Cyprus Business Now

The number of trips abroad made by residents of Cyprus in September 2022 was almost twice as much as last year, according to a report released this week by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

As reported by the services, foreign trips in September 2022 amounted to 122,450, compared to 66,452 in September 2021, marking an increase of 84.3 per cent year-on-year.

The main countries from which Cypriots returned in September 2022 were Greece with 37.1 per cent, the United Kingdom with 9.2 per cent and Italy with 5.2 per cent.

The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy on Friday will hold the inaugural edition of the European Teaming Conference, the first event of its kind in Cyprus to involve the participation of Centers of Excellence (CoE) from all over Europe.

The conference, set to take place at the Mediterranean Beach Hotel in Limassol, will be attended by researchers from 25 centres, funded under the Teaming for Excellence Action of the European Union Programme for Research and Innovation (R&D) “Horizon 2020”. Of these participating centres, six are based in Cyprus.

Moreover, representatives from the European Commission, as well as bodies, organisations and professionals from the local research and development ecosystem will also participate at the event.

According to the event’s organisers, discussions will focus on the main challenges faced by the Centres of Excellence in terms of their sustainability and further development, as well as the importance of utilising research results to get Europe back on track in terms of growth and development, while effectively addressing global challenges such as climate change and the acceleration of the green and digital transition.

“The conference expects to be a platform for the exchange of knowledge, expertise and best practices between all participants,” the organisers said in a statement.

“It also seeks to lay the foundations for synergies and constructive collaborations on a bilateral or even multilateral level, for the benefit of the centres themselves, but also of the global economy and society,” the statement concluded.

PwC Cyprus on Tuesday announced that it had honoured four trainee accountants and two other employees for achieving significant distinctions in international examinations of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), and other academic institutions in June 2022.

The company said that it held two special ceremonies on Wednesday, October 12 at the organisation’s offices.

The first award ceremony for trainees was attended by the organisation’s CEO Philippos Soseilos, and the Chief People Officer, Anna Loizou.

Trainee accountants Alice Simpson, Amin Fataliev, and Kirill Bogdanov were awarded for their ACCA examination performance, while Vasiliki Petroutsou was honoured for her academic performance.

Alice Simpson achieved first place in Cyprus in the Advanced Taxation examination.
“This is the seventh time that Simpson achieves first place nationwide in an ACCA examination,” the company said.

Moreover, Amin Fataliev achieved first place in Cyprus in the Taxation examination, while Kirill Bogdanov achieved first place in Cyprus in the Performance Management examination.

Additionally, Vasiliki Petroutsou received the “Best Academic Achievement” honour for her excellent performance in the MSc Human Resources Management degree, for the academic year 2022 at the University of Cyprus.

Meanwhile, the second ceremony took place in the presence of PwC Cyprus CEO Philippos Soseilos, the Chief of People, Anna Loizou, as well as Spyros Evangelou, Partner and Head of S.A. Evangelou & CO LLC Advocates, a law firm and member of the international network of PwC.

The three executives congratulated Natalie Vassiliou Moustaka for achieving the highest mark globally in 2021 in ‘STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust Creation: Law & Practice’, and for being awarded with the STEP Worldwide Excellence Award.

“In the post-pandemic era, we aim to strengthen the inclusivity of the experiences we offer to the people of the organisation. We revamped the People Value Proposition (PVP) scheme, which aims to strengthen our relationships with our people, and set clear goals for what they can expect from the organisation,” Chief of People Anna Loizou said.

“We continue our work by having a holistic approach–emphasising work experience and learning as we continue to build an environment tailored to the personal and professional needs of us all,” she concluded.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, October 18 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 74.34 points at 13:57 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.51 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 48.19 points, which represents a decrease of 0.55 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €85,064.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and hotel indexes fell by 0.45 per cent, 0.49 per cent and 0.49 per cent respectively, while the investment firm index rose by 0.48 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works (-2.31 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (-0.75 per cent), Demetra (+0.51 per cent), Logicom (-1.73 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (no change), and Pandora (no change).