In Brief
Bank of Cyprus raises 573 mln euros in bonds LONDON(Reuters) -Bank of Cyprus has raised 573.4 million euros (US$902.1 million) in a convertible bonds issue, which was oversubscribed, to strengthen its capital base and to expand its operations. Bank of Cyprus shares rose 2.26 percent to 9.04 euros yesterday on the back of the successful deal. The bonds, arranged by Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Cyprus Investment and Securities Corp, attracted total subscriptions of 583 million euros, the bank said in a statement. About 85 percent of the convertible bonds were taken by Bank of Cyprus shareholders, while the remaining 15 percent of the issue sold to investors within an hour, a banking source said. The convertible bonds, which convert into shares at 10.50 euros per share, offer investors a fixed interest of 7.5 percent for the first year and 100 basis points plus six-month Euribor until 2013, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters. South Stream gas pipeline to cost $20 bln MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s Energy Ministry has put the preliminary cost of the planned South Stream gas pipeline, a major new route to Southern Europe, at US$20 billion, a ministry spokeswoman said yesterday. The route, which will be jointly built by Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom and Italy’s ENI, is expected to take 30 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year and rival the US and EU-backed Nabucco pipeline to Southern Europe. The ministry spokeswoman quoted Energy Minister Sergey Shmatko as saying the project could cost $20 billion at his meeting with Italy’s minister for economic development, Claudio Scajola, earlier this week in Moscow. ENI’s CEO Paolo Scaroni said last year South Stream may cost at least 10 billion euros ($15.73 billion). «(The $20 billion figure) is one of the preliminary estimates we have, based on a preliminary feasibility study. The cost is likely to be changed in future,» said the spokeswoman. Gazprom’s spokesman declined to comment and said it would issue a final estimate of South Stream’s cost after its feasibility study is concluded by the end of next year. The pipeline, which is expected to be commissioned in 2013, is to travel 900 kilometers under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and then split into two onshore routes – to Italy and Central Europe. Price war Affichage Holding AG, Switzerland’s largest billboard advertiser, said first-half profit fell 24 percent after a »price war» in Greece at the start of the year. Net income declined to 15.1 million Swiss francs (US$14.4 million) from 19.9 million francs a year earlier, the Geneva-based company said in a statement yesterday. Sales rose 38 percent to 222.9 million francs. Affichage, the world’s sixth-biggest outdoor advertiser, bought majority stakes in two Greek advertisers last year as it aims for sales outside of Switzerland to contribute a quarter of group revenue. Affichage also operates in central and eastern Europe, including Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Romania and Serbia. (Bloomberg) Sales rise Greece’s retail sales by volume rose for the third consecutive month in May, rising 1.4 percent year-on-year compared to a 2.3 percent rise in April, a sign recent consumer spending softness may be waning. Sales by revenues rose 5.8 percent year-on-year in May after a 6.6 percent rise in the previous month, data showed. (Reuters)
