In Brief
Gov’t to shed majority control of OPAP in July The government may sell a fourth tranche of shares in Europe’s largest betting company, OPAP, in July at a price range of 19-20 euros, a source close to the deal said yesterday. «The probability is there will be an offering in July. This, of course, will depend on market conditions. If conditions are very favorable, the government will seek to sell the shares earlier,» the source told Reuters. Last month, Parliament passed legislation allowing the state to reduce its 51 percent stake in OPAP to as low as 34 percent. The government last offloaded a 24.45 percent stake in July 2003. The Finance Ministry has said OPAP shares will be sold via a public offering. The source said the price range was logical but added this could be revised down, as OPAP stock could come under pressure ahead of the share sale. (Reuters) National Bank to report results on June 30 National Bank, Greece’s largest lender, said yesterday it will release its first-quarter financial results on June 30, reporting under international accounting standards (IFRS). «With a view to informing the investment community about the financial impact of the new accounting standards, National Bank of Greece will publish, before the announcement of Q1 results, a special transition report to IFRS,» the bank said. Greek listed companies have to report financial results under IFRS, starting from this year’s first quarter. IFRS have been adopted by the European Union from January 1 for Europe’s listed firms. (Reuters) Women farmers The Ministry of Agricultural Development announced it will implement 60 educational programs across the country of 150 hours each for women farmers and offer incentives and support to innovative women’s farm cooperatives (WFC). In July an exhibition of WFC products will take place, while 12 WFC will participate in the agrotourism festival to be held on the island of Lesvos, including a training seminar for local WFCs. Greece has 94 WFC with 2,260 members. Greek-Turkish bank Izmir Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ekrem Demirtas said yesterday efforts are under way for the establishment of a Greek-Turkish bank. He added that Greek-Turkish Chamber of Commerce President Panayiotis Koutsikos wrote in a letter that the Athens-based bank will have a branch in Istanbul, with two more to come a year later in Thessaloniki and Izmir. The bank’s capital will be between 100 and 200 million euros, covered equally by the two countries. Unlucky find British oil explorer Regal Petroleum lost over half its market value yesterday after the company said a key appraisal well in Greece had been deemed non-commercial after drilling. By 0723 GMT, Regal shares were down 55 percent at 116 pence. Regal said in a statement that flow rates achieved from its Kallirachi-2 appraisal well were minimal and deemed non-commercial. The fall had a knock-on effect on Evolution Group, Regal’s broker, which last month placed 11.5 million Regal shares at 390 pence each. Evolution shares were down 9 percent. (Reuters)
