In Brief
Intracom wins $9.8 mln contract from Raytheon Intracom Holdings, a Greek company with interests in telecommunications and defense, won a $9.8 million contract from Raytheon Co to develop electronics for rolling airframe missile (RAM) surface-to-air missiles. Intracom will make infrared seekers for the missiles’ guidance systems, the Athens-based company said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. The contract is expected to last two years, with the possibility of extension beyond 2010, Intracom said. Intracom shares yesterday rose 13 cents, or 7.47 percent, to 1.84 euros, valuing the company at 248 million euros. Raytheon, the world’s largest missile maker, produces the RAM system with Ramsys. The naval forces of five countries utilize RAM missiles. (Bloomberg) Green light for Votanikos project seen end-July Greece’s largest real estate developer, Babis Vovos, expects final approval by the end of July on its biggest development project, which could boost net asset value up to 30 percent, its CEO said yesterday. Babis Vovos is tapping growing Greek demand for business space, countering the downward trend in Greece’s housing market by developing much-needed office and shopping areas. Babis Vovos has been awaiting a green light to build and develop a mall alongside a major sports stadium in the underdeveloped Athens suburb of Votanikos, with the delay hurting the company’s share price and weighing on sentiment. «We expect to get a final construction license by the end of the month,» Babis Vovos CEO Aris Vovos told Reuters in an interview. «We plan to hand over the complex by September 2009, with it becoming operational by the end of next year.» Approval would fast-track construction, helping the company meet an ambitious 18-month completion target, and boost net asset value (NAV) per share by between 20-30 percent. «Current NAV is at about 20 euros, will close the year at about 22.5-23 euros, with the Votanikos project adding about 5.5-7 euros to NAV by its completion,» he added. Alpha bond Moody’s yesterday assigned a long-term, published, monitored, definitive rating of Aaa to the 1-billion-euro Series 1 covered bonds due 2011 and to the 1-billion-euro Series 2 covered bonds due 2013 issued by Alpha Covered Bond under the terms of the 8-billion-euro covered bond program unconditionally guaranteed by Alpha Bank. The rating takes into account the characteristics of the Greek covered bond legal framework, to the extent believed to be applicable, and the strength and weaknesses of the structure of the program, among other factors. Bulgaria’s jobless Bulgaria’s jobless rate fell to 5.97 percent in June from 6.19 percent the previous month due to increased seasonal employment, data showed yesterday. The Labor Ministry said 221,089 people were without jobs in June, down by 8,044 from the previous month. The unemployment rate was 7.4 percent in June 2007, data from the national employment agency showed. Higher seasonal employment in tourism, transport and the agricultural sector contributed to the drop in the jobless rate in June, the ministry said. (Reuters)
