Less than 20 per cent of companies in the Republic, Spain and Portugal are using the euro exclusively for at least half of their transactions, according to a survey conducted by Sapiens International Corporation.

The quarterly study found that 75 per cent of chief executives in leading corporations within EMU countries believe that companies are waiting until the Year 2000 "Millennium Bug" problem is resolved before beginning their main investment in the full transition to the euro. Leading the way with the highest percentage of transactions exclusively in the new currency and the greatest gains since the first quarter of 1999 are Finland (67 per cent, up from 56 per cent) and France (58 per cent, up from 33 per cent).