In Brief
No job cuts for Serbian telecom company Telekom Srbija, Serbia’s state-run telephone provider, will not cut jobs until 2012, its union said. Only «natural cuts in redundant jobs through retirements» are expected, the company’s trade union said yesterday in an e-mailed statement, citing provisions of a plan prepared by Arthur D. Little, a management and technology consulting firm. «Through 2012, the process will lead to a natural reduction of as many as 800 jobs.» Telekom Srbija now employs 9,600. The government plans to sell as much as 20 percent of its 80 percent stake in Telekom Srbija in an initial public offering on the Belgrade and London stock exchanges in the first quarter of 2009. The country intends to keep a 51 percent stake in the telecommunications operator to maintain control of decision-making. Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA owns 20 percent stake of the Belgrade-based company. (Bloomberg) Turkish airline eyeing buyout opportunities Turk Hava Yollari AO, Turkey’s state-controlled airline, is committed to expanding with acquisitions and will continue taking part in government tenders for other carriers, Chief Executive Officer Temel Kotil said. The carrier, also known as Turkish Airlines, is a «serious» bidder for state-owned Air Bosnia and is «waiting to see developments» on the bidding process for government-controlled Austrian Airlines Group, Kotil said yesterday in an interview in Istanbul. Turkish Airlines is also interested in carriers in Central Asia, Kotil said, without naming any company. Turkish Airlines has a strategy of developing its Istanbul base as a hub linking Europe with the Middle East. The airline said last month that it sent an official letter expressing interest in the 43 percent stake that Austria’s government wants to sell in its Vienna-based counterpart. The result of an auction for 49 percent of state-owned Air Bosnia will be announced on September 29, Kotil said. «It would be good to add acquisitions to organic growth,» Kotil said. «We don’t want to lose the opportunities of consolidation in Europe.» (Bloomberg) Armenian power Armenia has signed a deal to supply electricity to Turkey, Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said yesterday, in the first tangible sign of a thaw in relations since an historic weekend visit by the Turkish president. Movsisian told reporters that the deal will see electricity from Armenian thermal power plants supplied to eastern Turkey from the beginning of 2009. «An agreement on this was reached during the recent visit by Turkish President Abdullah Gul,» he said. «Turkey is a new market for Armenia, as Armenia last supplied electricity to this country during the Soviet period,» he added. Gul’s visit Saturday to attend a soccer match between the two nations’ teams and meet officials raised hopes that Turkey and Armenia could overcome traditional enmity and establish diplomatic relations. (AFP) Power hike Bulgargaz AD, Bulgaria’s main natural gas supplier, demanded a 36 percent price increase from October 1 to counter higher wholesale costs for the fuel. The proposal, which follows a 5 percent increase in July, has yet to be approved by the country’s energy regulator, the Sofia-based company said yesterday. (Bloomberg)
