Cyprus Business Now

SMEunited, the association of Crafts and SMEs in Europe, which has around 70 member organisations from over 30 European countries, including the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), on Tuesday announced the results of its SME Business Climate Index and SME Barometer.

“SMEs’ confidence shows recovery is on hold,” the association said, explaining that the latest SME Business Climate Index for the European Union shows a standstill of SMEs’ confidence for Spring 2022.

According to the study, since last autumn, the share of SMEs anticipating a positive or neutral economic environment fell by 0.9 per cent, while the indicator at the second semester of 2021 stood at 76.1 per cent.

“Discouraging economic circumstances such as the spread of the new Covid-19 mutations, soaring energy prices and supply chain disruptions, were the main reasons for the weaker business confidence,” SMEunited president Petri Salminen said, adding that SMEs in the services sector have been especially impacted by the various Covid-19 restrictions imposed in autumn.

Finally, an additional cause for the decline in SME business confidence is related to poor supply-chain conditions, including supply bottlenecks, as well as the higher cost of fuel, with the latter affecting the transport and logistics industry.

The Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation (CYS) announced on Tuesday that on April 4 it will host an open information day titled ‘International Standards for Medical and Accessible Tourism’, with the event taking place at the Cleopatra Hotel in Nicosia.

The event will be under the auspices of the Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios.

According to the organisation, relevant government agencies, as well as private businesses, are now looking into two alternative forms of tourism, medical tourism and accessible tourism, seeking alternative sources of revenue.

“The modern tourism product faces strong international competition, as a result of which the need for continuous differentiation is imperative, in order to meet the needs of tourists and the changes in the dynamically evolving tourist environment,” the organisation said.

The conference is open to all free of charge, and its goal is to inform all interested parties about the basic provisions of the two international standards around these two forms of tourism.

The Wholesale Trade Turnover Value Index recorded a significant increase of 15.2 per cent in 2021, compared to 2020, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Also, the Value Index of Trade Turnover and Repair of Motor Vehicles also recorded a significant increase of 10.8 per cent year-on-year in 2021.

Moreover, in the fourth quarter of 2021, the Wholesale Trade Turnover Value Index recorded a significant increase of 22.5 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020.

During the same quarter, the Value Index of Turnover of Trade and Repair of Motor Vehicles increased by 2.3 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020.

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

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 65.90 points at 12:26 during the day, reflecting a rise of 0.5 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.60 points, which represents an increase of 0.53 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €59,984.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and alternative indexes rose by 0.74 per cent and 0.25 per cent respectively. The hotel and investment firm indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works (+0.74 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (+0.21 per cent), Hellenic Bank (+2.25 per cent), the Cyprus Cement Company (+0.96 per cent) and Atlantic Insurance (no change).