Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-01-07

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Internet BTC privatisation-OTE-KPN

[02] Missile boats

[03] Archaeology-Mycenae

[04] Egnatia Bank

[05] Stock Market

[06] Illegal immigrants killed - Road accident

[01] Internet BTC privatisation-OTE-KPN

Bulgaria˘s Transport and Communications Minister Antoni Slavinski on Friday called Greece˘s Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) and Dutch KPN, to continue negotiations for the privatisation of Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) on Jan. 13 in Sofia, according to a press release issued by OTE in Athens.

?One of the first decisions of the new Government of the Republic of Bulgaria was to establish a working group to carry out the negotiations for the privatisation of BTC, thus confirming its commitment to bring the procedure to a successful end,? a letter of Slavinki˘s to OTE noted, according to the press release.

OTE and KPN have been in negotiations, for some time, to purchase a controlling interest in BTC.

[02] Missile boats

Two contracts for the building of three ?Super Vita-type? missile boats with an option for four more were signed on Friday between Greece˘s defence ministry and the Elefsina shipyards.

The cost for the three missile boats totals some 150 billion drachmas (appx. 322 drachmas equal one US dollar), while offset benefits for Greek subcontractors are expected to total some three billion drachmas.

The UK group Vosper Thornycroft has designed the missile boat model, with the Elefsina shipyards-built vessels to be armed with German- and Dutch-made weapons systems. The ?Super Vita? missile boat is 61.9 metres long, 9.5 metres wide and can achieve a maximum speed of around 34 knots while fully loaded.

The first missile boat is scheduled for delivery in 33 months from the date the contract comes into force; the second in 50 months and the third in 56 months.

[03] Archaeology-Mycenae

The township of Mycenae on Friday denied allegations that it had arbitrarily wrested away the use of a building designed for the use of American and Greek archaeologists at work on the famed ancient site of Mycenae. "The municipality has never prevented archaeologists from access," Angelos Mermyngis, spokesman for the municipality of Mycenae, said in a statement to the ANA. His statements came in response to an article written by Nancy Wilkie, the president of the Archaeological Institute of America, and published in the latest edition of 'Archaeology'. Wilkie said that the mayor of the township had, in February, 1999, "inexplicably seized the building, changed the locks, and refused to allow archaeologists access to it." The building in question, the Melathron, is a stone structure built around a large central courtyard in the village of Mycenae and designed to serve as a research centre for archaeologists working at ancient site in southern Greece.

[04] Egnatia Bank

Egnatia Bank on Friday launched its website offering customers a wide range of banking services and products, in a move aimed to strengthen its presence in a rapidly growing electronic banking sector.

In its address (www.egnatiabank.gr), visitors will have access to information on all products and services offered by Egnatia Bank Group. They will also be able to open new accounts, ask for new loans, bankassurance services and credit card issuance.

The bank's customers will also have access to all major international stock markets and financial institutions. The site offers special access to Helenes abroad.

Egnatia Bank is offering investment advice through its website.

Customers will be able to link with the WebTeller system for real banking transactions on the Internet.

The bank will soon offer on line/real time transactions on the Athens Stock Exchange through its website.

[05] Stock Market

Greek equities rebounded on Friday, halting a two-day plunge which pushed prices 7.34 percent lower, supported by an improved climate in international markets.

The general index ended 0.77 percent higher at 5,410.82 points, off the day's highs of 5,483 points. Turnover was a moderate 241.23 billion drachmas.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks jumped 6.65 percent, while the FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 0.51 percent to 2,781.69 and the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 3.11 percent higher at 1,022.94 points.

[06] Illegal immigrants killed - Road accident

At least six illegal immigrants were killed and 30 were injured, some of them seriously, when a truck transporting them from neighbouring Turkey skidded off the road and overturned early Friday outside the northern Greek city of Komotini, police said.

Another 30 immigrants were arrested.

The immigrants, mostly Iraqis of Kurdish origin, told police that they had paid 1,500-2,000 dollars each to the driver to carry them across the Turkish border into Greece.

The driver of the truck fled after the accident, which occurred shortly before 5:00 a.m. on the national highway near the village Neo Sidirohori-Pagouri outside Komotini.

Ambulances rushed to the scene to take the dead and injured, among them women and children, to Komotini hospital.

The truck, bearing Greek licence plates, skidded off the road which was covered with a thin sheet of ice.

"It was a tragic situation because of adverse weather conditions and below-zero temperatures prevailing in the region," a police officer at the scene told ANA.

One of the immigrants told police that there were some 80 persons in the truck.

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