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The EAC is moving forward with securing large plots of state land for building more photovoltaic (PV) parks, Electricity Authority director George Petrou said on Monday.

“People have come forward offering small parcels of land of 20,000 to 30,000 m2 but, though these are useful, it is necessary for larger land parcels [of up to 300,000 m2] to be secured,” to make a noticeable dent in the cost of electricity provided by the authority, Petrou told state broadcaster CyBC.

He added that several suitable state land parcels had been identified by the EAC and procedures for PV park permits are to kick off with a meeting with the planning department on Wednesday.

“The installation of PVs is a quick matter but what delays progress are the processes, which can take up to two years,” the EAC director said.


Bank of Cyprus (BoC) now lets you make direct transfers in euros to the 36 countries of the SEPA zone (European Economic Area) in real time, with the funds immediately available in the beneficiary’s account within 10 seconds. BoC is the only bank in Cyprus at the moment to offer this facility 24/7, 365 days a year.

The maximum daily limit for outgoing direct transfers is €50,000, for transfers within Cyprus, and up to €25,000 for transfers outside Cyprus.

The maximum daily limit for incoming direct money transfers is €100,000.

The Bank may set lower daily limits based on its risk acceptance policy and/or to prevent fraudulent transactions.

In order to implement an instant payment, it is essential that the sender’s and beneficiary’s bank participates in the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme.

Only 1bank subscribers are entitled to make instant transfers via the Bank’s digital channels (Mobile Banking and 1Bank).

Direct money transfers have no additional costs, compared to other payments in the SEPA zone.


The Chinese CPP-Metron Consortium Ltd (CMC) should never have been awarded the Vasiliko liquified natural gas (LNG) project President Nikos Christodoulides said on Monday, as damning statements of blame continued over the sunken deal.

In statements to a pool of reporters on the sidelines of an antiquities event, Christodoulides said the results illustrate that CMC was unable to implement the project.

But he sought to stress “the project will go ahead” as the government is ready with a plan B.

“What I want to say with absolute certainty is that this company should never have been given this project.”

The Vasiliko LNG is part of the government’s plan to reduce the cost of electricity, “as Cyprus is one of the EU member states with the highest electricity prices”.

Commenting on the floating unit (Fsru) part of the project concerning the ship Prometheus – which has been completed but remains in Shanghai – the president specified if ongoing negotiations do not reap any results to ensure it is delivered into the Republic’s hands, “we have a plan B.”

“There is a plan in case talks do not lead to the desired result.”


Summer sales in Cyprus are dominated by clothing and footwear discounts, with shoppers flocking to malls to escape the heat, say market experts.

However, they also said that consumer spending is being strained by rising energy costs, which has led to a reduction in overall purchasing power.

Marios Antoniou, general secretary of the Cyprus retail association, reported that the large commercial centres are crowded, especially on weekends, as people combine shopping with enjoying the air-conditioned environment. 

Despite this, Antoniou said that summer sales lack the vigour of January’s winter clearances, with discounts averaging around 30 per cent and primarily focused on old stock.

Antoniou acknowledged some isolated cases of misleading promotions and urged for stricter enforcement by relevant authorities. 

Meanwhile, Stefanos Koursaris, general secretary of small shopkeepers union Povek, pointed out that since the abolition of fixed discount periods in 2016, retailers can now set their own promotions. 

He highlighted a drop in consumer spending due to high electricity bills, causing a decline in overall sales, despite substantial discounts.


The European Central Bank (ECB) recently kept interest rates at their current levels but indicated that the September meeting is “wide open” as it downgraded its economic outlook for the eurozone and predicted continued falling inflation.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said that risks to growth are now “tilted to the downside,” signalling a potential rate cut in September.

Commenting on this decision, Victor Trokoudes, CEO and founder of fintech Plum, which has offices in Nicosia, Athens and London, said that “there was no surprise in the ECB’s decision to cut rates in the previous month given it was so well trailed”.

He added that similarly, the ECB’s latest decision to hold rates was widely expected.

However, he pointed out that people will have been looking closely for clues as to the scale and timing of any forthcoming cuts.

“Expectations are high for the next rate reduction to be in September, but the ECB will naturally be trying their best to give themselves as much scope as possible to be flexible to respond to incoming economic data rather than box themselves in,” Trokoudes stated.

“It’s likely then that Lagarde will continue to emphasise that the Council will be data-dependent and make decisions on a meeting-by-meeting basis,” he added.


Investment firm ECM Partners, whose Cypriot presence is based in Nicosia, and private fund manager Metric Capital Partners announced on Monday that they have agreed to sell a majority stake in FAMAR, a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), to private equity investor MidEuropa.

Headquartered in London, with a presence in Warsaw and Bucharest, MidEuropa specialises in identifying investments across the healthcare, technology, services, and consumer sectors.

To date, the firm has raised and managed funds of over €6 billion and completed 45 investments and over 260 add-on acquisitions across 18 countries.

According to the announcement, current shareholders will continue to remain invested in FAMAR, saying that this demonstrates “their long-term commitment and confidence in FAMAR and its future potential”.

The parties involved stated that “FAMAR is a trusted partner to a diversified blue-chip client base of pharmaceutical companies operating in more than 80 international markets”.


The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, July 22 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 163.90 points at 13:07 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.59 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 99.77 points, representing a drop of 0.0.61 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €78,339, until the aforementioned time during trading.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, investment firm and hotel indexes fell by 1.08 per cent, 2.8 per cent and 0.13 per cent respectively. The alternative index rose by 0.7 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Hellenic Bank (-0.77 per cent), Demetra Holdings (-0.41 per cent), Logicom (-1.31 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (+0.24 per cent), and Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (+0.56 per cent).

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