Piraeus Bank said yesterday it agreed to sell its 8.07 percent stake in the Bank of Cyprus to Marfin Popular Bank (MPB), for a capital gain of –170 million. Piraeus Bank, Greece’s fourth-largest lender, also said the two banks agreed to abstain from any rival takeovers until December 2010. Piraeus had tendered to buy at least 40 percent of MPB in a public offer due to expire on March 23. “Piraeus Bank, implementing its intention to sell the block of shares in the Bank of Cyprus, transfers the ownership of the shares to Marfin Popular Bank,” Piraeus said in a statement. “The sale of the block of shares in BoC maximizes the gain for our shareholders, a gain of 170 million euros. At the same time, it releases funds amounting to –500 million for the profitable growth of our activities,” Piraeus Bank’s Deputy Chairman George Provopoulos said in a statement. (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s top oil producer Lukoil does not expect US oil major ConocoPhillips to increase its stake in it to over 20 percent, Lukoil’s chief executive told reporters late on Monday. Vagit Alekperov denied speculation that he or other major stakeholders in Lukoil were planning to exchange their holdings for stakes in Conoco to help the US firm build up its holding. He also said Lukoil was optimistic about prospects for reviving a deal to develop Iraq’s giant West Qurna deposit following recent meetings with Iraqi officials. He said more talks would follow in March or April. Alekperov also said Lukoil had suspended a project to build a refinery in Turkey due to poor economics and would expand its existing refinery in Bulgaria instead. (Reuters)

Greek construction activity, measured by the number of new building permits, dropped 57.5 percent year-on-year in December, the National Statistics Service (NSS) said yesterday. The NSS said 7,021 new permits were issued nationwide in December, corresponding to 7.692 million cubic meters, a decline of 70.3 percent from the year earlier figure. A total of 81,933 new permits were issued around the country for the full year in 2006, down 14.4 percent from the year earlier, amounting to 104.466 million cubic meters, the NSS said. (Reuters)

The property arm of the Kuwait Investment Authority has bought Turkey’s largest shopping center, Istanbul’s Cevahir, for $750 million, the company said yesterday. The purchase by St Martins Property Corporation from the Istanbul municipality and the Cevahir family, was announced last year but the overall price for the 346,000-square-meter mall was not disclosed. The Cevahir deal could act as an indicator for the possible sale of a stake in rival centre Kanyon – a large luxury mall in Istanbul’s business district. Is REIT, a real estate firm owned by Turkey’s biggest bank Is Bank, is considering selling its 50 percent stake in the center and a decision is expected at the end of next month. Increasing wealth, consumer confidence and a fast-growing economy have contributed to strong foreign interest in EU candidate Turkey’s real estate and retail sectors. (Reuters)