Page 8 - bne_newspaper_July_26_2019

The Regions This Week
July 26, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Southeast Europe
Volkswagen picked Turkey as the location for
a new auto production plant it is to build outside Germany, German state media outlet ARD reported. The factory will be established in the western Turkish province of Manisa, it added, citing German government officials.
Indian businessman Pramod Mittal, brother
of steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, was arrested in Bosnia on suspicion of organised crime and abuse of office. Mittal is head of the supervisory board at metallurgical coke producer Global Ispat Koksna Industrija Lukavac (GIKIL), one of Bosnia’s top exporters.
The ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) nominated Prime Minister Viorica Dancila as its candidate for Romania’s autumn 2019 presidential elections — and its experts believe she can make it to the second round despite the party falling into third place in the polls. Incumbent President Klaus Iohannis is broadly seen as the front-runner, while the newly emerged centre-right bloc USR-PLUS is supporting its own candidate.
Fitch Ratings upgraded Slovenia’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'A' from 'A-' with stable outlook. The upgrade was made as Slovenia’s public debt has improved significantly, as a result of primary surpluses, as well as strong growth and asset sales.
Albanian actors clashed with the police in
front of the National Theatre in Tirana over the planned demolition of the building The project to build a new theatre building in the capital Tirana has drawn harsh criticism from artists as well as from opposition parties.
Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev vetoed
a deal to buy F-16 fighter jets from the US, saying the decision was taken too fast and without gaining broad consensus and support.
The veto was later overthrown by parliament, allowing the deal to go ahead.
Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci reportedly decided to call a snap election for September 8, according to RTK sources. The election
will take place after Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj when he was summoned to appear for questioning as a suspect by The Hague-based war crimes court.
PwC is drafting a feasibility study and in-depth analysis for the development of the Popova Sapka ski centre in North Macedonia, the government said on July 23. Popova Sapka was a popular ski resort until the ethnic conflict in 2001, since when the gondola lift has been out of operation and many hotels and restaurants were closed.
If offshore exploration works deliver good results,
Montenegro could become a significant exporter of crude oil, Portalanalitika.me reported, quoting Roberto Karahannas, a director at Hellenic Petroleum. "Montenegro has no refinery, so if crude oil is found, it will not be used for the needs of the state, but for export," Karahannas was quoted as saying.
Romania's public health system was jammed for three weeks by an IT malfunction. Health Minister Sorina Pintea said the National Health Insurance House (CNAS), which handles the system, was responsible, and called on anti- corruption prosecutors to investigate.
Kordsa Inc., a 100%-owned subsidiary of Turkey’s Kordsa Teknik Tekstil, bought US- based Axiom Materials Acquisition LLC. Kordsa completed the acquisition of a 95.86% stake in the US-based company from Axiom Materials Holding LLC, for a total consideration of $178.3mn, including cash and working capital adjustments worth $3.49mn, in cash.