Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-02-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] National Bank of Greece shows earnings rise for 2004

[02] S. African president Mbeki arrives in Athens, meets with Stephanopoulos

[03] Gov't lauds early retirement plan for OTE

[04] Turkey's Yakis meets with Greek political leaders, comments on Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations

[01] National Bank of Greece shows earnings rise for 2004

National Bank of Greece SA, a heavily traded stock on the Athens bourse, reported a net profit before tax of â¬662 million in 2004, excluding a one-off expense for a voluntary retirement plan, marking a rise of 27% on a year earlier.

The last quarter of 2004 showed robust growth, with group profit before tax at â¬188 million, management said in a statement.

"The full-year results for 2004 reflect the effort that has been made to leverage further the far- reaching potential of the NBG Group. As a result of our strategy to consolidate our leading position in retail banking, focusing on Group synergies to boost income from fees and commissions particularly towards year-end, we raised our core earnings by 37.6%, said Takis Arapoglou, National's chairman and CEO.

"Our ongoing expansion in the Balkans had a notable contribution to the full-year results, with the region set to become a major contributor to the Groupâs future profitability. In addition, our endeavor to rein in administrative costs across the Group has borne fruit - notably the success posted by NBG in holding administrative costs down at 2003 levels," Arapoglou noted.

Return on average equity (ROAE) stood at 19.8% in 2004, marking a rise of 4.5 percentage points. Return on average assets (ROAA) stood at 1.26%, compared with 1.02% in 2003, the statement said.

[02] S. African president Mbeki arrives in Athens, meets with Stephanopoulos

Mbeki and Stephanopoulos reviewed the Greek Presidential Guard (evzones) at the formal welcoming ceremony in central Athens, before their talks.

The two presidents were joined by delegations from their respective countries after their private discussion.

After the talks, Stephanopoulos and Mbeki stressed the need to strengthen the economic and commercial relations between Greece and South Africa, and also for greater EU commitment to Africa's economic growth.

Stephanopoulos also stressed the need for cooperation among the countries of the northern hemisphere, the EU and other countries for the development of Africa so as to be able to keep its population at home, instead of immigrating to Europe.

Europe, he said, had a legal and moral obligation to assist Africa, due to its presence there, from which only Europe benefited.

Mbeki, in turn, called for greater support from the European Union for Africa's development, and stressed that Greece was a voice in Europe that championed support for the African continent.

Mbeki further referred to the new developmental programme for Africa, with the participation of the EU, the 7 richest countries of the world and the EU, the implementation of which he described as "a challenge".

[03] Gov't lauds early retirement plan for OTE

Between 4,000 and 6,000 OTE employees will be eligible for early retirement, whereas the plan is expected to easily top the 1.2 billion-euro mark.

"The measure ... ensures not only the viability of the (Hellenic Telecommunications) Organisation but creates significant conditions for development. If this agreement had not been achieved we would have been in danger of quickly acquiring another Olympic Airways," alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros said, in reference to the debt-plagued and loss-making national air carrier.

Moreover, he said the agreement could act as a "blueprint" for reforming other major state-run entities within a framework of respecting employees' rights.

[04] Turkey's Yakis meets with Greek political leaders, comments on Cyprus and Greek-Turkish relations

Yakis, who met with Greek parliamentary officials and with Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis, said he was satisfied with his visit to Greece. He also noted that after Greece withdrew its objections, Turkey's road to the EU is wide open. However, Yakis said that Greece was not Turkey's obstacle to the EU, but rather has assisted and offered its own experience for Turkey's benefit.

Asked to comment on the Cyprus issue, Yakis said that when Turkey decided to encourage Turkish Cypriots in the Turkish occupied Northern Cyprus regarding the Annan Plan (the plan drafted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan), a new situation arose following the April 2004 referendum, "and we see that Greece appreciated Turkey's stance," he said.

Asked whether Turkey would wait for the Cyprus problem to be resolved before recognising the Republic of Cyprus, Yakis pointed out that he does not participate in the government, but as former foreign minister he has ''the impression that Turkey will extend its customs union agreement to the bloc of the 10 new, EU member-states, including Cyprus, before October 3, when Turkey is scheduled to begin negotiations with the EU.'' However, Yakis added, this does not mean 'official' recognition.

On the issue of Greek-Turkish relations, Yakis said that tangible improvements had been made, citing the 26 bilateral agreements the two countries have signed and which concern various sectors (e.g., economic relations, taxation, investment guarantees, culture, etc.).

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