In Brief
Bank of Greece staff have called off strike Bank of Greece workers yesterday called off their five-week strike action, which has caused considerable disruption in the country’s payments systems, following an agreement with Economy Minister Giorgos Alogoskoufis. The deal provides for the setting up of a committee which will study the provisions of the recently enacted pension reform that affect the central bank staff. The staff opposed the merger of their pension fund with others, arguing that it was not in line with the autonomy of the central bank and the requirements of the European System of Central Banks. The European Central Bank had backed the strikers. Intralot buys stake in Slovenske Loterie Intralot, the world’s second-largest gaming-services provider, agreed to acquire Slovenske Loterie, a Slovakian lottery operator, gaining entry to the Eastern European country. Intralot will buy a 51 percent stake, with an option to increase its holding to up to 81 percent in the next two years, the company said yesterday in a press release. The total value of the transaction, which will take the form of a capital increase, is 3.1 million euros, Intralot said. Slovenske Loterie holds licenses in Slovakia to operate video-lottery terminals and automated roulettes. (Bloomberg) Kozloduy exceeds target Bulgaria’s Kozloduy nuclear power plant, which runs two 1,000-megawatt reactors, said electricity production exceeded planned output by 6.5 percent in the first quarter. Production was 4.51 terawatt hours in the quarter, compared with the 4.24 terawatt hours that was planned, Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant EAD said in an e-mailed statement. The company didn’t provide year-earlier data and didn’t give a reason for the improvement. (Bloomberg) Turk Telekom IPO An initial public offering for a stake in Turkish fixed-line operator Turk Telekom could be postponed should market conditions be poor, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim was quoted as saying yesterday. The offering, which follows a privatization sale to Oger in 2005, is planned for May. «If the market is dead we will not do the offering. If the market is lively it will be carried out. The basis of the IPO is the public interest and we will look at that,» Yildirim, whose portfolio includes telecoms, was quoted as saying by Zaman daily. (Reuters) Romanian tax revenue up Romanian government revenue increased 36 percent in March from a year earlier, as rising wages boosted income tax collection. State revenue increased to 10.42 billion lei ($4.3 billion) from 7.6 billion lei in the same month of last year, the Finance Ministry said. Rising wages, which increased by an annual 31 percent in January, falling unemployment and higher investment since the country joined the European Union last year, have boosted income tax collection. (Bloomberg)
