Musharraf 'to face impeachment'

Pakistan's ruling coalition parties say they will begin impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf.

Party leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif made the announcement after two days of talks. They would need a two-thirds majority to impeach.

Mr Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup in 1999.

He gave up control of the army last year and his allies were defeated in February's elections but he retains the power to dissolve parliament.

Mr Musharraf has previously said he will resign rather than face impeachment proceedings.

The president is still thought to have heavy influence over the military and its reaction will remain crucial.

India's GMR Plans to Bid for Eastern Europe Airports (Update1)

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- GMR Infrastructure Ltd., operator of India's second-busiest airport, plans to buy airfields in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, where accelerating economic growth is driving demand for air travel.

The company is considering a final bid for airports in St. Petersburg in Russia and Prague in the Czech Republic, Chief Financial Officer Ashutosh Agarwala said. GMR proposes to sell shares in a company that will own the overseas assets within five years, he said in an interview in Mumbai on Aug. 5.

Bidding for airports in emerging markets is part of GMR's plan to spend $10 billion on overseas acquisitions in industries including power and infrastructure. Bangalore-based GMR in June bought 50 percent of Dutch utility InterGen NV for $1.1 billion and last year won a 1.93 billion euro ($3 billion) bid to manage an airport in Istanbul.

``Indian companies are trying to ride on the growth in Eastern Europe,'' said Jayesh Shroff, who helps manage the equivalent of about $4 billion at SBI Asset Management Co. in Mumbai. ``There will also be a lot of learning experience.''

Economies in the Middle East region, helped by a 64 percent surge in crude oil price in the past year, are spending billions of dollars to expand their airports. Ten Middle Eastern airports are investing $37 billion to boost capacity to accommodate an additional 318 million passengers a year by 2012, James Hogan, the chief executive officer of Etihad Airways said in February.

Soros, Citigroup

GMR Infrastructure, which in 2006 sold stock to billionaire George Soros and Citigroup Inc., fell 1.13 percent to 100.25 rupees in Mumbai at 10:46 a.m. The stock has declined 60 percent so far this year.

The company operates the New Delhi airport with Fraport AG, after buying the asset from the Indian government in January 2006. It developed and operates an airfield in the southern city of Hyderabad in partnership with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

``We would like to add at least two more airports to our portfolio in the next five years,'' Agarwala said. GMR has been short-listed for managing the Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, Agarwala said. Singapore's Changi Airport, Hochtief AG and Fraport AG are among the nine bidders, Vedomosti reported Aug. 1, citing an auction document. The Russian government expects a 10th straight year of growth in 2008 after the economy, one of the so-called BRICs along with China, India and Brazil, expanded 8.1 percent last year.

Strategic Partner

The company is also evaluating the Prague airport, which the Czech government plans to sell to a strategic partner. The government said on June 2 that it would sell Letiste Praha SP, operator of the Prague airport, to raise at least 100 billion koruna ($6.4 billion).

``We would be looking at airports that have the potential for scaling up,'' Agarwala said. ``That involves some risks, but you will get a higher return.''

Fraport secured more than half of financing for investments through 2015

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Fraport AG. has already secured more than half of financing for about 7 billion euros worth of planned investments through 2015, chief financial officer Matthias Zieschang told Boersen-Zeitung in an interview.

About 3 billion euros of investments will be financed with existing cash, while the rest will be paid for through debt. "Of that (debt), we have already financed more than 50 percent in advance," Zieschang told the newspaper. "And in the next 12 months to 18 months we will secure further advance financing to cover up to 75 percent of our needs ahead of time." This debt comprises syndicated loans, private placements and other debt with a maturity between seven years and 10 years. Fraport plans to spend about 4 billion euros on expansion and 3 billion euros on developing existing business.