Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-08-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] Laiki Bank ups branch network

[02] Gov't to offer incentives for merger of farm cooperatives

[03] Agriculture ministry launches Dr 265 bln investment plan

[04] Drachma to circulate until February 28, 2002

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[06] CORRECTION: Weather Forecast: Sunny on Wednesday

[07] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

[08] State - Church - ID issue

[09] Greek bourse breaks 2,800 resistance level

[01] Laiki Bank ups branch network

Laiki Bank said on Tuesday that it had increased its network to 24 branches after opening a new outlet in the Peloponnese town of Eyio.

Laiki, a member of the international Cyprus Popular Bank Group, plans to have a network of 30 branches by the end of the year, rising to 50 by the end of 2004, it said in a statement.

[02] Gov't to offer incentives for merger of farm cooperatives

National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou on Monday unveiled a government plan to spur mergers and modernisation among farm cooperatives that would, in turn, improve quality in the sector.

"We need powerful, healthy cooperatives that will make a major contribution to the production and sale of Greek agricultural products. We need quality and quality needs large, powerful units," Papantoniou told a news conference.

The measure for the country's roughly 6,000 small-scale cooperatives would be introduced through a presidential decree, he added.

[03] Agriculture ministry launches Dr 265 bln investment plan

Agriculture Minister George Anomeritis on Tuesday announced the start of a 265-billion-drachma programme until 2006 to boost investment in manufacturing and sales of farming products.

Between 800 and 1000 investments are due to be funded under the plan, which will allow the creation of new enterprises or moderisation of existing operations, Anomeritis said.

Favoured under the scheme are projects aimed at protection of the environment and of consumers.

Financing for each investment will be decided on a scale of 35% to 50%, the minister added.

[04] Drachma to circulate until February 28, 2002

Drachma notes and coins will continue to circulate in Greece until February 28, 2002 after the introduction of the euro as a physical currency on January 1.

The measure is contained in a government bill released to the media.

The euro has so far been used as a non-physical currency in the euro zone, of which Greece is a member.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

Indicative tourist buying rates

U.S. dollar 373.834

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 538.165

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 45.413

Swedish kroner 36.090

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 310.818

Swiss franc 222.887

Norwegian kroner 041.896

Cyprus pound 590.022

Canadian dollar 242.164

Australian dollar 196.965

[06] CORRECTION: Weather Forecast: Sunny on Wednesday

Please read "Wednesday" instead of "Thursday", as incorrectly stated.

A corrected version follows.

Sunshine is forecast in all parts of the country on Wednesday, with scattered cloud on the mainland from early evening. The north may see storms. Winds north-northwesterly, light to moderate. On the northern mainland, temperatures will range from 18C to 32C; on the rest of the mainland from 20C to 36C; and in the islands from 22C to 33C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 23C and 35C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 21C to 32C.

[07] Weather Forecast: Sunny on Thursday

Sunshine is forecast in all parts of the country on Thursday, with scattered cloud on the mainland from early evening. The north may see storms. Winds north-northwesterly, light to moderate. On the northern mainland, temperatures will range from 18C to 32C; on the rest of the mainland from 20C to 36C; and in the islands from 22C to 33C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 23C and 35C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 21C to 32C.

[08] State - Church - ID issue

The head of the Church of Greece dramatically raised the stakes on Tuesday in the more than year-long ?ID issue? souring of Church-state relations by demanding a referendum over the optional listing of religious preference or new legislation.

In a press conference at the Holy Synods headquarters in downtown Athens, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos announced that a nationwide petition drive calling for just such a referendum garnered 3,008,901 signatures.

The highly publicised announcement, expected since earlier in the month, brought an immediate reaction from the government spokesman, who cautioned that the number of signatures would not affect the governments policy on the contentious matter.

?Its not possible for citizens rights to obey the laws of the majority or the minority,? he said.

Regarding Christodoulos statements, the government spokesman said they were merely a repetition of previous comments, although presented on Tuesday as if a Council of State (CoS) decision vindicating the abolition of the religious preference category on IDs didnt exist.

He again reiterated, meanwhile, that the state has made its final decision on the matter.

In June, the Council of State (CoS), Greece's highest administrative court, upheld the exclusion of religious affiliation from new IDs -- effectively ruling out an optional listing as well. The court ruled that citizens religious preferences fall under the heading of personal and confidential information.

[09] Greek bourse breaks 2,800 resistance level

Equity prices ended higher a volatile session on the Athens Stock Exchange on Tuesday, helped by a wave of buying activity in the last 10 minutes of trading in bank and telecommunication stocks, pushing the general index above the 2,800 resistance level for the first time in 15 sessions.

The general index was kept under pressure for most of the session, but its final close above the 2,800 level was paving the way for its short-term recovery, analyst said.

They predicted that the market would find resistance at the 2,880-2,910 levels.

The general index ended 0.66 percent higher at 2,805.88 points, with turnover a moderate 158.9 million euros, or 54.1 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 1,565.10 points, up 0.90 percent, the FTSE/ASE 40 index fell 0.11 percent to 319.22 points, and the FTSE/ASE SMALLCAP 80 index ended at 943.5 points, up 0.93 percent.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 277.53 points, up 0.31 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 190 to 132 with another 57 issues unchanged.

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