Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-02-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece - Germany - Submarines - Defence Minister -recasts

[02] OTE-2000 Results

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Wednesday

[04] Weather Forecast-Wednesday

[05] Greece - Croatia - Racan

[06] ASE-close

[07] Papandreou - Powell - NATO meeting

[01] Greece - Germany - Submarines - Defence Minister -recasts

BERLIN (ANA - P. Stangos) Greek Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos on Tuesday participated in the submarine building initiation ceremony in Kiel, as construction of one of the three U-214 type submarines, to be built for the Hellenic Navy, began.

"The modernisation of the Hellenic Navy aims at securing peace," Tsohatzopoulos said, according to the DPA, Germany's news agency. He also supported the promotion of a European defence industry, without which the realisation of the European Policy of Security and Defence is not possible.

Three U-214 type submarines to be built at the northern German Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft AG (HDW)/ Ferrostahl shipyard will be equipped with electrical generators, a new type of solid fuel and digital navigational system by industrial giant Siemens.

The German multinationals Erlangen-based Industrial Solutions and Services a 75-million navigational system identified as the state-of-the-art ?Nautos? - offered for the new Hellenic Navy subs is considered at present the most modern technology available on an international scale for non-nuclear submarines.

The Siemens unit identified the generators as the ?Permasyn? model, which, it claims, are almost noiseless, and the hi-tech solid fuel as the Polymer Elektrolyt Membran (PEM).

Greece has ordered three submarines from the Howaldtswerke-Duetsche Werft AG of Kiel. The other two submarines will be built at Greeces Skaramangas shipyard, west of Athens. Deliveries of the three subs are expected to begin in 2005 and end in 2008.

The subs will be able to submerge to 350 meters bellow the surface and will be manned with a crew of 35.

[02] OTE-2000 Results

The OTE Group on Tuesday reported consolidated earnings after tax of 251 billion drachmas in 2000 from 162.7 billion drachmas a year earlier, up 54.2 percent, in the final year before the abolition of its monopoly in the fixed-line market.

OTE's consolidated pre-tax profits last year rose to 348.4 billion drachmas, up 21.6 percent on 1999, the parent company said in a statement.

Consolidated turnover in 2000 totalled 1,227.8 billion drachmas, posting an 11.3 percent rise from a year earlier, which management attributed to robust results by the company's mobile phone arm, Cosmote, and to new services, the statement said.

Cosmote showed a 210 percent rise in earnings before tax to 33.9 billion drachmas from 10.9 billion drachmas in 1999. Turnover jumped to 207 billion drachmas from 117 billion drachmas, recording a 76 percent increase, it added.

The OTE Group's earnings per share totalled 503 drachmas per share, up 56 percent on 1999, due to a rise in net profits and to a share buyback scheme implemented by management, the statement said.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Wednesday

Wednesday's buying rates

U.S. dollar 368.896

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 532.405

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 45.287

Swedish kroner 37.408

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 317.656

Swiss franc 219.952

Norwegian kroner 41.079

Cyprus pound 583.635

Canadian dollar 241.238

Australian dollar 193.949

[04] Weather Forecast-Wednesday

Scattered cloud is forecast throughout the country on Wednesday, turning to showers in the west overnight and storms in the northwest. Winds will be variable, moderate to very strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 1C to 14C; on the rest of the mainland and the Ionian from 6C to 16C; and in the Aegean islands from 9C to 17C. Light cloud in Athens with temperatures between 7C and 16C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 4C to 14C.

[05] Greece - Croatia - Racan

Closer Greek-Croatian ties were all but evident here on Tuesday as the two countries government leaders held wide-ranging talks on various issues, including the latest crises plaguing the southern Balkans.

Visiting Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan told reporters that Greece and Croatia could function as poles of cooperation for the establishment of peace in southeast Europe, whereas his Greek counterpart Costas Simitis again reiterated Athens standing position against any change of borders in the region as well as support for the status quo.

Both Simitis and Racan will be joined Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, representing the current EU presidency, in Athens on Wednesday for a conference expected to focus on regional issues.

In other statements, Simitis reiterated that Greece backs Croatias closer access to Euro-Atlantic institutions, while noting that Croatia is an inseparable part of southeast Europe and highlighting the importance of bilateral cooperation with Zagreb.

[06] ASE-close

Blue chip stocks remained under pressure on the Athens Stock Exchange on Tuesday, pushing the general index lower despite gains in smaller capitalisation stocks.

Traders said the Greek bourse has developed into a two-tier market recently and noted that the market would move higher only when blue chips start advancing.

The general index ended 0.33 percent lower at 3,154.03 points, off the day's highs of 3,174.29 points and the day's lows of 3,132.54. Turnover was a low 143.78 million euros, or 48.995 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 0.77 percent to 1,803.69 points, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index jumped 2.05 percent to 370.64 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks jumped 5.14 percent to 319.67 points.

[07] Papandreou - Powell - NATO meeting

BRUSSELS (ANA - G. Zitouniati) His first meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell had gone well on a personal level, Foreign Minister George Papandreou reported on Tuesday, after a half-hour with his US counterpart in Brussels' Meridien Hotel, on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers' council.

Describing the meeting as "warm and friendly," Papandreou said it presaged "very good cooperation" in the future and said that Powell and he had agreed to meet again soon.

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