Cyprus Business Now

Director-General of the Ministry of Finance George Panteli, who represented Cyprus at the EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) which ended yesterday in Brussels, said on Wednesday that sanctions will primarily affect the Cypriot economy in the fields of tourism and energy.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the focus of the discussions on the work of the council was the economic and budgetary consequences of the sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

In his speech, Panteli expressed the full solidarity of Cyprus with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.

The EU 27 also decided, by a large majority, to set up a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (NPT) based on the European Commission proposal, while a policy debate was held on the proposal for transposition into EU law of the OECD global agreement with which large multinational companies will be subject to a minimum tax rate of 15 per cent.

Finally, on Monday, March 14, Panteli participated in the work of the Eurogroup dealing with the economic situation and the coordination of fiscal policy in the euro area, in light of the war in Ukraine.

A discussion was also held on the Banking Union, as well as on the report on enhanced supervision of Greece.

The number of vacancies in the labour market rose to 9,643 in the fourth quarter of 2021, showing an increase of 4,679 jobs or 94.3 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, according to data by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Moreover, in relation to the third quarter of 2021, there was an increase of 3,285 positions (51.7 per cent).

The total vacancy rate in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 2.4 per cent, while during the previous quarter and the corresponding quarter of 2020 the vacancy rate stood at 2.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.

Finally, the highest percentages of vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2021 were observed in the sectors of information and communication (4.2 per cent), accommodation services and catering services (3.3 per cent), wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (3.1 per cent) and manufacturing (3 per cent).

The annual harmonised Consumer Price Index stood at 5.8 per cent in February, reaching its highest point since April 2003, driven mainly by continuing price increases in energy prices, according to a report by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

During the period between January and February 2022, there was an increase of 5.4 per cent year-on-year.

Compared to February 2021, the largest changes took place in housing, water supply, electricity and LPG, as well as transport, with 13.4 per cent and 11.2 per cent respectively.

Finally, in terms of the specific economic category, the largest increase was recorded in energy with 26.2 per cent year-on-year.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Wednesday, March 16 with profits.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 65.61 points at 13:23 during the day, reflecting a rise of 1.5 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.40 points, which represents an increase of 1.52 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €34,664.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and alternative indexes rose by 2.02 per cent and 0.29 per cent respectively.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Vassilico Cement Works (+0.75 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (+4.06 per cent), Salamis Tours (+0.56 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (no change) and the Cyprus Cement Company (+0.98 per cent).