ANNOUNCEMENT

3^rd INTERNATIONAL CAPITAL MARKETS CONFERENCE

14 October 2005 - The International Capital Markets Conference, held for the 3rd straight year, has begun today at the Thessaloniki Hyatt Regency hotel, with the participation of Exchanges, Depositories and Capital Markets Commissions from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, FYROM and Serbia.

At the first day of the conference today, the Chairman of the Hellenic Exchanges Group, Mr. Iakovos Georganas, welcomed the participants noting that "the purpose of this year?s gathering is for everyone to understand the conditions of operation of the markets, and to recognize any opportunities, where there is a common interest for cooperation."

Chief Executive Officer of HELEX and President of the Athens Exchange Mr. Spyros Capralos then opened the conference pointing out that "the aim of this year's conference is different from other years. Now is the right time to discuss as to how we can unite our forces in order to attract, together, foreign investors to our markets. Our common vision must be the creation of a large, unified capital market in Southeastern Europe."

The Deputy Secretary General of the Federation of European Securities Exchanges Mr. Gregor Pozniak noted in his speech that the key to success in cooperation between markets, is dedication to the client, business flexibility, exploitation of the advantages that each market possesses and strict cost control.

The program for the first day was concluded with discussions concerning the opinion of supervising authorities and institutional investors concerning regional cooperation, and presentations of the organization and operation of capital markets that are represented at the conference.

The Minister of Economy and Finance Mr. George Alogoskoufis will deliver an address to the conference participants tonight, during the official dinner.

A photograph with Messrs. Georganas, Capralos and Pozniak is attached.