Cyprus Business Now

TechIsland, an NGO representing 137 Cyprus-based technology companies, announced this week that it has completed its pledge to rebuild a school in fire-stricken Arakapas.

“TechIsland members are donating a total of 900,000 EUR to the cause and remain committed to projects that help Cyprus heal and advance,” TechIsland general manager Marios Giorgoudis said.

Arakas suffered from horrific wildfires in July of 2021, with more than 55 square kilometres of forest land being burned and four people losing their lives.

“We thought it’s crucial to provide a safe, comfortable, and creative haven for the children after experiencing such a tragedy,” Palta and XBT co-founder Alexey Gubarev, co-founder said.

Work on the school was completed in November of last year, with TechIsland saying that the project went beyond renovation and aimed to turn the school into a ‘symbol of hope and new beginnings’.

The hospitality venues association (Pasika) on Friday called on both the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Finance to provide targeted support measures to both businesses and workers in the hospitality industry.

“The hospitality industry has taken the final blow with the additional restrictive measures implemented during the festive season, on top of the many other restrictive measures that had already been previously imposed,” Pasika said in a statement.

The association added that if immediate support is not provided then businesses “will have no other choice but to defer payments and lay workers off, with the state being directly responsible for this tragic situation”.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (Selk) met with House President Annita Demetriou on Friday to discuss the current status of the economy, the need for tax reforms, as well as other issues concerning the tax and auditing field on the island.

Selk was represented at the meeting by Deloitte Cyprus CEO Pieris Markou, PwC Cyprus partner Nicos Chimarides, and Selk general manager Kyriakos Iordanou.

During the meeting, Selk put forth a number of proposals aiming to further boost Cyprus’ competitiveness, promote the island as an international business centre, as well as to further improve Cyprus’ international standing.

Additional points of discussion centred around public sector reforms, long-term sustainable development, digital reforms, as well as combatting corruption and financial crime.

Employees at the Fasouri fruit plantation announced on Friday that on Wednesday, January 19, they will be protesting outside of the presidential palace in Nicosia against the use of foreign workers on the plantation.

“The Ministry of Labour has issued work permits to foreigners for agricultural work that has been carried out by Cypriots for decades,” the workers’ labour union Peo said.

The protest follows an official letter detailing the situation sent by the union to Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou on January 7.

The letter, which asked for a meeting with the minister to discuss the situation, said that 15 work permits provided to foreign workers for agricultural purposes were being misused since they did not include fruit picking.

“We must note that the main task of these workers during this time of year has been the picking of fruit, which is not included in their permits,” the union said in the letter.

“We are wondering if this has ever been checked,” the union added, explaining that fruit picking is handled by crews of workers who have signed different collective bargaining agreements that stipulate higher wages.

After falling for two consecutive quarters in the first half of 2021, the Housing Price Index (CPI) rose during the third quarter of last year, on an annual basis, according to a preliminary estimate by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

In more detail, the Housing Price Index (CPI) for the third quarter of the previous was estimated to be at 106.55 points.

Compared to the second quarter of 2021, the CPI increased by 2.4 per cent, while compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020 it increased by 2.2 per cent.

The index had decreased by 5.8 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, while it also fell by 4.9 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter.

On a quarterly basis, the CPI fell by 5.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2021, compared to the second quarter of 2020, while it registered a year-on-year increase of 1.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2021.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Friday, January 14 with profits.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 69.07 points at 13:38 during the day, reflecting a rise of 0.35 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 41.45 points, which represents an increase of 0.36 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €37,452.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and alternative indexes rose by 0.23 per cent and 0.59 per cent respectively.

The hotel index fell by 0.4 per cent, while the investment firm index remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (no change), KEO (+0.75 per cent), Louis Plc (+6.52 per cent), Petrolina (+0.91 per cent) and Tsokkos Hotels (-1.6 per cent)