The Council of Ministers has greenlit a forward-thinking budget aimed at facilitating the installation of electric car chargers in businesses.
“This initiative is strategically designed to address the burgeoning demand within the Cypriot market for electric car charging solutions “, said the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Alexis Vafeades.
In his remarks following the Council of Ministers’ meeting at the Presidential Palace, Vafeades elaborated on the launch of the second phase of the “Electrification with 1000” grant scheme.
Significantly, this phase is focused on providing grants, through the Recovery and Resilience Plan, to both natural and legal entities engaged in economic activities for the installation of electric mobility chargers. He pointed out, that this scheme complements other subsidy programmes for electric car chargers administered by the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, with the overarching goal of “filling the entire spectrum of the need that arises in the Cypriot market for charging electric cars.”
Set to commence on Monday and conclude on May 31, 2024, the scheme’s timeline is clearly defined, after which the applications received will undergo assessment. Vafeades disclosed that the budget allocated in this phase amounted to €2.5 million, expressing optimism for a strong public response.
Moreover, he mentioned some enhancements made to the plan compared to its first phase. Specifically, the grants available for application by natural and legal persons have seen an increase, a strategic move aimed at “exhausting the number of grants soon.”
In response to a question, he clarified that the plan specifically targets the installation of electric mobility chargers in venues where economic activities are conducted, such as supermarkets, shops, and offices. These chargers are intended for public use, whether by customers, for instance, of a large office complex, or by staff members.
Ultimately, the concerted effort is to ensure the widespread installation of chargers across numerous locations, thereby effectively catering to the needs of electric mobility.
A significant increase of 53.9 per cent was recorded in the number of job vacancies in the Q4 of 2023. The vacancies reached 12,038, showing an increase of 4,217 positions compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, which stood at 7,821, according to data that was released on Wednesday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).
Conversely, when compared to the Q3 of 2023, a slight decrease of 236 positions was observed, marking a decrease of 1.9 per cent change. This juxtaposition highlights the dynamic nature of the job market over different quarters.
Furthermore, the percentage of vacancies to total employees and vacancies in the Q4 of 2023 was 2.8 per cent, which, when compared to the previous quarter’s 2.9 per cent and the corresponding quarter of 2022 1.9 per cent, suggests a fluctuating yet generally upward trend in the job vacancy rate.
Delving deeper into sector-specific data, the highest vacancy rates in the Q4 of 2023 were observed in the Administrative and Support Activities Sectors (5.2 per cent), followed by Other Service Activities (3.9 per cent), and the Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles sector (3.5 per cent). This distribution indicates varying degrees of demand for labour across different sectors.
Moreover, the industries with the largest increase in the number of vacancies between the Q4 of 2022 and the Q4 of 2023 reveal notable shifts in the labour market.
The Real Estate Management industry, for instance, saw an astounding increase of 437.5 per cent, while construction experienced a growth of 177.6 per cent, and Administrative and Support Activities witnessed a 137.7 per cent rise.
Additionally, Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles reported an increase of 129.6 per cent. These figures underscore the dynamic evolution of industry-specific labour demands over the years.
Conversely, some industries faced significant decreases in job vacancies. Electricity, Natural Gas, Steam, and Air Conditioning experienced a dramatic reduction of 87.5 per cent, Mining and Quarrying saw a 70 per cent decrease, Arts, Entertainment and Entertainment witnessed a 28.8 per cent fall, and Financial and Insurance Activities recorded a 19.8 per cent decline.
The Economic Policy Uncertainty index in Cyprus (EPU), as reported by the Economics Research Centre (CypERC) of the Department of Economics at the University of Cyprus, experienced a series of fluctuations during the period from December 2023 to February 2024, notably witnessing a temporary spike in January.
Specifically, the EPU index, which stood at 223.04 points in December, saw an increase to 278.79 points in January, before declining to 221.14 points in February.
Importantly, the peak of the EPU index in January can be attributed to heightened geopolitical turmoil, particularly the crisis in the Middle East and the Red Sea. This situation raised concerns regarding potential disruptions to global trade and the adverse impacts on economic activity. A similar temporary increase was observed in the European EPU index during January.
However, it is noteworthy that in February, both the Economic Uncertainty Index in Cyprus and in Europe returned to the levels observed in December. This shift indicates a relative de-escalation of economic uncertainty. Nevertheless, it is crucial to acknowledge that the level of economic uncertainty remains at historically high levels.
The EPU was developed by Baker, Bloom, and Davis in 2016. This innovative index quantifies economic uncertainty with a focus on the effectiveness of economic policy. It employs a textual analysis methodology, specifically counting the number of newspaper articles published in print that contain at least one word from each of the following three categories: Economy (E), Politics (P), and Uncertainty (U). To date, data for almost 30 countries worldwide, including 11 in Europe, has been compiled.
The Economics Research Centre (CypERC) at the University of Cyprus is responsible for constructing the EPU Index for the Cypriot economy and analyzing its effects on the local economic landscape.
It is observed that, until 2007, uncertainty in Cyprus was significantly lower on average and exhibited smaller fluctuations. However, post-2008, there has been a gradual increase in uncertainty, reaching its highest values in 2012 with the banking crisis, in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic, and in 2022 with the Russia-Ukraine war. This analysis underscores the dynamic nature of economic uncertainty and its profound impact on the economic stability of Cyprus.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) registered new losses during the stock market on Wednesday.
Specifically, the General Index of the CSE closed at 145.16 points, experiencing a slight decrease of -0.07 per cent. Similarly, the FTSE/CySE 20 Index also witnessed a marginal decline, closing at 88.17 points with losses of 0.05 per cent.
In the realm of individual shares, Logicom’s performance remained stable, closing at €3, unchanged, alongside a trading volume of €57.1 thousand. Conversely, VCW faced a minor setback, closing at €3.24 and recording a decrease of -0.61 per cent, with a trading volume of €19.8 thousand.
Furthermore, the share of Bank of Cyprus also encountered a downturn, closing at €3.56. This represented a drop of 0.84 per cent, accompanied by a turnover of €16.3 thousand.
Hellenic Bank’s shares too did not escape the downward trend, closing at €2.47 with losses of 0.4 per cent and a trading volume of €3 thousand.
Today’s volume of transactions was reported at €136.5 thousand, indicating the market’s ongoing activities and investor engagement.
