A British couple, have had a court ruling instructing them to demolish their home in northern Cyprus overturned by the High Court. The ruling could now have dramatic consequences for the property market in Turkish occupied northern Cyprus.
The British pair had spent around £160,000 buying and constructing their property, however, a Greek Cypriot came forward, claiming that his family owned the land prior to the Turkish invasion in 1974. As a result, a court ruling in Nicosia ordered the Brits to demolish their home and compensate the Greek Cypriot man.
But presenting judge, Mr Justice Jack, found that the Nicosia court order was not enforceable in England due to the terms of Cyprus accession in to the EU in 2004, while Greek Cypriot law is unenforceable in the Turkish-occupied north.
Toshiba to build LCD TV plant in Wroclaw, Poland
Toshiba Corp. plans to build a liquid-crystal-display television plant in Poland to produce large screen units for the European market. The company plans to launch the plant in mid-2007 and aims to produce 1.5-2m units a year by 2009.
The new assembly plant, to be built in Wroclaw in southwestern Poland, will hire 1,000 new employees. Toshiba plans to invest over £22m in the plant, which will be the company's second TV assembly factory in Europe.
€100m to be spent on Bourgas and Varna airports by 2010
An agreement has been signed between the Bulgarian Government and Fraport for the concession to extend, and operate, both coastal airports in Bourgas and Varna. Fraport’s chief financial officer Stefan Schulte said that the company would invest €100m in the two airports by 2010. By 2009 new terminals would start functioning, Schulte said.
As a result, Fraport expects the passenger traffic at the airports to reach two million people, said Schulte.
Transport Minister Petar Moutafchiev said that the concession of the two airports was important for the image in Bulgaria and that it would help the two airports reach European standards.
After signing the agreement Fraport would receive licenses for the two airports. The company won the concession after it took the previous concession winner, Dutch Copenhagen Airports, to court.
Five percent of working age Poles have gone abroad
The Warsaw Voice has reported that, over the past two years, 3% of Poland's population, of almost 39m, has left Poland to work in other EU countries.
The original report was based on statistics from the European Citizen Action Service and added that the numbers reflect 5% of Poland's working age population. Over 500,000 have moved to Germany to work and at least 250,000 to the UK.
The report adds further credence to the notion that Poland's declining unemployment is bogus. The economy is still not creating many new jobs despite GDP growth in excess of 5%. The fact that the unemployment rate has fallen from 18% to under 16% is simply a reflection of the exodus of working-age Poles.
Austrian property returns 5.5% - IPD
Commercial property investors in Austria enjoyed total returns of 5.5% in 2005, a small improvement on the preceding year’s 4.4%, according to the latest Investment Property Databank (IPD) Austrian index.
The survey reveals that the Austrian commercial sector lagged the European average. In fact, Austria was the third worst performer in IPD’s European universe, only bettering Switzerland and Germany.
Poland lent €50m for modernisation of railway near capital
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending €50m for the upgrade of the regional passenger train operator in Mazovia, central-eastern Poland.
The EIB funds will finance the modernisation of the existing rolling stock fleet of Mazovian Railways, and will serve to upgrade railway services and improve the competitiveness of the region around Warsaw as well as contribute to the reduction of economic disparities between Warsaw and Mazovia’s sub-regions.
The new trains will increase the mobility of workers by reducing commuting times. They will raise the capacity of Mazovian Railways’ fleet by 33% in terms of available seats and enhance passenger safety and comfort.
Montenegro railway to be given funding by EIB
The Montenegro railway infrastructure will be rehabilitated along the main trunk line connecting the Port of Bar and the capital Podgorica with Belgrade and Pan-European Corridor X, thanks to a €34m loan from the European Bank of Infrastructure (EIB).
The railway is crucial for the Montenegrin economy and plays a critical role, given the insufficient road network and the mountainous terrain, in ensuring movements of freight, particularly bulk items such as ores, steel and agricultural products. Railways are also a key transport mode for the Adriatic Port of Bar. Improvements in the railway infrastructure will enable the railways to respond to the growing demand.
The total cost of improving the railway, once officially approved, is expected to be €68m.
Worldwide News
Property investment in Jordan rockets by 47%
Investment in the Jordan property sector rose during the first eight months of 2006 by around 47%, to reach JD3.4bn (£2.6bn). According to the Land and Survey Department figures, foreign investors accounted for JD97m (£72m) of the total investment volume in the January-August period, an 18% rise, compared to the same period last year.
Chinese investments surge 24%
Investment in China's property rose by 24% year-on-year during the first seven months of 2006, reaching 941.1bn yuan (£63.2bn), according to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Morgan Stanley invests $350m in Korea project
Morgan Stanley has announced that it will invest $350m toward a new $4.5bn waterfront project in South Korea.
New Songdo City (NSC), near Incheon International Airport west of Seoul, is being developed to be Northeast Asia's business hub in a joint venture between U.S. developer Gale Co. and South Korea-based steel maker POSCO.
Polaris Software opens IT facility in Hyderabad
Software Company Polaris has opened a facility focused on developing technology solutions for the investment banking industry in Hyderabad, India. The development is set to create 2,000 new jobs.
Vietnam to boost infrastructure
Vietnam has announced that it plans to spend $1.5bn on developing their tourism sector between now and 2010. Most of that money will be spent on upgrading roads leading to tourism resorts nationwide, and developing new infrastructure projects. The country hopes to receive as many as 6m international visitors and 26m domestic visitors by 2010. Vietnam registered nearly 3.5m international arrivals and 16m domestic visitors in 2005, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
