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The Regions This Week
October 19, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 8
Southeast Europe
Moscow-based International Investment Bank successfully closed the order book for a new bond issue on the Romanian stock exchange. The issue, structured in two tranches, in Romanian leu and euro, is the fourth one in a row for the IIB and the largest one in terms of volume on the Romanian market.
Slovenian banking group Nova Ljubljanska ban- ka NLB will proceed with an IPO on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. The Slovenian government is required to privatise the bank by the end of this year under its commit- ments to the European Commission.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) will introduce a bill in parliament switching the main opposition party’s shares in Turkey’s larg- est listed lender, Isbank, to the treasury. The Republican People’s Party holds a 28% stake in Isbank, bequeathed to it by Mustafa Kemal Atat- urk, founder of the Turkish Republic.
Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek will start seis- mic tests off the Montenegrin coast. The consor- tium signed a deal with Montenegro on offshore oil and gas exploration in 2016.
More than a third of the population in Bulgaria and Romania was at risk of poverty or social exclusion last year, Eurostat data showed. Accord- ing to the study, 38.9% of Bulgarians and 35.7% of Romanians were at risk of poverty or social exclu- sion.
Albania’s AlbChrome will expand its ferro- chrome production by investing €10mn at its plant in Burrel, in the country’s north. The expan- sion is expected to have a major impact on the economic development in the region of the cities of Bulqiza, Klos, Burrel and Elbasan.
A Slovenian think tank claimed the “biggest ever” theft of votes and fraud took place during the recent general election in Bosnia. The Ljubljana- based International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES) argued the vote should not be recognised.
A rift appeared within Bulgaria’s junior ruling party, the far right United Patriots. The National Front for Salvation of Bulgaria, one of the trio that makes up the United Patriots, says it will with- draw its support for parliamentary faction leader Volen Siderov amid a spat over plans for next year’s European Parliament elections.
Financially troubled Croatian shipbuilder Uljanik lost another contract. The shipyard terminated its contract to build a ship for Wellard Ships PTE from Singapore, after the buyer asked for work to be suspended.
Ekrem Mustafa was appointed Kosovo’s new interior minister after his predecessor Bejtush Gashi was dismissed. Gashi was sacked due to his poor performance as minister upon the request
of his own party, the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), which is part of the governing coalition.
State asset management agency APP put stakes in several Moldovan companies and properties put up for sale at a total starting price of MDL1.45 (€70mn). Among them are one of the country’s largest spirits producers Barza Alba (producer of Kvint liqueur), the country’s first cigarettes produc- er Tutun-CTC and Chisinau central bus station.
Turkey's unemployment rate rose to 10.8%
in July from 10.2% in June, national statistics institute TUIK announced. The news highlighted “a trend that is likely to continue for a while given the ongoing deterioration in the growth outlook,” ING Bank said in a research note.