Cyprus Business Now

APS Group, one of the leading alternative asset management companies in Central, Eastern, and South-eastern Europe, on Tuesday announced that it has acquired a corporate and SME secured loan portfolio with a nominal value exceeding €1 billion from Bain Capital Special Situations.

The company said that this is another landmark acquisition in the history of the group, noting that the closing of the FRAME corporate and SME secured portfolio strengthens APS’s leading position in the southeastern region.

Moreover, the company explained that “deals of this scale are complex and challenging for everybody involved”.

This deal has over 3000 collaterals, mainly commercial, residential and industrial properties, hotels and land plots.

“Our teams in Greece, our investment, legal and structuring teams have worked very hard on this transaction, and so I am very pleased with the successful closing that occurred in the second half of December 2022,” CEO and owner of APS Group Martin Machon said about the deal.

The company stated that deals like FRAME are also an indicator of a healthy and evolving market.

“We are happy that we can help and cooperate on such a landmark deal. Our competitive advantage over the biggest players in the game is that we can offer flexibility for every deal, every situation, every market,” CIO of APS Group Viktor Toth said.

The APS Group has 15 regional offices and manages more than 100 portfolios with a nominal value exceeding €11 billion in total.

The Research and Innovation Foundation (Idek) this week announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC).

The memorandum, which was signed by Chief Scientist for Research and Innovation Nikolas Mastroyiannopoulos, aims to create a mutually beneficial partnership that will provide answers to the challenges faced by the energy sector with fruitful results for the Cypriot economy.

It is noted that the memorandum was signed in a ceremony held on Friday, February 3, 2023, marking the start of cooperation between the foundation and EAC on issues of common interest, centred around research and innovation in the energy sector.

The announcement explained that within the framework of the memorandum, the foundation will launch a special research and innovation programme to finance proposals that will ultimately seek to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced by the EAC.

Idek will have the authority to announce and evaluate the special calls for proposals, conclude the financing contracts and monitor the implementation of the financed projects.

Upon completion of the proposal submission process, the EAC will select a specific number of projects that will proceed with the pilot implementation of the solution they propose.

The EAC, depending on the result of the experimental application, will decide, if deemed appropriate, to proceed with the announcement of relevant tenders using the Innovation Procurement tool.

It is further noted that, among other things, the memorandum foresees, for the benefit of Idek and EAC, the transfer of know-how, the utilisation of expertise and the promotion and implementation of various actions.

During the ceremony, Mastroyiannopoulos stressed that the signing of the memorandum marks the beginning of a new era and collaboration, aimed at strengthening the Cyprus Electricity Authority and helping it to face the challenges it faces.

“Research and innovation govern every branch of economic activity,” Mastroyiannopoulos said.

“The memorandum strengthens our cooperation with the EAC, bolsters the energy sector, a key sector of the economy, and at the same time contributes to the strengthening of the research and innovation ecosystem of our country,” he added.

For her part, EAC president Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou stated that “we are particularly happy about the signing of the memorandum between the EAC, the Chief Scientist and Idek”.

“Through our collaboration and in the context of new calls for proposals, the opportunity is given to further promote innovation in the EAC,” she added.

The EAC president concluded by saying that “the aim is to strengthen the competitiveness of the economy and facilitate the green transition in the vital energy sector”.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, February 7 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 97.49 points at 13:10 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.14 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 58.85 points, representing a drop of 0.17 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €35,725.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and investment firm indexes fell by 0.41 per cent and 2.21 per cent respectively.

The hotel index rose by 0.09 per cent while the alternative index increased by 0.06 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (+1.48 per cent), Hellenic Bank (-0.97 per cent), KEO PLC (+2.7 per cent), the Cyprus Cement Company (-1.56 per cent), and Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (no change).