Cyprus Business Now

The Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) discussed the impact of EU policies, with a focus on the challenges of decarbonising ships, during its monthly board meeting which took place in Limassol this week.

The meeting, which was part of the celebrations for World Maritime Day, was attended by the President of the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) Philippos Philis, along with ECSA’s Secretary-General Sotiris Raptis, who was an official guest and the main speaker.

The meeting began with an update on the actions of the CSC by its Director-General, Thomas Kazakos.

Additionally, Andreas Neophytou, Vice President of the Chamber, presented a check for approximately €15,000 to George Penintaex, President of the Association for Children with Cancer and Other Related Diseases, “One Dream, One Wish.” The funds were raised as part of a charitable beach volleyball campaign.

“We are the voice of European shipowners in Brussels,” said ECSA Secretary-General Sotiris Raptis during his speech, where he analysed the union’s positions in light of the legislative proposals of the “Fit for 55” climate package and their impact on shipping from the use of new, cleaner fuels on ships.

Raptis emphasised that this is a significant challenge and noted that only a few months remain for the European Commission to introduce the implementing acts, after which member states will have to transpose the new regulations into national law.

The ECSA Secretary-General focused on the most critical provisions of the new regulations, such as the EU Emissions Trading System, the FuelEU Maritime directive, alternative fuel infrastructure (AFIR), and the directive on Renewable Energy Sources.

He pointed out the lack of necessary support for the shipping industry from Europe and the efforts to highlight its significant role in European safety and the economy.

Indicating that the European elections are just a few months away and new European Commissioners will be appointed with new policy directions, Sotiris Raptis stressed that “we must be practical”.

He stated that ECSA should present specific proposals to policymakers on the issues that concern them.

During his visit to Cyprus, Raptis had the opportunity to meet with the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber and Stelios Himonas, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Shipping, to discuss various matters concerning European shipping.

Industrial production in Cyprus showed annual growth both in July and during the period from January to July, according to a report released this week by the state’s statistical service.

According to the report, the Industrial Production Index for July 2023 reached 155.6 units, with the base year being 2015, marking a 1.6 per cent increase, compared to July 2022.

During the period from January to July 2023, the index recorded a 0.4 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

In the manufacturing sector, there was an increase of 1.4 per cent compared to July 2022. Increases were also observed in the mining and quarrying sector (+8.8 per cent), water supply and materials recovery sector (+8.8 per cent), and electricity supply sector (+0.4 per cent).

Within the manufacturing sector, the most significant positive changes compared to July 2022 took place in the construction of machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, and other transport equipment (+26.3 per cent), and the manufacture of electronic and optical products and electrical equipment (+22.2 per cent).

The production of basic metals and the manufacture of metal products, as well as the production of textiles, clothing, and leather products also rose, increasing by 17.3 per cent and 13.4 per cent respectively.

Conversely, negative changes were observed in the activities of furniture construction and machinery and equipment repair and installation (-13.5 per cent), the production of petroleum refining products, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, and preparations (-3.6 per cent), the construction of other non-metallic mineral products (-3.1 per cent), and the manufacture of paper and paper products and printing (-3.1 per cent).

Comparing the growth rates for the period from January to July 2023 with the corresponding period of the previous year, the most significant increases were in the production of textiles, clothing, and leather products (+14.6 per cent), and the construction of machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, and other transport equipment (+13.7 per cent).

In addition, year-on-year growth was observed in the production of basic metals and the manufacture of metal products (+12.7 per cent), the manufacture of electronic and optical products and electrical equipment (+12.5 per cent), and materials recovery (+11.7 per cent).

The activities that saw the most significant decreases in production compared to the period from January to July 2022 were furniture construction and machinery and equipment repair and installation (-11.6 per cent) and electricity supply (-10.3 per cent).

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Friday, September 29 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 130.47 points at 12:58 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.39 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 79.14 points, representing a drop of 0.38 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €332,479

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index fell by 0.66 per cent while the alternative index rose by 0.66 per cent. The hotel and investment firm indexes remained unchanged.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-1.98 per cent), Logicom (no change), Hellenic Bank (-0.44 per cent), KEO PLC (+4.94 per cent), and Petrolina (no change).