Cyprus Business Now

The vice president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Liliana Pavlova, visited the University of Cyprus this week in order to review the activities and funded projects of the EIB on campus, but also to have a discussion with students on their expectations for the future.

According to an announcement by the university, the EIB and the University of Cyprus sealed their cooperation, with the support of the state, for the development and expansion of the campus in 2014, with total funding amounting to €162 million.

“I am honoured to see first-hand how the EIB-backed investments, which were agreed at the height of the financial crisis, enable students and researchers to benefit from new facilities and a better future,” Pavlova said.

“The EIB’s support for the university is an emblematic project for the EIB’s cooperation with Cyprus, as EIB President Werner Hoyer emphasised when he laid the foundation stone for the Polytechnic School with President Anastasiades in 2016,” she added.

State-owned asset management company Kedipes announced on Friday a new voluntary retirement scheme in order to reduce the number of its employees, which the company considers excessively high.

The scheme will see the departure of at least 60 members of staff.

In its announcement, Kedipes said that it was called by the Department of Labour Relations of the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance to mediate in a labour dispute, a request made by trade unions Sek and Peo.

According to Kedipes, the Department of Labour Relations called on all parties involved to avoid any measures affecting the labour peace and asked the company to consider reducing the number of staff through a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).

The scheme will be put forth to Kedipes’ entire staff, with the company saying that the move serves “as a last resort to ensure workers’ peace and to achieve the necessary reduction of staff”.

The new scheme will offer the same terms as Kedipes’ previous scheme, which came in effect in 2021.

Cyprus’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeded its pre-pandemic levels, which amounted to €22.43 billion, showing an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to 2020.

According to preliminary data from the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), GDP for 2021 is estimated to have reached €23.3 billion at current prices, compared to €21.6 billion in 2020.

Moreover, the figure stands at €22.4 billion in volume measurements (fixed prices) for 2021, compared to €21.2 billion in 2020.

The growth rate in real terms is estimated at 5.5 per cent in 2021, compared to -5 per cent in 2020.

In 2019, before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Cyprus’ GDP stood at €22.3 billion.

According to the Cystat data, per capita GDP increased by 7 per cent in 2021, reaching €25,937, remaining slightly lower than the €26,090 it had risen to in 2019.

In 2020, per capita GDP had fallen to €24,235.

The Industrial Turnover Index reached a record high in 2021, showing a significant increase of 13.6 per cent, compared to 2020.

The index rose to 146.4 points in 2021, marking a new high point. The second highest historical level was recorded in 2008 when the index reached 139.8 points.

Looking at December 2021 in isolation, the index reached 154.5 points, recording an increase of 12.7 per cent, compared to December 2020.

In the manufacturing sector, the index reached 159.2 points in December 2021, recording an increase of 10.9 per cent compared to December 2020.

There was also an increase in the sectors of water supply and material recovery by 46.6 per cent, electricity supply by 14.9 per cent and mines and quarries by 6.5 per cent.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Friday, March 4 with losses.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 66.04 points at 12:45 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.87 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.60 points, which represents a decrease of 0.93 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €48,091.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index fell by 1.31 per cent, while the alternative index fell by 0.24 per cent.

The investment firm index also decreased by 2.45 per cent, while the hotel index remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works (-0.73 per cent), the Cyprus Cement Company (-1.92 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (-0.99 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (no change) and Hellenic Bank (-1.93 per cent).