Greek Intralot wins deal to upgrade Vietnamese lottery

ATHENS, June 10 (Reuters) - Greek lottery systems supplier Intralot (INLr.AT: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it clinched a deal with Vietnam's largest lottery to establish a foothold in the rapidly developing Asian country.

The world's second-largest lottery systems supplier will upgrade the systems of the Ho Chi Minh City lottery, Intralot said in a statement. The Vietnamese lottery had a turnover of $140 million in 2007, it said.

It did not give financial details for the deal.

"Vietnam is currently an open, industrialised country, offering interesting business opportunities to foreign investors," Intralot's Chief Executive Constantinos Antonopoulos said in the statement.

He said cooperation between Intralot and the Ho Chi Minh City Lottery Company would benefit shareholders of both firms. He did not elaborate.

The Greek provider, which also runs sports betting in 12 countries, has recently signed deals in Ohio, the United States and the Netherlands.

Intralot shares trade about 14 times its estimated 2008 earnings, compared with 17 for Italy's Lottomatica (LTO.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), according to Reuters Estimates. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by Rory Channing)