Marfin Investment Group (MIG) said yesterday its recent acquisition of a 10.8 percent stake in OTE telecom is a strategic, long-term investment. “MIG’s position in OTE may be increased or reduced depending on market conditions, stock market conditions and developments in the strategy and results of OTE,” it added in a statement. MIG said also that it wishes to participate in OTE’s management, with the aim of helping to shape the key decisions necessary in view of the rapid developments in the sector, and intends to cooperate fully with the government on this. But separately, Economy Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis reiterated that the government, now holding a 28 percent stake, is determined to fend off any aggressive buyout moves for OTE and, if need be, to find a strategic partner from Europe.

An Athens court yesterday rejected an injunction filed by US-Italian firm G-Tech against a decision by gaming company OPAP to allocate the modernization of its information technology infrastructures to Intralot. The 95-million-euro contract involves the technical support provided by the corporation and its betting agents for three years. Intralot landed the contract after the tender involving Intralot, G-Tech and Scientific Games was declared void.

Cyprus will launch a trading platform for bonds and treasury bills on the primary and secondary markets which will be integrated with the EuroMTS program, the central bank said yesterday. The move is part of an attempt by Cyprus to boost the liquidity of its bond market before it adopts the euro on January 1.

Greek producer price inflation slowed to 1.2 percent in August from a 1.6 percent annual pace in July, the National Statistics Service said yesterday. “We expect higher producer prices in the next months, mainly due to the fast rise in oil prices and an unfavorable base effect,” said National Bank economist Nick Magginas. (Reuters)

US energy firm AES Corp will look into the possibility of an initial public offering for its Turkish venture AES-IC Ictas to fund fresh investment, AES’s CEO Paul Hanrahan said yesterday. He also told Reuters that AES, which has started construction of two hydropower plants in Turkey, aimed to have 10-15 percent of the Turkish electricity market in the long term. (Reuters)

Romania expects to reap its lowest maize crop in its post-communist history, of around 3.6 million tons, due to prolonged drought, the Agriculture Ministry said yesterday. (Reuters)