Cyprus Business Now

The recent approval by the Cabinet of Ministers of a scheme to further incentivise the relocation of foreign workers and companies creates major opportunities for Cyprus, Invest Cyprus CEO George Campanellas said on Thursday.

“It is with great satisfaction that we see the government taking steady steps towards the implementation of the strategy to attract businesses, recently announced by the Minister of Finance,” Campanellas told local outlet InBusiness.

Campanellas stressed that it is very important in the midst of the ongoing challenges, at the international political and economic level, for Cyprus to be making substantial moves towards further improving its attractiveness as an investment destination.

“The increased interest, mainly seen by technology and other highly specialised companies, which in recent years have been choosing Cyprus as a destination for establishing their activities, is a first-class opportunity to adjust our development model and create the conditions for sustainable development, with benefits for all sectors of the economy,” Campanellas concluded.

Government employment increased by 1.1 per cent or 593 people in April 2022, compared to the corresponding month of 2021, according to a report released this week by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Total government employment amounted to 53,930 people, due to an increase of 1,309 people in temporary staff, despite a decrease of 657 people in permanent staff.

According to the report, government permanent staff, which includes the public service, education, the security forces and hourly workers, has been reduced by 657 people (2.5 per cent), falling from 26,689 to 26,032 people.

The number of temporary staff has increased by 1,309 people (7.2 per cent), reaching 19,556 people, compared to 18,247 people in April 2021.

Compared to April 2021, there is an increase in the staff of the public service (0.1 per cent) and education (4.2 per cent), while the staff of the security forces remained the same.

In addition, there was a decrease in permanent staff in all three categories, with the largest being observed in public service staff (3.1 per cent).

Moreover, there was an increase in temporary staff in all three categories, with education staff presenting the largest rise (14.2 per cent). Hourly wage staff was reduced by 0.7 per cent month-on-month.

Compared to March 2022, there was an increase in education staff (0.1 per cent), a decrease in the staff of the Security Forces (0.2 per cent), while the staff of the public service remained the same.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, May 12 with losses.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 67.61 points at 13:03 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.7 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 40.64 points, which represents a decrease of 0.71 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €52,096.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index fell by 1 per cent, while the alternative index rose by 0.08 per cent.

The hotel and investment firm indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-2.44 per cent), Petrolina (+0.89 per cent), Logicom (+0.54 per cent), Salamis Tours (-1.16 per cent), and Hellenic Bank (-1.3 per cent).