Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-08-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] Skaramanga Shipyards, Greek Railways will find solution, Tsohatzopoulos

[02] ATHOC president to inaugurate conferences of national Olympic

[03] Archbishop Christodoulos meets with Polish president

[04] Greece promotes itself in Russian tourism market

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[07] ASE ends to new 2003 highs on Thursday

[01] Skaramanga Shipyards, Greek Railways will find solution, Tsohatzopoulos

Development Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos on Thursday expressed his optimism over finding a solution to outstanding issues in contracts signed by Skaramanga Shipyards and Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) for the supply of passenger coaches within agreed timetables.

''The outstanding issues refer to the delivery time and the number of coaches,'' the Greek minister said, adding that the two sides have already reached a compromise solution to most outstanding issues.

Tsohatzopoulos said that the government was guaranteing the contracts and that Piraeus Bank was expected to submit specific proposals seeking a restructuring of these contracts.

The Greek minister was speaking to reporters after a meeting with Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and Transport Minister Christos Verelis to discuss the issue.

According to sources the German company HDW, the owner of Skaramanga Shipyards, was not in a position to deliver passenger coaches to Hellenic Railways timely.

[02] ATHOC president to inaugurate conferences of national Olympic Committees

Athens 2004 Olympic Games Organizing Committee (ATHOC) President Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki on Friday will inaugurate the Assembly of the National Olympic Committee Chiefs that was organized by the Athens 2004 International Relations General Directorate.

One hundred ninety six leaders will participate in the conference which will last until Sunday, while the total number of participants announced was 395 persons, which will include representatives from the Turin Winter Olympics of 2006 and the Beijing Summer Olympics of 2008.

[03] Archbishop Christodoulos meets with Polish president

Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos on Thursday continued his visit in Poland with his meeting with the countrys President Alexander Kwasniewksi, who expressed to the Greek prelate the great sympathy his country feels for Greece and the Greek people.

Christodoulos focused his attention, during the meeting with the president of Poland on the subject of the ?hopes of the Orthodox Church of Poland, one of which is the re-acquisition of property that was confiscated in the past?.

Kwasniewksi promised to expend all possible effort for the closure of such outstanding problems.

[04] Greece promotes itself in Russian tourism market

Greece is stepping up its tourism advertising campaign in the Russian media, sponsored by the National Tourism Organisation (EOT), with the focus being on adds, features and inserts in major newspapers (Isvestia, Pravda) and magazines.

The campaign, which will promote Greece as a tourist destination during the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, will cost EOT 68,600 euros.

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

Scattered cloud is forecast in all parts of the country on Friday, with sporadic showers mainly in central and northern mainland Greece in the afternoon. Winds northerly, light to moderate, turning strong in the southeastern Aegean. Temperatures in the north will range from 18C to 35C; in western Greece from 20C to 37C; and in the Aegean islands from 23C to 33C. Temperatures in Athens between 25C and 35C; and in Thessaloniki from 23C to 33C.

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.109

Pound sterling 0.699

Danish kroner 7.492

Swedish kroner 9.283

Japanese yen 130.8

Swiss franc 1.554

Norwegian kroner 8.342

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.56

Australian dollar 1.685

[07] ASE ends to new 2003 highs on Thursday

Greek stocks ended at their highest level this year in the Athens Stock Exchange on Thursday reflecting a very positive sentiment among investors encouraged by more gains in other European bourses.

Buying focused in blue chip stocks, mainly banks with National Bank's shares ending 5.20 percent higher at 20.22 euros remaining on an upward trend for the seventh consecutive session.

The general index rose 1.92 percent to end at 2,276.47 points, with turnover at 222.2 million euros.

All sector indices ended higher, with the retail, insurance and banks scoring the biggest percentage gains of the day (5.80 percent, 5.05 percent and 3.79 percent, respectively). The food and beverage sector scored the smallest gains (0.51 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks jumped 2.45 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 1.97 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index rose 1.32 percent.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 273 to 51 with another 46 issues unchanged.

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