News report of 22.05.2008

* Albania *

Canadian Stream Oil & Gas Plans To Invest $500 Mln in Albanian Energy Sector May 22, 2008, 15:06 CET | Story | SeeNews TIRANA (Albania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Canada’s Stream Oil & Gas plans to invest U.S. $500 million (317 million euro) in Albania’s energy sector, the Albanian economy ministry said on Thursday. link

* Bosnia *

INTERVIEW - Bosnia’s BH Telecom Plans 50% Rise in Mobile Phone Users by End-2010 May 22, 2008, 14:17 CET | Interview | SeeNews SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bosnia’s biggest telecoms operator, state-controlled BH Telecom, plans to increase its mobile phone clients by 50% to 1.8 million by the end of 2010 and introduce 3G services this year, its general manager Nedzad Residbegovic said on Thursday. link

Bosnia Schedule of Events - May 22 - Oct 29 May 22, 2008, 09:08 CET | Story | SeeNews SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina), May 22 (SeeNews) - Following is a schedule of corporate, economic and political events taking place in or related to Bosnia and Herzegovina through October 29. New or amended entries are marked (*). link

* Bulgaria *

Bulgaria Invites Bidders To Advise Setting up of Energy Megastructure May 22, 2008, 17:54 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria will accept offers by June 10 from candidates to advise the setting up of a mammoth holding company in the country’s energy sector, the Economy and Energy Ministry said on Thursday. link

Bulgaria Govt Appoints Georgi Hadzhijski Board Chairman of Maritsa East 2 Power Plant May 22, 2008, 17:23 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy Ministry on Thursday appointed Georgi Hadzhijski as chairman of the managing board of the country’s largest coal-fired power plant Maritsa East 2. link

Spain’s Martinsa-Fadesa To Complete 30 Mln Euro Residential Project in Bulgaria by End-2009 May 22, 2008, 16:46 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) – Spanish real estate company Martinsa-Fadesa will complete a 30 million euro ($47 million) residential project in Sofia by the end of 2009, the company said on Thursday. link

Bulgarian Stock Indices End Little Changed in Dull Trading May 22, 2008, 16:41 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian stock indices ended little changed on Thursday in uneventful trading and lower volumes, brokers said. link

Shareholder in Bulgarian Chemical Co Polimeri To Seek Cancellation of Cap Hike Plan May 22, 2008, 16:10 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - A minority shareholder in Bulgarian chemical company Polimeri said on Thursday it was seeking the cancellation of a planned capital hike by 50 million levs ($39.9 million/25.5 million euro) without giving reasons. link

UPDATE 1 - Bulgaria Sees 2009 End-Year EU-Harmonised Inflation at 4.2% - Table May 22, 2008, 16:01 CET | Story | SeeNews (updates with table, rewrites lead to specify inflation figures refer to EU-harmonised inflation and gives comparative figure) link

INTERVIEW – Bulgarian Cable TV/Internet/Voice Provider CableTEL Ready to Spend up to 400 Mln Euro on Regional Expansion May 22, 2008, 15:24 CET | Interview | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) – Bulgarian cable TV, Internet and voice services provider CableTEL is ready to spend up to 400 million euro ($630.4 million) on expansion in southeastern Europe, the company’s CEO said on Thursday. link

Bulgarian Water Bottler Devin To Seek Approval of 14 Mln Euro Borrowing May 22, 2008, 14:41 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian water bottler Devin will seek its shareholders’ approval for borrowing some 14 million euro ($22.1 million) from Raiffeisenbank Bulgaria for refinancing existing loans and backing its investment programme. link

INTERVIEW - Czech CEZ Bulgarian Power Plant Operates at Technical Minimum Due To Low Regulated Prices May 22, 2008, 14:39 CET | Interview | SeeNews By Vladimir Petrov link

CORRECTED - Bulgaria Sees 2009 End-Year Inflation at 4.2% vs 6.9% in 2008 May 22, 2008, 14:29 CET | Story | SeeNews In SOFIA story "Bulgaria Sees 2009 End-Year Inflation at 4.2% vs 6.9% in 2008" please read in the first paragraph "...it expects inflation to fall to 4.2%..." (restores dropped word ’inflation’). In the second paragraph, please read "... real gross domestic product (GDP) growth ..." instead of "... real gross domestic group (GDP) growth..." (corrects word). link

Bulgaria Sees 2009 End-Year Inflation at 4.2% vs 6.9% in 2008 May 22, 2008, 13:39 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria’s government said on Thursday it expects to fall to 4.2% at the end of next year, compared to 6.9% projected for the end of this year. link

Bulgarian Health Insurance Fund DOM-Zdrave Doubles Market Share May 22, 2008, 13:24 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), March 22 (SeeNews) – Bulgarian voluntary health insurance fund DOM-Zdrave has increased its market share to 30% by May, from 15% at the end of last year, thanks to attracting large new clients in the first months of the year, it said on Thursday. link

Bulgaria Cancels 715 Mln Euro Motorway Construction Deal May 22, 2008, 13:18 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) – Bulgaria’s government said on Thursday it has cancelled a deal with a Portuguese-led consortium for the construction of a 715 million euro ($1.1 billion) motorway, after the concessionaire failed to secure financing for the project. link

Bulgaria’s CableTEL Scraps $10 Mln Plan for Expanding to Azerbaijan May 22, 2008, 13:18 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian TV, Internet and telecoms services provider CableTEL has scrapped a $10 million (6.4 million euro) plan for expanding into Azerbaijan as conditions on the cable TV market in the country turned out to be unfavourable, the company’s CEO said on Thursday. link

Bulgaria’s Polimeri Sticks to Cap Hike Plans, To Revise Issue Price May 22, 2008, 12:16 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian chemical company Polimeri will stick to its plans for a capital hike by 50 million levs ($39.9 million/25.5 million euro) but will revise the issue price in line with a recommendations by the country’s financial regulator, the issue manager said on Thursday. link

Bulgaria Postpones Completion of Key 208.5 Mln Euro Highway for 2010 May 22, 2008, 10:44 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) – Bulgaria has postponed by one year to 2010 the completion of a key 208.5 million euro ($326.3 million) highway linking the country with Turkey, the government said. link

FFBH - Bulgaria Morning Update - May 22, 2008 May 22, 2008, 10:42 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews MARKET WRAP-UP link

Bulbrokers - Daily FX Analysis - May 22, 2008 May 22, 2008, 10:23 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews The dollar extended its losses after the FOMC minutes link

Bulbrokers - USA Stock Markets Daily Review - May 22, 2008 May 22, 2008, 10:15 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews Rising oil price continued to pressure the US markets link

Elana - Bulgaria Daily Report - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:37 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews Market Highlights link

Twelve Companies Interested in Bulgarian Wireless Operator Licence – Telecoms Regulator May 22, 2008, 09:13 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) – Twelve companies have expressed interest in receiving a licence for a mobile operator in Bulgaria by Tuesday’s deadline, an official of the Bulgarian telecoms regulator said on Thursday. link

Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Daily Report - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:02 CET | Specialists Reports | SeeNews Bulgarian Stock Exchange has published its report on turnover and prices for May 21, 2008. link

Bulgarian Stock Exchange - Daily Bulletin, Selected Announcements - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 08:57 CET | Specialists Reports | SeeNews Lavena AD-Shumen, BSE code - LAVEN, submitted to X3 News the following notification:Lavena AD was awarded a Gold Medal of the 2008 International Spring Fair in Plovdiv for its BOCHKO BEBE children’s creams.Please, refer to the entire notification at link

link

Bulgaria Schedule of Events - May 22 - Nov 25 May 22, 2008, 08:06 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 22 (SeeNews) - Following is a schedule of corporate, economic and political events taking place in or related to Bulgaria through November 25. New or amended entries are marked (*). link

Bulgarian Power Tools Manufacturer Sparky Eltos, Sanyo Europe Team Up in Battery Production May 21, 2008, 18:51 CET | Story | SeeNews SOFIA (Bulgaria), May 21 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian power tools manufacturer Sparky Eltos said on Wednesday it has teamed up with Sanyo Europe in a battery production project. link

* Croatia *

Croatian Equity Indices Fall Further on Profit-Taking May 21, 2008, 18:50 CET | Story | SeeNews ZAGREB (Croatia), May 21 (SeeNews) - Croatian equity indices on Wednesday fell further amid profit-taking, analysts said. link

* Macedonia *

Slovenia’s KD Group Gets Green Light To Set up Fund Management Company in Macedonia May 22, 2008, 17:57 CET | Story | SeeNews LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Slovenian investment fund manager KD Skladi, a subsidiary of Ljubljana-based KD Group, has received the green light to set up a fund management company in Macedonia, KD Skladi said on Thursday. link

Macedonia’s MEPSO Sells 546 MWh of Night-Time Electricity Surpluses May 22, 2008, 17:26 CET | Story | SeeNews SKOPJE (Macedonia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Macedonia’s state-owned power transmission operator MEPSO said on Thursday it sold 546 megawatts of night-time electricity surpluses for the period May 26-31, which is the biggest quantity sold so far at MEPSO’s auctions. link

Macedonia’s KIB Kumanovo Bank Cuts Capital by 1.3%, Changes Name to Stater Banka May 22, 2008, 17:19 CET | Story | SeeNews SKOPJE (Macedonia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Macedonia’s Komercijalno-Investiciona Banka KIB-Kumanovo on Thursday decided to cut its nominal share capital by 1.3% to 593.9 million denars ($15.15 million/9.62 million euro) from 601.6 million denars and change its name to Stater Banka. link

Macedonia’s April M1 Money Supply Rises 3.7 % M/M - Table May 22, 2008, 13:39 CET | Story | SeeNews SKOPJE (Macedonia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Macedonia’s M1 money supply, which includes cash in circulation and demand deposits, totalled 44.822 billion denars ($1.14 billion/725.84 million euro) at the end of April, up by 3.7% from March, the central bank said on Thursday. link

Macedonian Bank Card Transactions Number Rises 6.5% M/M in April - Table May 22, 2008, 10:45 CET | Story | SeeNews SKOPJE (Macedonia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Bank card transactions in Macedonia in April rose by 6.5% month-on-month in terms of number, to 2,108,171, central bank statistics showed on Thursday. link

Macedonian Stock Exchange - Daily Report - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:07 CET | Specialists Reports | SeeNews Macedonian Stock Exchange has published its report on turnover and prices for May 21, 2008. link

Macedonia Schedule of Events May 22 –Nov 28 May 22, 2008, 09:07 CET | Story | SeeNews SKOPJE (Macedonia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Following is a schedule of corporate, economic and political events taking place in or related to Macedonia through November 28. New or amended entries are marked (*) link

* Moldova *

Moldova To Offer Its Stake in Cigarette Plant Tutun CTC For Sale in Sept May 22, 2008, 16:40 CET | Story | SeeNews CHISINAU (Moldova), May 22 (SeeNews) – The Moldovan Economy Ministry on Thursday said it will offer for sale its 90.81% stake in the country’s sole cigarette plant Tutun CTC in September. link

Moldova’s 4-mo Freight Traffic Volume Rises 24% - Table May 22, 2008, 15:43 CET | Story | SeeNews CHISINAU (Moldova), May 22 (SeeNews) - Moldova’s railway, road and air freight traffic in the four months through April rose by 24% on the year in terms of volume to 5.9 million tonnes, the country’s statistics bureau said on Thursday. link

Moldova To Offer 3G Licences to Local Wireless Operators This Year May 22, 2008, 12:28 CET | Story | SeeNews CHISINAU (Moldova), May 22 (SeeNews) – The Moldovan government decided to offer third-generation (3G) wireless licences to each of the four local mobile operators this year, in order to develop the wireless network in the country, the cabinet’s press office said on Thursday. link

Moldovan Fuel Trader Tirex-Petrol To Pay Higher ’07 Dividend May 22, 2008, 11:41 CET | Story | SeeNews CHISINAU (Moldova), May 22 (SeeNews) - Moldovan fuel trader Tirex-Petrol will pay a gross dividend of 3.2 lei ($0.3/0.2 euro) per share for 2007, up from 0.85 lei it paid in dividend for 2006, the company said on Thursday. link

SocGen’s Moldovan Unit Q1 Net Profit Jumps 58% Y/Y - Table May 22, 2008, 10:58 CET | Story | SeeNews CHISINAU (Moldova), May 22 (SeeNews) - Mobiasbanca, the Moldovan unit of French banking group Societe Generale, on Thursday reported a 58% annual rise in its first-quarter net profit to 36.7 million lei ($3.6 million/2.3 million euro). link

Moldova Schedule of Events - May 22 - May 30 May 22, 2008, 10:05 CET | Story | SeeNews CHISINAU (Moldova), May 22 (SeeNews) - Following is a schedule of corporate, economic and political events taking place in or related to Moldova through May 30. New or amended entries are marked (*) link

* Romania *

Romania, Local JV Sign 188,500 Euro Contract for Technical Assistance in Construction of Sibiu City Beltway May 22, 2008, 18:22 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Romania on Thursday said it signed a 188,500 euro ($296,150) contract for technical assistance in the construction of a beltway for the central city of Sibiu, with the winning bidder - Romanian joint venture EC Harris Projects-RomCapital Invest SA. link

Yields Rise on Romanian 5-Year T-Notes May 22, 2008, 18:01 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) – Romania on Thursday sold 100 million lei ($42.88 million/27.21 million euro) worth of five-year T-notes, as yields slightly rose, the country’s central bank (BNR) said. link

Czech Zentiva’s Romanian Unit To Invest 9.0 Mln Euro by End-2008, Sees H1 Sales Lower Y/Y May 22, 2008, 17:48 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Czech drug maker Zentiva on Thursday said it plans to invest some nine million euro ($14.14 million) in its Romanian unit this year, mostly in its production lines and increasing the products portfolio. link

Romanian Bourse Extends Losses in Correction May 22, 2008, 17:12 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - The Romanian bourse extended losses for a third day in a row on Thursday, with all indices closing lower in correction, brokers said. link

Romania’s Romstal Leasing 4-Mo Contract Revenue Up 44% May 22, 2008, 17:07 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Romania’s Romstal Leasing said on Thursday it signed 1,850 contracts worth 77.5 million euro ($122.14 million) in the first four months of the year, up 44% from the same period a year earlier, boosted by the equipment leasing segment. link

Romanian Leu Ends Cheaper vs Euro May 22, 2008, 16:39 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Romania’s leu on Thursday weakened against the euro, as investors were cautious on emerging markets amid fears of slowdown in the U.S. economy and a fresh rise in global oil prices, dealers said. link

Romania Plans to Equalise Taxation of Domestic, Outbound Dividends in Line with EU Requirements - Fin Min May 22, 2008, 16:29 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Romania plans to equalise the rules under which corporate dividends to and from other countries may be taxed more heavily than domestic dividends, in line with the requirements of the European Union, Finance and Economy Minister Varujan Vosganian said on Thursday. link

Romanian Iulius Group To Invest 45 Mln Euro in Mall Upgrade May 22, 2008, 14:41 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Romanian retailer Iulius Group said on Thursday it was investing 45 million euro ($70.9 million) to upgrade and more than double the sales area of its shopping centre in Timisoara, western Romania. link

Romania’s 4-Mo Budget Revenue at 14.1%/GDP vs 9.8%/GDP Yr Ago – FinMin May 22, 2008, 13:05 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Romania’s consolidated budget revenue for the first four months of 2008 was equivalent to 14.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) projected for this year, compared to 9.8% in the year-ago period, Finance and Economy Minister Varujan Vosganian said on Thursday. link

Raiffeisen Capital & Investment - Investment Daily Romania - May 22, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:47 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews Trader’s CommentThe local exchange fell on Wednesday for the second consecutive day, influenced by the negative evolutions of the foreign markets and also by the lack of interest from foreign as well as local investors. Wednesday session opened in negative territory and after only fifteen minutes of trading both BET and BET-FI posted losses of around 1.5%. Later on, with the recovery of the European markets, the local market started to move into positive territory, around lunch BET-FI showing a small gain dod. However, the upturn could not be sustained by the buyers, thus near the end of the session the market began to descend, the bulk of the shares closing in the lows of the day. The evolution in the case of SNP remains remarkable. Though the share lost 1% dod, it still retains an upside of 8% ytd, being the only company included in BET with such a favorable development.In the newsElectromontaj Carpati FY 2007 resultsThe provider of construction works for electric power sta tions and power lines Electromontaj Carpati (ELJA) published its final 2007 results under Romanian Accounting Standards. Revenues stood at RON 24.5 mn, up 26% yoy. Raw materials expenses were up 6% to RON 10.5 mn and salaries rose 27% to RON 6.5 mn, while third parties expenses registered a hike of 53% to RON 6 mn. EBIT amounted to RON 0.5 mn, up 60%. However, EBIT margin remained below 3%. Financial expenses climbed 3.7x at RON 0.2 mn, net profit reaching RON 0.3 mn, 33% higher yoy.Uztel shares traded on BVB main marketIn a press release to the Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB), oilfield equipment manufacturer Uztel (UZT) announced that starting with May 22 its shares will be transferred to BVB main market, Tier II. Until now, UZT shares were traded on the Un-listed section of BVB market. link

Ieba Trust - Romanian Market Daily - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:24 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews BSE indices closed on red for the second consecutive day link

Bucharest Stock Exchange - Daily Report - RASDAQ Market - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:14 CET | Specialists Reports | SeeNews Bucharest Stock Exchange has published its RASDAQ daily market report for May 21, 2008. link

Romania Schedule of Events - May 22 - June 26 May 22, 2008, 09:13 CET | Story | SeeNews BUCHAREST (Romania), May 22 (SeeNews) - Following is a schedule of corporate, economic and political events taking place in or related to Romania through June 26. New or amended entries are marked (*). link

Bucharest Stock Exchange - Daily Report - Regulated Market - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:11 CET | Specialists Reports | SeeNews Bucharest Stock Exchange has published its report on trading volumes and prices on the regulated market for May 21, 2008. link

* Serbia *

Serbian Indices Rise in Low Turnover, Market Awaits Cabinet Formation News May 22, 2008, 16:18 CET | Story | SeeNews BELGRADE (Serbia), May 22 (SeeNews) - The indices on the Belgrade Stock Exchange (BELEX) rose on Thursday in low turnover as the market is still waiting for news on the formation of a new government, brokers said. link

Sinteza Investment Group - Daily Market Wrap Up - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 11:04 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews Sinteza Investment Group has released its Daily Market Wrap Up for May 21, 2008, containing an overview of the Serbian Financial Market. link

Vojvodjanska Banka - Daily Vobnews - May 22, 2008 May 22, 2008, 10:03 CET | Broker’s Report | SeeNews Vojvodjanska banka released its Daily Vobnews Report for May 22, 2008 containing the following charts and tables: link

Belgrade Stock Exchange - Daily Report - May 21, 2008 May 22, 2008, 09:18 CET | Specialists Reports | SeeNews Belgrade Stock Exchange has published its daily report on trading volumes and prices for May 21, 2008 link

* Slovenia *

Slovenian Stock Indices Fall in Lower Turnover May 22, 2008, 18:34 CET | Story | SeeNews LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Slovenian stock indices fell in lower turnover on Thursday with most blue chips losing value, brokers said. link

Slovenia’s KD Group Gets Green Light To Set up Fund Management Company in Macedonia May 22, 2008, 17:57 CET | Story | SeeNews LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Slovenian investment fund manager KD Skladi, a subsidiary of Ljubljana-based KD Group, has received the green light to set up a fund management company in Macedonia, KD Skladi said on Thursday. link

Slovenian Food Maker Mlinotest Proposes Lower 2007 Gross Dividend May 22, 2008, 17:12 CET | Story | SeeNews LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Slovenian food producer Mlinotest will propose a gross dividend of 0.04 euro ($0.06) per share for 2007, down from 0.10 euro it paid for the previous year, it said on Thursday. link

Slovenian Retailer Merkur Raises Q1 Group Net Profit by 32% Y/Y May 22, 2008, 16:47 CET | Story | SeeNews LJUBLJANA (Slovenia), May 22 (SeeNews) - Slovenian hardware goods retailer Merkur on Thursday reported a 32% year-on-year rise in group net profit to 3.7 million euro ($5.8 million) in the first quarter of 2008. link

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