In Brief
European authorities to regulate health claims on food products The European Union is setting stricter conditions for the health claims made by certain food products, demanding that there be a direct link between food or ingredients and a claim of health benefits. Local food companies will have to submit health benefit claims to the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) by November 2. EFET will then send the Greek list of health claims to the European Commission, while claims involving special food products or food supplements must be submitted to the National Pharmaceutical Organization (EOF). The Commission will draft an EU-wide list of permissible health claims as well as all the prerequisites for their use. Intracom to add Teledome to its telecom armory IT and telecom equipment group Intracom yesterday announced the initialing of an agreement for the full acquisition of alternative telecom operator Teledome. Market sources said the deal was expected to be completed in September or October, after the completion of due diligence. The price is estimated at around 15-20 million euros but Intracom will also assume liabilities of 26 million euros. Teledome has about 80,000 fixed-line clients, and reported a net profit of 1.8 million euros in 2006. Intracom also acquired Attica Telecoms three months ago, and Hellas On Line last year. Turkish Basel put-off Turkey’s banking watchdog said yesterday it would postpone the application of Basel II rules for Turkish banks until early 2009. The BDDK regulator said in a statement the application of accounting methods to assess banks’ credit risk and capital adequacy – the heart of Basel II – would be delayed until 2009. (Reuters) Greek work figures Greeks with full-time jobs work an average of 40.7 hours a week, against an EU average of 40.5 hours, Eurostat said yesterday. Only 61 percent of the population is registered as economically active, compared to 64.4 percent in Europe. But the figure is unevenly split between men and women, 74.6 percent and 47.4 percent respectively. Delphi in Romania Delphi Corp said it plans to open a new diesel engine management system components plant in Iasi, northeast Romania. The initial location is a pre-existing industrial site which will begin the first phase of manufacturing operations before year-end, it added. The automotive supplier said the investment in Iasi could accumulate to exceed 100 million euros. (Reuters) MIG-Vivartia Marfin Investment Group (MIG) announced it has increased its stake in conglomerate Vivartia to 57.858 percent, after acquiring a further 2,979,169 shares of the company on Friday at prices ranging from 24.92 to 25 euros. Investment bank UBS yesterday upgraded its recommendation for the MIG stock and raised its target share price from 7 to 7.40 euros.
