The President of the Republic, Mr Nicos Anastasiades, addressed yesterday
the dinner hosted by Piraeus Bank in Cairo, Egypt.
In his address
the President of the Republic said:
“It is a great pleasure
and a true privilege to be addressing such distinguished friends. I would
therefore like to thank our hosts, Piraeus Bank and the Chairman of its Board
of Directors, Constantinos Loizides, for hosting tonight’s dinner and providing
us with the opportunity to discuss the ways of further enhancing Cyprus’ and
Egypt’s economic partnership.
I am certain that
everyone here has experienced first-hand, in one way or another, the benefits
stemming from our two countries’ long-standing ties of friendship and mutual
trust and respect. Cyprus and Egypt are, after all, just one-and-a-half hours’
flight away, sharing both common needs as well as the intense interest for
securing peace and stability in our region.
As such, it is only
natural that Egypt would be at the top of my list with regards to my official
visits, as part of our efforts to reaffirm and enhance important political
relations and, of course, present the many investment opportunities currently
available in Cyprus. In this respect, together with my Ministers of Foreign
Affairs as well as Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, who are also present
tonight, we are eager to discuss with you any suggestions, proposals or
observations you may have regarding your experiences and future plans for doing
business in Cyprus.
The Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI) facts of the last two years indicate the very good trade relations
between our countries. During 2011, the stock of FDI from Cyprus to Egypt was €15
million, while the FDI from Egypt to Cyprus was €19 million. During the past
year, the FDI from Cyprus to Egypt climbed to €19 million, while the FDI from
Egypt to Cyprus also climbed to the €20 million. It is evident from these facts
that there is a great potential for commercial developments between our
countries, even during these years when the global economic crisis restricts
the development of many nations.
I feel it is important
to stress at this point that, despite the economic difficulties created for
Cyprus by March’s Eurogroup Agreement, our country still retains all of the
competitive advantages that set it apart from most investment destinations.
These include, among others, a competitive tax system and a low 12.5% corporate
tax rate, an extensive network of Double Tax Treaties – that includes Egypt,
excellent professional and financial services, an enhanced regulatory
framework, a strategic geographic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia
and Africa, a highly developed infrastructure, a variety of investment
incentive schemes and a highly educated, qualified and multilingual workforce.
Our Government is, in
fact, committed to enhancing these strategic advantages even further, as part
of our wider efforts to restructure and revitalize the economy and its banking
system. This will ensure that Cyprus remains a reliable partner to all
entrepreneurs and investors interested in expanding their operations to our
island and using it to gain preferential access to key markets such as Europe,
Russia, Asia, India and the Middle East.
I am pleased to note
that all our hard work, as well as the many sacrifices made by the Cypriot
people, are already paying off and acknowledged at the international level.
Since we began implementing our comprehensive development strategy in March,
we’ve had two positive evaluations by the Troika, recoding an increase of
deposits by residents of third countries during October of €400 million, and in
November the rating agency Standard & Poor’s issued the first upgrade for
the Cyprus economy after three years of successive downgrades.
Of particular interest
to all of you considering international expansion, are the measures adopted by
the Government of Cyprus in order to encourage foreign investments and create a
more effective and business-friendly environment. Such measures include:
·
Additional tax deduction from taxable
corporate income of up to 25% for each additional worker who will be employed
in the next year, with a prospect of expanding that period, provided that
he/she is a permanent legal resident of Cyprus over the last five years;
·
The amount of time required to issue
planning permissions has been reduced to a maximum of one month for small
projects and three months for large projects;
·
Broadening the range of permitted land
development in off-limit areas for large projects;
·
Building coefficients have been increased
by 30% in residential areas for large commercial developments. The coefficient
will be increased by 25% on the outskirts of residential areas for large
commercial or office developments. It will increase by 20% in certain tourist
zones for large-scale property and from 10% to 15% for areas available for golf
courses;
·
Permits for joint tourist developments,
such as condo hotels, will now be given;
·
Licensing of casino operation.
Moreover, regarding
residency and citizenship issues, we have decided that:
(a) Third country
nationals have the opportunity to acquire a permanent residency permit with the
purchase of a private home of at least €300,000 and deposits of minimum €30,000
in a local bank for three years;
(b) Non-EU residents can
acquire the Cypriot nationality with:
- Investment of minimum €2 million in a state company and €500,000 investment in the Research and Technology fund;
- Various options of direct investments of €5 f million;
- Bank deposits of €5 million in a local bank for three years;
- Payments of income tax or VAT of more than €500,000 within a span of three years.
These measures are
merely indicative of all the hard work currently being done in Cyprus with
regards to the facilitation of foreign investments. More measures will follow
soon, aiming precisely at the strengthening of our financial services and
investment sectors.
In any case, there is no
denying that Cyprus offers potential investors a wealth of promising
opportunities. For example, the discovery of natural gas reserves within
Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone creates excellent prospects for investments and
cooperation between Cypriot and foreign businesses in the energy sector and
auxiliary services. Adding to these is the Government’s decision to construct,
onshore Cyprus, a Liquefied Natural Gas Terminal, in order to meet the needs of
offshore gas exploration and production activities in our neighborhood.
Apart from the energy
sector, we believe that Cyprus retains its competitive advantages in
traditional growth sectors while it also offers great opportunities in other
areas of the economy. It is for this reason actually that the national IPA of
Cyprus, the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency – CIPA, based its newly
developed strategy on the following key sectors:
1. Oil &
Gas Auxiliary services
2.
Professional services (Arbitration, Fiduciary Services, Trustee)
3. Health,
Wellness & Tourism
4. Financial
Services (Banking and Finance, Insurance Sector, Funds)
5. Shipping
6. Education
R&D, Start-ups & ICT
7. Land
Development
8. Film
Industry
9. To these
of course, I have to mention the decision of my Government to develop the casino
industry which will create new investment opportunities
In closing, please allow
me to thank you all for your attention and for your participation in tonight’s
event. Cyprus considers Egypt to be a true friend and partner in our region and
our Government is committed to facilitating cooperation between our countries
and our businesspeople in every way possible.
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