Listed telecoms equipment maker Intracom Holdings remained in the red in the first half of the year but trimmed losses, it said yesterday. Intracom Holdings, which is also active in defense and construction, said it lost 8.8 million euros after tax, down from a loss of 18.1 million euros in the same period last year. Lower losses in the first half were mainly due to a favorable base effect as last year’s first half was burdened by a capital loss after Intracom Holdings sold a 51 percent stake in its telecom subsidiary to Russia’s Sistema. Sales grew 25.2 percent to 182.9 million euros, the company said in a stock market filing. Intracom said the acquisition of small Greek telecom providers Attica Telecoms and Teledome this year will add value to the group as it seeks to expand beyond its core telecom equipment business. (Reuters)

ISTANBUL – Turkey’s trade deficit surged 32.1 percent year-on-year to $6.134 billion in July, the Turkish Statistics Institute said yesterday, sharply exceeding a forecast in a Reuters poll. The July deficit figure compared with a median forecast of $5.35 billion in a Reuters poll. Analysts had forecast that the deficit would widen despite strong foreign demand for exports as Turkish imports of raw materials were expected to remain high. The trade deficit is a major component of Turkey’s large current account gap, which is a major weak spot of the country’s fast-growing economy. Exports rose 26 percent year-on-year to $8.907 billion in July, while imports climbed 28.5 percent to $15.041 billion. In the poll, analysts had predicted exports at $8.8 billion and imports rising to $14.2 billion. In the first seven months of the year, exports grew 24.3 percent to $58.413 billion, while imports rose 18.6 percent to $92.512 billion. (Reuters)

German bank BayernLB apologized to depositors of a Croatian bank they owned and abandoned in 2002, increasing its chances of winning approval from Croatia to take over the local arm of Hypo Group Alpe-Adria. Croatia’s Central Bank Governor Zeljko Rohatinski rejected BayernLB’s first bid in July and demanded that they apologize to depositors of Rijecka Banka and boost the capital of Hypo’s Croatian unit to gain approval. A source close to the deal told Reuters BayernLB had agreed to all conditions to overcome the central bank’s resistance to its acquisition of the Croatian businesses, which brought in a quarter of Hypo’s earnings last year. (Reuters)

Marfin Financial Group confirmed that it has submitted a joint offer with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) for the acquisition of 87 percent of Turkish shipping company UN Ro-Ro Group. The Turkish firm is considered a leader in short-sea shipping within the Mediterranean. It owns seven vehicle-carriers and expects the delivery of another four.