EAC to get 25 pct of Hellas Sat
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cyprus’s electricity authority is to take a stake in Hellas Sat, a joint Cypriot and Greek venture which will be used to broadcast the 2004 Athens Olympics, an authority official said yesterday. «The decision is for a 25-percent participation and will be announced officially next week,» said the official, who requested anonymity. The state-controlled authority, known as the EAC, is trying to diversify before market deregulation takes hold from 2004 – the year Cyprus is expected to join the European Union. Hellas Sat is a $250 million satellite consortium between Greek and Cypriot companies that will help in the transmission of the 2004 Athens Olympics. Cypriot firm Avacom Net now owns 43.4 percent of the venture, Greece’s telecoms firm OTE 25 percent and the Cyprus Development Bank 19.6 percent. The source could not say from which current partner or partners the 25-percent stake would be acquired. The EAC is holding a news conference on July 17 to announce its annual results, where financial details of the satellite deal will also be disclosed. The electricity authority is also eyeing the telecoms market. It is now in talks with three foreign companies on creating a joint venture to offer telecoms services. Its plans to bid for a mobile telephone license, expected to be offered by auction sometime from October onward, hinges on government approval. Two government ministries, the Commerce Ministry and the Communications Ministry, have expressed diverse opinions on whether the state-controlled organization should be allowed to bid for a license. The Communications Ministry is concerned at how competition in the sector can be safeguarded since the incumbent telecoms monopoly, CyTA, is also owned by the government. The Commerce Ministry, which is responsible for the EAC, supports its entry into the telecoms market.
