SETimes.comRegional gas prices hit new highs
15/08/2012
Oil reached $115 a barrel, causing gas prices to peak in the region. Also in business news: car parts producer Bosch is opening a plant in Serbia and Greece's GDP has shrunk by 6.2 percent since April.
Fuel prices across the region have been increasing for the past week, as oil reached $115 a barrel in international trade. Gas stations in Bulgaria were selling the most popular B95 type at 1.39 euros per litre, up 0.05 euros from a week earlier. In Macedonia, the price reached 1.40 euros per litre, while in Montenegro a 0.6 cent hike was enacted Tuesday (August 14th) and B95 now sells for 1.45 euros per litre. Similar increases were also reported in other countries across the Balkans.
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Turkey has enacted a law that eases restrictions for foreigners to buy real estate property on its territory. The legislation includes 183 nations, and amends a previous law which banned foreigners from 89 states from owning property because Turkish nationals were not entitled to deed rights in those countries. At the same time, it keeps some limitations for Greek and Bulgarian citizens who are prohibited from buying estate on the coastal provinces including Istanbul. Greeks are also not allowed to own Turkish property and lands in the bordering province of Edirne.
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The world's biggest car parts producer, Bosch, will build a plant in Pecinci, Serbia, Finance and Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic said on August 8th. The facility is expected to create 620 jobs, and cost 71 million euros. Construction is scheduled to begin in the coming weeks.
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Croatia is attracting tourists at a faster pace than Greece and Turkey, Tourism Minister Veljko Ostojic said. He said visitors see Croatia's political system as more stable compared to other attractive destinations in the region.
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Serbia's Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic said on August 8th that the country will seek a fresh loan deal with the IMF to replace the current 1 billion-euro agreement that was frozen in February due to rising debt. The statement came a day after a trio of leading officials at the country's central banks stepped down, accusing the government of trying to tighten its grip on the financial institution beyond acceptable limits. Meanwhile, Standard & Poor's rating service cut the country's credit rating one notch to BB-, citing widening deficit and risks to the central bank's independence, which drove the dinar down to a record low.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is heading back towards recession this year, Central Bank Governor Kemal Kozaric warned in an interview with the Oslobodjenje daily on Friday (August 10th). BiH's economy shrank by 2.9 percent in 2010, but was able to return to growth of 1.3 percent last year. The IMF expects BiH's GDP to register zero growth in 2012.
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Greece and Italy agreed on August 8th to offer their support to the building of the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline. The facility, which aims to reduce Europe's dependence on Russian oils deliveries, will transport Caspian natural gas to Italy via Greece and Albania.
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Romania has successfully completed talks with the IMF on the sixth quarterly review of the country's 5 billion-euro precautionary loan deal with the fund and the EU, Finance Minister Florin Georgescu announced on Saturday (August 11th). Meanwhile, preliminary data of the National Statistics Institute in Bucharest showed Tuesday that the country's economy has emerged from recession in the second quarter, registering a GDP increase of 0.5 percent since April.
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Greece's GDP has shrunk by 6.2 percent in the second quarter of this year from a year ago, official data showed on Monday (August 13th). The Central Bank revised its data about the first quarter in a downward direction, and now says the economy has contracted by 6.5 percent versus 6.2 percent based on the previous estimates.
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The Macedonian government announced on Monday (August 13th) that it will provide about 3 million euros to promote and support tourism in 2013. The funds will be used to present the country at tourism fairs, organise Macedonian tourism weeks and implement media campaigns. The initiative is expected to attract revenues of around 200 million euros.
(Various sources -- 08/08/12-15/08/12)