Page 7 - bne_newspaper_October_26_2018

The Regions This Week
October 26, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 7
Southeast Europe
Bulgaria’s government survived a third no- confidence vote. The motion was filed by the opposition Socialists over the government’s failure to carry out health sector reforms.
New leaked emails sparked fresh controversy over Croatia's "Lex Agrokor”. The mails, which appear to have been exchanged between former Croatian economy minister Martina Dalic and a lawyer, suggest last minute changes were made to the law to favour US fund Knighthead.
Turkey’s ultra-nationalists walked out of Presi- dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s local elections al- liance. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) was taken by surprise by the sudden an- nouncement that its coalition partner was aban- doning their electoral alliance ahead of the March local vote.
Romanian security technology company Bit- defender acquired RedSocks Security, a Neth- erlands-based behaviour and network security analytics company. The acquisition is part of Bit- defender's ongoing M&A strategy, expanding the company's portfolio and addressable market into network security and analytics territory.
Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski will try to delay serving his prison term. Gruevski was sentenced to two years in prison in a case related to the purchase of a luxury Mercedes worth around €600,000 using state money.
An unnamed French company is ready to invest €120mn in a wind park project in Kosovo, the trade and industry ministry in Pristina said. Ko- sovo is struggling to reach EU renewable energy standards, as it relies mostly on thermal plant power production.
Moldova launched a new e-procurement system in a bid to fight corruption. The system, called
MTender, will radically transform the way public funds are spent, said the EBRD, which supported the project, along with the World Trade Organisa- tion and Moldova’s finance ministry.
Serbian pharma company Galenika plans to build a $40mn plant in Russia’s St. Petersburg as part of its plans to expand on foreign markets. Galenika, which was acquired by Brazil’s largest drug maker EMS through its Luxembourg-based company Aelius in 2017, is now in talks with the St. Petersburg authorities.
Croatian police used tear gas to stop migrants attempting to enter from Bosnia following clash- es and rising tensions. The two countries are part of a new route that has opened up in the Western Balkans.
The number of road accidents in Albania fell by 9.3% y/y to 156 in September, after dropping by 16.3% y/y in the previous month. Albanian roads are dangerous because of their poor condition, but the authorities are making efforts to im- prove road conditions and build new motorways.
Romania’s lower house of parliament endorsed the offshore gas bill. The final form of the bill stipu- lates higher taxes but offers more predictability for investors developing Romania’s offshore gas fields.
Turkey and Greece’s jockeying reached worrying proportions with the former warning the latter that it will not tolerate a shift in Greece’s mari- time border. The stance drew a sharp retort from Athens that only the Greek government will decide when and how it exercises its sovereign rights.
Montenegro's stock exchange turnover jumped to €59.08mn in September, up from just €0.7mn recorded a year earlier. The far higher volume in September was due to a rise in the free market segment.