In Brief
Alogoskoufis in New York for conference on Greece Economy and Finance Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis arrived in New York yesterday, heading a government and business mission to the annual economic and business conference on investment in Greece. He is set to visit the New York Stock Exchange today and meet with former US Treasury Secretary and current President of Citigroup Robert Rubin. Tomorrow he will be the keynote speaker at the conference. Cyprus’s Louis gets $55 mln for sunken cruise liner NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriot tour group Louis said yesterday it has received a $55 million insurance payout from the sinking of its Sea Diamond cruise ship near the Greek island of Santorini this year. Louis had acquired the Sea Diamond in 2006 for $35 million. The 22,412-ton Sea Diamond sank in April a day after hitting a reef near Santorini as it tried to dock. More than 1,500 people were evacuated but a French man and his daughter went missing and are presumed dead. Louis last week said a faulty nautical map led to the ship ramming the reef, saying official charts it had been using miscalculated its length. Greek map experts have rejected the suggestion. Refiners’ mixed results Hellenic Petroleum, Greece’s largest oil refiner, said yesterday nine-month net profit rose 3 percent, above market forecasts, boosted by foreign exchange gains. Net profits came in at 226 million euros ($330.6 million), while sales fell 3 percent to 5.9 billion euros. By contrast, rival Motor Oil Hellas reported a drop in nine-month profits after refining margins narrowed and sales from trading fell. Net income fell to 119.2 million euros ($175 million) from 137.2 million euros a year earlier. (Reuters, Bloomberg) Alfa-Beta profit up Alfa-Beta Vassilopoulos, the Greek supermarket chain controlled by Belgium’s Delhaize Group, said third-quarter profits rose 68 percent as sales increased. The shares rose the most in almost three months. Net income increased, aided by a lower tax rate, to 8.9 million euros from 5.3 million euros a year earlier, according a statement today to the Athens bourse. Sales increased 12 percent to 279 million euros. The company plans to have 162 points of sale by the end of the year, compared with 154 at the end of September. (Bloomberg) Romanian telecoms law A draft law in Romania could hurt the independence of the country’s telecoms regulator, the European Union’s executive arm said yesterday. EU Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding has not yet received a reply to a letter she sent to Romania on October 26 about the draft, her spokesman told a news conference. (Reuters) Intralot syndicated loan The world’s second-largest lottery systems provider, Intralot, launched a 300-million-euro syndicated loan to refinance existing debt and fund acquisitions, it said yesterday.
