GERMAN'S HDW BUYS GREEK NAVAL SHIPYARD

ATHENS [MENL] -- A German consortium has bought Greece's ailing andlargestshipyard. The agreement called for the purchase by HDW Howaldtswerke DeutscheWerft and Ferrostaal of the state-owned Skaramaga, also known as theHellenic Shipyards. Skaramaga is a contractor of subsystems of many ofGreece's naval vessels and is the largest shipyard in the country. Thisincludes a $270 million contract to build two gunboats for the navy. "This constitutes a very significant development for the shipyard'sfuture, the preservation and protection of jobs and economic activity intheregion," Greek Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said. "Thisdevelopment expresses the privatization policy of PASOK, which is based ontransparency and most of all, on speed." Over the weekend, the Hellenic Industrial Development Bank signed anagreement with a consortium of HDW and Ferrostaal that transferred all ofthe shares of the company. The bank owns 51 percent Hellenic Shipyardswithshipyard workers the remaining 49 percent.