Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-10-01

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 01/10/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Bill on Bank of Greece autonomy tabled
• Kohl urges Turkey to improve relations with Greece
• US Ass't Secretary of State Grossman in Greece today
• Turkey's new Consul General in Komotini assumes duties
• Mirage 2000 fighter crashes off Skyros
• Romeos: 'Observer' informant not in Greece
• Reppas on Liani-Papandreou book
• Two more charges against Thierry Roussel filed
• Vehicle confiscation order modified
• Gov't adopts outline figures for 1998 budget
• Greek stocks again post new record, seen breaching 1,800 pts
• Greek bourse jumps 16.72 pct in September
• Greek state telecom sees 30 pct jump in H1 profit
• International informatics trade fair opens in Greece
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

A bill granting autonomy to the Bank of Greece, the country's central bank, was tabled in Parliament last night by the National Economy Ministry as part of an important step towards the central bank's separation from the government.

The bill also hopes to further "Europeanisation" of the country's monetary policy on the basis of the new economic environment being shaped in the framework of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

The bill introduces a Monetary Policy Council which will constitute the central body in the new institutional framework. The Council - and not the government as was the case until now - will in future determine the country's monetary policy and, in parallel, will supervise the exchange policy proposed by the government.

The Council will have six members, three of whom will be the incumbent governor and the two deputy governors of the Bank of Greece. The remaining Council members will be appointed by the government, but with the consent of the central bank's governor.

Following approval of the bill, the central bank will be more directly linked to the European Central Bank being set up - the future watchdog of the EURO - and less so to the Greek government, which will be kept abreast of monetary issues by the bank's governor. The bill also provides that the the bank's governor will inform Parliament in an annual and at any other time upon request.

In essence, the bill harmonises the Bank of Greece's charter with that of the European Central Bank, currently being developed, as set out in the Maastricht Treaty, initiating its autonomy from the Greek government and the other bodies of political authority.

The bill further provides for the estblishment of supervisory and sanction- imposing mechanisms by the central bank on all companies and credit organisations in the local capital market sector and not only on banks, as is the case today, including stock brokerage firms as well.

The target is to supplement the Capital Market Committee's existing supervisory authorities (which have been frequently criticised in the past as being inadequate), ensure greater transparency in all transactions, and increase credibility.

The incumbent Governor of the Bank of Greece, Lucas Papademos, and the two Deputy Governors, Nikos Garganas and Panayiotis Thomopoulos, will be ipso jure members of the Monetary Policy Council, and their six-year term in office will begin upon commencement of the Council's function, independent of their tenure at the central bank.

Kohl urges Turkey to improve relations with Greece

Bonn urged Ankara to improve its relations with Athens and work towards a solution to the Cyprus issue if it wanted to become part of Europe.

On the other hand, Germany clarified that it supports Turkey's aim to become a member of the European Union (EU).

Following the completion of talks between Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl in Bonn, the chancellorship released an announcement stating that, "the chancellor stressed repeatedly the importance for the future of Europe of the normalisation of relations between Turkey and Greece on a permanent basis and the quick solution to the Cyprus issue. (The chancellor) has requested from Prime Minister Yilmaz to utilise all possibilities in promoting the solution of problems".

US Ass't Secretary of State Grossman in Greece today

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Mark Grossman is expected in Athens today in an attempt to try and defuse tension and help restart talks between Greece and Turkey.

Mr. Grossman, who is responsible for European affairs, plans to hold talks with Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and Undersecretary Yiannos Kranidiotis this evening.

It will be the second meeting in seven days that the US official had had with Mr. Pangalos. Last week he was in New York to attend the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Grossman is also expected to travel to Ankara and meet with officials there. He will reportedly press both Greece and Turkey's prime ministers to meet in Crete next month during an inter-Balkan summit meeting. The US official was previously Washington's ambassador in Ankara.

Turkey's new Consul General in Komotini assumes duties

Sakir Torunlar, Turkey's new consul general in Komotini, northern Greece, yesterday assumed his duties. Mr. Torunlar, 36, with brief service in the diplomatic corps, is considered to be a supporter of Turkish Premier Mesut Yilmaz.

During a brief meeting with reporters, Mr. Torunlar spoke about his professional career, stressing in particular the importance of personal relations, which help in approaching and better understanding problems, on the fringes of exercising foreign policy.

Mirage 2000 fighter crashes off Skyros

A Hellenic Air Force Mirage 2000 fighter was reported missing last night, after air force radars lost contact with the plane at 9:15 p.m.

Remains of the plane were later located two miles north of the island of Skyros. The body of its pilot, Second-Lt. Dimitris Stratakias, was found today.

Romeos: `Observer` informant not in Greece

Public Order Minister George Romeos yesterday said records showed that Kurd Seydo Hazar, at the centre of a controversial "Observer" newspaper article alleging the existence of Kurdish guerrilla training camps in Greece, left the country through the Doira ni border post last Friday, probably on his way to Germany.

Mr. Romeos added that the Kurdish man had originally been given a one-month visa, which after being renewed once, expired in April 1997. He added that Mr. Hazar paid a fine upon exiting the country for prolonging his stay without permission.

The minister said claims that Mr. Hazar was still hiding somewhere in Greece as a member of a Kurdish guerrilla cell were groundless and were part of a mudslinging campaign against Greece that appears from time to time in certain international press out lets.

Mr. Romeos said investigations had been carried out in the past over similar allegations, including ones by US officials, all of which were found to be completely baseless.

Reppas on Liani-Papandreou book

Dimitra Liani-Papandreou's book is not one of the serious problems of the country nor is it one of the government's priorities, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said yesterday in response to press questions.

The book, "10 years and 54 days", is about Mrs. Liani-Papandreou's life with the late founder and president of ruling PASOK, Andreas Papandreou. It went on sale in Athens yesterday.

The government does not comment on everything that is published, Mr. Reppas said, adding that there was freedom of speech and of the press in Greece and that everybody was free to voice his or her opinion.

"The people expect the government to solve its problems," Mr. Reppas said.

What the late Andreas Papandreou believed and what is attributed to him are two different things, Mr. Reppas said.

Referring to references in the book that Papandreou considered Prime Minister Costas Simitis "a good technocrat but not a politician", Mr. Reppas responded that the people had a different opinion, entrusting him with the position of prime minister.

Two more charges against Thierry Roussel filed

The Supreme Court has decided that Thierry Roussel, the father of 12-year- old Athena Onassis-Roussel, should stand trial on two more charges apart from defamation, perjury and filing a false lawsuit.

All charges relate to cartain accusations Mr. Roussel had launched against the Onassis Foundation's board, for which a previous acquittal was based on insufficient evidence. As a result, the case will be examined again by the Council of Appeals.

Athena Onassis-Roussel will have to wait until she becomes an adult in the year 2003 to be able to administrate the massive fortune left by her grandfather Aristotelis to her mother Christina.

Vehicle confiscation order modified

Impounding of cars for drunk driving violations will continue, however, vehicles will only be permanently confiscated in rare cases, Public Order Minister George Romeos said yesterday.

According to Mr. Romeos, recently stepped up breathalyzer checks have been effective, sending a strong shock that made drivers more aware of the problem of drunk driving and more observant of traffic regulations. He also announced that the ministry was revising certain regulations and making them more legally compatible.

He was referring to rules imposed by an Athens prosecutor that led to car confiscations and have been creating controversy for being too severe.

Mr. Romeos said cars would no longer be confiscated except for special cases where drivers are extremely reckless in observing regulations and repeat offenders.

Drivers who disobey traffic rules will be handed stiff fines and jail terms, while police units will be equipped with computers to determine whether a detained driver is a repeat offender or not.

Gov't adopts outline figures for 1998 budget

The government has endorsed preliminary proposals for next year's tax policy and outline figures for the 1998 budget, government sources said on Monday.

A meeting chaired by National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou adopted proposals for a 20 percent rise in presumed income levels indicated by the possession of vehicles and boats, and a 20-25 percent increase in the levels of the so-call ed objective criteria for the assessment of traders' and corporate taxable income.

Also adopted were a 30 percent rise in deemed real estate values and a rise in the tax on government securities to 10 percent from 7.5, the sources said.

The meeting also adopted a proposal to raise monthly tax deductions at the source for middle and high incomes.

Rejected were proposals to tax mobile phones, and directly hike taxes on companies and mutual funds.

Ministry officials said the government would continue discussion on a proposal to raise the tax-free bracket on income and inflation-linked indexation of the tax scale following consultations with unions.

The government's incomes policy for 1998 will not exceed the expected range of consumer price inflation (2.5-3.0 percent) plus a rise in productivity (1.0-1.5 percent).

The meeting adopted a proposal setting the 1998 budget's regular revenue at 9.25 trillion drachmas from 8.35 trillion in 1997. Spending will total 7.25 trillion drachmas.

Greek stocks again post new record, seen breaching 1,800 pts

Greek equities surged to a new record close on the Athens Stock Exchange, yesterday their third in the last four sessions.

The general index closed 0.95 percent higher at 1,777.37 points to show a spectacular 16.72 percent rise in September.

The market looked extremely confident and the general index was likely to break the 1,800 level in the next few sessions, traders said.

Trading remained heavy and turnover was 29 billion drachmas.

Most sector indices scored gains. Banks rose 0.87 percent, Leasing was 0.49 percent up, Insurance jumped 3.77 percent, Investment rose 1.06 percent, Industrials were 1.41 percent higher, Holding rose 0.94 percent and Miscellaneous ended 0.38 percent up.

Construction bucked the trend to fall 0.26 percent.

The parallel market index for small cap companies ended 2.37 percent higher.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 149 to 86 with another 23 issues unchanged,

Bank of Central Greece, Radio Athina, Macedonian Plastics and Selonda scored the biggest percentage gains, while Elfico, Britania, Ideal and Eskimo suffered the heaviest losses.

National Bank of Greece ended at 34,795 drachmas, Ergobank at 18,695, Alpha Credit Bank at 20,500, Delta Dairy at 3,935, Titan Cement at 16,850, Intracom at 14,930 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 6, 990.

In the domestic foreign exchange market the US dollar was fractionally higher against the drachma.

Greek bourse jumps 16.72 pct in September

Autumn of 1990. Athens had lost the battle for the Golden Olympics to Atlanta and the Greek bourse declined 19.5 percent.

Monday, September 8, 1997. Athens has won the 2004 Olympic Games and the stock market soared to post a new record daily rise of 7.96 percent.

Those two events shaped the future of the Athens Stock Exchange, analysts say.

The prospects for the market ahead of the 2004 Olympics and an 8 trillion drachma European Union support programme were clearly reflected in the rising trend of share prices during September.

The general index broke three new record highs and turnover showed a spectacular improvement.

The index was 253.71 points higher, or 16.72 percent, in the month, and total turnover was 569.053 billion drachmas, more than double the August figure.

Insurance and Construction indices scored the biggest percentage gains with 32.08 and 29.39 percent respectively, followed by a 23.46 percent gain in Industrials.

Out of the 22 trading sessions in September, 15 marked gains and 7 declines.

Greek state telecom sees 30 pct jump in H1 profit

Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation,which is listed on the Athens bourse, posted profits after tax of 84 billion drachmas in the first half, marking a 30 percent rise against the same period of 1996.

The state telecom's revenue increased by 16.6 percent to 374 billion drachmas in the same period, and shareholders equity was 48 percent higher against the corresponding period last year, exceeding one trillion drachmas, the firm said in a statement yesterday.

International informatics trade fair opens in Greece

An international trade fair on information systems and hi-tech products opens in second-city Thessaloniki today.

Organised by HELEXPO, the state-run trade fair organiser, the exhibition will run until October 5 in the grounds of Thessaloniki international trade fair.

Among exhibitors are the European Union, the national economy ministry, and the development ministry's general secretariat of research and technology.

On display will be the state's EU-funded Cleisthenes computer network to modernise the public sector.

Also taking part are the Association of Greek Informatics Enterprises and Association of Northern Greek Informatics Enterprises, both of which are also helping HELEXPO to organise the trade fair.

A conference on applications in informatics and communications also will be held.

The conference organisers expect the annual event to be the largest so far with 562 exhibitors, of whom 233 are from Greece and 329 from abroad representing 23 countries.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(C.E.)

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