Carrefour pulls out of Greece
20/06/2012
The French retail giant will sell its 50% stake in the supermarkets to a local partner. Also in business news: smokers in Southeast Europe spend nearly 20% of their monthly income on cigarettes.
 Greece is Carrefour's only unprofitable market. [Reuters] |
Carrefour announced on Friday (June 15th) that it is exiting Greece, which is its only unprofitable market. The company plans to sell its 50% stake in its Greek chain of supermarkets to its local partner -- the Marinopoulos family -- for 1 euro. The venture also operates in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Albania and other Balkan countries.
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Romania is one of the EU members with the highest share of renewable energy in its gross final energy consumption, EUROSTAT data showed. This share stood at 23.4% in 2010, compared to 12.4% for the EU on average. Bulgaria is also above the EU average at 13.8%. Greece and Cyprus are lagging with 9.2% and 4.8% respectively.
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The Turkish mint has distributed the Republic's first coin without Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's image on either side. The coins, 1 million of which are now in use, were produced to mark the 10th anniversary of the Turkish Olympics, an event for children.
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Fast food chain Burger King announced on Tuesday (June 19th) that it is leaving the Romanian market. Atlantic Restaurant System, which runs the Burger King franchise in the country, said it is closing down the last two restaurants this week.
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Turkish Airlines officially announced on Thursday (June 14th) that it is terminating its partnership with Bosnia and Herzegovina's BH Airlines. The Turkish air carrier bought a 49% stake in the company in 2008 for $6.1m, and has invested an additional $24m.
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Smokers in Southeast Europe spend nearly one-fifth of their monthly income on cigarettes, Davor Tomaskovic, president of the Croatian tobacco factory Rovinj, said on Monday (June 18th). He said that monthly cigarette costs in Croatia reached 17% of total income in 2011, up from 12% in 2008. In Serbia, the share grew from 14% to 17%, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina it increased from 15% to 19%. The surge is due to higher cigarette prices.
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Energy, tourism and agriculture are Macedonia's economic sectors offering the best potential for Russian investment, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said in Moscow on Monday (June 18th). During a meeting with Russian businessmen, Gruevski underlined his country's favourable economic conditions, particularly in terms of tax policy.
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Turkey and the EU agreed on Friday (June 15th) to deepen their energy co-operation. At a meeting in Stuttgart, officials agreed to focus their efforts on integrating markets and developing infrastructure for the transportation of gas, oil and electricity -- promoting renewable energy and clean energy technologies, as well as securing nuclear safety and protection against radiation.
(Various sources -- 13/06/12-20/06/12)
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