EFG Eurobank announced yesterday the opening of a representative in Moscow, which will offer assistance to companies interested in entering the Russian market and to Russians seeking information about the Eurobank group. Sources from the Greek bank suggested that the Russian market is included in the strategic planning for the international expansion of the group and the new office is the first step in this direction. Eurobank also announced yesterday that it had received approval from the Central Bank of Cyprus for operating a subsidiary on the island named EFG Eurobank Cyprus Ltd.

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus produced a budget surplus exceeding 3 percent of its gross domestic product in 2007, more than doubling official projections, preliminary statistics office data showed yesterday. The eurozone member yielded a 505.5-million-euro surplus in its national accounts last year, contrasting with the 2006 deficit of 172.5 million euros. “This represents 3.3 percent of gross domestic product,” an official at the statistics department said. A Finance Ministry official concurred, saying authorities had expected a budget surplus of around 3 percent, exceeding initial expectations of a 1.5 percent surplus last year.

Turkey ran a budget deficit of 4.870 billion lira ($3.717 billion) in March, a sharp deterioration from a surplus of 4.841 billion lira in the same month last year, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. The primary deficit, which excludes interest payments on government debt, stood at 117 million lira in March, compared with a primary surplus of 8.820 billion lira in the same month last year. The statement from the Finance Ministry showed budget expenditure jumped to 18.649 billion lira in March from 15.641 billion lira in the same month last year. (Reuters)

Bulgaria has repaid early a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation worth 4.58 billion yen ($45.31 million), including interest, the finance ministry said yesterday. The payback is a consequence of the early retirement of six loans to the World Bank last month, worth 267 million euros and $12.8 million, the ministry said. (Reuters)

Romania’s current account deficit widened by 5.6 percent in the first two months of 2008 compared with the same period last year, but export growth helped contain external imbalances, data showed yesterday. The deficit for January and February reached 2.2 billion euros. (Reuters)

Russian electricity trader Inter RAO wants to take part in a $2.5 billion project to build power stations in Turkey, the head of its would-be partner in the project, energy technology firm TekhnoPromExport, said yesterday. (Reuters)