In Brief
Sioufas says entrepreneurship must acquire a good name The government will strive to spread the idea of competitiveness as broadly as possible and back it up with a series of measures which include a new legal framework for licensing enterprises to cut the time and cost of setting up a new business, and a new law on investment incentives, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas told an event of the Association of Greek Graduates of the London Business School. An «Academy for Entrepreneurship» will aim at promoting the positive image of entrepreneurship among young people, he added. The government will also amend a seven-year law on industrial and business parks. According to data by the World Economic Forum for 2003, Greece ranks 40th worldwide as regards the quality of the entrepreneurial environment, 39th in terms of the Business Competitiveness Index and 35th in terms of the Competitiveness/Development Index. In a report by the International Institute for Management Development (IIMD), Greece is in 44th position among 60 countries in terms of overall competitiveness, down 10 places from 2000. 2005 tourism promotion campaign more ambitious then ever The government will launch an aggressive promotion campaign for Greek tourism in a record number of 27 countries in November, earlier than ever this year, Tourism Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos said after a meeting with the prime minister yesterday. Also, the planned investment incentives law will include bold initiatives for the industry, to which the regular 2005 budget will devote 70 million euros, against 43 this year; and the public investment budget 75 million, against 38 million euros. Risk management One of the most important problems in risk management in Greece is that pricing does not take fully into account the borrowers’ creditworthiness, the value of collateral guarantees and the cost of securing long-term liquidity, the National Bank of Greece’s head of risk management, Michalis Oratis, told a conference on the realities posed by the global Basle II banking accord on asset management. He added this must change radically but requires great cost and know-how. Bank of Greece adviser Giorgos Christodoulakis said the central bank’s supervisory role acquires even greater weight under the Basle II rules, and that banks have a lot to gain by correctly calculating risk. The conference was organized by Ernst & Young and Systemic Risk Management. THY buys 15 Boeing planes Turkish Airlines has completed an order to buy 15 737-800 airliners from US manufacturer Boeing, the two companies said in a statement yesterday. The order, announced in July is worth $982.5 million (798.8 million euros) on the basis of catalog prices. Delivery of the airliners, which will replace Boeing 737 aircraft and other models, is to begin next year. Turkish Airlines operates an aging fleet of 65 aircraft. The government has signaled it wants to privatize the company, but an attempt was abandoned in 2001 due to insufficient interest by potential buyers. The airline carried 10.4 million passengers to 103 destinations in 2003, making a net profit of $147 million. (AFP)
