Spanish telecommunication company Telefonica has acquired a 50% stake in Colombian fixed phone operator Colombia Telecom, for $368 million. The other bidder for Colombia Telecom was Venezuelan Cantv (Compania Anonima Nacional Telefonica de Venezuela).
Venezuela, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay will discuss the construction of a gas pipeline,said President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, during his Sunday radio programme "Alo, Presidente". The presidents of the four Latin American countries will meet in Paraguay on April 19.The pipeline will connect Bolivia with Paraguay. Venezuela is expected to provide infrastructure support for the pipeline construction.Venezuela is also promoting the construction of a giant transcontinental gas pipeline together with Argentina and Brazil. The construction of the 7,000 km long pipeline, connecting Venezuela with Argentina, will take five to seven years and require investments of nearly $20 billion.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects India's economic growth to moderate to 7.6% in the fiscal year from 2005 to 2006 and to 7.8% the following year. Inflation, due to rapidly rising consumption and investment, is the cause of the slow down, according to the ADB, which also said that India needs to increase investment and raise capital productivity in order to achieve 9% growth.
Thai Finance Ministry's head Suparat Kawatkul said that Thailand's interim government will continue Thaksin's policies, and stick to its GDP growth forecast of 4.5% to 5.5% for this year. This includes monetary, fiscal, budget and investment, including the mega-projects.
Jordan's Privatisation Commission announced that the government has re-started its privatisation plan for Royal Jordanian Airlines. Jordanian government had initiated the privatisation in 2000, but it was shelved after September 11th 2001. The Commission said that the government plans to complete the privatisation within the next 12 months, with the help of the International Finance Corp. The government has yet to decide whether to look for a strategic partner or make a public offer.
UniCredito Italiano intends to merge Polish banks BPH and Pekao SA by the end of 2006, by transferring the entire property of BPH to Pekao SA in return for shares, which Pekao SA will issue to BPH's shareholders, the National Bank of Poland announced yesterday. The merger will be directed by the management boards of both banks.