Cyprus Business Now

The Cyprus Shipping Chamber travelled to Brussels this week to participate in a conference hosted by the European Community Shipowner’s Association (ECSA).

The Cypriot delegation was composed of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber’s Immediate Past President Philippos Philis, as well as the chamber’s Director General Thomas Kazakos.

Philis’ participation in the event under his role as a board member and vice president of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations.

Philis is scheduled to become president of the ECSA in January 2022.

The event included a discussion of current climate-related challenges, among them being the integration of the shipping industry into the European Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ package.

The “Fit for 55” package is a set of proposals to revise and update EU legislation in an effort to reduce greenhouse emissions by 55 per cent by 2030.

The Ministry of Finance said that the Cypriot economy is recovering, referencing European Statistical Service (Eurostat) data to underline their point.

According to Eurostat, Cyprus’ unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 per cent in August of this year, a 4.2 per cent year-on-year decrease.

The August unemployment rate is below the EU average unemployment rate of 6.8 per cent, below the Eurozone average of 7.5 per cent, and is one of the lowest among EU member states.

“This data, together with the significant increase recorded in GDP in the second quarter of 2021, show that the economy has now entered a trajectory of growth, with positive prospects being created, as a result of the correct fiscal policy of the government,” the ministry of finance said in a statement.

The ministry added that unemployment is expected to decrease further and reach pre-pandemic levels.

According to data released by the Office of Electronic Communications and Postal Regulations, the total number of fixed-line telephony connections fell during the first half of 2021, dropping by 2.7 per cent compared to the second half of the previous year.

In terms of the telecommunications company providing telephony services, Cyta’s market share decreased during the first six months of the year, dropping from 58.2 per cent at the end of 2020 to 57.1 per cent.

This is Cyta’s lowest telephony market share in its history and represents an 11 per cent drop over the last three years, with the company having 68.4 per cent of the telephony market in 2018.

However, there is also a wider trend at play here, since Primetel’s market share also fell, dropping to 12.7 per cent from 13.1 per cent in 2020 and 14.5 per cent in 2019.