In Brief
National Bank looking for manager for Astir Palace The National Bank will pick a management firm for its majority-owned Astir Palace hotel by mid-May, a bank official said yesterday. «We are in the final stage of the tender. We will choose the winner in two weeks,» the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters. Two investors are still in the tender, the official added. National Bank is transferring management of the hotel as part of its broader strategy to divest non-core activities. Earlier this week, Greek media reported that National was in talks with Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Marriott International Inc for the management of the hotel. Astir Palace, majority owned by National Bank, consists of three hotels and 76 luxury bungalows in the seaside suburb of Vouliagmeni near Athens. Astir has a market capitalization of 339 million euros. (Reuters) Bosnian Serbs press case against tax official BANJA LUKA – Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said yesterday he had filed a complaint against a top international official of Bosnia’s main tax authority, accusing him of depriving the Republica Srpska of important revenues. The suit against Joly Dixon, chairman of the board of governors of Bosnia’s indirect tax department, was filed before the state attorney’s office in Sarajevo, Dodik told journalists. He alleged that Dixon «last year decided on his own how revenues from the joint account will be assigned to» Bosnia’s two entities, the Serb-run Republica Srpska and Muslim-Croat Federation, Dodik said stressing that the decision should have been made by the board. By the decision Dixon caused «enormous» harm to Republika Srpska, Dodik said. Bosnian Serb Finance Minister Aleksandar Dzombic said recently that Republika Srpska had been deprived of some 20 million euros. (Reuters) Lay-offs The General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) yesterday urged ministers in a letter to ensure that laid off textile workers in Naoussa, Macedonia, were given the same protection benefits as in all other ailing industries. «The measures should not allow any employers to take advantage [of the situation] by firing the older workers who have higher wage costs,» it said. Bank workers National Bank and Eurobank filed for their employees to be included in the new single social security fund for supplementary pensions in the sector (ETAT) yesterday. The move by National Bank, Greece’s largest, is seen as particularly important for the viability of the new fund. Emporiki, Piraeus, ATEbank and Bank of Attica have already joined the fund. Farm production Greek production of olive oil and edible olives was up 23.4 percent and 27.5 percent respectively in 2005, the National Statistics Service said yesterday. Production of cotton rose 4.5 percent and of sugar beet 6.5 percent. Oranges were up 24.1 percent, tangerines 46.5 percent and meat 3.4 percent.
