Invest Cyprus president calls for ideas worthy of foreign investment

Invest Cyprus president Evgenios Evgeniou on Wednesday called on the Cypriot business community to put forth ideas aimed at attracting foreign investment, which are in line with the priorities of the new development model, as defined in the country’s long-term strategy entitled ‘Vision 2035′.

Speaking at the Economist conference, which is taking place in Nicosia this week, Evgeniou mentioned that Cyprus was ranked third worldwide in the recovery of foreign direct investments after the pandemic, before stressing that that this should not be a cause for complacency.

He explained that Cyprus’ “recipe” for new sources of economic growth lies in the the long-term strategy for country’s new growth model, established by the Economic and Competitiveness Council, Vision 2035, combined with the national Recovery and Resilience Plan.

“At Invest Cyprus, our priorities are aligned with the new development model and for this we are focused on sustainable projects, in priority sectors, with an emphasis on renewable energy, energy storage, health, hospitality and agriculture, projects that have the element of sustainability”.

Encouraging Cypriot entrepreneurs to present ideas in line with the new development model so that the organisation can put them in touch with investors abroad, Evgeniou said that there are currently ten projects underway.

For his part, the president of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) George Theocharides indicated the need to promote the efficiency of the European capital market so as to enhance transparency, liquidity and promote a proper environment for both domestic and foreign investors.

“If we do this, we will increase investment flows and strengthen economic development within the EU”, he emphasised.

He also referred to the discussions on the new regulation for European long-term investment funds (ELTIFs), but also for Fund Managers in Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities and Alternative Investment Funds (UCITs, AIFs).

At the same time, Theocharides pointed out the need to reform the institutional framework for listed companies, saying that this is quite important, since it can increase the number of companies listed on stock exchanges.

He also referred to a report by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) from 2007 to 2021, according to which a 70 per cent decrease in approved prospectuses has been recorded, combined with a significant increase in companies exiting stock exchanges, something which has also observed in the Cyprus Stock Exchange.

“Ongoing negotiations at the European level should result in a more proportionate and more effective supervisory framework for issuers, facilitating their access to European capital markets”, he concluded.