In Brief
Large Chinese delegation arriving for a four-day visit today Chinese Vice Premier Li Lanqing is arriving in Iraklion, Crete, today for a four-day visit to Greece at the head of a 95-member delegation. He will be welcomed and given a tour of the city’s museum and Knossos archaeological site by Greek National Tourist Organization Chairman Yiannis Patelis. The delegation, which includes Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng, Deputy Education Minister Yuan Guiren and Deputy Science and Technology Minister Deng Nan, will be met by Greek Development Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos at Athens airport at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Talks are scheduled at the Development Ministry at 10 a.m. on Monday, to be followed by a joint press conference. Afterward, Li Lanqing will meet Prime Minister Costas Simitis. The delegation will visit tourist sites in Corinth and Argolis on Tuesday before departing on Wednesday. China has said it will designate Greece as an official tourism destination. Moody’s will probably leave Greece’s rating unchanged Moody’s credit rating agency considers the probability of upgrading Greece’s standing at this time as rather remote but rules out a downgrade, according to Citigroup sources in Athens. The agency considers that a probable revision of EU debt statistics by Eurostat later this year – to include at least part of securitization revenues and convertible bonds – would affect Greece more than any other EU country, since Greece’s revenues from such operations amounted to 5.7 billion euros (4.4 percent of GDP) last year alone, far exceeding those of other member states relative to GDP, the sources said. Clothing & textiles Forty-two Greek enterprises are among the 1,355 largest in the clothing and textile sectors in 44, mostly developed, countries, according to a special survey based on 2000 data. The study, conducted annually by the European Clothing and Textiles Association (EURATEX) and presented by Greece’s Federation of Textile and Clothing Enterprises (SEPEE), includes 532 clothing and 823 textile enterprises listed in terms of turnover, among which are 18 and 24 Greek firms respectively. Fanco, in 350th position, and Sex Form, in 384th, are the two Greek firms in the biggest clothiers’ list, while Klonatex and the Akkas group figure in the 158th and 290th positions among textile manufacturers respectively. US firms lead in both categories, posting 11 and 10 firms in the top 20 of each respectively. The European Union has 327 of the clothing and 441 of the textile enterprises included in the survey. US firm Sarah Lee is the world’s largest textile industry. Industry data Stat Bank has released a 378-page guide on «Greek Industry in 2001.» The publication includes the profiles, results and key indicators of the largest industrial enterprises in terms of sales, and separate reports on industrial sectors and their prospects. (www.statbank.gr) Star system The Hoteliers’ Chamber has asked the Council of State to annul a presidential decree introducing the star system for grading hotels. «Christodoulakis has said his single most important priority is foreign direct investments,» she said.
