IN BRIEF
Underwriters set PPC flotation price range Underwriters for the Public Power Corporation (PPC) yesterday set a final price range of 12.30 to 14.70 euros per share for the flotation of about 15 percent of the former state-owned electricity monopoly. This confirmed an indicative price range set on November 23. PPC, which lost its power generation monopoly in February, is the biggest state-run firm in the Greek government’s privatization program, with company officials estimating market capitalization at about 1.0 trillion drachmas ($2.6 billion). A final price for the initial public offering is due on December 10 and the stock is expected to start trading on the Athens bourse on December 12. (Reuters) Special body for stock market cases. Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis has announced the formation of a special judicial body to handle stock market cases. Speaking in Parliament on Friday, he said the measure will be included in a draft bill on the capital market and its supervisory authorities, which will also provide for the separation of penal from disciplinary responsibilities, the setting up of a disciplinary council of the supervisory authorities and their regular reporting to Parliament. The formation of a separate judicial authority for stock market cases has been a demand of all sides involved and of the judicial corps itself for some time, as the lack of specialized judges often leads to delays and deadlock. The Athens Stock Exchange said on Friday it is currently looking into the files of 83 firms which have applied for listing. Another 287 applications are pending, of which 170 are for the bourse’s parallel small-cap market. People with special needs. Athens International Airport (AIA) is the only Greek company that qualified for the final phase of the European Commission’s «Planning for All» competition for companies with a commendable record in facilities for individuals with special needs. The award, titled «Breaking Barriers» is due to be announced in Vienna today, the European Day for People with Special Needs. Other contestants include Siemens, Fiat, the Technical University of Madrid and British Telecom. Mladic. Bosnian-Serb wartime commander General Ratko Mladic, one of the world’s most wanted men, is in Serbia and under Yugoslav army protection, a Serbian political source said on Saturday. The source said Mladic – indicted by the UN war crimes court for genocide during the 1992-95 Bosnian conflict – was staying in a military facility secured by 80 army soldiers. «He’s in Serbia and is staying in a military facility,» the source told Reuters, declining to give the exact location. The source suggested Serbian authorities had made no attempt to arrest him, fearing a bloodbath and lack of approval for such an operation at the federal level. (Reuters)
