French and Benelux stocks - Factors to watch on July 6

PARIS, July 6 (Reuters) - Below is company-related news and leading stories from French and Benelux newspapers which could have an impact on the region's markets or individual stocks.

SOCIETE GENERALE (SOGN.PA)

Societe Generale said second-quarter net income is expected to be slightly positive as solid operational performances, in particular in Corporate & Investment Banking, will absorb the significant negative impact on the accounts of the substantial tightening of credit spreads stemming from an improving market environment and reduced aversion to risk since mid-March. [SOGN.PA]

TOTAL (TOTF.PA)

Total's negotiations with Tehran on a multi-billion dollar contract to develop a major Iranian gas field are at a standstill, the head of the French oil major said on Friday.

"They have not been broken and they have not been resumed either. They are not in a very advanced state," Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie told journalists on the sidelines of an economic forum in southern France. [ID:nL3136898]

Total and China National Petroleum Corp plan to bid for two large oil blocks being auctioned in Venezuela, instead of one in which they had already shown interest, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people involved in the bidding round. [ID:nN042236]

SANOFI-AVENTIS (SASY.PA)

Sanofi-Aventis said the results of a long-term, 5-year study of Lantus versus NPH insulin on progression of retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes, published on-line in Diabetologia, showed similar effects on retinopathy and overall safety in the two treatment groups. [SASY.PA]

FRANCE TELECOM (FTE.PA)

Egypt's Orascom Telecom (ORTE.CA) said on Sunday it would discontinue legal proceedings in an Egyptian court against France Telecom in a dispute over shared ownership of mobile operator Mobinil (EMOB.CA). [ID:nL5603851]

France Telecom is not, for now, considering a bid for assets of Kuwaiti telecom company Zain (ZAIN.KW), Chief Executive Didier Lombard told reporters on Sunday. "This is not on the agenda for now," he said. [ID:nL5632160]

VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT (VIE.PA)

Veolia Environnement said it agreed to sell Montenay International, its North American portfolio of waste-to-energy contracts, to Covanta Holding Corporation (CVA.N) for a total consideration of $450 million including debt assumption as part of its disposal programme. [VIE.PA]

ARCELORMITTAL (ISPA.AS)

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, will restart its second blast furnace in Gent, Belgium, by mid-August as inventories dwindle and demand edges up, it said. But it warned that reopening the blast furnace, which was shut in April due to plunging demand, didn't signal a full recovery and said the market was set to remain soft for the rest of the year. [ID:nL4431180]

GECINA (GFCP.PA)

French real estate group Gecina said on Friday it was raising its 2009 divestment target to more than 700 million euros from 600-700 million previously and said it had sold office property for 98 million. [ID:nL3276757]

SAINT-GOBAIN (SGOB.PA)

Saint-Gobain Chief Executive Pierre-Andre Chalendar told an economic forum that emerging markets, which represent a quarter of its sales, should rebound very soon. [SGOB.PA]

GDF SUEZ (GSZ.PA)

GDF Suez will not use the billions of euros it has raised in the debt market since October to fund acquisitions and will continue to focus on organic growth, Chief Executive Gerard Mestrallet said. [ID:nL3319964]

PARIS RE PRI.PA

Bermuda-based reinsurer PartnerRe (PRE.N) said late on Sunday it will acquire smaller rival Paris Re in a $2 billion deal that catapults the company into the No. 4 spot among global reinsurers. [ID:nN05206325]

EADS (EAD.PA)

Britain is taking a different approach to other nations discussing ways to finance development of the Airbus A350 jetliner, favouring a classic loan over any reimbursable advance, according to French daily La Tribune. [ID:nL5713731]

VEOLIA ENVIRONNEMENT (VIE.PA)

French water and environmental services company Veolia Environnement has put its UK water arm up for sale to raise money to reduce its debt, The Sunday Times reported. [ID:nL5679489]

ALSTOM (ALSO.PA)

Alstom Transport is in exclusive talks with French railway company SNCF for a multi-billion-euro train deal, Philippe Mellier, head of Alstom Transport, said on Saturday, adding that the division was open to acquisitions. [ID:nL4445477]

SNCF is to tender this autumn for a 1.1 billion-euro contract for about 35 high speed trains, less than the 200 to 300 previously estimated, reported French financial newspaper Les Echos on Monday.

DEXIA (DEXI.BR)

Denis Kessler, chief executive of French reinsurer Scor (SCOR.PA), said on Saturday he had resigned from the supervisory board of Dexia financial group to avoid any conflict of interest with Fortis (FOR.BR). [ID:nL4471576]

LAFARGE (LAFP.PA)

France's Lafarge may revise its forecast for global cement sales in 2009 when it publishes interim results later this month, the head of the building materials giant said on Saturday. [ID:nL4459110]

HOLLAND COLOURS (HOLCO.AS)

Holland Colours said it reached new financing terms with its lenders that will lead to higher financing costs in 2009/10. [HOLCO.AS]

WAVIN (WAVIN.AS)

Wavin said it will raise 227 million euros with a four-for-one rights offering at 0.70 euros a share. [WAVIN.AS]