Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-02-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather Forecast: Showers, sleet on Tuesday

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

[03] PM inspects progress in construction of Rio-Antirrio bridge

[04] FM and PASOK leadership candidate announces measures for small, medium

[05] Karamanlis attacks opponent Papandreou in speech to ND youth section

[06] Greek industrial production index up 1.4 pct in Jan-Sept

[07] Greek stocks end mixed to higher on Monday

[01] Weather Forecast: Showers, sleet on Tuesday

Showers or sleet, mainly in the east of the country. Winds northerly moderate to strong. Athens will be cloudy, with local showers and temperatures of 4C to 12C. Thessaloniki will be overcast, with chances of drizzle and temperatures of 3C to 7C.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates: Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.256

Pound sterling 0.688

Danish kroner 7.510

Swedish kroner 9.291

Japanese yen 132.6

Swiss franc 1.581

Norwegian kroner 8.767

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.673

Australian dollar 1.652

[03] PM inspects progress in construction of Rio-Antirrio bridge

In a visit on Monday to inspect progress in the construction of the Rio-Antirrio bridge - due to be completed in time for the Athens Olympics in August - Prime Minister Costas Simitis stressed that the project was a landmark in a new era for Greece.

Simitis and a number of government ministers arrived at the worksite of the Greek-French consortium 'Gefyra' at Antirrio at 11:00, from which side the access ramp and half the span of the suspension bridge have been completed.

The premier said the project was progressing at record speeds and was expected to be ready on time, while the Olympic Torch relay is scheduled to pass over it in August.

Once complete, the bridge will span the entrance of the Corinthian Gulf and connect Greece's third-largest city Patras and its sea port with Aitoloakarnania and northwestern Greece.

It will allow vehicles to traverse the distance from Rio to Antirrio in about four minutes, greatly reducing the time currently needed for crossings by car ferry and also eliminating problems caused by bad weather.

The bridge is considered a pioneering project from the technical side, being among the longest suspension bridges in the world and having the longest deck span, as well as the deepest foundations.

[04] FM and PASOK leadership candidate announces measures for small, medium firms

Foreign Minister and PASOK party leadership candidate George Papandreou addressed a gathering of businessmen owning small or medium-size enterprises (SMEs) at a downtown Athens hotel on Monday and announced a series of measures aimed at the further development of such firms.

The measures are focused on lessening the tax burden and simplifying the taxation status currently governing SMEs, decreasing the cost and time required to establish an SME, simplifying the bankruptcy procedure, funding SMEs with national and EU funds and strengthening support centres for SMEs.

Papandreou referred to the main principles of PASOK's economic policy after the March 7 election, stressing that it will be based on maintaining high growth rates, decreasing unemployment, increasing employment, attracting foreign investments, upgrading the tourism sector and lifting distortions with the aim of strengthening the Greek economy's competitiveness.

The foreign minister also placed emphasis on the implementation of economic foreign policy. Referring to foreign policy in general, he said the prospect of permanent and good neighbourliness with Turkey is realistic, adding that with the foreign policy exercised ''we succeeded in remaining unharmed by crises.''

[05] Karamanlis attacks opponent Papandreou in speech to ND youth section

Addressing members of his party's youth section on Monday, main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis indirectly accused George Papandreou, his main opponent in the upcoming elections, of having a cynical attitude toward young people and of believing he could get their vote through cheap 'communications' gimmicks.

Papandreou is currently Greece's foreign minister and the sole candidate for ruling PASOK's leadership in a party-wide vote to be held next Sunday. He has effectively taken over the task of taking the party to elections from outgoing prime minister and party leader Costas Simitis.

''There are those today who base an entire communications strategy on the belief that young people are not mature enough, are not steady enough in their opinions and can be snared through televised images, style and momentary advertising impressions,'' Karamanlis said.

''I refuse to treat you in this way,'' he stressed, noting that young people were open to new things but retained a critical view, looking behind the advertiser's image to seek out the true paths forward.

[06] Greek industrial production index up 1.4 pct in Jan-Sept

Greece's composite industrial production index, including mining procuction, manufacturing, electricity, natural gas and water production, rose 5.5 percent in September 2003 compared with the same month in the previous year, for an increase of 1.4 percent in the January-September period, the National Statistics Service said on Monday.

The mining production index rose 0.5 percent in September, the manufacturing index rose 2.0 percent in the same period (reflecting increased performances by food-beverage, chemicals, oil products and metal products), while the electricity-natural gas-water production index soared 16.3 percent reflecting increased production and distribution of electricity and natural gas.

The mining index was down 6.6 percent in the January-September period, the manufacturing index fell 0.5 percent and the electricity-natural gas-water index jumped 8.0 percent over the same period.

[07] Greek stocks end mixed to higher on Monday

Greek stocks ended Monday's session slightly higher in the Athens Stock Exchange reflecting lack of specific directions and new incentives in the market.

The general index rose 0.10 percent to end at 2,435.11 points, off the day's highs of 2,457 points. Turnover was a moderate 140.5 million euros.

The Food-Beverage and Bank sector scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (0.68 percent and 0.63 percent, respectively), while the IT and Textile sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (2.14 percent and 1.22 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.29 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 50 index fell 0.48 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.35 percent higher.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 157 to 139 with another 58 issues

unchanged.

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