Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-02-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece-EMU-Papantoniou

[02] Bond auction-results

[03] ASE-close

[04] Akritas SA-IPO

[05] Papandoniou-CNN-interview

[01] Greece-EMU-Papantoniou

BRUSSELS (ANA - M. Spinthourakis) - National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said on Tuesday, in an address to the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Committee, that Greece will fulfill terms and conditions for accession to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) at the end of February, according to existing data, and will consequently join the euro as of January 1, 2001.

Papantoniou said Greece achieved economic restructuring over a period of a few years. He said the fiscal deficit decreased from 13.6 percent of GDP in 1993 to 1.4 percent in 1999, the public debt from 111.3 percent of GDP in 1996 to 104.2 percent in 1999 and inflation from 14.2 percent in 1993 to 2.5 percent in 1999, while the yields of 10-year bonds have now been harmonised with the corresponding European ones.

[02] Bond auction-results

Long-term yields fell substantially during Tuesday's regular auction of state securities by the Public Debt Management Organisation.

The average weighed yield of a 10-year bond, paying an annual coupon of 6.3 percent, fell to 6.42 percent from 6.60 percent in the previous auction of same debt on January 25.

Bids submitted totalled 564 billion drachmas, more than three times the asked sum of 180 billion, evidence of strong demand for Greek state securities.

The average weighed price of the bond auction was 99.180 units with a minimum accepted price of 99.120.

[03] ASE-close

Equity prices remained under pressure for the second consecutive session to end sharply lower on the Athens Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

Traders said market sentiment was undermined as hopes of a pre-election rally were fading and a decision on the Greek market's inclusion among international developed markets was delayed.

The general index ended 1.47 percent lower at 5,109.81 points. The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.86 percent lower at 2,775.61 points and the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index plunged 3.11 percent to 827.15 points.

Turnover was a low 158.9 billion drachmas.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 1,299.65 points, down 6.52 percent.

[04] Akritas SA-IPO

Akritas SA, a Greek forestry company, will seek to raise more than 13 billion drachmas through a share capital increase in an initial public offering, March 6-9.

The company will offer 3,096,000 common shares of nominal value of 200 drachmas each, at 4,200 drachmas per share, and another 154,500 shares through private placement. Its shares will be listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.

The new capital will be used to finance the company's investment programme including the construction of a new production unit, a distribution unit in the Attica region and its new building in Alexandroupolis.

Akritas SA was founded in 1997 by Athanasios Sarandis, chairman and chief executive of the company.

[05] Papandoniou-CNN-interview

Greece will have fulfilled all five convergence criteria by early March, when the country is expected to submit its formal application to participate in EMU, National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papandoniou told the CNN network in an interview on Monday.

"We expect to participate in EMU without any problems on June 20, at an EU summit in Lisbon," he said.

Papandoniou said the inflation and the public debt criteria would be fully met by the end of February. "Inflation will be running at 2.2 percent at the end of February, while the public debt is shrinking rapidly in the last few years. All five criteria would have been met and that is the content of our application," Papandoniou told CNN.

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