Cyprus Business Now

The Cypriot used car market has experienced a severe decline over the past 12 years, with 70 per cent fewer sales since that time, according to Andreas Shikkis, president of the Pancyprian Automobile Trade Association of Paphos (Pasyea).

In his statements made to the Cyprus News Agency, Shikkis stated that the 2009 financial crisis and its ensuing ramifications had dire effects on the used card sector.

“After the hotel industry and the construction industry, the third profession that has faced the most tragic consequences is the car dealership,” Shikkis said.

The Pasyea president also cited stricter automotive loan criteria for the depression in the sector.

Parliament has approved a budget of €3,450,300 which will go to the state’s statistical service.

The budget will fund the hiring of 1,000 census takers and 100 inspectors who will help implement the state’s 2021 census.

Notably, previous attempts at hiring contracted workers for a limited amount of time for the purpose of census-taking were not successful, as applications did not meet the desired number of applicants.

ExxonMobil Cyprus has donated €10,000 to the special fund created to support fire-stricken people in Cyprus.

“The management and staff of the company express their deep sorrow and their sincere support to our affected fellow human beings,” the company said in a statement.

Low interest rates are a cause for concern to Cypriot economists.

Speaking to local outlet Stockwatch, professor of finance and management science at the University of Cyprus Stavros Zenios said that while low interest rates are positive for Cyprus due to its high debt, they are also something that necessitates proactivity.

“We will have to repay the high debt at some point and history has shown that excessive debt leads to crises. We also had a debt crisis in 2013, although it concerned primarily bank debt and secondarily public debt. Let us not forget that very painful lesson so quickly,” Zenios told Stockwatch.

“We need to take advantage of this small window of opportunity by 2022-2023 to improve the competitiveness of the economy, to eliminate distortions, protectionism and corruption,” he added.