In Brief
Eurobank Properties agrees to Romanian deal Eurobank Properties said yesterday it has agreed to purchase Romanian company Retail Development, which owns an 8,980-square-meter store, for 14.5 million euros. Eurobank Properties said it will purchase the building, located in Iasi, which has been leased to retailer Praktiker for a 15-year period. Eurobank Properties, a subsidiary of lender Eurobank, will pay for the acquisition from funds raised for a recent share capital increase. Eurobank Properties, whose shares are listed on the Athens bourse, has a market capitalization of some 490 million euros. April industrial output rises 2.0 pct y/y Greece’s industrial output in April advanced 2.0 percent in April, versus a 5.4 percent drop the previous month, according to the National Statistics Service (NSS). Manufacturing output for the same month advanced 3.1 percent year-on-year, from a drop of 3.5 percent in March, NSS added. Economists said figures for April were not negatively affected by worker strike action and that they expect positive developments in industrial output for the year. Titan plans Cement company Titan plans to boost its presence in developing markets by securing half of its cement production from these countries by 2010, the company said yesterday. Titan also said that these markets will help it to reduce its reliance on mature markets, such as Greece and the USA. Political tension Turkey’s bond yields rose to a new 17-month high yesterday, hurt by weak global markets and political uncertainty at home over a court case aimed at closing down the ruling party. The yield on the January 13, 2010, benchmark bond traded at 21.25 percent in Tuesday-dated trade after closing the day at 21.22, compared to levels around 20.58 percent on Friday. The main Istanbul share index, which saw losses last Friday following a decision from the Constitutional Court that was seen as increasing prospects of the ruling Justice and Development Party being closed down, ended 1.47 percent lower at 39,061.71 points. «Today’s losses are a follow-up from Friday. US markets closed sharply lower on Friday and part of our losses were a reaction to that, but people are very nervous about domestic politics,» said Cemal Demirtas, an analyst at Oyak Securities. (Reuters) Budget surplus Turkey’s May budget surplus before interest payments widened to 9.54 billion liras ($7.7 billion), according to preliminary figures released by the Treasury. The primary surplus widened from 7.3 billion liras in May 2007. The overall budget, including interest payments on debt, posted a surplus of 7.96 billion liras in the month, compared with 3 billion liras a year ago, the Treasury in Ankara said in a statement sent by e-mail yesterday. Turkey last month announced it was loosening budget targets for the year and now plans to produce an ex-interest surplus this year of 3.5 percent of economic output, the same as in 2007. Previous plans had aimed for a tighter budget. The Treasury’s figures are based on cash receipts and spending. The Finance Ministry is due to publish final budget numbers later this month. (Bloomberg)
