May 16th - May 22nd

Rome, May 20th (Adnkronos) –A medicine to fight the flu comes from red wine. This molecule can block the flu virus and it is called resveratrol, a natural substance, already known for its anti-stress and anticancer actions. It is found in the skin of red grapes and in other 72 plants. The antiviral capacity of resveratrol was discovered by a group of Italian researchers led by Enrico Garaci, the president of the Higher Institute of Health and professor of Microbiology at the La Sapienza University of Rome. The study was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Milan, May 20th (Adnkronos) – The putting into effect of protection clauses, the access reciprocity for European products on the Chinese market, mandatory labelling of the origin of goods, the fight against unfair trade: these are some of the requests made to the EU by the representatives of Italian cities and provinces with a high concentration of textile industries.

Naples, May 20th (Adnkronos) – Campania gold and jewellery exports towards China and Japan were up 9% in 2004, with respect to 2003, as underlined by the Study Centre of the Promoter Committee of the Banca di Credito Cooperativo SME City of Naples, presided over by Giovanni Lepre. Export turnover value went from €1,658,000.00 to €1,800,000.00.

Bologna, May 20th (Adnkronos) - ''Without a doubt China is an extraordinary opportunity the greatest existing opportunity for Italian enterprise” said convinced Pietro Modiano, the General Manager of San Paolo-Imi Spa, who commented the “Chinese danger” with these words today in Bologna to journalists following a seminar on the role of banks in the globalization. So, Mr. Modiano sees China as anything but a danger and actually the objective is that of attracting foreign investments. “If Chinese investments arrive – he underlined- we cannot be but happy, obviously in conditions of fair trade”.

Rome, May 20th (Adnkronos) – A “European Pact with the Consumer” to guarantee fairness in setting up prices from the growing field to the dinner table, transparency in information relative to the origin of foods, the protection of health, the environment and the landscape but also the defence of the typical products from international plagiarism and imitations. This is the agreement undersigned today by Paolo Bedoni and Jean-Michel Lemetayer, the presidents of Coldiretti and Ensea, the two Agriculture Entrepreneurs Organizations with the most members in Italy and France where 38% of the European farm production value is realized and almost half of the origin denomination (DOP/IGP) products recognized by the EU produced.

Rome, May 20th (Adnkronos) – The New Zealand market is opening up to the importation of Italian salami and prosciutto on the basis of a recent revision of the country’s health and hygiene regulations. This law is not only relative to prosciutto and cooked pork products (mortadella, cotechino, boiled ham and roasts) but also cured meats which during processing have reached a pH equal or less than 5, for example as Milano salami.

Milan, May 20th (Adnkronos) – A new 2-year agreement has been reached between the Italian company Esaote and the Russian JSC Ural Making-Instrument Factory with the objective of producing 100 diagnostic ultrasound instruments using Esaote technology for a total worth of €3 million.

Addis Ababa, May 19th (Adnkronos) – The construction of the Gilgel Gibe hydroelectric plant in Ethiopia is about to begin. The Plant will be realized thanks to a € 220 million capital investment tax credit loan financed by Italy. The construction of the energy plant was awarded to the Salini Company and start – up is expected in 3-4 years. The Italian Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, currently in Addis Ababa, explained that the construction of the Plant represents an important step forward in relations between Italy and Ethiopia following the cancellation of this African country’s €342 million debt in January. The objective of the construction of this hydroelectric plant, explained Undersecretary Urso, “is to create employment in Ethiopia. This is the first tangible sign in the direction of reciprocal interests”.

Rome, May 19th (Adnkronos) – The objective of the official visit by the Regional Affairs Minister, Enrico La Loggia to Armenia is to create a “Casa Italia” in Yerevan with the aim of strengthening the existing good relationships between the two countries in the fields of economics, trade and culture. The most important sectors involved in this collaboration are tourism, the valorisation and restoration of cultural heritage and ski resort systems; all fields in which Italy has the experience and know-how particularly interesting for the Armenians.

Rome, May 19th (Adnkronos) – The Education, University and Research (MIUR) Minister, Letizia Moratti, this morning underwrote an important MoU in Cairo with the Advanced Education and Research Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Amr Salama, for the realization of an advanced training and research Euro Mediterranean Centre. The same type of MoU was underwritten in the afternoon by Minister Moratti in Amman with the Advanced Education and Research Minister of the Kingdom of Jordan, Kalid Touqan. A press release by the MUIR explains that the two MoUs add on to those underwritten on May 4th and 5th with the Tunisia and Morocco Education Ministers and the scientific cooperation agreements undersigned last week in Rome with France, Spain and Portugal.

Naples, May 19th (Adnkronos) - Ischia is going to the Austrian parliament for an initiative, presented this morning in the Assembly Room of the Province of Naples building, wanting to promote its natural beauty, thermal spas and parks, well-being centres and wine and food products to our Austrian neighbours. A press conference presenting the initiative was held with the participation of the president of the Province of Naples, Dino Di Palma, the Provincial Tourism Councillor, Giovanna Martano, the president of the Naples Chamber of Commerce, Gaetano Cola, the president of Com.tur, Pasquale Gentile and the president of the Provincial Tourism Agency, Dario Scalabrini.

Warsaw, May 19th (Adnkronos) – The Italian publishing industry has an increases interest in Eastern Europe and 26 publishers are participating in the International Book Fair of Warsaw from today to May 22nd in a stand organized by ICE (Italian Institute for Foreign Trade) together with the Italian Publishers’ Association (AIE).

Aosta, May 19th (Adnkronos) – The Valle d’Aosta goldsmith sector lands in Paris for an event called ‘L’or du Val d’Aoste’ (The Gold of Valle d’Aosta) from Sunday, May 22nd to Tuesday May 24th and finalized in putting the jewellery manufacturers with the jewellery distributors and jewellers of the Paris region. This encounter has been organized by the Productive Activities and Labour Policies Councillorship together with Espace Vallée d’Aoste and the Italian Chamber of Commerce for France.

Rome, May 19th (Adnkronos) – An agreement could be undersigned between two cement producing giants of industry for the Montalto di Castro plant. In fact, sources say that Italcementi is about to buy-out the clinker grinding and cement marketing plant of Montalto di Castro in the Lazio region from the Mexican multinational company, Cemex. Sources also told ADNKRONOS that the group led by the Pesente family has already bought out the Novi Ligure plant belonging to Vincenzo Speciali.

Bologna, May 19th (Adnkronos) –Chinese competition not only affects Made in Italy t-shirts and footwear but also specialized mechanics, the feather in the cap of the Bologna and Emilia industrial scenario, is also a Chinese target. A warning bell rang in Bologna yesterday for the first seminar on the problem “Research and Enterprise: Possible Collaboration in the Province of Bologna”, promoted by Innova Bologna, the project by the Province favouring technological innovation and collaboration between research and enterprise.

Florence, May 19th (Adnkronos) – DOP (Protected Origin Denomination) Tuscan Prosciutto Ham 2004 figures were made official today by the Protection Consortium of the product. Production registered 238,541 haunches for about 2,200 tons with a 27% production increase with respect to 2003 and a retailing turnover of about €28 million.

Addis Ababa, May 19th (Adnkronos) – New investment funds, ICE branches on the territory, the cancellation of debt, constant monitoring of the availability of life-saving drugs and still the commitment to finalize, by the end of the year, the initiative “Everything but Arms”; zero duty tax on all goods entering the EU from the 49 developing nations, except for on arms. The Productive Activities Undersecretary with proxy to Foreign Trade, Adolfo Urso, chose Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, as the place from which to launch the Italian government’s “Project Africa”. 35 Italian enterprises have accompanied Undersecretary Urso to Ethiopia in a mission that follows the ones already realized in Angola, Senegal, Eritrea and Equatorial Guinea.

Rome, May, 18th (Adnkronos) - Selex, the Finmeccanica defence electronics department, has been constituted with a yearly turnover of over €3 billion and 19,000 employees. Selex is a new name and it marks the consolidation operation in the sector that has been chased for years by the holding presided over by Pierfrancesco Guarguaglini and that was finally reached through the recent undersigning of a final agreement with Bae Systems. Through this agreement and the new features it brings, the industrial geography of the sector - from avionics to communications, integrated systems and safety- has been reorganized and redefined giving life to three companies: Selex Sistemi Integrati, Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems and Selex Communications.

Milan, May, 18th (Adnkronos) - The San Daniele Prosciutto Ham Consortium set up new quality and production implementation regulations in 2004 and these regulations were recalled today in Milan during the presentation of “Party Time”, which will begin on June 24th in San Daniele del Friuli and last until June 27th, with a series of initiatives all tied to the world of prosciutto.

Florence, May, 18th (Adnkronos) - The Corsini family is opening the gardens and halls of its property in Tuscany (San Casciano, Val di Pesa) to the general public to host two days of non stop events dedicated to DOC wines and high gastronomy. Prince Duccio, the organizer and promoter, will be the host of this event that is in its 9th edition. Visitors can taste the rare Pinot Noir of the Borgogna, the hottest wine of the moment, celebrated in front of an audience of millions in the world during the film, “Sideways”. True gastronomic delights will be offered during the event, rare dishes that food lovers just have to taste, such as the “marocca” di Casola and potato bread from Garfagnana.

Sassari, May, 18th (Adnkronos) -The promotion of the territory through sports, history and traditions besides the enchanting beauty of the natural landscapes distinguishing it, are the objectives of the township of Stintino, which is the promoter, together with the collaboration of “Promores” of “Sardegna In”, a series of international events that will take the small town of the Nurra to come into contact with the tourism operators all over the world. The first appointment on the agenda is the International Tourism Salon of Barcelona, from May 26th to the 29th.

Rome, May, 18th (Adnkronos) - Thanks to the “Zeffirelli Scholarship for the Arts”, two Italian students from the Florence State Art Institute, will attend a six month course held by Greg Wyatt, one of the most famous contemporary sculptors on the international art scenario, whose works have been on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of New York and the University of Harvard.

Rome, May, 18th (Adnkronos) - Exports towards EU countries rose 7.6% and imports 7.5% in March 2005 with respect to the same period in 2004. The Italian trade balance demonstrated a € 211 million deficit against a €210 million deficit during March 2004. Figures were released by ISTAT this morning.

Roma, May, 18th (Adnkronos)- “We have to immediately intervene with urgency measures also for the other products, which are the most important for Italian industry, otherwise we have to wait for the two month term date set for investigation and then a three month seesawing period with China, resulting in finally getting something done by September or October, which is definitely too late”, stated the president of the Italian Fashion Chamber, Mario Boselli, in a interview with the “Il Sole 24 Ore” newspaper.. Mr. Boselli was referring to the urgency procedure began by the European Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, limiting the import of t-shirts and linen fabrics from China.

Rome, May, 18th (Adnkronos) - The Italian ceramic tile producers association has confirmed its presence at the 2005 edition of AIA, the travelling American Institute of Architects convention, scheduled from May 19th to the 21st at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center of Las Vegas, in the State of Nevada.

Ancona, May, 18th (Adnkronos) - The International Fishing Fair of Ancona was quite successful among the fishing industry and closed the 65th edition with a positive balance. “It was certainly the relaunching edition” said the president of the Marches Regional Exhibition Agency, Sandro Barcaglioni, who added “Ancona confirms and strengthens the centrality of Italy in the Mediterranean in the fishing sector and it now has the extraordinary opportunity to play a starring role in the European political scenario relative to the sector. I hope we all know how to benefit from this great opportunity that is extremely prestigious for our country”.

Rome, May 17th (Adnkronos) – The Sagrantino Wine Bar will be inaugurated on May 19th in Berlin. This is the first wine bar specific to a wine and its territory. The five mayors of the Sagrantino towns in Umbria interested in the production of this DOCG wine: Montefalco, Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Castel Ritaldi and Giano dell’Umbria will be at the inauguration. The idea of opening up a wine bar specific to the Sagrantino came to an entrepreneur from Rome, Daniele Cecchetti, a former Benetton executive for Northern Europe, who realized this endeavour with the aid of the “Sagrantino Route”. The wine bar is 120 m² and holds about 50 people and it is the heart of the old eastern Berlin, in Beheren Strasse no. 47.

Asiago (Vicenza), May 17th (Adnkronos) – The food company Rigoni di Asiago Spa is still growing during these first four months of 2005 and this company from the Vicenza Highlands, a leader in the sale of bio honey and marmalades, registered a further 6.2% growth in turnover between January and April. The 2004 Q1 closed with turnover at € 9.2 million and this year’s Q1 turnover is up to € 9.8 million.

Frosinone, May 17th (Adnkronos) – The country tourism enterprises from the Province of Frosinone are debuting in Nice, France on June 3rd, 4th and 5th for “L’Italie a table”, a salon dedicated entirely to the quality of the home-style Italian food production sector, which will allow the French to become familiar with the many country tourism enterprises present in the Ciociaria area. Those participating in the event, which will host 100 stands, can sell their products, participate in specific workshops and promote their enterprises. During the salon, organized by the Nice Chamber of Commerce, an illustrated bi-lingual brochure on the Ciociaria country tourism enterprises will be distributed.

Vicenza, May 17th (Adnkronos) – The Vicenza Industrialists’ Association is wagering on India, following China, with a wide range project presented in Vicenza following the Confindustria mission in New Delhi last February.

Rome, May 17th (Adnkronos) – The second M-346 prototype, the new advanced training aircraft produced by Aermacchi, today performed its first flight and took off from the Venegono airfield at 10:11 am local time piloted by the Aermacchi test flight expert, Olinto Cecconello. The 42 minute flight allowed to evaluated the performance of the new prototype and the functioning of the installed flight systems. The second M-346 model will allow the acceleration of the program covering a part of the flight-testing needed for the craft’s certification.

Verona-Brussels, May 17th (Adnkronos) - Veronafiere has opened a branch in Brussels, the capital of the EU, to develop its leadership as a direct organizer of fairs and exhibitions and be a more efficient instrument for the internationalization of the industrial system.

Milan, May 17th (Adnkronos) – What can we say about Italian gold and jewellery? They are well liked by the Chinese and Japanese say figures that demonstrate an 11% yearly increase in exports for a total value of almost €230 million. Veneto leads in the sector with 55% of the Italian jewellery exports and an annual 14% increase followed by Tuscany with a 17% national export quota and annual 7.2% increase; third and fourth places are taken by Lombardy (12%, +19.2% in 2004) and Piedmont (10%, +6.4% in 2004). Exports to China and Japan weigh more for the Veneto region with 10% of the entire amount of exports to China and Japan against a national average of 2.6%. The figures are from an elaboration by the Milan Chamber of Commerce using ISTAT 2004 statistics.

Parma, May 17th (Adnkronos) –Packets of sliced Parma Prosciutto [ham] continue to register peak sales closing the 2005 Q1 with a +13.6% with respect to the 2004 Q1. The companies belonging to the Parma Prosciutto Consortium sold over 236,000 kg of Prosciutto in Italy (+22.5%) and over 665,000 kg abroad (+10.8%) during the 2005 Q1. Sliced Parma Prosciutto sold in packages can be considered sales explosion: today this pre-sliced cold meat represents about 25% of the exports with over 27 million packages sold in 2004, a significant figure considering that only 4 years before this quota equalled 12.5% and that since then sales volumes have more than doubled and continue progressively to increase.

Treviso, May 16th (Adnkronos) - “The super modern stores we opened up in India are giving excellent results; in fact, with respect to the year 2004, the year 2005 will demonstrate a 90% turnover growth rate (from 800,000 items sold to about 1.5 million). India is a good market and a good example; I think we are on the right path. We were a bit late in entering into the Chinese market but we would like to repeat the same experience”, stated Luciano Benetton, the President of the Benetton textile group, following a shareholders’ assembly meeting to approve the 2004 final balance and nominate his son Alessandro as Vice-president. Mr. Benetton was questioned by journalists on the Group’s position in the Far East markets, especially China and India.

Palermo, May 16th (Adnkronos) – “The Rebirth, Construction, Reconstruction and Restoration of Russian Cities” is the title of a conference scheduled May 17th and 18th at Palazzo Belmonte Riso in Palermo. This Sicilian-Russian restoration partnership is in the ambit of a special Made in Italy promotion project in Russia approved by the Productive Activities Ministry with the collaboration of the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade. The Sicilian Regional Arts and Culture councillorship and the Arts and Culture Ministry also collaborated with this conference.

Milan, May 16th (Adnkronos) – ‘Buongiorno Vitaminic’ and the Mitsui Group have formed an alliance which has the Japanese multinational company buying out 19.9% of ‘Buongiorno USA Inc’. for $8.2 million USD. ‘Buongiorno USA Inc’. was constituted in the beginning of this current year and this agreement aims at expanding the ‘Buongiorno Vitaminic’ business model in Russia, India, Thailand, Indonesia and China.

Milan, May 16th (Adnkronos) – The Turin-based company Basicnet has underwritten a 5-year licensing agreement with Lmg International to develop the sale of the ‘Kappa’ and ‘Robe di Kappa’ brand names in India, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan. The minimum guaranteed sales during the period are estimated at $24 million USD in India and $58 million USD in the Middle East countries.

Milan, May 16th (Adnkronos) – The Socotherm Group has been awarded a $50 million USD contract in Brazil through its South American subsidiary, Socoril do Brasil, to supply the anticorrosion coatings for the Gasene Project (Gasoducto Sudeste Nordeste), a 1,300 km gas line constructed by Petrobas, the Brazilian National Oil Company. Work will begin at the end of 2005 and for the entire first six months of 2006 in the Pindamonhangaba plant in the State of San Paulo. Socotherm is a company from Vicenza operating in pipe coating services for the oil, gas and water industries.

Milan, May 16th (Adnkronos) – The Trevi Group saw its 2005 Q1 results multiplied by three with the consolidated EBIT at €3.9 million, more than three times the €1.1 million during the 2004 Q1. Proceeds were up to €84.9 million (+17%) while the gross operating margin was down €7.9 million against the 8.2 million in the 2004 Q1 however the net operating margin registered at €3.5 million against the €2.7 million in the 2004 Q1. The Group from Cesena, active in the underground engineering and oil, water and gas drilling machinery sector, has been awarded various contracts in the Persian Gulf area for a total value of about $25 million USD.