Cyprus Business Now

The Deputy Ministry of Shipping will participate in the ‘Sea Japan’ international shipping exhibition in Tokyo, from April 10 to 12. In an announcement, it stated that ‘Sea Japan’, an international maritime exhibition, held every two years, has established itself among the most important such exhibitions in Asia. The exhibition, first held in 1994, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and is expected to be the largest ever, with about 600 exhibitors from 30 countries. Visitors are expected to exceed 20,000.

The deputy ministry will have an exhibition stand together with the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry to promote the advantages of Cypriot shipping, the registration of ships under the Cypriot flag, the Cypriot Tonnage Tax System, as well as provide information on all the services offered by the Deputy Ministry. Cyprus will be presented as a developed Maritime Centre, and the Cypriot Flag as a flag of quality and reliability.

The Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) has released a report titled ‘Registration of Motor Vehicles’ for January-March 2024, highlighting a market where electric and hybrid cars, along with motor coaches, buses, and cargo-carrying vehicles, are on the rise, while petrol and diesel cars, rental cars, and passenger saloon cars are experiencing a decline.

Furthermore, the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) released a report on Tuesday showing the total imports and exports of goods in January-February 2024.

Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades sought to clarify the reason for stalled works on the touted multimillion-euro Larnaca port revamp on Tuesday. According to the minister, a procedural hold-up on the part of the managing company, Cypriot-Israeli consortium Kition Ocean Holdings, is delaying the state’s ability to review the company’s changed demands. The minister made his statements to the state broadcaster after it emerged earlier that the project was cloaked in mystery, with local stakeholders having been unable to access any information about the actual contract or the timeframe for the works. “The contract provides for three letters of guarantee,” Vafeades explained, adding that the first letter from the providing company expired on January 31 and has not been reissued since, as prescribed.

Kition Ocean Holdings, which is overseeing the Larnaca port and marina revamp, has filed a case against the government for causing delays and breaching contract, it emerged on Tuesday. According to CEO Oliver Corlette, the government has been unwilling to meet the company to discuss a difference in a financial guarantee.  The guarantee is one of three worth €10 million, which the company said needed to be recalculated, something the government refused, leading to the delay in the works.

The enrichment of Cyprus’ economic model is of vital importance, said the finance minister, Makis Keravnos, stressing that “the bet is to maintain the investment level” which was objective of the government’s economic policy.  Speaking at the 14th Nicosia Economic Conference, on Tuesday, on “Forecasts for the Cypriot economy and policies to protect it,” Keravnos said that “in the medium term, we should adopt a development model, which will promote a sustainable course and not an opportunistic one.” 

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) experienced profits on Tuesday. The General Index closed at 144.63 points, reflecting an increase of 0.79 per cent. Furthermore, the value of the transactions reached €550,496.

In terms of specific indexes, the FTSE/CySE 20 Index also saw an uptick, closing at 87.83 points, which is a 0.84 per cent rise.

Regarding the performance of individual stock market indexes, notable movements were observed. The Investors index recorded significant gains of 6.75 per cent, while the Main Market index increased by 1.38 per cent. Conversely, the Alternative index saw a marginal increase of 0.11 per cent, and the Hotels index faced a slight decline, recording losses of 0.25 per cent.

Focusing on individual securities, the Hellenic Bank attracted considerable investment interest, with transactions worth €206,763,8000, closing at €2.3500 with no change in its price.

The Bank of Cyprus followed, with transactions amounting to €171,584,9400, experiencing a minor drop of 0.81 per cent, closing at €3.6700. Demetra Holdings also stood out, with its transactions reaching €115,789,6400 and a notable price increase of 6.89 per cent, closing at €0.9000.