Cyprus Business Now

Managing Director of Logicom Solutions Chrysostomos Kritiotis on Tuesday provided an evaluation of the previous year’s financial environment, outlining its effects on banks and other organisations.

“The outbreak of the war in Ukraine and its consequences have increased the risk of persistent inflation and economic stagnation and created a volatile, uncertain and challenging macroeconomic environment,” Kritiotis said during an interview with local media outlet InBusiness.

“Despite all this, as of yet, the eurozone banks appear to have been able to remain resilient,” he added, while also noting that the increasing trend of higher interest rates will, in the immediate future, have a beneficial effect on their finances.

At the same time, the Logicom managing director stated that, from the banks’ point of view, careful and prudent strategic choices and the effective redistribution of their resources are required in order to ensure sustainable profitability in the long term.

Aristos Philis, the CEO of KeelX, a company that creates software and computerised machines providing solutions to various maritime problems, on Tuesday said that the Cypriot economy experienced a strong recovery after the pandemic, however, factors such as high inflation and the energy crisis may lead to a slowdown in growth for 2023.

In terms of the marine technology sector, Philis said that it has seen an increase in the adoption of digital technology solutions, combined with consolidation activity through mergers and acquisitions.

For 2023, he expects to see continued growth in the sector due to regulatory pressures to protect the environment, among other reasons.

What is more, in order to increase Cyprus’ business potential and competitiveness, the KeelX CEO proposed that the country focuses on attracting and retaining talent, improving social and political stability, and reforming the judicial and public administration systems.

“We have witnessed an increasing number of shipping companies exploring and adopting digital technology solutions to optimise operations, improve transparency and regulate fleet emissions,” he said.

“In addition, 2022 saw a flurry of activity with numerous M&A transactions being announced, which is a trend that I expect to continue in 2023 due to numerous synergies and risk mitigation strategies,” he added.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, January 03 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 89.77 points at 13:17 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.23 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 54.15 points, representing a decrease of 0.22 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €53,378.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index rose by 0.22 per cent, while the alternative, hotel and investment firm indexes fell by 1.39 per cent, 0.96 per cent and 0.77 per cent respectively.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (+0.78 per cent), Blue Island (-3.92 per cent), Hellenic Bank (+1.39 per cent), and Logicom (-0.52 per cent).