Altec Telecoms announced that it would file for bankruptcy due to "risk of financial inability," in accordance with Article 3, Paragraph 2 of the Bankruptcy Code. Altec also announced, however, that it intended to submit to the bankruptcy court, within the legal deadlines, a draft plan for reorganization of the company aimed at salvaging and streamlining.

Vietnam and Greece signed a pact to boost investment ties between the two countries, a step that could promote greater cooperation in fields such as energy and tourism. The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation.

In the first half of 2008, Russia boosted exports of agricultural materials and foodstuffs to Greece by 14.3 percent to 27.5 million euros. The export growth was driven largely by increasing contract prices on wheat and sunflower oil. Imports increased by 23.9 percent to 50 million euros owing to expanded supplies of citrus, jams, jellies, juices and wines.

The Greek government has agreed to invest a total of around 100 million euros to support Serbia’s highway development project that will link the Balkan country with the neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece. Greek businesses have invested more than 2.5 billion euros in Serbia.

Buyout firm Marfin Investment Group (MIG) will team up with subsidiary Marfin Popular Bank and Greek wireless company Wind Hellas to introduce mobile phone banking services to the Greek market. “The strategic alliance is based on a shared vision for unified communications, emerging information and communication technologies offerings and the development of sophisticated banking services using mobile technology,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The state-owned Tourism Development Company (ETA) has launched eight new tenders to hand over tourism assets to the private sector in a bid to improve returns on its billion-euro portfolio. The tenders, relating to the development and management of facilities, will help improve the efficiency of assets managed by ETA, estimated to be worth some 1.2 billion euros.

Grimaldi Compagnia di Navigazione SpA, mother company of the Grimaldi Group, announced a mandatory public offer to acquire shares of Minoan Lines. It will offer 5.29 Euros per each Minoan share. The offer values Minoan Lines at 375,198,540 Euros and represents an 18.08 percent premium on the average weighed value of the Minoan shares during the last six months of trading.

Lottery system supplier Intralot signed a contract to organize online numerical and instant games in the Dominican Republic. In a deal with license holder Sajama, Intralot will offer facility management services in an initial network of 1,000 points of sale that is expected to expand significantly during the following years. No financial details were given.

Greece's largest toy retailer, Jumbo, said sales for the fiscal first quarter to end-September were seen rising by about 20 percent, despite current market turmoil. The firm aims for 15 percent profit and sales growth for the period 2007-2010.

The catering services business is worth 392.5 million euros in Greece/st1:country-region>, a survey by Hellastat SA said. The food supply sector includes around 3,000 enterprises, with the vast majority offering reception catering services. The reception catering sector accounts for 51 percent of the market, which also includes industrial catering and airline catering services.