Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-09-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Simitis-US-Contacts

[02] President-Olympic Truce

[03] State Department-religious freedom report

[04] Deutsche Bank President-Papantoniou

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates-Thursday

[06] Weather Forecast-Thursday

[07] Greece-euro-changes

[08] Marfin SA-new acquisition

[09] Technodomi SA-1st half results

[10] Greece-Georgia-economic support

[11] ASE-Cyprus cooperation

[12] ASE-close

[01] PM Simitis-US-Contacts

NEW YORK (ANA - M. Georgiadou) - Prime Minister Costas Simitis held talks on Wednesday with the President of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat, Albanian President Rexhep Mejdani, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) President Trajkovski and Jordanian King Abdallah on the sidelines of the Millennium Summit, according to a press briefing by government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.

Simitis expressed Greece's interest in the handling of the Middle East problem in talks with Arafat and stressed the importance of the issue for Greece. He showed understanding over efforts made so far by Arafat and on difficulties he is encountering. However, he encouraged him to proceed even further with bolder steps to contribute to the finding of a solution and not to allow the opportunity to be lost.

The Greek government's views Simitis will be outlining in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak on Thursday are expected to follow the same pattern, Reppas said.

[02] President-Olympic Truce

President of the Republic Costis Stephanopoulos on Wednesday launched a world-wide appeal for observance of an Olympic Truce for the duration of the 27th Olympiad in Sydney, in the tradition of the "Ekecheiria" during the original Games in ancient Greece.

The ancient Greek "Ekecheiria" was established in the 9th

century BC when three kings signed a peace treaty that led to

the widely recognised immunity of the sanctuary at Olympia, where the Games originated, and was meant to allow athletes and pilgrims to travel to the Games in ancient Olympia and back home safely.

Greece, which is to host the 2004 Olympics in Athens, envisions the modern Truce as an effort and opportunity to resolve international conflicts.

Over 180 nations have already signed the Greek proposal for truce during the Olympic Games, Greece's foreign minister said recently.

[03] State Department-religious freedom report

NEW YORK (ANA- M. Georgiadou) -The US State Department report on international religious freedom was made public on Wednesday detailing developments on religious freedom in 194 countries, covering the time frame of June 1999 to June 2000 and is submitted to the United States Congress every year.

Regarding Greece the report notes that religious freedom in Greece is guaranteed by the constitution and includes details on constitutional issues, reactions by religious groups and everyday life conditions, in the overwhelmingly Christian Orthodox country.

Specifically, the report states that ?the constitution establishes the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ (Greek Orthodoxy) as the prevailing religion, but also provides for the right of their choice.

?The government generally respects this right, non-Orthodox groups sometimes face administrative obstacles or encounter legal restrictions on religious practice. The Constitution prohibits proselytising and stipulates that non-Orthodox rites of worship may not disturb public order or offend moral principles,? the report added.

[04] Deutsche Bank President-Papantoniou

Deutsche Bank president Rolf Breuer said in Athens on Wednesday that Greece is a sound venue for foreign investments.

"The Greek economy is attractive to foreign investors as its dynamics and outlook are many," Breuer told reporters after a meeting with National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou.

He added that his bank had invested half a billion euros in Greece.

Asked if Deutsche Bank was planning more investments, Breuer said: "We will not continue to make fresh outlays but we will maintain our presence, interest and business activities here."

He said the bank has no plans to boost its 10 percent stake in EFG Eurobank Ergasias.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates-Thursday

Following are indicative rates released by the central bank for the next working day.

Fridays rates (buying)

Euro 335.246

U.S. dollar 379.916

German mark 171.409

French franc 051.108

Pound sterling 550.342

Irish punt 425.675

Belgian franc 008.311

Luxembourg franc 008.311

Dutch guilder 152.128

Italian lira (100) 017.314

Austrian schilling 024.364

Danish kroner 044.955

Swedish kroner 039.859

Finnish mark 056.384

Spanish peseta 002.015

Portuguese escudo 001.673

Japanese yen (100) 359.074

Swiss franc 216.370

Norwegian kroner 041.614

Cyprus pound 585.836

Canadian dollar 258.575

Australian dollar 214.178

[06] Weather Forecast-Thursday

Scattered cloud is forecast throughout the country on Thursday. Winds north-northwesterly, moderate to strong. Temperatures in the north will range from 11C to 25C; on the rest of the mainland and in the Ionian from 16C to 28C; and in the Aegean from 20C to 28C. Partly cloudy in Athens, with temperatures between 19C and 28C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures ranging from 16C to 25C.

[07] Greece-euro-changes

Finance Deputy Minister George Drys on Wednesday presented an amendment to a bill under discussion in parliament offering listed companies a 2.5 percent divergence in their equity capital and their share prices, following their conversion from drachma to the euro currency.

The amendment envisages that listed companies' equity capital should be no less than 60,000 euros instead of 20 million drachmas currently, and that share prices should be less than 0.30 euros or more than 100 euros.

[08] Marfin SA-new acquisition

Marfin SA and Crete Building signed a deal on Wednesday for the purchase of a 51 percent equity stake in Iktinos Hellas SA, a marble production company, for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will pave the way for the expansion of Iktinos in the real estate market in Crete and the rest of the country.

[09] Technodomi SA-1st half results

Technodomi SA, a listed Greek construction company, on Wednesday reported a 523 million drachmas loss in the first half of 2000.

The company's board also cancelled a scheduled general shareholders' meeting because of lack of quorum.

The meeting was called to decide on a share capital increase plan, initially approved at a April 7 meeting.

Technodomi plans to raise 3.38 billion drachmas through cash and the issuance of 16,941,210 new common shares of a nominal value of 750 drachmas each.

[10] Greece-Georgia-economic support

Greece will grant 2.0 million US dollars in economic support to Georgia following the signing of a deal on Wednesday.

The deal was signed by National Economy Deputy Minister Yiannis Zaphiropoulos and Georgia's ambassador to Greece, Alexandre Tsikvaidze.

The Georgian ambassador thanked the Greek government for the economic support and stressed his country's efforts for the reconstruction of its economy. He also refered to the traditional friendly relations between the two countries.

Greek exports to Georgia were steadily rising in the last few years. Exports included fuel, machinery, steel products, sweets, alcohol and tobacco. Imports were included minerals, forestry products, and fertilisers.

A total of 22 Greek-owned and another 28 mixed businesses were operating in Georgia, mainly in the sectors of trade, communications, constructions, transport and tourism.

[11] ASE-Cyprus cooperation

Panagiotis Alexakis, the Athens Stock Exchange chairman, will visit Cyprus on Friday to discuss a plan for the creation of a single stock exchange between Greece and Cyprus, using a common trading platform, with common members and common financial products.

Alexakis will have talks with the board of Cyprus Stock Exchange following a decision by the island's bourse to launch a derivative products' market.

The two stock exchanges will also discuss plans to expand their partnership in the wider area.

Alexakis will arrive to Cyprus via Burgenstock, Switzerland, to participate in the 21st Annual International Stock Exchange Meeting.

[12] ASE-close

Equity prices rallied for the fifth consecutive session on the Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday pushing the general index above the 3,900 level.

Traders said the market easily absorbed two rounds of liquidation during the session, a sign of strong buying activity.

The general index ended 2.49 percent higher at 3,935.52 points, off the day's highs of 3,946.23 and sharply up from the day's lows of 3,847.55. The index is now 506 points, or 14.76 percent, up from a year's low of 3,429 points recorded late August.

Turnover was an improved 155.41 billion drachmas. The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 2,236.96 points, up 2.09 percent, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index jumped 4.17 percent to 537.02 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 654.75 points, up 4.88 percent.

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