Cyprus Business Now

President Nicos Anastasiades will oversee the signing of a number of partnership agreements, in the form of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), between the Republic of Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates, when he visits the Dubai Expo 2020 on February 24.

The memoranda concern the sectors of maritime transport, cyber security and diplomatic education and training.

The memorandum related to maritime transport will be signed by Deputy Minister of Shipping Vasilis Demetriades, while the memorandum related to cyber security will be signed by Deputy Minister for Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Kyriacos Kokkinos.

Both ministers will be signing the agreements on behalf of the Republic of Cyprus.

Meanwhile, Kokkinos met with the UAE Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology Omar Ahmed Suwaina al Suwaidi on Tuesday, with whom he exchanged thoughts on the future cooperation between the two countries.

“We have found the areas [of potential cooperation] and I have issued an official invitation for the minister to come to Cyprus to discuss the details after the proper preparation is done,” Kokkinos said.

The Cypriot deputy minister noted that Dubai has made great strides in the field of high technology, including in artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security and blockchain technology.

“For us, Dubai is a geographical area of interest because it is our access to the east, but also for Dubai itself, as the Undersecretary has said today, Cyprus for them is the country providing access to Europe,” he said.

Finally, Kokkinos said that Cyprus’ presence at the Dubai Expo 2020 is not so much about conducting business transactions as it is about putting the country on the radar of businesses and organisations that have activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) announced on Tuesday that it has accepted the listing of treasury bills of the Republic of Cyprus, with a total value of €78.4 million, resulting from an auction that took place on February 18, 2022.

In more detail, the CSE stated that it accepted the import of 78,400 Treasury Bills, 13 Weeks, 2nd edition, 2022 Series (25/02/2022 – 27/05/2022) with a nominal value of €1,000 each, amounting to €78.4 million overall.

The announcement also states that the date of issue of the promissory notes, which do not bear interest, is February 25, 2022.

According to a report by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), both the total weight of products transported by road within Cyprus, as well as the weight of cargo transported by road to and from Cyprus decreased during the first nine months of 2021.

Specifically, during the period between January and September 2021, the total weight of products transported by road in Cyprus decreased by 1 per cent year-on-year, while the weight of cargo transported by road to and from Cyprus decreased by 2.8 per cent.

The total weight to and from Cyprus in the first nine months of 2021 amounted to 18,507 tons, while it stood at 25,163 tons for the entirety of the year before that.

In addition, during the period between July and September 2021, the total weight of products transported by road within Cyprus decreased by 0.1 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2020, while the weight of cargo transported by road to and from Cyprus rose by 1.1 per cent.

The Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Evel) on Tuesday expressed its satisfaction with the positive results of the contacts of the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Savva Perdios, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for tourism.

The chamber also expressed the hope that the direct air connection between Cyprus and Saudi Arabia will soon become a reality.

“The path for closer trade and economic cooperation with Saudi Arabia was opened in 2014 when the Chambers of Nicosia and Jeddah signed a Cooperation and Twinning Protocol,” Evel said in a statement.

As stated in the protocol, Cyprus can be the gateway to Europe and Saudi Arabia the corresponding gateway to the wider Middle East region.

“During the signing, it was stressed that the prospects of cooperation are indelible in the need to resume direct flights with Saudi Arabia, which will lay the foundations for a significant increase in tourism to our country, not only through Saudi Arabia but also neighbouring countries,” the chamber explained.

During his visit to Jeddah, Perdios also had a meeting with the local chamber of commerce, which is twinned with Nicosia.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, February 22 with profits.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 71.21 points at 13:52 during the day, reflecting a rise of 0.45 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 42.683 points, which represents an increase of 0.45 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €48,498.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and alternative indexes rose by 0.52 per cent and 0.48 per cent respectively, while the investment firm and hotel indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (no change), Petrolina (+1.67 per cent), Logicom (+0.96 per cent), Louis Plc (-3.57 per cent) and Atlantic Insurance (-0.53 per cent).