Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-06-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek shipping resisting

[02] Pharmathen factory inaugurated

[03] Trade unions to hold protest rally

[01] Greek shipping resisting

Speaking to reporters, during a news conference, in the framework of the Posidonia 2010 Exhibition, Veniamis underlined that in an extremely volatile environment, characterized by instability of the global economy and inability to safely make any predictions over the shipping market's outlook, creating hurdles to drafting a credible business prospect even in the short-term, Greek shipping offered high-standard job positions to the country's youth.

Veniamis underlined that a process of attracting young people to the seaman profession, a trend supported by the Union in recent years, has began bearing fruits, justifying optimism that a significant part of an existing shortfall in merchant shipping officers could be covered in the next few years.

The president of the Shipowners Union also expressed his belief that the next day will find shipping under Greek management again at the forefront of global shipping, with a modern fleet and a long-term experience of offering high quality transport services to global trade.

[02] Pharmathen factory inaugurated

It is an investment amounting to 41 million euros, by one of the most important technologically advanced units for the production of pharmaceuticals in Europe, which is also the biggest in the pharmaceuticals sector, over the past 30 years in Greece.

"There is no growth dilemma, there is a one-path growth. Real Greece is here where we are and not the one that some are trying to convince us that we are in," Pangalos said.

"It is a project of vital significance, a growth breather initiative for the place, for Rodopi and all of Thrace. At a time when we are all aware of the difficult conjuncture that the country is facing and when all are speaking of growth, employment and investments, here in Sapes, it is being proved in practice that when private initiative wants, it can contribute substantively not only to the achievement of profit, which is the reasonable and legitimate aim of the functioning of every business, as well as to the development of wider regions through the creation of new jobs, the holding of the population in their place of residence, an increase in healthy competition, the transfer of know-how and the attraction of new investments that may possibly follow," he added.

The president of the Pharmathen group, Vassilios Katsos termed the new unit a "work of life", adding that with its investing programme the group "is going against the wind, sending a message of optimism in a difficult period for the country."

It was stressed during the inauguration that the total area of the Pharmathen's unit in Sapes is 17,000 square metres, it is creating 150 new jobs, while its production capacity will amount on an annual basis to 3 billion pills and 2 billion capsules.

At the same time, the new unit has been designed to meet the strictest European and American pharmaceutical production criteria, considering that 90 percent of its production will be destined for international markets.

[03] Trade unions to hold protest rally

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