributed decisively in
this direction,'' he added.
In today's session, Banks lost 7.27 per cent, Insurance 3.99 per cent,
Leasing 4.01 per cent, Investments 6.17 per cent, Construction 7.19 per
cent, Industry 5.10 per cent, Various 6.18 per cent and Holdings 5.92 per
cent.
The Over-the-Counter Market Index dropped by 3.22 per cent.
The total volume of trading reached 31 billion drachmas, compared to 45.2
billion drachmas yesterday.
Museum strike lifted
Culture Ministry employees decided at a meeting today to suspend until
March their strike action which has kept several of the country's most
visited archaeological sites and museums closed for the past ten days.
Following the decision, sites such as the Athens Acropolis and the White
Tower in Thessaloniki, as well as archaeological and other museums in the
two cities, will be open to visitors tomorrow.
Simitis chairs meeting ahead of NATO chief Solana's visit
Prime Minister Costas Simitis had a 90-minute meeting today with Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos and National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos
which, according to informed sources, focused on Greek-Turkish relations in
the light of Ankara's most recent provocations and the visit tomorrow of
NATO Secretary General Javier Solana.
No statements were made after the meeting but according to reports, Solana
is trying to advance proposals aimed at improving Greek-Turkish relations
in view of the Alliance's ascertainment that Turkey is an important factor
within the framework of NATO's enlargement eastwards.
Solana's proposals, according to the same sources, include the setting up
of a ''hot line'' linking Athens, NATO and Ankara for the avoidance of
serious incidents between Greece and Turkey.
Other proposals envisage the placement of NATO observers on Greek and
Turkish warships sailing in the Aegean and the continued operation of the
RAP system which provides NATO headquarters in Naples with a picture of
what is going on in the Aegean.
Solana is also expected to discuss the issue of NATO headquarters in
Greece.
WEU Parliamentary Assembly meeting to be held in Athens
The President of the Western European Union's (WEU) Parliamentary Assembly,
Luis-Maria de Puig, will meet with Prime Minister Costas Simitis as well as
government and opposition party officials when he visits Greece on the
occasion of a meeting on the future of the WEU to be held 10-13 March,
according to an ANA despatch from Paris.
Apart from Simitis, de Puig will have talks with Parliament President
Apostolos Kaklamanis, National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos,
Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou and the leaders of the
political parties represented in parliament.
The Athens meeting is being held at the invitation of the Greek government,
which was accepted not only by de Puig but by the chairpersons of all the
committees of the EU's fledgling defence wing.
The meeting will focus on the future of the WEU and is considered to be of
decisive importance for the organisation's anticipated enlargement.
De Puig said that Greece was chosen as the venue because on the one hand it
was the last country to become a full member, but mainly because enlargement
concerns the countries of central and eastern Europe and the Balkans ''so
Greece is entitled to host the meeting from every point of view''.
Greece angrily dismisses Turkish military claims over Greek islands
Greece yesterday reacted strongly to reports that Turkish military leaders
are disputing "scores" of Greek islands in the Aegean and as far as Crete,
saying the claims were "too wild for words and ludicrous."
Specifically, a Wall Street Journal article referring to a briefing of US
correspondents in Ankara by the Turkish general staff wrote on Tuesday "On
a map, Turkish strategists appeared to have pinpointed scores of islands,
several of them as far away from Turkey as the Mediterranean island of
Crete and beyond.
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos in a press conference yesterday
dismissed these Turkish claims as "ludicrous", by saying:
"We have repeatedly said that there is a plan for disputing Greek
sovereignty in the entire region, from the mouth of the Evros River, east
to (the island of) Skyros and as far as the region of Crete," he said.
In a related development, National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos
said that "the more official representatives of the Turkish state slide
towards nonsense concerning sovereign rights in the Aegean, the more Turkey
emerges as the number one destabilising factor for peace, cooperation and
security in the region.... questioning the status quo in the Aegean,
questioning borders, and the Lausanne Treaty..."
Turkish warplanes violate Athens FIR
As the political reaction from the reports was materialising in Athens,
three pairs of Turkish RF-4 (reconnaissance), F-4 and F-16 warplanes
violated air traffic rules in the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR)
yesterday, according to reports.
The Turkish violators entered the Athens FIR east of the eastern Aegean
island of Rhodes and reached the region north of Crete.
At the same time two pairs of Turkish F-4 and F-16 warplanes infringed on
Greek airspace to the northwest of Rhodes over the island of Kasos.
In all instances, the Turkish planes were recognised and intercepted by
Hellenic Air Force F-1, F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighters.
Anti-racism event held at old Parliament
An event to mark the "European Year against Racism, Xenophobia and Anti-
Semitism" was held in the old Parliament building yesterday, organised by a
50-member national coordinating committee.
Speaking during the event, Prime Minister Costas Simitis noted that
although in Greece racism may not have taken on the same dimensions as in
other European countries, "it would be hypocritical to say that, in our
country as well, positions and attitudes are not expressed that insult our
civilisation.
Greece has now been converted into a country of receiving immigrants, he
said, and the mass influx of labour has caused xenophobic reactions and
reduced tolerance regarding foreigners, who many consider as either a
burden or as a source of cheap labour.
"The crux of the problem is now transferred from race to culture," Mr.
Simitis said.
Municipal enterprise employees on Rhodes decline...pay increase
At a time when strikes throughout the country are following each other in
close succession and demands for salary increases are at a zenith,
employees at a municipal enterprise on the island of Rhodes are refusing to
accept raises.
More than 100 employees at the "Roda" municipal transport service will
"freeze" their demands for this year (25 million drachmas) stemming from
increases based on a national collective agreement. They will also return
five million drachmas to the enterprise related to their uniform bonuses
for 1997.
Roda is the only purely municipal enterprise in Greece and covers the
transport needs of the city of Rhodes and a considerable part of transport
on the island.
Fishing boats withdraw from Thessaloniki port
Fishing boats withdrew this morning from the eastern entrance of Thessaloniki
harbour, where they had been anchored since Tuesday in protest over the
abolition of tax-free fuel.
The move was decided this morning following a written guarantee from
Finance Undersecretary George Drys that the tax would be paid back to the
fishermen within a few days of purchasing the fuel.
In a radio interview today, Drys implied that the petroleum comopanies, who
had until recently acted as a go-between with regard to tax-fee fuel to
fishermen, had changed their minds due to incidents in which petroleum
companies, agents and customs officials had been charged with smuggling
fuel and falsifying sales.
The problem mainly affects fishermen operating off the coast outside large
towns, far from tax-free fuel sources.
Asian investment in Greece low, UNCTAD report says
The investments of developed Asian countries in the European Union and
particularly Greece remain at a low level although the picture is expected
to change, according to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) report released by the UN office in Athens today.
According to the report, the indications are that multinationals based in
countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, Thailand and Taiwan are
including Europe in their investment plans, either in the industrial sector
or in services.
Although Asian countries have become major direct investors internationally,
the report notes, up to now they have preferred to focus their attention in
Southeast Asia, a region which absorbs two-thirds of invested capital, or
the United States, rather than Europe which accounts for just 5 per cent of
their investments.
With Asian countries accounting for only 3 per cent of European direct
investments abroad, the situation could be described as one of ''mutual
indifference'', according to the report.
The biggest investor in the EU is Japan, followed by South Korea, while
Asian investors display a preference for Britain, followed by Germany and
the Netherlands.
At the same time, the report notes, a large portion of Asian investments
have found their way to the countries of central and eastern Europe, where
companies have bought and are in the process of modernizing large
production plants.
Greece, according to the report, along with Denmark, Finland and Portugal,
are the four EU countries with virtually zero inflow of Japanese capital
for direct investments in the period 1991-1995.
Of the developed and developing Asian countries, Japan aside, Greece has
signed bilateral investment agreements only with China and South Korea.
Reflective of the situation is the fact that Greece has signed only one
bilateral agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with an Asian
country -- India.
WEATHER
Fine weather in the morning which will gradually change tonight turning
into cloudy bringing rain in most parts of Greece, especially in the
central, northern and western regions accompanied by strong winds. Athens
will be sunny during the day getting cloudy and rainy in the evening with
temperatures between 7-19C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures 2-3
degrees lower.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Wednesday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 259.210
Pound sterling 424.735 Cyprus pd 517.943
French franc 45.910 Swiss franc 177.201
German mark 154.950 Italian lira (100) 15.556
Yen (100) 213.974 Canadian dlr. 190.563
Australian dlr. 201.138 Irish Punt 412.870
Belgian franc 7.507 Finnish mark 52.020
Dutch guilder 137.809 Danish kr. 40.620
Swedish kr. 34.948 Norwegian kr. 38.857
Austrian sch. 22.022 Spanish peseta 1.827
Portuguese escudo 1.544
(M.P.)