In Brief
Motor Oil announces Iberdrola partnership Greek refiner Motor Oil and Spanish power company Iberdrola yesterday announced their cooperation in an electricity-production project through the majority participation of the latter in a Motor Oil subsidiary. Iberdrola acquired 70 percent of Greek power generator Korinthos Power from Motor Oil for an unspecified amount. It said the buy would enable it to take part in auctions for new combined-cycle power stations in Greece. Iberdrola said it considers Greece to be a strategic market where it already has a presence through its 49 percent stake in Rokas, Greece’s biggest wind-power operator. Montenegro applies for IMF membership WASHINGTON (AFP) – Newly independent Montenegro has applied to join the International Monetary Fund following its secession from a union with Serbia, the IMF announced yesterday. But for now, the IMF said it would continue to recognize Serbia as the continuing state of the old Serbia and Montenegro with full membership rights in the Washington-based organization. The IMF said in a statement that it had received a membership application from Montenegro on Tuesday, and the application would be considered «in due course.» In the meantime, «Serbia continues the membership of the former Serbia and Montenegro in the International Monetary Fund and retains all of this member’s quota in the Fund, and all assets in, and liabilities to, the IMF.» If Montenegro’s bid wins approval from the IMF board of governors, which represents the body’s full membership, it would become the Fund’s 185th member. Montenegro formally celebrated its independence on July 12 following a referendum that voted to break from longtime partner Serbia. Appeal rejected A Bulgarian court decided yesterday that French Vinci had no legal grounds on which to appeal against a government decision to grant a concession on two Black Sea airports to Germany’s Fraport. The Supreme Administrative Court rejected Vinci’s appeal as inadmissible, saying that under the Bulgarian law it cannot contest the decision because it was not selected to participate in the tender. «The Supreme Administrative Court left Vinci’s appeal without consideration as violating the judicial procedure,» the court said in a statement. The court’s decision can be appealed. The French consortium was not immediately available for comment. The government had earlier said only Germany’s Fraport met all tender criteria, and picked it in June to run and modernize its two Black Sea airports in Varna and Burgas. The tie-up of Vinci Airports and Vinci Concession appealed the decisions. Fraport outbid Vinci in the 35-year concession tender after an earlier process, in which the previous centrist government awarded the deal to Danish Copenhagen Airports, which collapsed last year. In the original tender, Fraport was ranked second and Vinci third. Fraport has offered to invest 176 million euros through 2009 and around 400 million euros for the whole lifespan of the concession. The concession deal is seen as part of Bulgaria’s efforts to modernize the gateways to its booming tourism industry before planned entry to the European Union next year. (Reuters)
