Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-02-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] 2004 Olympiad- Banknote

[02] Canada-Stephanopoulos

[03] Chinese president in Greece in May

[04] Simitis-Robertson-Meeting

[05] ASE-close

[06] Papandoniou-economy

[07] Papandoniou-stock market

[01] 2004 Olympiad- Banknote

Greece will issue a new 1000-drachma banknotes for collectors in October, the last banknote of this denomination before the country is expected to join the eurozone next year, dedicated to the Olympic Games from ancient to modern times. A total of nine million banknotes will be issued.

Officials of the "Athens 2004" Olympiad's Organising Committee, told a news conference the special issue will include three different subjects, each in three million copies. They are the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. and the stadium at Ancient Olympia, the first modern-day Olympics in 1896 and the Athens 2004 Olympiad.

[02] Canada-Stephanopoulos

MONTREAL (ANA/I. Frangouli) - Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos will make an official visit to Canada between May 29 and June 2, at the invitation of Canada's General Governor Adrian Clarkson.

Stephanopoulos will be accompanied by Greek foreign minister George Papandreou.

[03] Chinese president in Greece in May

Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoris Niotis on Thursday announced that the President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin will be visiting Greece for the first time next May.

Speaking to reporters after meeting the new Chinese Ambassador to Athens Mr. Zen at the foreign ministry, Niotis said relations between the two countries were improving considerably and that a visit to China has also been scheduled by Greek premier Costas Simitis this year.

Niotis will make an official visit to China on February 27 for talks with his counterpart and to sign an agreement on political consultations.

[04] Simitis-Robertson-Meeting

Visiting NATO secretary general George Robertson on Thursday praised what he called Greece's important leadership role in preserving peace in the Balkans, while he also welcomed recent Greek-Turkish efforts at rapprochement.

The NATO chief made the comments after talks in the Greek capital with Prime Minister Costas Simitis.

Robertson, who succeeded Javier Solana at the helm of the Euro-Atlantic military bloc, arrived in Athens on Wednesday for a two-day visit -- part of his ongoing tour of alliance member-states.

[05] ASE-close

Equity prices rebounded strongly on the Athens Stock Exchange on Thursday supported by strong buying interest in blue chip stocks like Hellenic Telecoms, particularly from foreign institutional investors.

Traders said sentiment improved dramatically but turnover remained low as private investors remained sidelined.

The general index ended 2.68 percent higher at 5,234.62 points, off the day's highs of 5,246 points, with turnover a low 185 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended at 2,859.65 points, up 2.93 percent and the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index rose 3.36 percent to 844.82 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 1,292.27 points, up 3.43 percent.

[06] Papandoniou-economy

Greece has achieved growth rates of 4.0 percent and an inflation rate of 2.0 percent, National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papandoniou told reporters during a press conference on Thursday.

These rates, he said, would continue and we could reach a combination of a 5.0 percent economic growth and 2.0 percent inflation in the next few years, leading the country to a new economic and social situation.

Papandoniou said that Greece's average income in 1993 was 62 percent of the EU's average. It rose to 70 percent last year and it is expected to reach 82 percent in 2005. "Convergence with the other EU member-states will be achieved by the end of the decade," he noted.

Presenting Greece's economic targets for the post-EMU era, he said they included: promoting structural changes to achieve and strengthen high growth rates, deregulating domestic markets through privatisations and flotations, supporting smaller and medium-sized businesses and encouraging business activity - a critical factor in the coming years.

[07] Papandoniou-stock market

We must keep politics away from the Athens Stock Exchange and respect market rules, National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papandoniou told reporters after a meeting with President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos on Thursday.

Papandoniou briefed the Greek President on the country's EMU application procedures on March 9.

Referring to the stock market, he said that the main opposition New Democracy party has made it a political issue, and reminded that two or three years ago the general index was at 1,000 points and that now stands at more than 5,000.

Papandoniou said the government would proceed with its privatisation and flotation programme as scheduled. "We completed successfully 15 privatisations and flotations and another 15 are planned for the period 2000-2001. We will liberalise the energy and telecommunications markets to improve competition and achieve lower prices," he said.

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