In Brief
Ericsson says it has won Greek order for city mobile networks STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Telecom equipment maker Ericsson said yesterday it won an order to build networks in seven Greek cities. The terms were not disclosed. Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile network maker, said it would be the prime integrator of Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) to support the launch of seven digital cities across Greece. «Ericsson will supply and install fiberoptic telecommunications networks in the municipalities of Agrinion, Hania, Ermoupolis, Ierapetra, Iraklion, Kozani and Rethymnon,» the firm said in a statement. The networks will initially link buildings such as hospitals, town hall, schools and universities in the cities. Lloyd’s List awards for Hellenic Seaways On Friday Hellenic Seaways was awarded the prize for «Best Company for the Year 2007 in Passenger Shipping» after a vote by Lloyd’s List. The company’s new ship, Nissos Chios also won the award in the «Best Ship of the Year 2007» category. HSW President Costas Klironomos and Chief Executive Giorgos Strintzis collected the awards for the company at a ceremony attended also by Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis and UK Ambassador Simon Gass. Piraeus in Cyprus Piraeus Bank and Arab Bank signed an agreement yesterday for the Greek bank to acquire the Arab firm’s four branches in Cyprus. The 15-million-euro deal also includes a wholly owned 4,600 sq. m. head office building in Nicosia, 105 staff, 126 million euros in loans and 246 million euros in deposits. Cypriot refinancing Cyprus’s central bank kept its key refinancing rate unchanged at 4.5 percent yesterday, it said. The island’s interest rates will fall by default to the lower eurozone rate of 4 percent when the island adopts the euro on January 1. (Reuters) Petkim doubles output The new owners of Turkish petrochemical company Petkim aim to invest $2 billion to double capacity by 2015, Turcas board member Batu Aksoy said yesterday. He stated that revenues from the petrochemical business would rise to $4 billion from $1.5 billion and production would rise to 6.4 million tons a year. (Reuters) Turkcell in Syria Turkey’s leading mobile phone operator Turkcell said yesterday it had decided to start the necessary work to bid for a controlling stake in Syriatel Mobile Telecom. Turkcell said in a statement to the stock exchange it was looking at buying a stake of at least 51 percent in the company with a 55 percent market share in Syria. (Reuters)
