In Brief
Gov’t stake in Postal Savings at two-thirds after flotation The government’s total holding in Postal Savings Bank (TT) fell to 65.16 percent following the bank’s successful flotation last month, TT said in a stock market filing on yesterday. The government sold 34.84 percent of TT via a combined offering to local and foreign investors as part of this year’s privatizations agenda to pay down public debt, raising 611 million euros. TT said the government now holds a direct 55.16 percent stake, with state-owned Hellenic Post owning another 10 percent. Postal Savings, which went public at 12.50 euros a share, was well received in its trade debut, gaining almost 12 percent. (Reuters) Moody’s may upgrade Romania ratings LONDON (Reuters) – Moody’s Investors Service placed Romania’s Ba1 foreign and local currency ratings on review for a possible upgrade yesterday, citing continuing improvements in the debt profile and a reduced government debt burden. «Accession to the European Union in 2007/08 should anchor these improvements and provide impetus for a continuation of reforms,» Moody’s said in a statement. It said Romania’s large current account deficit is a ‘definite’ concern, but foreign direct investment flows are high and external debt remains moderate. Erdemir Turkey’s top administrative court has rejected a Competition Board objection to its decision to suspend the sale of a major stake in steelmaker Erdemir, the CNBC-E television channel reported yesterday. The court, the Council of State, suspended the sale in April after the Competition Board had given approval for the deal to go ahead. The TV station did not specify a source for the report, and there was no immediate comment from the court. Turkish army pension fund Oyak Group made the winning bid of $2.77 billion for a 46 percent stake in Erdemir last October. An association of engineers and architects had opened the court case, seeking the cancellation of the sale. (Reuters) Turkey’s C/A Turkey’s current account deficit amounted to $4.122 billion in April, central bank data showed yesterday, near a median forecast in a Reuters poll of $4.1 billion. In the first four months of the year as a whole, the deficit stood at $12.51 billion, compared with a deficit of $8.73 billion in the same period a year earlier. (Reuters) Credit expansion Greek total credit expansion accelerated to 17.9 percent year-on-year in April from a 17.7 percent annual pace in March, Bank of Greece provisional data showed yesterday. Navios Maritime Navios Maritime yesterday posted a net income of $5 million for the first quarter of 2006, against $13.0 million for the same period of 2005. EBITDA was $24.6 million compared to $14.7 million for the same period last year.
