Athens News Agency: News in English, 01-06-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] Soccer-Greece-Win

[02] Greek minister-ECOFIN-Statements

[03] Secondary Bond Market-Close

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[05] Sunshine forecast for Wednesday

[06] Domestic car market-Fiat ranks first

[07] Fanco SA-Kavasko Ltd- FYROM-Controlling interest

[08] Petzetakis S.A.-Saint Gobain-Trade agreement

[09] Derivatives Market-Close

[10] AEK Athens - Brazilian int'l - Doping

[11] ASE-close

[12] Greece - Slovenia - Kucan visit

[13] Local authorities begin process to legalise foreign immigrants

[14] Forest fire in Oropos, northeast Attica under partial control

[15] Industrialist, Church benefactor Angelopoulos dies in Athens

[01] Soccer-Greece-Win

Greece beat England 3-1 in a European championship under-21 group nine qualifier played at Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium in Athens on Tuesday night.

Greece's goals were scored by Papadopoulos in the 26th minute, Vakouftsis in the 42nd and Terry with an own goal in the 60th. Carick scored for England in the 86th minute.

[02] Greek minister-ECOFIN-Statements

LUXEMBOURG (ANA - G. Zitouniati) - Greek National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou on Tuesday spoke in support of a federal model of government for Europe and of an "economic government" for the eurozone countries.

Speaking to journalists after the conclusion of the European Union's finance and economy ministers meeting here, Papantoniou said that the establishment of a second European parliament playing the role of the Senate was necessary.

He also spoke of the necessity for the establishment of an "economic government" for the eurozone in the spirit of the proposals tabled by French President Lionel Jospin.

Papantoniou, commenting on discussions that took place in the meeting, said that the European Union should depend on its own abilities to recover economically, as extrenal conditions, such as the economy of the USA and the increase in petrol prices, are not favorable.

"The dynamism shown in (the) Lisbon (summit) seems to have been lost in (the) Stockholm (summit)," he said, proposing that the upcoming Goeteborg summit should give a new impetus to the structural changes and to discussions of the general economic orientations of the Union.

Papantoniou stressed that Greece would record a 4.5 per cent increase of its GDP for 2001 as it is not as directly affected by international developments as the rest of the Union.

He said that the ministers discussed the issue of a uniform taxation system for the Union, but no decisions were taken at this time, in light of elections in Britain, which reacted against this prospect.

He added that discussions on a taxation system would conclude by the end of 2002, while discussions during Tuesday's meeting focused mainly on bank account privacy in non-EU countries considered tax heavens.

Papantoniou also commented on Monday's discussions among the twelve ministers of the eurozone, saying that "last Spring's forecasts would not be changed".

He said the ministers decided that during the changeover of national currencies to the euro all prices should be rounded off downward, a decision that should be enforced in every country to avoid profiteering.

[03] Secondary Bond Market-Close

Bond prices in the domestic secondary market on Tuesday finished higher in heavy trade with players focusing on 10-year paper.

The Greek benchmark 10-year bond showed a yield of 5.48 percent from 5.57 percent a day earlier.

The yield spread over German bunds was 45 basis points same as in the previews session.

Turnover through the central bank's electronic system totaled 1.39 billion euros (473 billion drachmas) from 1.4 billion euros (506 billion drachmas) a trading day earlier.

Buy orders accounted for the bulk of turnover.

[04] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Buying rates until Tuesday

U.S. dollar 399.332

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 563.558

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 45.336

Swedish kroner 36.578

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 333.219

Swiss franc 223.237

Norwegian kroner 042.417

Cyprus pound 586.801

Canadian dollar 259.916

Australian dollar 202.718

[05] Sunshine forecast for Wednesday

Fair weather is forecast for Wednesday throughout the country. Winds northwesterly moderate to strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 13C to 25C, in the Ionian and remaining mainland areas from 16C to 28C and in the rest of the country from 18C to 27C. Fair weather in Athens with temperatures between 18C and 27C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 16C to 25C.

[06] Domestic car market-Fiat ranks first

Passenger car sales in Greece increased by 2.8 per cent in May on a year-on-year basis for total of 28,780 units reaching a new record, according to data released on Wednesday.

New car registrations were up by 13 per cent in May compared to April, with Italian carmaker Fiat selling 3,260 units, gaining 11.3 per cent of the market and ranking first among passenger car retailers.

German subsidiary of GM, Opel, sold 3,146 units for 10.9 per cent of the market, Korean based Hyundai placed third with 7.8 per cent of the market and 2,236 units sold.

Japanese Toyota dropped to fourth place - following an excellent year in 2000 - selling 2,165 cars for a 7.5 per cent of the Greek passenger car market.

[07] Fanco SA-Kavasko Ltd- FYROM-Controlling interest

Listed Fanco S.A. decided to acquired a further 17 per cent of Kavasko Ltd. which is based in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for a total of 110 million drachmas, thus increasing its stake in the company to 51 per cent.

According to an announcement issued on Wednesday by Fanco the decision of the company's board of directors was part of a plan to increase the presence o the Fanco Group in the Balkan countries.

[08] Petzetakis S.A.-Saint Gobain-Trade agreement

Athens Stock Exchange listed Petzetakis S.A. announced on Wednesday the conclusion of an agreement with Saint Gobain PAM Hellas to promote on a whole sale level the latter's products in the Greek market.

Saint Gobain PAM Hellas is a subsidiary owned by French based multinational Saint Gobain listed in the Paris Stock Exchange.

[09] Derivatives Market-Close

Equity futures traded on the Athens Derivatives Exchange slumped on Tuesday, tracking a sell-off on the Athens bourse and underperforming their underlying indices.

The underlying FTSE/ASE 20 index closed 3.34 percent down, and the FTSE/ASE 40 ended 3.05 percent lower.

Traded were 11,805 contracts on turnover of 88.7 million euros.

[10] AEK Athens - Brazilian int'l - Doping

A second player from the AEK Athens football team has tested positive for the banned substance testosterone, the second time in three months that such an incident has been reported in relation to the same club.

According to reports, a urine sample taken from Brazilian under-21 international Rodrigo ?Ferougem? Ramos after a game with Panathinaikos last month has tested positive for the substance.

In the earlier incident involving an AEK player, a sports court in Athens in late April cleared Greek national team captain Thodoris Zagorakis of doping charges. The court had ruled that increased levels of testosterone detected in two separate urine samples taken from Zagorakis were the product of ?natural causes?, including recurring acne.

If found guilty Zagorakis could have been banned for up to two years from league play, the same penalty Ramos now faces.

On Tuesday, AEK called for the Brazilian national to return to Athens to submit a second sample.

?Since the age of eight, when I started playing football, I have never had the slightest connection with banned substances, I and cant give any explanation for this,? Ramos, a promising defender with the popular Athens club, was quoted as saying.

[11] ASE-close

Equity prices plunged on Tuesday pushing the general index below the 3,000-point support level on the Athens Stock Exchange, hit by selling by foreign institutional investors.

Traders said banks and telecommunications were particularly hit as emerging markets' funds continued exiting the Greek bourse.

They said that trading in banks and telecoms accounted for 62.32 percent of the day's total turnover.

The general index index ended 3.31 percent lower at 2,910.55 points, off its day's lows of 2,894.47 points, its lowest level this year, extending its decline for the sixth consecutive session. Analysts said the index would find support at the 2,900 level in the short-term.

Turnover was an improved 265.94 million euros, or 90.62 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 1,699.07 points, down 3.34 percent, and the FTSE/ASE 40 index dropped 3.05 percent to 328.83 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 280.70 points, off 2.92 percent.

[12] Greece - Slovenia - Kucan visit

European Union expansion topped the agenda of talks here on Tuesday between visiting Slovenian President Milan Kucan and Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, with the latter expressing a hope that negotiations between the 15-nation bloc and several candidate-states including Slovenia and Cyprus will conclude by 2002.

Simitis also expressed a conviction that relative accession treaties will be signed during Greeces six-month EU presidency in the first half of 2003, something that would allow new EU members to participate in the 2004 Euro-elections.

On his part, Kucan thanked Greek leadership for Athens support towards Ljubljanas efforts at vying for membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions, emphasising that Slovenia has proven itself a ?reliable partner?.

In terms of bilateral relations, an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation was signed, expected to be followed by the completion of pacts involving maritime and air transport cooperation.

[13] Local authorities begin process to legalise foreign immigrants

The process of recording and legalizing hundreds of thousands of foreigners living in Greece without residence or work permits began on Tuesday, though not without problems.

The process concerns immigrants that have been in Greece for a year or more and is due to be completed on August 2.

Municipalities around the country began accepting applications for the first time on Tuesday, though several problems were noted in central Athens, where the majority of the immigrants (200,000) currently live.

Athens municipality General Secretary George Vardalakis admitted to the ANA that only one of seven centres set up by the municipality for the purpose was operating on Tuesday, on the corner of Psarron and Maizonos Streets at Larisis Station, while a special phone line set up so that applicants could book an appointment was constantly busy because of the number of calls.

In addition to the 195 phone line for appointments, he added, applicants could dial 1464 to reach an information hotline that gave details of the process in seven languages.

[14] Forest fire in Oropos, northeast Attica under partial control

A forest fire which broke out in the northeastern Attica area of Oropos was partially under control, the fire department reported on Tuesday morning.

They could not yet give an estimate of the damages caused by the blaze, which had been burning uncontrollably since 2:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon in one of Attica's few remaining woodlands.

The fire department had unleashed a force of 450 firemen, 107 fire engines, seven fire-fighting aircraft and one helicopter to battle the blaze and were further assisted by 250 infantrymen and 50 municipal water tankers.

[15] Industrialist, Church benefactor Angelopoulos dies in Athens

Industrialist Panagiotis Angelopoulos, founder of the steelworks "Halyvourgiki" and a major benefactor of the Orthodox Church, died in Athens on Tuesday at the age of 93 at the Ygeia private hospital.

Angelopoulos was born in Gortynia in 1909 and his family moved to Athens in 1922. In 1932, Angelopoulos, his father and his brothers founded a cable manufacturing company and in 1948 they founded 'Halyvourgiki'. This was moved to Elefsina in 1953 and became the first heavy industry in Greece. In later years, Angelopoulos also became involved in shipping.

Angelopoulos was named a major benefactor of the Orthodox Church by Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios for paying to rebuild the Ecumenical Patriarchate's main building at Phanar, which had been razed during a fire in 1941, as well as helping restore the Patriarchate's library, the church of St. George and other church buildings.

Angelopoulos was survived by his wife Eleni, his two sons Theodoros and Constantine and four grandchildren.

He was the last to survive of his four brothers. His brother Yiannis died in 1974, while Dimitris was killed by the terrorist group 'November 17' in 1986 and the academic and economic Angelos died in 1995.

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