Greece plans to give public sector workers above-inflation pay rises in 2007 to help bridge the standard-of-living gap with the rest of the EU, Labor Minister Savvas Tsitouridis said on Wednesday. “Whatever the circumstances, we will have above-inflation pay rises (in the public sector next year), because our aim is to keep closing the gap of Greek wages and pensions with other EU members,” he told Reuters in an interview. Consumer inflation was running at a 3.2 percent annual clip in June, above the eurozone average. Greek officials have warned that rising oil prices may push it to 4 percent in July. Barring a major crisis, the government will give above-inflation pay rises next year, as it did in 2006, no matter how high inflation rises, the minister said. (Reuters)

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey’s Calik Energy said yesterday it has applied with Indian Oil Corp for a license to build a $4.9 billion refinery near the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. The planned refinery at the mouth of the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline will have the capacity to process 300,000 barrels per day. The oil export hub of Ceyhan is also the terminal for a pipeline from Iraq’s Kirkuk oilfields. “We will be up against a deficit of petrol goods in Turkey in the near future with the current increase in energy demand,” said CEO Erdal Celik in a statement. Calik Energy is also building a crude pipeline from Turkey’s Black Sea coast with Italy’s ENI to Ceyhan. “The integrated refinery and petrochemical complex we plan to build in Ceyhan will work along international standards, making it possible to compete on the global market,” said Celik. The port is already the site of the newly inaugurated BTC oil pipeline.

Banks and the Federation of Bank Employees’ Unions (OTOE) yesterday agreed to meet on August 28 with a view to thrashing out a collective pay pact, which most employers had initially opposed. “The start of negotiations between the two sides signals the end of a long period of dispute... Bank profits allow a really satisfactory collective pay pact,” said OTOE.

Piraeus Bank yesterday initiated a new round of rate increases in response to the European Central Bank’s upping its basic rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 3 percent. The increases, also by 25 bps in most types of credit and deposits, come into effect on Monday. More commercial banks are expected to announce revised rates today.

The Athens bourse yesterday placed plastic pipe manufacturer Petzetakis in the “under supervision” category, due to continuing uncertainty regarding the company’s debt rescheduling. The firm’s common stock closed near the 20 percent limit down yesterday. Livanis Publishing is replacing Petzetakis on the FTSE/ASE Small-Cap 80 and the FTSE/ASE 140 indices.

Nestle Hellas has increased its stake in Delta Ice Cream to 98.5 percent, the ice-cream maker said in a stock-market filing yesterday. Nestle initially bought a 96.53 percent stake in Delta Ice Cream for 111 million euros in May. (Reuters)