MAK-NEWS 11/05/95 (M.I.L.S.)
CONTENTS
[01] GLIGOROV RETURNS TO SKOPJE
[02] VAN DER STOEL SEES OBVIOUS PROGRESS IN ETHNIC RELATIONS
[03] GREEK PARTY DELEGATION VISITS MACEDONIA
[04] GREEK VETO REMAINS PART OF NEGOTIATIONS
[05] AUSTRIAN AMBASSADOR HANDS OVER CREDENTIALS
[06] MACEDONIA JOINS CONVENTION ON PATENTS
[07] REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF INTERPOL
[08] AIR BRIDGE BETWEEN LONDON AND SKOPJE
[09] PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFS
[10] NINE MORE COMPANIES TO BE SOLD
[11] PRICE OF ELECTRICITY UNCONSTITUTIONAL
[12] ROUND TABLE FOR EDUCATION OF ALBANIANS
[13] SKOPJE OIL REFINERY WORKS AGAIN
[14] SKOPJE MAYOR KILLED IN ROAD ACCIDENT
[15] MACEDONIA TIES WITH ARMENIA
[16] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: WE ARE TALKING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS HERE (Business Europa April/May 1995)
M I L S N E W S
Skopje, 11 May 1995
[01] GLIGOROV RETURNS TO SKOPJE
Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov has ended his two day
visit to Moscow where he attended the 50th anniversary
celebration of V-Day. Yesterday morning he paid his respects
at the tomb of the unknown hero to express the gratitude of
the Macedonian people for the contribution of the Russian
people in the victory over fascism.
Upon his return from Moscow, Gligorov told reporters of his
numerous contacts with other top politicians. At a meeting
with US vice-president Al Gore, Gligorov discussed the
situation in the region, stating concern about the
possibility of a spill-over of the war to the south. He also
stressed a desire to have a solution for the problem with
Greece as soon as possible. Gligorov and Russian President
Boris Yeltsin discussed ways to extend bilateral relations
and the possible appointment of a Russian ambassador to
Skopje in the near future. Gligorov also met UN Secretary
General Boutros Boutros-Ghali to exchange ideas on the
dispute with Greece.
[02] VAN DER STOEL SEES OBVIOUS PROGRESS IN ETHNIC RELATIONS
The OSCE National Minorities Commissioner Max Van der Stoel
is currently visiting Macedonia. He met with Prime Minister
Branko Crvenkovski, Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski and
Minister of Education Emilija Simoska. Van der Stoel later
met Parliament President Andov for talks on ethnic relations
in the country. They both agreed that relations are making
obvious progress.
Stoel also met Minister Muhamed Halili and they concluded
that this is a period of stabilization of political trends
in the country but that there still remain a number of open
issues likely to bring about ethnic misunderstanding. They
also discussed the higher education of Albanians in
Macedonia.
[03] GREEK PARTY DELEGATION VISITS MACEDONIA
Two days ago a delegation of the Greek left-wing party,
Sinaspizmos, visited Skopje, A1 Television reports. The
delegation met with the left-wing block of Macedonian
political parties on the subject "Macedonian-Greek dispute
and negotiations on its resolution with UN mediation." Mr.
Sterios, Sinaspizmos' foreign issues representative, sent
official invitations to Macedonian social democrats and
socialists to attend the planned three-day meeting of left-
oriented parties in the Balkans, scheduled for June 3-5 in
Athens.
The Macedonian Social Democratic Alliance will decide
whether to accept the invitation after the complete list of
participants is known.
[04] GREEK VETO REMAINS PART OF NEGOTIATIONS
Radio Skopje reports that Tore Bogh, Chief of the OSCE
Mission in Macedonia, left urgently for Vienna. This is in
connection to announcements of possible OSCE mediation in
the Greek-Macedonian dispute. No other details are known.
In regard to this OSCE initiative, Greek Foreign Minister
Papoulias stated that his country would not prevent Hungary
from persuading the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
from introducing changes to its constitution and national
symbols so that it is admitted into the OSCE. Papoulias
added that the Greek veto is only a part of the negotiation
package and Greece will continue to use its right to a veto.
He underlined that Greece's patience has still not come to
an end and that there is still hope that President Gligorov
will, at a moment devoid of internal problems, sit at the
negotiating table. Papoulias also said that the EU and
international mediators consider the attitudes of Greece as
justified.
Greek President Stephanopoulos, on the other hand, said in
Moscow that he hoped the dispute with Macedonia will be
resolved soon with the help of the United Nations. Makfaks
cites him as saying that Russia, having good relations with
Skopje, could provide useful advice for the leaders of the
state of Skopje in regards to their accepting direct talks.
Stephanopoulos used the opportunity to point out that "it is
not Greece which causes trouble in the Balkans" and to
accuse Macedonia of aggressive policy.
[05] AUSTRIAN AMBASSADOR HANDS OVER CREDENTIALS
Macedonian Foreign Minister Stevo Crvenkovski received the
credentials of Dr. Kurt Spalinger, ambassador of Austria to
Macedonia. They both underlined the friendly and good mutual
relations and successful cooperation in international
organizations.
[06] MACEDONIA JOINS CONVENTION ON PATENTS
A delegation from Macedonia, led by Minister of Development
Bekhir Zhuta, met with the Director General of the
Specialized Agency for Intellectual Ownership in Geneva to
report on Macedonia's decision to join the international
Convention on Patent Cooperation. The meeting was also
attended by Macedonian ambassador to Geneva, Goce Petrevski,
and Gjorgi Filipov, Director of the Macedonian Institute for
Industrial Ownership Protection. They discussed potential
aid, in the form of equipment, for the institute.
[07] REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF INTERPOL
Yesterday in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Interpol began its
European Regional Conference with the participation of 41
European states, including officials of the Macedonian
Foreign Ministry. Interpol's Director, General Bjorg
Ericson, said that during the current process of transition
in Eastern and Central European states there are doors that
are open for a rise of old and new forms of crime. Besides
drug and arms smuggling, he pointed to money-laundering
operations, international terrorism and computer crime as
the most dangerous forms.
[08] AIR BRIDGE BETWEEN LONDON AND SKOPJE
Officials of the Macedonian and British ministries of
transport are to negotiate, today and tomorrow, on
regulating air traffic between the two countries and will
focus on establishing a London-Skopje direct air link.
[09] PARLIAMENTARY BRIEFS
On May 17 the Macedonian Parliament will hold its 19th
session. PMs will be expected to vote on several legal
projects, including the proposal for a law on public
enterprises.
[10] NINE MORE COMPANIES TO BE SOLD
The Macedonian Privatization Agency will offer today the
following nine companies for public sale by the managerial
method: Skopje Cement Factory "Usje" (DM 100 per share),
"Vitaminka" of Prilep (DM 29.11 per share), "Vinka" of
Vinica (DM 37 per share), "Veteks" of Titov Veles (DM 71.81
per share), the Bitola Dairy "Mlekara" (DM 132.2 per share),
"Elmar" of Stip (DM 192 per share), "Jugotrans" of Struga
(DM 78.03 per share), "Zelop" of Sveti Nikole (capital
initially priced at DM 1,311,292) and "Agroprodukt" of
Skopje (capital initially priced at Dm 121,470). The last
two enterprises will be offered for sale by the indivisible
part method.
[11] PRICE OF ELECTRICITY UNCONSTITUTIONAL
The Macedonian Constitutional Court, at yesterday's session,
appealed all acts brought by the Macedonian government and
the public electricity company regarding the increase of the
price of electricity in the country. Under this decision the
price is to be lowered to the price valid before January 30,
1995.
[12] ROUND TABLE FOR EDUCATION OF ALBANIANS
The Rector's Office of the University "St. Cyrill and
Methodius" in Skopje held a round table yesterday on the
topic of "Possible Alternatives for Meeting Educational
Needs of Ethnic Albanians in Macedonia". The debate was
organized by the Ethnic Relations Center of the Sociology
and Political research Institute in cooperation with the
Open Society Institute. The debate was of a closed type and
included George Soros, founder of the Open Society
Institute, the rectors of the two Macedonian universities,
parliamentary members, government ministers, representatives
of the Initiative Committee of the university in Tetovo,
scientists, journalists and members of various forums. Soros
insisted on the resolution of educational problems within
the legal framework of the society and suggested opening
classes in Albanian language at the Pedagogical Academy in
Skopje. He expressed readiness to provide financial backup
for multilingual studies. As for the initiative for a
university in Tetovo, Soros said he disapproved of it, but
stressed that it should not be suffocated by oppressive
measures.
Participants divided into two lines; one group was for
solutions within the legal framework and the other went
along with the Tetovo university initiators. The organizer
offered a third alternative of opening private educational
institutions and groups in the Albanian language at certain
departments.
[13] SKOPJE OIL REFINERY WORKS AGAIN
The Skopje oil refinery, having recently received sufficient
quantities of oil, has resumed refinery operations. This
comes after a break of an entire year which was due to the
Greek embargo. The refinery will try to purchase additional
crude oil, despite the ongoing blockades, to enable the
continuing production of different types of gasoline.
[14] SKOPJE MAYOR KILLED IN ROAD ACCIDENT
Early yesterday morning Goran Nikolovski, mayor of the city
of Skopje, was killed in a car accident on the Skopje-Tetovo
highway. An investigation is underway. Nikolovski (32-years
old) had been in the position of mayor since 1993.
Telegrams of condolence were sent to his family by
President Gligorov, Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski,
Parliament President Stojan Andov, the mayor of the city of
Nuremberg and from the Socialist Party of Macedonia.
[15] MACEDONIA TIES WITH ARMENIA
Yesterday the Senior Macedonian soccer team drew 2 all in
their game with Armenian team in the Armenian capitol
Erevan, thus losing all theoretical chances of qualifying
for the next European Soccer Cup.
The junior Macedonian team lost against the Armenian players
by 2:0.
[16] MILS SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: WE ARE TALKING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS HERE
(Business Europa April/May 1995)
Andrew Wilson is confident that Macedonia will have a
successful stock exchange. 'A positive factor for foreign
investment here,' he says, 'is that Macedonia actually has a
securities law, one of the first things done last year. Many
emerging markets start without one, like Russia which is
only now getting around to creating one. So Macedonia has a
very good starting point.'
Wilson should know. As part of the International Securities
Consultancy (ISC), he helped set up the Russian exchange.
His 20-plus years with the London Stock Market, his
stewardship of the Scottish Stock Exchange and other various
international assignments have taught him many lessons in
building up from scratch a securities market. 'The people
here in Macedonia want to have a formalised stock exchange,'
he says. 'They want to attract foreign investors and this is
the proper way to do it.'
ISC, a private company formed in Hong Kong five years ago,
does international consultancy stock exchange work. Since
early December, Wilson has been working on proposals for the
Macedonian Securities Exchange Commission. ISC is contracted
by the British government through their Know-How Fund. 'We
are about a month behind where we would like to be. The
target date was 30 September. We have just established a
capital markets development council.'
Last November an application by a group of banks and private
companies was turned down because it didn't comply with the
old Yugoslav law - only banks and financial institutions can
apply for permission to start an exchange. Since ISC has
also reported that only banks should be members of the
exchange, 'and this has been very widely accepted; there is
no disagreement whatsoever.'
The idea is to create an exchange up to western standards,
he says. 'First of all, it should be a 'not for profit'
institution - any profit should not be distributed to the
shareholders. Secondly, it should have an open membership is
applicants can meet the criteria for membership, such as
capital adequacy, competence and resources. Also, our
suggestion which was approved by the commission, was that at
least 51 per cent of the members of the board should be
independent elected members - from industry and other users
of the market, a very western practice.'
Dematerialization is a goal for the Macedonian Stock
Exchange, he says, where there are no bits of paper flying
around. 'Everything will be filed through a central
depository and settlement system. Investors get a form of as
a receipt; this may even resemble a share certificate but is
of no real value.'
Wilson says there has been some concern about setting up an
exchange after the privatisation process has begun. This has
been identified as a problem and a temporary facility for
trading shares is being formulated. Banks which are members
of the auction process could trade on behalf of their
clients by submitting a buy or sell order to this embryonic
exchange, which would then match it with a buy or sell order
coming in from the other side. It would be very temporary,
to provide a supervised method of trading shares. Also, we
will have a memorandum of understanding with the privatised
companies that have been trading so they can be aware of any
price sensitive information emanating from the companies.'
The lack of an exchange at the moment could affect foreign
exchange investment, he says. Obviously it is a deterrent to
foreign investors; equally, there is little information
about the companies themselves. One of our tasks is to work
with the Privatization Agency and the USAID consultants to
ensure that the prospectus of any companies coming under the
auction process are compatible with the criteria that the
stock exchange would be looking for a listing-type
prospectus. We are talking international standards here.'
The commission has said that if a bank wants to become a
member of the exchange, then it must form a separately
capitalised subsidiary company. 'The only reason for this is
regulation; if a bank joins as a bank itself, then it would
be regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission and by
the National Bank (Central Bank). The National Bank, as the
banking regulator, is obviously nervous about another
regulator encroaching on its territory. So the national Bank
is quite happy that the securities trading aspect is taken
out entirely into a separate subsidiary company.'
Wilson believes the financial institutions in Macedonia have
seen and learned the lessons of Russia. 'They want to have a
formalised and regulated market. The stock exchanges are not
operating to any great extent in Russia; around 95 per cent
of all trading in equities and securities is OTC (Over The
Counter) - a totally unregulated market. There is now a
great push in Russia to develop a trading system very
similar to NASDAQ (National Association of Securities
Dealers Automated Quotation System) in the United States and
through which the intermediaries will trade.'
Although Macedonia is behind other countries, says Wilson,
'there is the capability to catch up, and I believe it will
be a very successful market. There are a lot of potentially
good companies here, but they naturally suffer to a very
large extent from a lack of experienced people.'
Wilson thinks many expatriate Macedonians will come back and
ease some of the skills shortages. 'The financial industry
is new to them here and it will create a demand for new
labour skills and reduce unemployment. The banks are already
taking on more people. A new financial advising industry
will also arise. There are many people who want to get
involved in it.'
(end)
mils-news 11 May '95
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