Global market unease impacts on ASE
Equities eased yesterday as volatility in global markets prompted wary investors to lock in profits, while caterer Olympic Catering leapt 8.33 percent to 4.16 euros after news that fast-food chain Everest would buy 58 percent of the company. Newcomer Hitech Consultants surged 38.46 percent to 8.28 euros on its first day on the bourse, bucking the trend on the broader market, which lost 0.84 percent to 2,086.90 points. «Cautiousness among investors is continuing as they see the volatility in global bourses. «The Greek market won’t be able to regain its footing until international markets stabilize a bit,» said analyst Costas Karitsos at Intersec. The FTSE/ASE-20 index of blue chips fell 0.93 percent to 1,064.81 points. Mid-caps fell 0.86 percent, with small-caps down 0.37 percent. Turnover was 76.05 million euros on 16.9 million shares traded. Losers beat winners 207 to 90, while 52 shares were unchanged on 349 traded. (Reuters) Aspis Bank got shareholder approval yesterday for a 39-million-euro share capital increase in which Dutch bank ABN Amro will pay 9 million euros for 2 million shares, part of a deal agreed on in June. Aspis Bank Managing Director Constantine Karatzas told shareholders ABN Amro will pay 4.5 euros per share. The deal will give ABN Amro about a 5.5-percent stake in Aspis. In June, Aspis agreed to buy ABN Amro’s local retail network, including its leasing and insurance brokerage operations, with the Dutch bank acquiring about a 7-percent stake in Aspis in return. ABN Amro has a 16-branch network and a license to open one more. «Aspis Bank will pay 11.3 million euros for these acquisitions,» Karatzas told shareholders. The share capital increase will add 10,621,250 new shares to Aspis’s current outstanding total of 25,863,750. Karatzas said existing shareholders will partially waive their rights and receive the shares not taken up by ABN AMRO in a one-for-three issue at 3.5 euros per share. The agreement also foresees the setting up of joint ventures in asset and pension fund management. (Reuters)
