Vienna - The Mexican company Cemex, one of the world's largest cement makers, is selling its building materials subsidiaries in Austria and Hungary to Austria-based construction company Strabag, both companies announced Thursday.

Strabag, one of Europe's leading construction groups, will buy 100 per cent of Cemex' stone, gravel and concrete operations in these two countries for 310 million euros (485 million dollars), Cemex announced in a statement.

Pending approval by market supervisory authorities and Strabag's board, the revenue from the sale will be used to reduce Cemex' debt, the Mexican company said.

Berlin/Budapest - The Hungarian central bank left interest rates on hold at 8.5 per cent Monday as a strong national currency helps to bear down on inflationary pressures in the country.

The decision by the Budapest-based national bank to leave its key rate unchanged for the second month in a row was in line with analysts' forecasts.

But announcing the move, the bank's monetary council warned that "Hungarian economic growth has remained subdued and inflation has been falling at a slow rate over recently."

It went on to express concerns that inflation expectations potentially are becoming stuck at a high level with the global rises in food, commodity and energy prices adding to the upside risks to inflation.

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Kiev - A Hungarian low-cost airline received final approval to began operations in Ukraine, ending unchallenged control of the former Soviet republic's air-passenger market by high-price domestic carriers.

Budapest-headquartered Wizz Air obtained certification to operate an Airbus 320 aircraft on Ukrainian internal routes, and expected the maiden flight to take place in July, company officials said.

The new service will link the Ukrainian capital Kiev with the cities Odessa, Simferopol and Lviv.

Budapest  - Hungary expressed regret Friday at the rejection by Irish voters of the European Union reform treaty.

Singapore  -