February 14th - February 20th

Bari, February 18 - (Adnkronos) - Two Apulian enterprises will participate in the trade mission of Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, who on February 21 and 22 will be in Cairo and Alexandria to participate in the first Business Matching Meeting organized by Simest, the Italian Society for Enterprises Abroad, that will see the participation of more than 100 SME. Waste disposal service operators Sereco Srl of Bari and building and construction sector operators Passalacqua Marmi of Apricena (Fg), will participate from Apulia.

Florence, February 18 - (Adnkronos) - From today, the Tuscany of prestigious wines can count on a new denomination of origin. The Pietraviva DOC certification includes the territories of the towns of Pergine Valdarno, Civitella Valdichiana, Bucine, Montevarchi and Cavriglia, all located in Valdarno Aretino. The authorization from the National Denomination of Origin Wines Committee (with premises in Rome within the Agricultural Policies Ministry) reached unanimous consent at the end of a long session yesterday evening that concluded a procedure that commenced in 1999.

Venice, February 18 - (Adnkronos) - The Veneto Regional Council will be present at Textile Day, the event fixed for February 21 by businesses and trade unions to stress the need to take steps to protect the fashion system and “Made in Italy”.

Montepulciano (Siena), February 18 (Adnkronos) - A four star harvest for the Vino Nobile of Montepulciano, the town in the province of Siena. The judgment by experts on the 2004 harvest was made official today on occasion of the traditional ‘’Preview’’ that attracted the record figure of 140 journalists, of which around half originating from all over the world.

Rome, February 18 (Adnkronos) - ‘’The strong euro has not stopped the demand for Italian wine that worldwide has registered a 3% increase in the value of exports as a result of an increase in EU Community (+2%) and North American markets (+2.5%), but with positive signs most of all in emerging countries like China where the value of exports doubled (+131%). This was announced by Coldiretti, following the ISTAT announcement that in 2004 the general Italian trade balance was negative for the first time in 12 years.

Padua, February 18 (Adnkronos) - National mobilization against illegal competition and a petition in defence of the textile-clothing sector. ‘’Textile Day’’ is the event scheduled for Monday February 21 by businesses and syndicates to stress to the Government and European institutions the urgent need to act in defence of “Made in Italy” fashion. Already more than 1,500 signatures have been collected in Padua amidst entrepreneurs and workers of the companies associated with Unindustria, to underline the strategicity of the sector, exposed to the global competition from new competitors like China and rendered even more vulnerable by the expiry of the Multifibre Agreement, that from January 1 eliminated any limitation on the importation of textile products between Countries.

Potenza, February 18 (Adnkronos) - The circuit of typical Basilicata Region restaurants will continue to represent the vehicle of promotion overseas of eno-gastronomical culture and typical regional products and it predicts agro-marketing measures in Northern Europe, with particular reference to Germany, where the network of Basilicata restaurants is more widespread. This is what has emerged at a meeting on the internationalization of Basilicata region agricultural and agro-alimentary companies, between the representatives of Puglia-Basilicata ICE and the Region.

Venice, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) - Fashion, footwear, furniture, eyewear, jewelry and other key sectors such as the production of amusement rides are the products involved in the 2005 Veneto industrial products promotion program approved during the last meeting of the Veneto Regional Council.

Milan, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) - The 3000 enterprises from Varese involved in trade with foreign countries make up 3% of the total national exports and 2 % of the imports. The prevalence of exports over imports has continued over the last 10 years and consents a surplus of the trade balance. The Province of Varese demonstrates better performance than Lombardy and Italy relative to its trade balance. This emerges from figures elaborated by the SME Association of the Province of Varese.

Bratislava, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) - Enel enters into the Slovakian energy market and conquers a new launching pad taking it towards the markets of Eastern Europe. After negotiations lasting over 2 and one half years, the Group led by Paolo Scaroni and Piero Gnudi today finalized the acquisition of 66% of Slovenske Elektrarne, the main Slovakian electrical energy producer, underwriting the transaction in the presence of the Vice- Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Gianfranco Fini and local officials, in Bratislava. Slovenske Elektrarne is ranked number 2 in the Central-Eastern European electrical energy producers’ classification with an installed power of 6,881 MW.

Milan, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) -The Digital Hub in the Great West takes off. This is the name of the internationalization project relative to the California area for 100 SME from Milan presented today in this city in Lombardy by BIC (Business Innovation Center) La Fucina and the Province of Milan. “The project officially takes off today - declared the CEO of BIC La Fucina, Fabio Terragni - and it is open to 100 SME in the high technology sector such as ICT, multimedia, biotech, nanotech, new materials, agro-alimentary, design and fashions and is modeled after the ones realized in the past”.

Milan, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) - DBM Italia, a consulting company a leader in outplacement and Générale Industrielle, leader in supplying temporary employment, have underwritten a partnership agreement providing for the acquisition of an important quota of the DBM Italia shares by Générale Industrielle. Through this transaction, a press release explains, “an integrated pole for human resource management is born, characterized by the range of services offered and advanced professionalism in the sector, in line with the Biaggi Law relative to the setting up of employment agencies”.

Naples, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) - Made in Italy moves compact to conquer Egypt. This is the objective of the trade mission by Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, who on February 21st and 22nd will be in Cairo and Alexandria to participate in the 1st business matching meeting organized by Simest, the internationalization of enterprise company, and which will also have the participation of over 100 Italian SME. There are 9 enterprises from the Campania Region: Consorzio Salerno Trading of Salerno, the Vestini Legal Firm (in association with Caronte Partners) of Caserta, Doc Italian Leather Tannery Srl of Avellino, Ferrara Srl of Nocera Inferiore, C. Russo % C. of Angri, Assomarmomacchine of Naples, Consulenti tecnici associati of Cercola (Naples), Cleprin Srl of Cellole (Caserta) and Grimaldi Group Spa of Naples.

Rome, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) - Conquering the Egyptian market is the objective of Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, who will participate in 1st business matching meeting organized by Simest, the internationalization of enterprise company, on February 21st and 22nd in Cairo and Alexandria, with 100 small and medium enterprises of which 27 from the Lazio Region. During this two day mission in Egypt, Undersecretary Urso will meet with Prime Minister, Ahamad Nazif, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Mohammed Rashid and the Minister of Investments, Mooieddin.

Rome, Feb. 17th (Adnkronos) - Under the shade of the Pyramids, made in Italy moves compact to conquer Egypt. This is the objective of the trade mission by Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, who on February 21st and 22nd will be in Cairo and Alexandria to participate in the 1st business matching meeting organized by Simest, the internationalization of enterprise company, and which will also have the participation of over 100 Italian SME. There are many enterprises from Veneto and Friuli accompanying Undersecretary Urso who, during the two day mission will meet with Prime Minister, Ahamad Nazif, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Mohammed Rashid and the Minister of Investments, Mooieddin.

Turin, February 16. (Adnkronos)- The plan to relaunch the Trident and create a luxury sports car unit has taken a step forward: Maserati will be transferred from Ferrari to Fiat with the aim of establishing a close technical and commercial collaboration with Alfa Romeo, most of all on large international markets. The operation was announced on Sunday evening by Lingotto MD, Sergio Marchionne, who during the course of the press conference following the agreement with Gm underlined the necessity of a better valorisation of brands, specifying that ‘’the project has been studied for a long time and it is possible that Alfa and Maserati will start to work together in a concrete way’’.

Rome, Feb. 16th (Adnkronos) -The fight against imitation products, the protection of quality goods and the growth of enterprises: a series of measures to defend and promote Made in Italy products. This is the solution emerging today in Rome at the Chamber of Deputies from an Alleanza Nazionale committee on Northeast Italy, promoted by the Productive Activities Undersecretary , Adolfo Urso, with the Confagricoltura and Confartigianato top managements.

Milan, Feb. 16th (Adnkronos) - ‘’Italy is a candidate for becoming Egypt’s leading trade partner” announced Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, who will be in Cairo and Alexandria on February 21st and 22nd for a trade mission together with 100 representatives of Italian Small and Medium Enterprises, of which 16 from the Lombardy Region. Undersecretary Urso will attend the first business Matching Meeting organized by Simest, a holding company for the promotion and development of Italian enterprises abroad.

Rome, Feb. 16th (Adnkronos) - The land of Brunello wine refuses international investments; the wine cellars and vineyards of Montalcino are not on sale and recently some investors wanting to purchase wine enterprises had to leave the area without having concluded any type of deal, according to information from the website www.winenews.it from the Montalcino wine-producing area.

Turin, Feb. 16th (Adnkronos) - Fiat Auto sales were down 19.3% in the month of January in Europe with respect to the same month in 2004. Last month, the final sales volume balance of the Fiat brand cars in Europe (EU 23+ Efta) reached a quota equalling 7.2% (the best result in the last six months) against the 8.9% in 2004. This downturn, the company states, is due to the choice made by Fiat Auto to favour the quality and profitability of their marketing activities. In fact, the Auto top management states, the company decided to focus sales towards private customers strongly decreasing the so-called “onerous” channels: the Km Zero and car rental ones.

Naples, February 15. (Adnkronos) - “Made in Italy” moves united to conquer Egypt. This is the aim of the trade mission of Productive Activities Undersecretary with Proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, who on February 21 and 22 will be in Cairo and Alexandria to participate in the first Business Matching Meeting organized by Simest, the Italian Society for Enterprises Abroad, that will see the participation of more than 100 SME.

Milan, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) - Piaggio Aero Industries has underwritten a $40 million contract with the Command of Special Operations of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates for the supply of new T55-L-712E engines for its Ch47 helicopter fleet. The engines will be installed on the helicopter fleet which is currently being updated and modified by Augusta. The company from Liguria manages the T55 Honeywell engine service centre in the Arab Emirates, guaranteeing operational support to the fleet for the duration of the program.

Rome, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) - ‘’We are content and happy with the situation in which we are now in even though this happiness is a bit dampened by the need for an industrial plan necessary to recover and develop the company”. The General Manager of Federmeccanica, Roberto Biglieri, comments the agreement reached between Fiat and GM during a press conference presenting a short term trend investigation on the engineering industry.

Rome, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) - The Small and Medium Enterprise sector closed the year 2004 with over 18,000 more enterprises thanks to the boom in the construction sector and the increase in independent employment by immigrants. The balance between the 124,884 registrations and the 106.706 discontinuances recorded between January and December 2004 at the Registry of Enterprises is positive. At the end of 2004, 1,426,747 small and medium enterprises were registered at the Chambers of Commerce, 1.26% more than December 2003. This is demonstrated by a survey diffused today by Unioncamere (Italian Chambers of Commerce Association) calculated on the basis of Movimprese, the periodical collection of data regarding SME registration and discontinuance conducted by InfoCamere.

Rome, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) -’’Today, ISTAT announced a positive and encouraging figure relative to industrial production, which for the first time in these three years of downturn, grew 0.7% in 2003. Certainly, this increase is still weak, if compared to our main international competitors, however, it is still a sign of recovery and it also invites us to work a lot, well and timely regarding competitiveness”. This is the statement made by Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, who underlines “the growth in industrial production is essentially due to the recovery of Italian exports, which in 2004 grew over 5%”.

Florence, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) - Lapo Elkann, Cesara Buonamici, Renato Zero, Vittorio Sgarbi, Roberto Cavalli, Roberto Baggio and Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy are all attending a party on Friday, February 18th in Florence to celebrate the creativity of the Florentine designer-entrepreneur Giuliano Mazzuoli, 58, famous for the Manometer wristwatch and the Officina, Moka and Birillo line of pens, on exhibit at the MOMA of New York. This exclusive VIP party will be held in the “Salone dei Cinquecento” of Palazzo Vecchio.

New Delhi, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) - ‘’We are confident that there will be a plus sign on the last line of the balance sheet” said the MD of Piaggio, Rocco Sabelli, in anticipating a return to profitability in 2004 for the company while speaking with journalists “a couple million euro more”, following a loss of € 140 million in 2003. This figure will be approved by the Board of Directors in the ambit of the final balance meeting scheduled for March 4th. “We arrived at the turn around before the forecast of 2005”, explains Mr. Sabelli, during the Italy and India business week.

Rome, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) -Telefónica de España, the main network operator in Spain, will use the Marconi Multihaul 3000 optic platform. The platform was utilized on two Madrid - Barcelona sections of the DWDM long distance network, with the objective of increasing the capacity of the network and so satisfying the growing band request. The Multihaul 3000, a press release from Marconi states, developed jointly by the Group’s laboratories in Genoa and Great Britain, is the first DWDM system furnished to Telefónica: ‘’a new and prestigious client for our optic platform which since its launching on the market has already registered various success”. This is also the first DWDM system furnished and installed through Ericsson in the ambit of the renewed agreement between the two local Ericsson and Marconi companies in Spain.

New Delhi, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) - Piaggio India is aiming towards a 40% increase in turnover in India this year. The president of Piaggio, Roberto Colaninno, indicates the proportions of the expected development in a market that he defines as “fantastic”. “Last year, our turnover grew 50% and this year we are aiming towards another 40% growth bringing production to 100,000 units compared to the 40,000 in 2003”, explains Mr. Colaninno, who also announces the launching of “a four-wheeled vehicle called Cuargo for small cargo transportation”.

New Delhi, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) - Iveco and the Indian group Hinduja, which jointly hold 51% of Askoh Leyland, have underwritten an outline agreement significantly extending the collaboration between Iveco and Askoh Leyland. During day two of Italy - India Business Week, the vice-president of Fiat, John Elkann, explains that this is “a shareholders agreement for the control of Askoh, the second producer of commercial vehicles in India. Following our trip to China in which we announced a collaboration agreement for Iveco, today we are announcing another collaboration which will strengthen the Fiat brand in the area”.

New Delhi, Feb. 15th (Adnkronos) -”We will announce plans for the auto industry in India within the year”, said the VP of Fiat, John Elkann during day 2 of Italy-India Business Week, responding to those asking about Fiat Auto’s plans in India. He added that “while the GM issue was still underway, we couldn’t do much”. Regarding yesterday’s meeting between the president of Fiat, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and the Indian industrial tycoon, Rathan Tata, who controls the leading Indian auto group, Mr. Elkann said he excludes the fact that industrial agreements were discussed. “Rathan Tata was there as the president of the Indian Investments Committee and Montezemolo as the president of Confindustria”, Mr. Elkann explained.

Copenhagen, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) - The great exhibit “Design in Italy 1945-200”, set up at the Kunstindustrimuseum of Copenhagen, includes 100 design “icons” chosen among the works on exhibit in the Milan Triennial Permanent Exhibition, from February 18th to April 30th. The legendary models proof of the multiplicity and incisiveness of this artistic genre are on exhibit; a genre famous for its highly innovative, ludic, passionate spirit, the uniqueness and preciousness of detail and the elegance and refinement of technique. The direction and development of the recent trends in design and architecture covering a 50 year span can be admired during this exhibit.

Turin, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) -The Stola Group from Turin is celebrating its 86 years of activity presenting a world first at the Geneva Auto Show, the “S86 Diamond” coupe. This is a static 2 seater coupe, engineered and built in only 5 weeks. The show car, a tangible demonstration of the capacity of the Group to realize “tailor-fit engineering”, is a medium size car, 4275 mm long, 1930 mm wide and 1225 mm high with a 26 mm distance from the front tires to the back. The “S86 Diamond” takes its name from the 86 years of activity of the company, founded in Turin in 1919 and which has been engineering concept cars since the 1990s.

Rome, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) - Tim, the main mobile line phone company in Italy and Nokia are preparing to launch Video Sharing service on the market in Italy in the 2005 second quarter. The two companies issued a joint statement today announcing that they have defined the details of their collaboration. Video Sharing will initially be available for TIM clients through the new imaging latest generation smartphone, Nokia 6680, the first terminal in the world to integrate these innovative functions.

Rome, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) - Ams spa, a Finmeccanica joint venture active in the defence electronics and air traffic control sector, has underwritten an agreement with Abu Dhabi Ship Building, a company leader in the shipbuilding sector in the United Arab Emirates. The agreement is relative to the constitution of a new joint venture in the field of defence systems. The agreement was undersigned today in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, during the International IDEX 2005 Defence Salon. The new company, called Abu Dhabi Systems Integration (ADSI), will have its main office in the capital city of the Emirates and it will furnish a complete range of services, among which systems updating and maintenance, program management, training and logistic support for the naval platforms.

Rome, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) -Tim has chosen Ericsson for the supply of combinational services and IP Multimedia System (IMS) platform. The introduction of IMS services, a press release by Ericsson states, will allow Tim clients to share videos and images during telephone conversations. The new services can be used by the terminals produced by various manufacturers.

Rome, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) - The Productive Activities Undersecretary, Adolfo Urso, expressed his complete satisfaction for the agreement reached by Fiat with General Motors and says “new and interesting opportunities are opening up for Fiat that can count on the concrete support of the government”. In particular, there are two aspects in which the car industry from Turin should invest decisively: “innovation, and so the engineering and the launching of new models and internationalization, in other words the fundamental theme of strategic alliances”. On this last aspect, Undersecretary Urso invites the Fiat management “to look closely towards the large upcoming markets, as the Asian one, with China and India”.

Milan, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) - Banca Intesa and the holding shareholders of Delta Banka have underwritten an agreement for the buy-out of 75% plus 1 shares, or following the verification of certain conditions, 100% of the voting company capital of Delta Banka. Banca Intesa, a press release from the Milan banking institute states, will pay 277.5 million cash for 75% of the capital plus 1 share (with put and call options within the next 4 years) or 370 million cash for 100% of the capital.

Rome, Feb. 14th Adnkronos) - Daniele Galli, an exponent of the Forza Italia party, has presented an outline law regulating that the Italian language be included in instruction and information manuals of all products sold in Italy. “There are too many products with instructions in every possible language, except Italian” comments Mr. Galli. “Besides being a cultural humiliation, this is also dangerous, and surely this lack of being able to read in their native language influences the choices made by Italian consumers”, he adds.

Milan, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) - Basicnet has renewed its licence agreement with Fonthe S.A. Industria e Commercio de Confeccoes for the marketing on the Brazil market of the Kappa and Robe di Kappa products for another five years. The company announces that the agreement foresees minimum guaranteed clothing and accessory sales equal to at least $38.8 million in Brazil.

New Delhi, Feb. 14th (Adnkronos) - Lotto Sport Italia, an Italian company specialized in the production of sports footwear and technical sportswear, has nominated Sierra Industrial Enterprises Private Ltd licensee of the Lotto brand for the markets in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The license agreement, underwritten today in New Delhi, will have six year duration and will be valid until December 31st 2010.