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The Regions This Week
April 13, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 5
Southeast Europe
The centre-right Citizens for European Devel- opment of Bulgaria (GERB) and the nationalist United Patriots coalition moved closer to forming a new ruling coalition in Bulgaria. GERB won Bulgaria’s snap general election in March.
More than three quarters of Romanians have no confidence in their government, according to a Gallup poll. Among the 28 countries analysed, Romania ranked second in terms of lack of confi- dence in the government after Greece.
Israeli Investment Group - Overseas bought Bosnia’s Ljubija iron ore mines for €47mn. The Israeli company utbid global steel maker Arcelor- Mittal.
The Council of the European Union has agreed to €100mn financial assistance for Moldova aimed at supporting the country's economic stabilisa- tion and structural reform agenda. The EU is trying to strengthen the position of the pro-EU government in office.
Societe Generale will exit the Montenegrin market if it’s plans to merge with local Crnogor- ska Komercijalna Bank (CBCG) are blocked. Local economists say the merger would create a mo- nopoly in the banking market.
Four communist-era surveillance rooms were discovered in Slovenia. The spy rooms, likely built around 1969, were behind a hotel near Pos- tojna Cave, one of the main tourist attractions in the country.
Turkey’s auto production rose 23% y/y to 157,729 units in March, data from the Automotive Manufac- turers’ Association (OSD) showed. Exports are set to increase in value to $27bn in 2017 from last year’s $24.2bn, but the domestic automotive market is heading for a sales volume contraction of 11%.
The EBRD plans to expand its activities in Alba- nia in 2017, after making a record number of in-
vestments last year. To date, the bank has invest- ed around €1bn in 77 projects in Albania mainly in the infrastructure and energy sectors.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the death penalty to be reinstated in Turkey. The government should submit a draft on the issue after the April 16 referendum, Erdogan told sup- porters at a rally.
Moody's Investors Service downgraded strug- gling Croatian retail and food giant Agrokor. The rating agency lowered Agrokor’s corporate family rating from Caa1 to Caa2 with negative outlook - the second downgrade in two weeks.
US President Donald Trump signed the protocol on Montenegro’s accession to Nato, which was approved by the Senate at the end of March. Now Spain is the only Nato member that still has to ratify the protocol.
Romania’s RCS & RDS will hold an IPO in May.
The value of the diversified telecoms company is evaluated at €1.5bn-2bn, so the IPO size is con- sequently expected at €500mn-600mn.
Private equity firm Bedminster Capital is plan- ning to sell its 80% stake in Turkish packaging firm Propak Ambalaj. Four potential buyers, in- cluding Constantia Flexibles, and Etapak, owned by Turkey's Ozgorkey Holding, are reportedly interested in Propak.
The Council of Europe has urged Kosovo to end impunity for wartime crimes and to provide ef- fective compensation to all war victims. Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks said that justice, social cohesion and media freedom remain the top challenges in the Balkan country.