Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-06-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cabinet - foreign policy briefing

[02] Weather Forecast-Saturday

[03] Patriarch - Greek delegation

[04] Hellenic Telecoms-e-business

[05] Mohlos SA-1st quarter results

[06] Nationale-Nederlanden-mutual fund

[07] Greece-EU-trade balance

[08] Greece-bond auction

[09] President - British officer - Widow - Meeting

[10] ASE-close

[01] Cabinet - foreign policy briefing

Developments in Europe, particularly the current debate over Europe's future and the new European architecture, were the main topics discussed by the Cabinet on Friday, during a meeting focusing on foreign policy issues chaired by Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

The meeting began with a presentation of all aspects of foreign policy by Foreign Minister George Papandreou, who stressed that Greece had to take an active role in the discussions regarding Europe's future in order to secure its place in the "fast lane" of EU nations having closer cooperation.

With regard to EU expansion, Papandreou said that Athens was in favour of completing the process of institutional reforms to the EU before new member-states began to join, "in order for expansion to have any meaning."

[02] Weather Forecast-Saturday

Sunny weather is forecast throughout the country on Saturday, with scattered cloud on the northern mainland from evening.

[03] Patriarch - Greek delegation

ISTANBUL (ANA A. Kourkoulas) Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will receive a delegation of Greek dignitaries and academics on Saturday, led by ruling PASOKs secretary.

PASOKs Costas Skandalidis will be accompanied by main opposition New Democracy deputy Giorgos Kalos and Patra University rector Stamatis Alahiotis, among others. The delegation is also scheduled to attend a mass at the Patriarchates main cathedral of Agios Georgios (St. George) in the Fanar district.

Skandalidis is in Istanbul to attend the second part of a programme entitled ?Ecumenical Hellenism?, which begins here on Saturday.

[04] Hellenic Telecoms-e-business

Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation on Friday announced the creation of CosmoONE Hellas Marketsite SA to promote e-commerce applications for businesses.

Nikos Manasis, the organisation's chief executive, told a press conference that it was the first attempt to promote e-business commerce in Greece.

He said the new company was the result of a cooperation between Cosmote, Hellenic Telecom's mobile phone operator, and Commerce One Inc, a world leader in e-business integrated systems.

Manasis said he expected the Greek e-commerce market's value to total 100 billion drachmas in the next three years, based on a prediction that Internet penetration rates would exceed 30 percent by 2005 in Greece.

Hellenic Telecoms SA, Cosmote SA and Citibank NA will hold 80 percent of the new company's equity capital and Commerce One Inc, represented in Greece by Perpetual Information SA, will have a 20 percent stake.

Citibank will offer a wide range of financial services through its international partnership agreed last February between Commerce One and Citigroup.

The new company's initial capital will total 2.0 billion drachmas and will offer specicif portals and marketplaces for business-to-business trade from September.

CosmoONE will offer Greek businesses direct access to Global Trade Web.

[05] Mohlos SA-1st quarter results

Mohlos SA, a listed engineering company, on Friday reported a spectacular 276 percent rise in its 1st quarter turnover to 2.1 billion drachmas and net profits of 340 million drachmas, up 77 percent from the same period last year.

Its consolidated turnover totalled 6.0 billion drachmas in 1999, up from 4.63 bln in the previous year, and consolidated net profits jumped 403 pct to 3.38 billion drachmas from 672 million in 1998.

A general shareholders' meeting on Friday approved plans for a 16 drachmas per share dividend payment to shareholders. The meeting failed, however, to reach agreement on the ratification of a share capital increase plan, to be discussed again at an extraordinary meeting on July 14.

[06] Nationale-Nederlanden-mutual fund

Nationale-Nederlanded Mutual Funds Management on Friday announced it would launch a new emerging markets mutual fund from July.

The new fund will invest in equity portfolio in emerging markets, such as Eastern Europe, South America, Middle East and Southeast Asia.

The fund will track the S&P-IFC Global Emerging Markets index with priority in telecommunications, media and technology stocks.

ING Investment Management Hague, a member of ING Group, will act as a consultant to the fund.

[07] Greece-EU-trade balance

BRUSSELS (ANA-V.Demiris) -- Greece led the EU's exports' growth in the first quarter of 2000 with an increase of 30 percent in the period January-March compared with the same period last year, the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat said on Friday.

Eurostat said that Greek exports totalled 2.7 billion euros, up 600 million euros from the same period in 1999, for an increase of 30 percent, followed by Luxembourg (with a 26 pct rise), Spain and Finland (21 percent). Denmark was the only EU member-state to record a fall in exports (-5.0 pct).

Greek imports totalled 6.3 billion euros in the first quarter of 2000, up one billion euros from the corresponding period last year, an increase of 19 percent. Spain recorded the biggest growth in imports (27 pct), followed by Ireland (26 pct) and Germany (25 pct).

Denmark recorded a 3.0 percent drop in imports.

Greece's trade deficit rose to 3.6 billion euros in the Jan-March period, up from 3.2 bln last year.

[08] Greece-bond auction

Greece's Public Debt Management Organisation will auction a 20-year bond issue, worth 220 billion drachmas, next Tuesday, July 4.

The issue pays an annual coupon of 6.5 percent.

[09] President - British officer - Widow - Meeting

The widow of Britains slain defence attache on Friday repeated her plea that his assassins are brought to justice during an emotion-laden meeting with Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos.

Brig. Stephen Saunders, who served at the British embassy in the Greek capital, was gunned down by the notorious ?November 17? urban terrorist group on a congested Athens highway on the morning of June 8.

Heather Saunders, accompanied by her two teenage daughters and British ambassador to Athens David Madden, was received by Stephanopoulos shortly after noon-time at the presidential mansion in downtown Athens. It was also announced on Friday that Prime Minister Costas Simitis would also receive Saunders widow and the British envoy Tuesday at his office.

[10] ASE-close

Equity prices ended the last trading session of a negative week with moderate losses, remaining under pressure for the third consecutive session on the Athens Stock Exchange on Friday.

Traders said market sentiment was undermined by lack of fresh liquidity and reiterated that the market would find support at the 4,000-4,050 level.

The general index ended at 4,054.41 points, off 0.42 percent, with turnover a low 97 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 2,235.52 points, off 0.72 percent, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index rose 0.06 percent to 580.22 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 752.01 points, off 1.20 percent.

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