Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 98-05-27

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 27/05/1998 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Simitis underlines common Greek-Spanish ties
• Port workers start 48-hour strike today
• Investments to spur development in Magnesia
• Greek stocks drop over fears of lower credit rating for state banks
• Euro poses challenge for Greek private, public sectors
• Albright's cancelled visits to Athens, Ankara
• Athens reacts to announced Turkish exercises in the Aegean
• US Senator Sarbanes meets with Simitis
• Expatriate Hellenism tele-educational programme launched
• Canadian leadership welcomes Ecumenical Patriarch
• Athens hosts 2nd Commonwealth Film Festival
• Media's influence, the focus of int'l conference
• More bank strikes called
• Aspirin's 100th birthday celebrated in Kos
• Major Greek insurance companies eye Bulgarian market
• Greece beat Netherlands to reach Euro under 21 final
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday underlined the common ties linking the Greek and Spanish peoples, saying both had gone through "difficult and heroic struggles" for their independence.

Addressing King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sophia during a luncheon hosted in their honour at the Maximos Mansion, Mr. Simitis also referred to the two countries' common sea, the Mediterranean, which was for both peoples "a source of life and wealth ".

The friendship between Spain and Greece is further strengthened by their participation in the European Union and NATO, Mr. Simitis said.

Greece lays particular emphasis on the maintenance of international legality, particularly on the issue of respecting territorial integrity and existing borders as well as the peaceful resolution of differences in line with the principles of internation al law, Mr. Simitis added.

King Juan Carlos said Greece and Spain are linked by their efforts to consolidate the rule of democracy and safeguard the rights and freedoms of their citizens, with the prospect of ensuring prosperity for the coming generations.

Greece, he said, provided an example for the "new democracies" of southeast Europe, showing them the way towards attaining their ambitions for their economies and societies.

Port workers start 48-hour strike today

Port workers have called a 48-hour strike beginning today to protest against the government's plans to change the legal status of authorities that run the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki.

The national port workers' federation also decided yesterday to hold two 48- hour strikes in the first half of June, reinforced by a ban on weekend work.

Today's strike is timed to coincide with a 24-hour nationwide stoppage called by the General Confederation of Greek Labour to protest against the government's privatisation plans.

Investments to spur development in Magnesia

Three major investments will spur development and job creation in the prefecture of Magnesia.

"These projects are a decisive answer to a trend of decline in the Volos area stemming from past policies," Development Minister Vasso Papandreou told the Athens News Agency yesterday.

"We are banking on economic development and combatting unemployment," Ms Papandreou said in an interview. The first project, a plant for the production of PET plastics to make packaging and bottles for soft drinks, will be inaugurated in Volos by Papandreou on Sunday during a three-day tour of the region beginning on Friday.

The plant belonging to VPI SA in the Volos industrial zone is one of the biggest investments in recent years.

It forms part of a programme involving state-owned Hellenic Petroleum SA, Hellenic Bottling, which is a blue chip on the Athens bourse, and an Italian consortium.

Completion of the 60 million dollar investment and operation of the plant coincides with the scheduled listing of a 25 percent stake in Hellenic Petroleum on the Athens Stock Exchange.

The second project underway to boost development in Magnesia is construction of a natural gas supply network for the Volos area.

Three industries were linked to the newly built network between July and October last year. The firms are Levenderis SA, Imas SA, and Thessaly Steelworks SA.

The third investment for Magnesia is the forging of long-term contracts by the Public Power Corporation with Metka SA and Imas SA.

The first is a five-year deal worth 850 million drachmas, and the second is worth 35 billion drachmas for the supply to the corporation of conveyor belts for its mines and plants, including a unit planned for Florina in the north of the country.

Greek stocks drop over fears of lower credit rating for state banks

Greek equities yesterday reversed an early advance to end sharply lower, hit by talk that a US credit agency would downgrade its rating for two domestic state-owned banks.

The general index reversed an early two percent advance to end 1.81 percent lower at 2,621.33 points after talk in the market that Moody's Investors Service was considering lowering its ratings on Commercial Bank of Greece and its subsidiary, Ionian Bank.

Both banks are listed.

Workers at Ionian are staging an indefinite strike to protest the privatisation. Riot police removed strikers from the bank's computer centre on Sunday, ending an occupation that had paralysed on-line transactions and ATM operations.

Sector indices ended lower across the board. Banks fell 1.10 percent, Insurance dropped 3.12 percent, Investment eased 0.29 percent, Leasing fell 0.64 percent, Industrials dropped 2.72 percent, Construction ended 2.14 percent off, Miscellaneous plunged 3.97 percent and Holding fell 2.18 percent.

The parallel market index fell 1.05 percent,and the FTSE/ASE 20 index dropped 1.24 percent to 1,577.38.

Trading was moderate to active with turnover at 71.7 billion drachmas. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 140 to 119 with another 12 issues unchanged.

National Bank of Greece ended at 45,450 drachmas, Ergobank at 28,200, Alpha Credit Bank at 32,300, Delta Dairy at 4,605, Titan Cement at 25,590, Intracom at 19,900 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 8, 890.

Euro poses challenge for Greek private, public sectors

The introduction of a single currency in 11 European Union member states from January 1, 1999 and Greece's later participation in the euro pose a major challenge for the country's private and public sectors, speakers at an international computer fair in A thens said yesterday.

Companies and public administration needed to adjust their software systems due to the introduction of economic and monetary union in EU countries, the speakers at Infoworld 1998 said.

Despite the difficulties, the process should lead to a rapid growth in Greece's business consulting market. Companies should start facing the problem now, regardless of when the country joined EMU, the speakers said.

The government's target date for entry is January 1, 2001 at the latest, which is a year before the euro is due to be introduced in physical form.

Albright's cancelled visits to Athens, Ankara

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will visit Greece and Turkey in the future, US State Department spokesman James Rubin said here yesterday commenting on her postponed visit.

"I suspect the Secretary will visit Greece and Turkey, but not now," he said.

Responding to other questions, Mr. Rubin said the US continued to regard the planned installation of Russian S-300 missiles on Cyprus as a mistake, but also criticised Turkish threats of military action against them.

Athens reacts to announced Turkish exercises in the Aegean

Turkey has reserved regions in the Aegean's international waters and two areas south-southeast of Crete for military exercises between June 4- 20.

Defence ministry sources said the Turkish actions are provocative and do not follow a de-escalation of tension which has recently prevailed in the Aegean, while exercises south of Crete do not facilitate the training needs of the Turkish armed forces.

The issue is expected to be discussed at today's meeting between the Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos.

US Senator Sarbanes meets with Simitis

US Sen. Paul Sarbanes held a meeting with Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday, citing his sincere interest in Greece's course.

The Greek-American leader added that he believed Greece has gained ground in the international arena over past years.

Mr. Sarbanes, who has been a Congressman and Senator since 1960, is in Greece on the occasion of celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Fulbright Foundation.

Expatriate Hellenism tele-educational programme launched

Macedonia-Thrace Minister Philippos Petsalnikos yesterday inaugurated a tele-educational teachers' and expatriate Hellenism programme in Munich.

The programme concerns education for teachers and instructors teaching Greek children, as well as communication and information for overseas Greeks.

From now on, Greeks will have the opportunity of being briefed on developments concerning their work and on other issues concerning education with direct linkage with Thessaloniki.

Canadian leadership welcomes Ecumenical Patriarch

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos was received in Ottawa yesterday by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Governor General Romeo Leblan.

The Patriarch began an official nine-day visit to Canada on Monday.

Vartholomeos later attended a reception hosted by the Greek ambassador in Ottawa, Yiannis Thomoglou, during which he announced that Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos will visit the Ecumenical Patriarchate in early June.

Mr. Thomoglou stressed the historic importance of the first-ever visit of an Ecumenical Patriarch to Canada, with some 380,000 ethnic Greeks and 76 Greek Orthodox communities.

Ruling Liberal party deputy John Cannis, a Greek-Canadian, hailed the the Patriarch's tour of Canada in a Parliament speech, stressing the historic importance of the event.

He underlined that since his enthronement, the Patriarch had been pursuing a spiritual revival, Orthodoxy's unity, inter-religious dialogue and protection of the environment.

Mr. Cannis stressed Vartholomeos' leading role in the promotion of environment awareness and protection, something he said Ottawa was vigorously supporting.

Athens hosts 2nd Commonwealth Film Festival

Athens hosts the second consecutive Commonwealth Film Festival June 2-5, bringing feature films from seven British commonwealth countries never before on general release.

Events, at the Pallas Cinema in downtown Athens, begin with a performance of music from Pakistan - the first time this country participates in the festival - followed by Australian film "Road to Nhill", the winner of the Golden Alexander award at the 19 97 Thessaloniki Film Festival's International Competition.

Films from Britain, Canada, India, Cyprus, New Zealand, and South Africa will be screened during the festival featuring films from new directors never before seen in Greece.

The aim of the festival, which was the brainchild of the Canadian ambassador Derek Fraser, is give the Greek public a chance to become acquainted with the arts and cultural life of the 53 Commonwealth countries and their 1.6 billion residents, which comprise a quarter of the earth's population.

Media's influence, the focus of int'l conference

The second day of a conference on mass media and the influence they wield power witnessed several interesting views by various speakers, including former US attorney general Ramsey Clark and former Haiti president Jean- Bertrand Aristide.

The event is organised at an Athens seaside resort by the Institute of Strategic and Development Studies Andreas Papandreou (ISTAME) and the Andreas Papandreou Foundation.

German journalist Michael Operskalski, publisher of the German magazine "Top Secret", spoke on the prospects of alternative media when connected with social movements.

Mr. Clark criticised his Washington's foreign policy, as well as the dominant mass media operating in the US, saying that everyone perceives things according to the way they had been taught by their culture.

Rev. Aristide made a detailed reference to the poorer countries of the southern hemisphere and what he called enforced policies there, stressing that "the adoration of the market...had been declared a universal religion".

The secretary general of Greece's press and mass media ministry, Nikos Athanasakis, pointed out that media ethics were dominated by market values, as they did not place emphasis on promoting culture and knowledge, but were simply after maxi mising profits.

More bank strikes called

The Federation of Bank Employees' Unions (OTOE) yesterday decided on new strikes to avert the privatisation of Ionian Bank or changes in state-run bank employees' labour relations.

OTOE called for two consecutive 48-hour strikes at Ionian Bank, planned to begin tomorrow, in order to provide legal cover to the bank's employees in case their continuing strike is ruled illegal by a court today.

OTOE also called for two nationwide and bank-wide 24-hour strikes on June 12 and 19, just before a Commercial Bank general assembly meeting, set to decide on the sale of Ionian Bank.

Aspirin's 100th birthday celebrated on Kos

International manufacturers of aspirin yesterday celebrated the 100th anniversary of the "wonder drug's" discovery with events on the island of Kos, the ancient home of Hippocrates. Aspirin, still considered by the medical world as the drug of the century , was discovered in 1898 in Germany.

Dozens of physicians and reporters from around the world attended the events, as well as a re-enactment of the Hippocratic oath at the ancient temple of the Asclepius.

In addition, several physicians spoke on the issue of headaches, an ailment whose symptoms aspirin has alleviated for decades but has not cured, as the cause is still unknown.

Major Greek insurance companies eye Bulgarian market

The two largest Greek insurance companies - Interamerican Holding and Ethniki Insurance, a member of the National Bank of Greece Group - and the Allianz company are interested in opening branches in Bulgaria.

Interamerican President Dimitris Kontominas, one of the five richest people in Greece, has expressed interest in the privatization of Post Bank, Hristo Hristov, director of the Insurance Supervision Directorate, told BTA on Monday after a recent visit to Greece.

The Greek insurers are waiting for licensing to be completed in Bulgaria so that it becomes clear "who is who" on the insurance market, Mr. Hristov said.

They are also being held back by the high (7 per cent) corporate income tax.

The Association of Greek Insurers invited representatives of the Insurance Supervision Directorate to visit Greece in two weeks' time to acquaint the Greek companies with insurance law and expected changes.

Greece beat Netherlands to reach Euro under-21 final

Nikolaos Limperopoulos scored twice to lead Greece to a 3-0 trouncing of the Netherlands and put his side into Sunday's European under-21 championship final. The Dutch were up against it virtually from the start when striker Fernando Ricksen was sent off for a foul from behind just two minutes into the game.

In the final Greece will play either Norway or Spain, who meet in the second semifinal on Wednesday.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(C.E.)

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