In Brief
MIG Real Estate raises 10 million euros in IPO MIG Real Estate, a subsidiary of Marfin Investment Group, said yesterday it raised 10 million euros ($13.9 million) from its initial public offering, the first in the Athens bourse’s main market since December 2007. MIG Real Estate sold 2.5 million common shares at 4 euros a piece, it said in a statement. The company had said earlier this month it expected to raise between 8.75 and 10.25 million euros from the sale. The shares issued are for 25 percent of the company, with the balance held by Marfin Investment Group (MIG), Greece’s biggest buyout fund, and local Greek investors. MIG will use the proceeds to retire debt. (Reuters) Cyprus Stock Exchange plans to cut tariffs The Cyprus Stock Exchange, the bourse operator in the euro area’s second-smallest economy, said it will cut some tariffs from July 27 to boost competitiveness. The CSE will lower the fee for clearing transactions for securities listed on its main market to 0.025 percent from 0.03 percent, the Nicosia-based company said yesterday in a statement on its website. The threshold to avoid the variable charge for «simple pre-agreed» transactions has been lowered to 175,000 euros ($244,500) from 600,000 euros and the online fee for providing information on customers’ orders, transactions and balances of accounts has been abolished, according to the statement. The CSE, which announced July 1 an extension of its cooperation agreement with the Athens Stock Exchange, said it will change its tariff policy for clearing services of securities listed on the bourse’s Central Register and Central Depository. (Bloomberg) Bank probe Bulgaria’s antitrust watchdog said yesterday it had launched a probe into claims the Balkan country’s banking sector operated a cartel that fixed interest rates and market share distributions. The Commission for Protection of Competition raided the office of the Association of Banks in Bulgaria (ABB) and confiscated documents, it said in a statement. The commission was investigating whether commercial banks conspired to fix interest rates on both deposits and credits, among other allegations, it said, but did not specify the time frame. «We are investigating the banks for possible illegal agreements. These probes are very complicated and usually take a year,» a commission spokeswoman said. (Reuters) Romanian debt Romania’s Finance Ministry sold more three-month treasury bills yesterday than it planned as the global financial crisis drives investors to buy shorter-dated notes. The ministry sold 2.75 billion lei ($910 million) of notes due in October 2009, more than the 2 billion lei initially planned. (Bloomberg) Turkish Airlines Turk Hava Yollari AO, the carrier known as Turkish Airlines, rose after announcing plans for a joint venture to supply jet fuel. Turkish Airlines shares added 5 kurus, or 2.3 percent, to 2.21 liras in early trade in Istanbul. Turkish Airlines agreed to set up the jet fuel company with Opet Petrolculuk AS, a gasoline retailer controlled by Turkey’s biggest company, Koc Holding. (Bloomberg)
