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TT Business Intelligence Report Vol. 2, No. 44, 17 April 2003 Business Intelligence, Crime, Corruption and Debt in C&E/SE Europe and the FSU  UPCOMING CONFERENCES I.P.C.'S "NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING MEASURES AND SOLUTIONS" This event will take place on 29-30 April 2003 at the headquarters of Raiffeisen Zentralbank, Vienna, Austria. For further information, tel: +44 (0)20 7529 8902; fax: +44 (0)20 7387 4647; email: [email protected]; W: www.ipc-conferences/vienna "INVESTING IN AZERBAIJAN - GATEWAY TO THE NEWLY INDEPENDENT STATES" This event will take place on 7-9 May 2003 at the Hyatt Conference Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. For further information, please visit: www.invest-in-azerbaijan.com, or contact Dorit Sallis, tel: +41 1 249 3133; e-mail: [email protected] BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BOSNIAN SERB LEADER RESIGNS IN WAKE OF ARMS SCANDAL The Bosnian Serb member of the tripartite Bosnian Presidency, Mirko Sarovic, was forced to resign after having failed to prevent weapons sales to Baghdad, "The Times" of London reported on 3 April. According to "The Times," "Sarovic is also alleged to have turned a blind eye to illegal spying activities carried out by the Bosnian Serb military intelligence on members of the international community, NATO forces and on state institutions in Bosnia." In September 2001, NATO forces raided the Orao aircraft plant in the Bosnian Serb town of Bijeljina. There they found evidence that the company, which has close ties to the Bosnian Serb military, had been supplying spare parts for Iraqi fighter jets and had been sending technicians to Baghdad. Most of the effort was conducted through a Belgrade-based arms-trading company, Yugoimport. (RFE/RL 14.iv.03) BULGARIA GOVERNMENT POSTPONES DECISION ON SALE OF D.S.K. BANK The Bulgarian government announced on Monday that it has postponed a decision on the sale of DSK Bank. Hungary's OTP Bank and Austria's Erste Bank handed in final binding bids for a 100% stake last Thursday. Bulgaria's Bank Consolidation Company BCC, which is conducting the transaction, asked the bidders on Friday to clarify certain points of their offers, and to modify certain conditions stated in their bids over the weekend. BCC was to make a decision on Monday or Tuesday, but finance minister Milen Veltchev said on Monday that "although both banks made significant concessions, we have not yet clarified all the details of the bids, and therefore could not make a decision." Veltchev did not say when a decision would be reached. OTP offered 311 million euros for DSK, as opposed to the 293 million euro offer from Erste Bank. Both offers are considerably higher than the 250 million euros the Bulgarian government had hoped for, but "a higher price is not a critical factor, and does not necessarily mean an automatic victory for the higher bidder," a government spokesperson pointed out. OTP Bank's offer did not significantly exceed that of its only competitor Erste, but the difference is large enough to justify a decision, OTP chairman and CEO Sandor Csanyi said at the weekend. The offer price is only one and a half times OTP's net profits, he remarked. Csanyi said that OTP's bid included a few minor proposed changes to the draft contract, but was confident that these could be sorted out at weekend talks with the Bulgarian Bank Consolidation Company, thus removing the final barrier to OTP signing the contract on the purchase of DSK. (NewsBase 15.iv.03) GERMAN GIANT MAKES GOOD IN BULGARIA German publishing company Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ) owns the two largest dailies in Bulgaria, giving the company major slices of the circulation and advertising revenues in the country's newspaper sector, "Transitions Online" reported on 3 April. WAZ Bulgaria -- which owns the two majors "24 Chassa" and "Troud," as well as "Troud Nightly," "Troud Weekly," "168 Chassa," and other publications -- was formed in 1996. It has since invested in its technical plant and released reformatted color versions of its flagship dailies. "24 Chassa" has a circulation of 200,000, and "Troud" has reached 450,000. WAZ has also developed a regional network for the two papers, both of which have editorial offices in Varna, Plovdiv, Rousse, and Bourgas. The company employs 1,300 people. (RFE/RL 14.iv.03) CROATIA DEPUTY P.M. LINIC: I.M.F. SATISFIED WITH CROATIA'S ECONOMIC RESULTS FOR 2002 IMF representatives were satisfied with Croatia's economic results in 2002, Deputy PM Slavko Linic stated yesterday. They regarded as positive the government's efforts to maintain prudent fiscal policy and not to strain the preset budget constraints. The Croatian emissaries have also discussed economic results in 2002 and Q1/2003 with IMF representatives. The IMF should send a mission to visit Croatia in May, where measures should be discussed for the second part of the stand-by arrangement, CNB Deputy Governor Boris Vujcic stated. The IMF recently approved a 14-month precautionary SDR 105.9mn stand-by arrangement to support Croatia's economic programme. According to Vujcic, the IMF did not have any objections to the CNB's exchange rate policy, as such an approach could allow better price stability in the country. The IMF estimated that GDP growth in Croatia should be around 4.2% in 2003 and 4.5% in 2004. (IntelliNews 15.iv.03) FORMER YUGOSLAV BANK ACCOUNTS IN THE U.S. TO BE BLOCKED BY CROATIA Bank accounts in the US containing $225 million deposited by the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which the US intends to unfreeze this month, will be blocked by Croatia, according to Croatia's Deputy Finance Minister Damir Kustrak. Speaking in Washington where he is a member of the Croatian delegation to the IMF/World Bank spring meeting, Kustrak said the funds should be blocked until a final solution to the problems of the succession to the former SFRY. Those funds cannot be unfrozen as long as the interested parties, the countries that formerly constituted the SFRY, do not solve the succession problems completely, Kustrak said. Zagreb has already blocked $40 million, deposited by the former SFRY's central bank, in American banks which the US unfroze last December. (NewsBase 15.iv.03) CZECH REPUBLIC UNION BANK TO PAY OUT CLIENTS' DEPOSITS Settlement with Union bank (UB) creditors will be guaranteed by the bank itself and not American investment bank Goldam Sachs (GS) as originally planned. GS is to take over the shareholdings of Invesmart and Union Group in Union, a successor commercial company. According to unofficial information the payment of secured deposits of UB clients will start on 19 May. (PBJ 16.iv.03) CESKY TELECOM REPORTEDLY TO SIGN AGREEMENT ON PURCHASE OF EUROTEL BY END-APRIL Cesky Telecom should sign the purchase agreement on the remaining 49% stake in mobile operator Eurotel by the end of this month, the daily Euro OnLine reported. The deal then should be completed by end-August. This was allegedly agreed upon with the US company Atlantic West, which controls the stake. If the deadline is met the price should remain USD 1.285bn as agreed. Otherwise it would be raised. According to rumours, the agreement with the US company was reached by IT Minister Mlynar and Cesky Telecom's chairman Felix during their visit to the US recently. However, the two denied to have held talks on the issue. It seems some of the members of the telecom's board are opposing the purchase price. Law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges recommended due diligence and debates on the transaction at the next general meeting. (IntelliNews 15.iv.03) TRIAL BEGINS OF FORMER MINISTRY AIDE ACCUSED OF PLOTTING JOURNALIST'S MURDER The trial of the former secretary-general at the Czech Foreign Ministry, Karel Srba, began on 18 March in the southern city of Ceske Budejovice. Srba is accused of hiring a contract killer to murder investigative reporter Sabina Slonkova. According to previous reports in the Czech press, Srba wought to murder Slonkova for her exposure in the newspaper "Mlada Fronta Dnes" of a dubious real-estate deal in Moscow that led to Srba's resignation. The alleged murder plot failed after the would-be hired killer, Karel Rziepel, went to the police with the story. When police arrested Srba at his home in July, they found 30 million crowns ($1.35 million), two handguns, and a photo of Slonkova with the word "liquidate" scrawled on the back. Srba's lawyers have blamed the whole affair on a vindictive acquaintance and suggested that powerful political enemies are to blame for what they call an elaborate frame-up. Srba was appointed secretary general of the Foreign Ministry in 1999 by then-Foreign Minister Jan Kavan, who currently is presiding over the 57th session of the UN General Assembly. Srba's jobs included implementation of the Social Democratic government's "Clean Hands" anticorruption program within the ministry. The scandal that Slonkova had exposed -- and which implicated Srba -- concerned the ministry's leasing out of a 10-story building in downtown Moscow known as "Cesky Dum." A contract negotiated by Srba leased the structure at far below market value, effectively costing the Czech government 100 million crowns ($3 million) in lost revenue, according to a number of estimates. As part of the contract, the tenants were allowed to import goods into Russia duty-free. (RFE/RL 14.iv.03) ESTONIA I.M.F. REVIEWS FORECAST FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH IN BALTICS The International Monetary Fund has reviewed its forecast on Estonian economic growth in 2003 from 5% to 4.9%, the lowest GDP growth forecast among the Baltic states, the IMF said in a statement. Estonia's current balance of payments deficit is expected to drop from 10.1% to 5% of GDP. GDP is forecast to go up 5.5% in Latvia and 5.3% in Lithuania. The current balance of payments deficits are predicted at 7.1% and 5.8%, respectively. The IMF expects to see inflation of 3.6% in Estonia, 3% in Latvia and 2.1% in Lithuania. (NewsBase 11.iv.03) HUNGARY MOL IS AMONG 400 BEST PERFORMING COMPANIES WORLDWIDE Hungary's Mol is among Forbes' 400 best performing companies in the world, Vilaggazdasag reported. The companies on the list had to have sales revenues of a minimum of USD 5mn or capitalisation of minimum USD 5bn. As a result of Mol's expansion policy, its sales revenues have increased significantly. Mol cut its cost by HUF 25-30bn in the last few years in order to improve its efficiency, and the company's future expectations are also favourable. (IntelliNews 16.iv.03) HUNGARIAN REFERENDUM: 83% BACK E.U. ACCESSION The binding referendum on Hungary's accession to the European Union held on Saturday was successful as 83.76% of voters casting valid ballots, 38% of all eligible voters voted "yes", the President of the National Election Commission (OVB), Lajos Ficzere said on Sunday. President of the Republic Ferenc Mádl, speaking after the results were announced, said the clear decision taken on Saturday had created a new historical situation in Hungary. Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy said Hungary had passed through the longest and most difficult stage of the Budapest-Brussels marathon with the referendum. (BBJ 14.iv.03) KAZAKHSTAN KAZAKH, RUSSIAN PRESIDENTS MEET IN OMSK The Kazakh and Russian heads of state met in Omsk on 15 April during a forum of border regions of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation, khabar.kz and the Kazakh broadcast media reported the same day. The focus of the forum, which was attended by the governors of eight Kazakh and 11 Russian border oblasts, was on increasing cooperation among the regions, including simplifying the border and customs regimes. It was noted that cross-border trade declined by 11 percent last year. The Russian side attributes the reduction to a Kazakh import-substitution program, while the Kazakhs blame Russian customs obstacles. Water use and mercury contamination in the Irtysh River were also discussed. Presidents Nursultan Nazarbaev and Vladimir Putin held a private meeting to discuss increasing the interaction between their countries' economies and the prospects for joint projects in the fuel, energy, and mining sectors. Putin was cited as suggesting that the two countries jointly protect Kazakhstan's borders, including its border with China. After the forum, bilateral agreements on highway transportation and health care were signed. (RFE/RL 16.iv.03) DISAGREEMENT OVER KAZAKH DELEGATION'S RECEPTION IN STRASBOURG Deputy Foreign Minister Kairat Abuseitov and a group of parliamentary deputies who had just returned from a visit to the European Parliament gave contradictory accounts of what they heard at a news conference on 11 April. The group was invited to Strasbourg in connection with the 13 February resolution in which the European Parliament castigated Kazakhstan for its worsening media and human rights records. Parliamentarian Zhazbek Abdiev told the news conference that European Parliament members had said the resolution was adopted too quickly, without taking account of differing viewpoints and using only information from the Kazakh opposition. According to Abdiev, the European Parliament intends to revise the resolution to correct its one-sidedness. Republican People's Party official Amirzhan Qosanov, also a member of the delegation, disagreed, saying that EP members had said the resolution was adopted properly and it accurately reflected the situation in Kazakhstan. (RFE/RL 14.iv.03) LATVIA PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY GRINDEKS INCREASES PROFIT Latvian pharmaceuticals company Grindeks increased net audited profit 130% year-on-year in 2002 to 724,700 lats, according to a company report presented to the Riga Stock Exchange. Earnings increased 32% to 15.8 million lats. Grindeks assets totalled 12.4 million lats at the end of 2002 and capital was 4.9 million lats. The company noted an increase in sales in Russia, other CIS countries, Japan, the United States, Ireland and Denmark. Grindeks exported almost 90% of its production to 36 countries. Its most important sales markets are Russia, to which 24.3% was exported, other CIS countries taking 23.2% and Japan 7.4%. Grindeks plans to double its profit in 2003 to 1.5 million lats and raise sales 15.4% to 18.3 million lats. The company plans to invest 1.069 million lats this year. The company's largest shareholder is Solem LLC of the United States with 27.4%. (NewsBase 15.iv.03) POLAND FOREIGN INVESTMENT AGENCY DETAILS ON RECENTLY RELEASED F.D.I. DATA FOR 2002 Poland attracted USD 6.06bn in foreign direct investment in 2002, down from USD 7.1bn a year earlier, the Polish Agency for Foreign Investment (PAIZ) officially announced yesterday, though in fact confirming data, quoted earlier by the agency. The agency bases its figures on questionnaires sent to foreign companies and inquiries with embassies, foreign trade chambers and other offices. The data is net of disinvestment but in gross terms, in the sense that it does not net out residents' investment abroad. The data is much higher that the central bank's FDI figures (showing gross FDI of 4.1bn last year), due to the inherent upward bias resulting from its basic questionnaire approach. The figures of PAIZ show that 2002 was the poorest year since 1997, when USD 5.6bn was invested in Poland. PAIZ also said that 73 new firms started business in Poland in 2002 bringing the number of all foreign investors to 979 at the end of 2002. FDI came mainly from the US and Europe with UK's firms investing USD 1.37bn, Dutch companies - USD 1.07bn and US - USD 887mn. PAIZ also said that investors focused mostly on manufacturing activities (34.3% of all investment came to the manufacturing sector). Trade and repairing attracted 17.4% and the financial sector - 15.7%. BC Bank N.V., with investment of USD 442mn in the banking sector was the largest foreign investor last year, RWE Plus AG with USD 338mn invested in the power sector ranked second, and Tesco (USD 320mn in trade) was third. According to Deputy Economy and Labor Minister Andrzej Szejna, who was quoted by ISB, this year should see FDI rising to some USD 7-8bn. (IntelliNews 16.iv.03) ING BANK SLASKI TO CUT JOBS BY 10% TO REDUCE COSTS ING Bank Slaski (ING BS), part of the Dutch ING banking group, wants to cut its staff by 10% by the end of the year as part of the company's retrenchments amid the industry slump. Slaski, ING's key investment in Eastern Europe which currently employs approximately 7,600 people and has total assets of zl. 27 billion ($6.84 billion) is one of the country's ten largest banks. In an official statement the company said, "the management of ING Bank Slaski took the decision to rationalize employment in an attempt to reduce costs, increase efficiency and competitiveness." According to analysts the estimated savings thanks to staff reductions are between zl. 30 million and zl. 40 million. ING BS has 341 branches concentrated mainly in Southern Poland. (WBJ 16.iv.03) ROMANIA ROMANIA, BULGARIA TIGHTEN RELATIONS Following the visit paid by the Romanian President Ion Iliescu to Bulgaria, officials of the two sides expressed firm commitment to better cooperate with regards to reaching common Euro-Atlantic goals. The Presidents of Romania and Bulgaria voiced high expectations from this week's Athens EU summit. The two also discussed economic issues, including: the building of a 1.3km bridge over the Danube River linking Vidin, Bulgaria to Calafat, Romania; the setting up of a ferry service between Romanian and Bulgarian Danube River ports; cuts in border crossing taxes, and energy projects. (IntelliNews 15.iv.03) EIGHT INVESTMENT BANKS LISTED FOR SEVEN-YEAR EUROBOND Romania short listed eight investment banks in the search for a lead manager for its 500m euros, seven-year Eurobond scheduled for the first half of this year, according to government sources. The banks are ABN Amro, Deutsche Bank AG, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Commerzbank AG, Schroeder Salomon Smith Barney, UBS Warburg and ING Bank. The Finance Ministry said it received offers from 19 banks but it selected the most interesting ones in terms of price and terms offered for the Eurobond. Romania will use the funds to finance a part of its budget deficit. (NewsBase 15.iv.03) RUSSIA SURGUT SHARES JUMP 5% DESPITE TAKEOVER DENIAL In a recent meeting with analysts from the Aton brokerage, reclusive Surgutneftegaz chief Vladimir Bogdanov dismissed rumors that a big investor had launched a hostile takeover bid, Aton said Tuesday. A Surgut official confirmed that Aton had met with Bogdanov, but declined further comment. Surgut's shares have risen more than 15 percent during the past week and closed up another 5 percent Tuesday to 35.2 cents amid rumors that a hostile bidder was buying its freely floated shares and pushing for legal changes to cancel the company's treasury stock. If the treasury stock is cancelled, a relatively small free float could then turn into an important stake in the firm. "Bogdanov dismissed talk of a strategic investor buying a stake as 'rumors,' citing small volumes and undisclosed arrangements that prevent any hostile investor from taking control of treasury shares," Aton said. Surgut has irked investors for years by paying dividends that analysts and investors say are below fair levels and by allowing management to vote stock held by Surgut's subsidiaries. The management is believed to control about 70 percent of all the firm's stock, including a 40 percent treasury stake held by a fully owned subsidiary. Market players say that Surgutneftegaz's rivals may be lobbying to close a legal loophole that allows a company's management to vote on behalf of stock held by a subsidiary, even though current legislation forbids voting on stock held by the company itself. Analysts have said that if Surgut's treasury shares were excluded from calculations, the firm, whose current market capitalization stands at $12.2 billion, would become one of Russia's cheapest oil majors and a perfect acquisition target. (The Moscow Times 16.iv.03) CITIBANK RETAIL LOANS Russia's Citibank, a unit of Citigroup Inc., on Tuesday launched an unsecured consumer loan program, with loans denominated in rubles and annual interest rates of 22 percent, Dow Jones reported. The loans, offered to people who have a net monthly income of at least 16,000 rubles ($512), will vary from 32,000 rubles to 320,000 rubles, and will be repaid over 18, 24, 30 or 36 months. "We have more than enough rubles to lend to Russians," consumer bank director Nandan Mer told a press conference. The bank said its 2002 revenue in Russia rose 13 percent on the year, but refused to provide detailed figures. Citibank becomes the second bank in Russia to offer unsecured consumer loans after Raiffeisenbank, the Russian unit of Austria's Raiffeisen Zentralbank. (The Moscow Times 16.iv.03) RUSSIA, EU TO NEGOTIATE VISA-FREE TRAVEL Speaking to journalists on 15 April following a meeting of the European Union-Russia Cooperation Council in Luxembourg, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said the two sides have agreed to create a working group to discuss establishing visa-free travel between the EU and Russia by 2007, Russian media reported. According to proposals currently under consideration, the introduction of the visa-free regime will be accomplished gradually, initially including only short-term travel by citizens using diplomatic passports. During this phase, Russia will cooperate actively with EU border agencies in order to combat organized crime and illegal migration, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovlev said, according to newsru.com on 15 April. (RFE/RL 16.iv.03) SIBIR CONSIDERS CHANGING ITS NAME No. 2 airline Sibir said Tuesday that it is considering rebranding its image and possibly changing its name in an attempt to attract more passengers. Deputy Sibir general director Mikhail Koshman said airline officials met with three image agencies -- BBDO, Landor and Bursen-Marsteller -- in London earlier this month to discuss the rebranding. "We've met to get an idea of the Western outlook on the issue," Koshman said by telephone. He said it was "highly probable" that the airline would change its name. "The word 'Sibir' does not convey the global status of the airline and is tied too much to a region," he said, referring to Siberia. "With foreigners, it evokes images of minus 30 degrees, vodka, barbed wire and the gulag. Who would want to fly there?" Sibir flies to 60 cities, including 28 foreign destinations. (The Moscow Times 16.iv.03) RUSSIA REFUSES TO SHUT DOWN IRAQI EMBASSY Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko announced on 13 April that Russia will not comply with U.S. requests to close down the Iraqi Embassy in Moscow and to expel Iraqi Ambassador to Russia Abbas Khalaf, RTR and other Russian media reported. Russia has had diplomatic relations with Iraq since the 1940s despite a number of regime changes there. Yakovenko said the Iraqi people themselves will decide on the composition of the country's diplomatic representation in Moscow. He added that Moscow does not consider the 6 April incident in which the motorcade of the Russian ambassador to Iraq was caught in crossfire outside Baghdad fully resolved yet. Moscow will seek compensation for material losses and damages in accordance with international law, Yakovenko said. (RFE/RL 15.iv.03) FORMER PRIME MINISTER URGED HUSSEIN TO ACCEPT EXILE Yevgenii Primakov, former prime minister and former chief of Russian Foreign Intelligence (SVR), told RTR on 11 April that during his mysterious mission to Baghdad on 22 February he urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq "if he loves his country and wants to avoid unnecessary bloodshed." Primakov said that just before his trip he was summoned to the Kremlin, where President Vladimir Putin asked him to fly to Iraq immediately to speak to Hussein. Primakov made the suggestion during a one-on-one meeting with Hussein, who then summoned two close associates and asked Primakov to repeat the message. Hussein then reminded Primakov that he had made promises in 1991 that never materialized, and then he slapped Primakov on the back and walked out of the meeting, Primakov said. (RFE/RL 15.iv.03) RUSSIA READY TO DISCUSS IRAQI DEBTS Responding to a U.S. proposal that Russia, France, and Germany open a new chapter in their relations with Iraq by writing off debts accumulated by the regime of deposed President Hussein, President Putin answered sarcastically, "Somebody came to shoot and loot, and that somebody should pay for the fun," president.kremlin.ru reported. Nonetheless, Putin said that Russia has agreed to discuss the matter within the framework of the Paris Club. He also hinted that Russia might consider writing off Hussein's debts in exchange for a write-off of its own "according to procedures elaborated by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund [IMF]." In Washington, however, Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin was participating in an IMF session on 13 April and said that there is no direct connection between Iraqi debt issues and the Paris Club, NTV reported. (RFE/RL 14.iv.03) RUSSIA, TURKMENISTAN SIGN STRATEGIC GAS AGREEMENT President Vladimir Putin and Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov signed a strategic energy accord in Moscow on 10 April under which Turkmenistan will supply natural gas to Russia through 2028, Russian media reported. Initially the amount of Turkmen gas that Russia will be able to purchase will be limited by an existing agreement to deliver certain quantities to Ukraine, but when that agreement expires in 2006, Russian will purchase 60 billion-70 billion cubic meters of gas per year from 2007-09, when the quantity will rise to 70 billion-80 billion per year. According to Putin, the price of only half the Turkmen gas will be paid in cash; the rest will be paid in Russian goods. Niyazov told Putin that he expects his country will be able to supply Russia with up to 100 billion cubic meters, starting in 2010. In total, Turkmenistan will supply 2 trillion cubic meters of gas under the agreement for $300 billion. Gazprom Chairman Aleksei Miller told journalists the figures in the agreement represent only the minimal level of cooperation. Turkmenistan is currently exploiting only one-third of its reserves and the export figures could be increased substantially. (RFE/RL 11.iv.03) SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO DEPUTY P.M. ISAKOV REFUTES RUMOURS CONCERNING FORMER PRESIDENT KOSTUNICA Serbian Deputy PM Miodrag Isakov refuted recent rumours that former Yugoslav President and leader of the major opposition DSS, Vojislav Kostunica, would be brought in for questioning in line with the investigation into Zoran Djindjic's murder. Isakov underlined that the investigation of the assassination of Djindjic should not be used as a weapon against political opponents, because this was not the Serbian Government's aim. The fight against organised crime would continue, but certain people would like to turn it against their political opponents, which can only be detrimental to the investigation, Isakov said. He added that the possibility of bringing Kostunica in for questioning was never the subject of serious conversation, and he described this as mere speculation. There had been no mentioning of Kostunica's questioning during Cabinet meetings, Isakov argued. He added that the investigation is expected to show why and how often the former Yugoslav President's advisor Rade Bulatovic and the former head of the army security service, Aco Tomic, met members of the Zemun criminal gang. At the same time, Deputy PM Cedomir Jovanovic dismissed accusations that authorities were using the state of emergency to eliminate their political opponents. (IntelliNews 16.iv.03) SLOVAKIA FOUR U.S. COMPANIES EYE SLOVAKIA AS POSSIBLE INVESTMENT TARGET Four U.S. companies have indicated a strong interest in investing in Slovakia, the U.S. ambassador said. After meeting the Slovak President Rudolf Schuster, the U.S. Ambassador Ronald Weiser identified the companies: auto parts maker Visteon Corp. (considering Slovakia and another central European country for a new plant), consulting and technology services provider Covansys Corp., packaging manufacturer Plastipak Packaging Inc., and a Michigan-based recycling company Clean Tech Inc. The total investments of all four companies are expected to amount to tens of millions of dollars and may grow significantly beyond that level, Weiser said. "Of course it's never done until a final contract is signed," said Weiser "but the probability is very high." Slovakia has recently begun attracting foreign direct investments. Earlier this year, French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen said it would open its new car plant near Bratislava. (IntelliNews 16.iv.03) GAZ DE FRANCE AND RUHRGAS LOOKING TO RAISE SHARE IN S.P.P. Gaz de France and Ruhrgas, which acquired a 49% stake in Slovak gas company Slovensky plynarensky priemysel (SPP) last year, are looking to raise their share in the firm, according to SPP board member for Gaz de France Philippe Boucly. "Of course we are interested in buying a further stake in SPP. As the consortium's member we have pre-emptive right to the shares. We are waiting to see how the situation develops," Boucly said. The consortium that acquired the minority stake with managerial control in SPP comprises Ruhrgas, Gaz de France and Russia's Gazprom. To date, only the French and German firms have paid for the stake. Gazprom has two years to pay for the share. Under the terms of the deal, the foreign firms have a pre-emptive right to 3% of the remaining shares, which would guarantee them a majority stake in SPP. However, current Slovak legislation calls for the state to maintain a majority in strategic companies such as SPP. Therefore, parliament must amend the current law before the consortium could raise its stake. (NewsBase 15.iv.03) UKRAINE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VISITS UZBEKISTAN Leonid Kuchma paid a one-day working visit to Tashkent on 10-11 April, Russian media reported. It was his fourth visit to the Uzbek capital. Kuchma met with his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and the possibilities for cooperation in rebuilding that country's infrastructure, cooperation in the fight against international terrorism and drug trafficking, unspecified aspects of bilateral relations, and the proposed CIS free-trade zone. (RFE/RL 16.iv.03) INFORMATION PROVIDERS - For further information on our InformationProviders, please contact: NEWSBASE NewsBase is a leading provider of business and economic news and intelligence from Russia, Central Europe and the FSU. Daily bulletins and industry specific weekly reports backed by an archive containing over 10 million words combine to provide a comprehensive service to a global blue chip client base. Contact: Jon Laurijssen T: +44 (0)131 478 8537 F: +44 (0)131 478 7001 E: [email protected] W: www.newsbase.com, www.newsbaseworldmonitoring.com NEW WORLD PUBLISHING New World Publishing is a primary source of business-related information for Central Europe, through its publications the Prague, Budapest and Warsaw Business Journals. Contact: Mark Child T: +420 2 4608 6524 F: +420 2 4608 6501 E: [email protected] W: www.ceebiz.com, www.pbj.cz, www.wbj.pl, www.bbj.hu THE MOSCOW TIMES The Moscow Times offers readers an independent and precise view of the political, economic and business life of Russia. Contact: Andrew Boag T: +7 095 232 3200 F: +7 095 232 1761 E: [email protected] W: www.themoscowtimes.com INTERNET SECURITIES, INC. 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