Galery

1

After a strong interest by big Greek and foreign investors, mostly from the construction business, who are working in water supply management, a tender was done for the privatization of the Water Supply Company in Thessaloniki (WSCT).

A privatization ministers commission decided to put 23.02% of the company’s stocks on the market. Based on information by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the companies, which until now have showed interest and have applied, are:

1. Aqualia (Spain) – GEK Terna (Greece)

2. Suez Environment (France) – Elaktor (Greece) Let us note that the French company already owns 5% of WSCT.

3. Veolia Eau (France) – MIG (Greece) – Ionos (Greece)

The advisors on the deal, who were set by the privatization minister commission, will decide whether the upper mentioned joint ventures suit the requirements, which were set for participation in the next round of the tender for the “Thessaloniki water.”

In the MIG, Veolia Environment and Ionos consortium the percentage of Veolia is the biggest – 51%, MIG has 44% and Ionos – 5%.

Veolia Environment is the biggest company in the world for services regarding the environment. It has offices on all continents, in more than 100 countries and employs over 336 000 people. For over 155 years, the company has been offering its services and solutions to organizations from the local management and to industrial firms in four fields: water supply and sewage, garbage management, energy and transportation. Veolia’s name can be seen on the Paris and New York stock exchanges with a total value of over ?11.5 billion for 2008 and a profit of ?20 billion.

Ionos is a construction works firms, which executes a big part of public orders like road, port, levee, and sewage network building. The form has been active for 25 years with more than 400 employees. For 2008 Ionos had an income of ?115 million and a profit of ?20 million.

Let us remind you that after selling 23.02% of the Water Supply Company of Thessaloniki, the Greek state will still be the owner of 51% of the stock capital of the firm.