Cyprus Business Now

Fitch Ratings announced earlier this month that it has affirmed insurance company CNP Assurances’ financial strength rating at A+ and its outlook to stable.

International French group CNP Assurances is the parent company of CNP Cyprus.

“The rating reflects CNP Assurances’ a strong capitalisation and leverage for its current rating, very strong business profile, and a stable record of financial performance,” Fitch said in a statement.

“These strengths are partly offset by the insurer’s fairly high asset risks for the rating, and sensitivity to the low interest-rate environment,” the ratings agency added.

Fitch explained that the rating factors in the agency’s expectation that La Banque Postale S.A. (LBP; A/Stable) will conclude the acquisition of CNP Assurances’ remaining minority shareholding and become CNP Assurances’ sole shareholder during the coming year.

“In our view, CNP Assurances’ 100 per cent ownership by LBP will enhance strategic and financial alignment of interests between the two companies,” Fitch said, adding that “it will also cement the group’s bancassurance positioning while keeping CNP Assurances’ multi-partnership distribution model and governance unchanged”.

The Turnover Value Index of Wholesale Trade during the third quarter of 2021 recorded an increase of 16.9 per cent year-on-year, according to data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), with the index reaching 136.5 units.

For the same quarter, the Turnover Value Index of Sales and Repair of Motor Vehicles recorded an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

For the period between January and September of 2021, the Turnover Value Index of Wholesale Trade recorded an increase of 12.6 per cent and the Turnover Value Index of Sales and Repair of Motor Vehicles recorded an increase of 12.4 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, Cystat explained.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, December 23 with profits.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 66.75 points at 13:30 during the day, reflecting a rise of 0.38 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.97 points, which represents an increase of 0.33 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €18,188.

In terms of sub-indexes, the main index rose by 0.38 per cent, while the alternative index increased by 0.13 per cent. The hotel and investment firm indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Demetra (no change), KEO (+0.78 per cent), Logicom (no change), the Bank of Cyprus (+1.49 per cent), as well as Malloupas & Papacostas (+7.76 per cent).