January 23 (SeeNews) - Following is a selection of top stories and interviews moved by SeeNews The Corporate Wire this week:
ISRAEL'S AVIV ARLON STARTS CONSTRUCTION OF RETAIL PARK IN SERBIA'S ZRENJANIN
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Israeli property developer Aviv Arlon has started the construction of a retail park in the northern Serbian town of Zrenjanin worth around 30 million euro ($34.7 million), the head of the marketing division of the company's Serbian unit said on Wednesday.
The retail park should welcome its first customers as early as the end of 2015, Danka Gladovic said in an emailed response to a SeeNews inquiry.
Read more at: http://wire.seenews.com/news/israels-aviv-arlon-starts-construction-of-retail-park-in-serbias-zrenjanin-459522
RENAULT WORLDWIDE SALES UNDER ROMANIAN BRAND DACIA JUMP 19% IN 2014
Worldwide sales of French car maker Renault under its Romanian-made Dacia brand rose 19.1% to 511,465 vehicles last year, mainly due to the popularity of the Duster SUV and of the updated Logan and Sandero models, Renault said on Monday.
Passenger car sales under the Dacia brand rose 18.8% to 474,624 vehicles last year, while sales of light commercial vehicles (LCV) under the same brand jumped 22.8% to 36,841, Renault said in a statement.
Read more at: http://wire.seenews.com/news/renault-worldwide-sales-under-romanian-brand-dacia-jump-19-1-in-2014-458943
CROATIAN PARL APPROVES 1-YR FREEZE OF SWISS FRANC/KUNA EXCHANGE RATE
The Croatian parliament approved on Friday a bill to freeze for a year the exchange rate of the Swiss franc against the local currency, the kuna, in a bid to ease the plight of overstretched borrowers.
The bill - slammed by local banks, was sent to parliament by the Croatian government earlier this week in response to the surge of the franc following the decision of the Swiss central bank to remove its currency cap.
Read more at: http://wire.seenews.com/news/croatian-parl-approves-1-yr-freeze-of-swiss-franc-kuna-exchange-rate-459922
IMF RAISES EMERGING, DEVELOPING EUROPE'S 2015 GDP GROWTH FCAST TO 2.9%
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its outlook for economic growth in emerging and developing Europe this year to 2.9% from 0.1% projected in October 2014.
The IMF emerging and developing Europe region comprises Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.
In 2016 the IMF expects that emerging and developing Europe will post 3.1% economic growth, it said in its World Economic Outlook (WEO), released on Monday. In October 2014, the IMF projected that the region's economy would shrink by 0.2% in 2016.
Read more at: http://wire.seenews.com/news/imf-raises-emerging-developing-europe-2015-gdp-growth-fcast-to-2-9-459142
INTERVIEWS
GLOBAL RATES OUTLOOK, OIL PRICES SEEN AS POTENTIAL POSITIVE CATALYSTS FOR TURKISH EQUITIES IN 2015
The global interest rate outlook and low oil prices are two potential positive macro drivers for the performance of Turkish equities in 2015, the head of research at Erste Securities Istanbul said.
“We think that the investment case for Turkey will not be significantly different from previous years and will be highly dependent on risk appetite for Turkish assets, which will be a function of global growth and the interest rate outlook coupled with Turkey-specific factors,” Can Yurtcan told SeeNews in an emailed interview.
Read the full text of the interview at: http://wire.seenews.com/news/interview-global-rates-outlook-oil-prices-seen-as-potential-positive-catalysts-for-turkish-equities-in-2015-459943
BULGARIA'S PROMODUL TO INVEST ABOUT 1.7 MLN EURO IN CANNING PLANT
Bulgarian fuel station maker Promodul will expand its activities and will invest between 2.5 million levs ($1.5 million/1.3 million euro) and 3 million levs in a plant for conservation of fruit and vegetables in the city of Pavlikeni, the company's owner and manager said on Friday.
The company will renovate an existing non-operational plant and will start processing, storing, canning and freezing fruit and vegetables, Ivan Ivanov told SeeNews.
Read the full text of the interview at: http://wire.seenews.com/news/interview-bulgarias-promodul-to-invest-about-1-7-mln-euro-in-canning-plant-459953