Gold May

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5 291295 000577 00001 > ISSUE 26 MAY 14 - JUNE 13, 2013 PRICE 4.95 POWERED BY: With a Diamond Exchange the island could rival Dubai, say experts DIAMONDS ARE FOR… CYPRUS? OUTSIDE LOOKING IN How Foreigners view Cyprus today PLUS: MONEY / BUSINESS ECONOMY TAX & LEGAL LIFESTYLE / OPINION BANKING Five Lessons for Europe INTERVIEWS Jose Barrionuevo Morten Fon Guillermo Nielsen

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goldmay2013

Transcript of Gold May

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ISSUE 26MAy 14 - JUnE 13, 2013PRICE €4.95 PowEREd by:

With a Diamond Exchangethe island could rivalDubai, say experts

DiamonDs are for… Cyprus ?

oUTSIdE LooKInG In How Foreigners

view Cyprus today

PLUS: MonEy / bUSInESSEConoMyTAX & LEGALLIFESTyLE / oPInIon

bAnKInGFive Lessons

for Europe

InTERVIEwSJose barrionuevo

Morten FonGuillermo nielsen

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4 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

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issue 26may 14 - june 13

2013

FEATURES

PRoblEm SolvEd?By george mountis 37

mEmoRAndUm oF (miS)UndERSTAndingBy costas markides 57

A vicTim oF iTS own SUccESSBy peter economides 82

A diAmond ExchAngE coUld RAiSE STATE REvEnUES,

booST ThE Economy, EncoURAgE ToURiSm And

mAkE ThE moST oF ThE coUnTRy’S STRATEgic

locATion.

+ oPinion

22 | oUTSidE looking inThe foreigners’ view of the Cyprus bailout agreement, banking restrictions and where the island goes from here.

30 | 5 lESSonS FoR EURoPEThe Eurogroup’s decision on Cyprus has changed the rules of the banking game in Europe.

34 | RESTART And REbRAnd!The bailout should be seen as an opportuni-ty to change Cyprus for the better, says Cy-priot business consultant Markos Shiapanis.

38 | Aiming To bEcomE ThE inSURER oF choicE

2012 was another year of achievement for Trust International Insurance Company (Cyprus) Ltd.

40 | inSUPPoRTAblEA Cypriot exit from the eurozone would be “catastrophic”, says George J. Prokopakis.

44 | lEARning FRom QATARQatar, which boasts the highest per capita income in the world, can teach Cyprus a great deal.

EdiToRiAlUP FRonTFivE minUTES wiTh…

68 {money}

72 {business}

74 {economy}

76 {tax& legal}

78 {lifestyle}

16

34

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THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS Gold 23

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There has been a great deal of talk about how the deal struck with the Troika to bailout the Cy-

prus economy and restructure its banking sector will affect foreign investors and companies on the island. Most of the talk has been by Cypriots – lawyers, accoun-tants, advisors. In this issue we present the views of the foreign-ers themselves and while they partly echo local optimism about

the future, they are also quite critical of the Troika’s approach to the island’s problems and to how previous governments have ignored them. The Russian view comes direct from Moscow from accountant Igor Makarov but also from closer to home: Natalia Kardash, Editor-in-Chief of sev-eral Russian-language publica-tions in Cyprus, is Vice-President of the Association of Russian-speaking residents and she has

her finger on the pulse of the Russian community here. She proposes some simple steps that will make her compatriots feel more comfortable about the idea of staying. We also hear from a variety of foreign businessmen and international media, and we recall what Members of the European Parliament had to say last month when they debated the Eurogroup’s treatment of Cyprus.

OutsideLooking In

THE FOREIGNERS’ VIEW OF THE CYPRUS BAILOUT AGREEMENT,

BANKING RESTRICTIONS AND WHERE THE ISLAND GOES FROM HERE.

By John Vickers

We were banking with Hellenic Bank so we have not been affected by the haircut. The only problems have been caused by the banking restric-tions which are quite frustrating but we have other accounts outside Cyprus so the difficulties are man-ageable. The overall situation has affected us but far less than it might have done if we had been focused entirely on Cyprus. That said, we are not taking any risks right now until the situation returns to normal.

I can understand why the Government

and the Central Bank imposed restrictions but while they wanted to prevent a serious

flight of capital, they have simultaneously halted money that was coming into Cyprus.

We have a holding company for our on-line gaming business and we have been here for two years. The things that attracted me and my fellow-directors to Cyprus are still in place: the high standard of living, the climate, a more relaxed lifestyle and laid-back way of doing business. I love Cyprus and I am not consider-ing moving my busi-ness anywhere else but what has happened will certainly have made some people re-consider their plans to come to Cyprus and take advantage of what the country has to of-fer as an international business centre. They may start looking at

Malta or Honduras instead.

The Government now needs to do two very important things: It must make sure that there will be no further change to the corporate tax rate – 12.5% is still attrac-tive but any further increase will make companies start look-ing elsewhere – and it must take steps to revive the banking sec-tor and give investors a reason to regain their confidence in Cyprus. I think a key issue on which it should work is transparency. This is incredibly important and if the country wants to regain in-vestor confidence, it needs to make

everyone realize that the present measures have been taken out of necessity, they will soon be lifted and they won’t happen again.

We all know that Iceland imposed similar restrictions on the movement of capital and they are still in place five years later. The restrictions in Cyprus are being described as ‘tem-porary’ but no-one knows how long they will stay in place. The Government and the Central Bank need to take the risk and lift them, otherwise the uncertainty surround-ing the issue will have a negative impact on the country’s efforts to regain its reputation.

“SHIPPING REMAINS IN CYPRUS AND SUPPORTS THE

ECONOMY”

THE VIEWFROM BUSINESS

What has happened will certainly have made some people reconsider their plans to come to Cyprus

RICHARD BUITEMANCEO OF THE MYMOBIBET GROUP

ANIL KUMAR CHAIRMAN, RANSAT GROUP, UK

CAPT. EUGEN ADAMI

PRESIDENT, CYPRUS SHIPPING CHAMBER

JOHAN LUNDRENDEPUTY CHIEF

EXECUTIVE,TUI TRAVEL

The local and interna-tional media have made a disaster out of the situation and right now the island has a very bad name. People think that it’s an offshore tax haven, etc., forgetting that it’s an EU country and held the Presidency less than 12 months ago.

The fi rst thing that the Government needs to do

is regain people’s trust and restore confi dence. This is the key. I met the President briefl y he told me that he is already working very hard to restore confi dence. If he manages this, the coun-try will be fi ne. Cyprus hasn’t lost as much as other countries. Both Ireland and Greece were much worse off. Here,

the shipping model is good and tourism is on the rise again. Of course, if you depend entirely on tourism and outside money you cannot consider your economy to be sustainable. The Government has to take initiatives but the private sector should also take responsibility too. To this end it needs to bring in

a new model. The busi-ness community needs to come together and create a new structure to help the country get back on its feet.

I fail to understand why Cyprus wants to depend on Russia. The Russians need Cyprus more than Cyprus needs them. This is the only country in Europe that

LIFT BANKING RESTRICTIONS

Our message is that TUI Travel will continue to support Cyprus in its reform process and we look forward to continuing our investments on the island. Our relationship with Cyprus, which we consider a very important destination, goes back almost 50 years. We will need the support and assistance of various stakeholders – the Government, the authorities for tourism and our partners here – to seize the opportunity that we believe exists and ensure we can continue our development plan in Cyprus, but also expand this activity within the European markets.

At the 24th Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Cham-ber last month, the Presi-dent of the Chamber, Capt. Eugen Adami, em-phasised that, irrespec-tive of the effects of the recent banking problem on a number of shipping companies, the ship-ping industry remains faithful to Cyprus and its Registry and continues to support the island’s economy. He also stated

that “Only through the restoration of its econo-my, image and credibility will Cyprus be able to restore its position as a reliable investment centre.” He appealed to all the country’s political parties to join forces with the Government and support all efforts in this direction, including the immediate approval of the Financial Assistance Package by the House of Representatives.

RESTORING CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY

is a friend of Russia so you should be equal partners, not a subor-

dinate and a superior. They have nowhere else to go.

The Russians need Cyprus more than Cyprus needs them

TH E VIEW FROM THE MEDIA WORSTALL | CONTRIBUTING WRITER TO FORBES ON BUSINESS ISSUES

The fi rst thing that the Government needs to do

TH E VIEW FROM THE MEDIA WORSTALL | CONTRIBUTING WRITER TO FORBES ON BUSINESS ISSUESTHTIM

“Cyprus is going to go through a great deal of pain economically. If Cyprus stays in the euro then there’s no easy way out of that pain. Just years, possibly a decade

or more, of grinding austerity. When faced with that, the Iceland alterna-tive seems a much better one: De-fault, leave the currency, bring back the Cypriot pound and take the hit

on the exchange rate rather than the real economy. In the book “This Time Is Different” by Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, the authors list the sovereign defaults

over the centuries – all 800 of them. The real takeaway point from the book is that defaulting can be pain-ful, yes, but it’s almost always less painful than not defaulting.”22

48 | do yoU SPEAk SUSTAinAbliSh?Can we make not only our lifestyles but our businesses more sustainable by taking all three pillars of sustainability into account?

50 | “niSmo cyPRUS!” Slovenia’s severe financial and bank-ing problems might look solvable at the moment, but they may not be for long.

54 | hEAlThy body + hEAlThy mind = hEAlThy Economy

Kyriakos Onisiforou believes that now is the time to make an even greater effort to keep ourselves healthy.

58 | PoSiTivE And moTivATEdInterview with Emilios Ayiomamitis, newly-appointed member of the Board of Directors of Horwath DSP Ltd.

62 | don’T cRy FoR mE, nicoSiAA decade ago, Guillermo Nielsen and Jose M. Barrionuevo were on opposite sides of the negotiations to restructure Argentina’s $104bn sovereign debt.

DiamonDs are For…Cyprus ?

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EDITORIAL

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ISSUE 26MAY 14 - JUNE 13, 2013PRICE €4.95 POWERED BY:

With a Diamond Exchangethe island could rivalDubai, say experts

DIAMONDS ARE FOR… CYPRUS?

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN How Foreigners

view Cyprus today

PLUS: MONEY / BUSINESSECONOMYTAX & LEGALLIFESTYLE / OPINION

BANKINGFive Lessons

for Europe

INTERVIEWSJose Barrionuevo

Morten FonGuillermo Nielsen

cover final.indd 1 08/05/2013 13:34

John Vickers,Chief Editor

[email protected]

Change We Must

Now that the anti-bailout voices have had their say and the Troika-Cy-prus agreement on a financial assistance package has nonetheless been approved by local and EU parliamentarians, it is finally time to move ahead with measures that will counteract the negative effects of many of the deal’s painful provisions. In this issue of Gold, we take a look at what has happened to the island through a variety of lenses and come

up with some interesting proposals on how to “restart and rebrand” Cyprus, as Moscow-based Cypriot business consultant Markos Shiapanis aptly describes the process (page 34).

One of the most fascinating ideas is the subject of this month’s cover story: the setting up of a Diamond Exchange/Bourse which, according to the CEO of one of the world’s biggest diamond companies, could make perfect use of the country’s location to attract Israeli and Arab dealers as well as Russian, Chinese and Indian traders in both rough and cut gems (page 16).

The idea of a Diamond Exchange to rival that of Dubai is not a new one but it is cer-tainly one that deserves the attention of the new government, which has promised to look into new areas of economic activity. One only needs to consider the annual turnover of $56 billion for the Antwerp Diamond Exchange to realise that this is seriously big business. This fact was mentioned by Greek-American jewellery designer Yianni Melas at the recent Global Russia Business Meeting in Limassol which was also the venue for some construc-tive ideas – and criticism – concerning the professional services sector in Cyprus. One of the moderators at the meeting was Natalia Kardash, Vice-President of the Association of Russian-speaking residents, who spoke to Gold about how many Russian business people feel after the Laiki Bank/Bank of Cyprus resolution/restructuring (page 25). In our broader “Outside Looking In” feature (page 22), we also hear the views of Russian and non-Russian businessmen and consider how the foreign media and Members of the European Parlia-ment see the agreement reached between Cyprus and its eurozone partners.

There is no doubt that the country and its leaders now need to take a much closer look at what others are doing in terms of attracting investment and becoming more competitive and to learn from their experience. Qatar, for example, boasts one of the fastest-growing economies and highest per capita incomes in the world and, says Abdul Rahman al Attiya, Chargé d’Affaires of Qatar in Cyprus, it can teach Cyprus a great deal (page 44).

And if all of this is new to people in Cyprus, Argentina has seen it all before, and much worse. Two of the key figures in the restructuring of the South American country’s sover-eign debt, Jose Barrionuevo and Guillermo Nielsen, gave exclusive interviews to Gold this month (page 62) in which they discuss how Argentina succeeded and how they view the Troika’s way of resolving debt problems in Europe.

After what has happened in Cyprus, the country is now being seen as a model for what may follow in other countries such as Slovenia (page 50) and in the eurozone’s banking system (page 30), while throughout this issue people in various sectors express their views on how they and others should deal with the new post-bailout situation. Add to the mix an intriguing piece on investing in vintage and antique timepieces (page 78) and our usual col-lection of more specialist articles on money, business, economic, tax and legal issues, and I believe that this issue of Gold will keep you interested, fascinated and busy for some time.

Please keep sending us your feedback and ideas for future articles that you want to see in your magazine.

6 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

Managing Director: George Michail

general Manager: Daphne Roditou Tang

MeDia Manager: Elena Leontiou

eDitor-in-chief: John Vickers

senior eDitor: Kyproula Papachristodoulou

CoNtributors to this issue: Rakis Christoforou, Peter Economides, Costas Markides, George Mountis, Chloe Panayides,

Christos Tsolakis, Artemis Yiordamli

Art DireCtioN: Anna Theodosiou

seNior DesiGNer: Alexia Petrou

PhotoGrAPhy: Jo Michaelides

MArketiNG exeCutive: Kevi Chishios

sALes & busiNess DeveLoPMeNt exeCutive:

Phivos KarayiannisADvertisiNG exeCutives:

Irene Georgiou, Christopher ConstantinouoPerAtioNs MANAGer:

Voulla NicolaousubsCriPtioNs:

Kevi Chishios

PriNters: Cassoulides Masterprinters

CoNtACt:5 Aigaleo St., Strovolos 2057, Nicosia, Cyprus

Mailing address: P.O.Box 21185, 1503, Nicosia, Cyprus

Tel: +357 22505555, Fax: +357 22679820e-mail: [email protected]

website: www.goldmagazine.com.cysubscriptions: [email protected]

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Page 8: Gold May

up front

ForexTime Ltd (FXTM) has an-nounced the launch of 7 new currency pairs and 13 new CFD instruments for trading, thereby giving traders

more options and variety. The new currency pairs include crosses with the Swiss Franc and the Australian Dollar, a major commodity currency.Olga Rybalkina, CEO of ForexTime, said: “The new currency pairs in-clude exotic currencies such as the Turkish Lira, the Danish Krone, Nor-wegian Krone and Swedish Krone. These currencies tend to make quicker and larger movements than major currency pairs and it is this volatility that makes these pairs popular with experienced traders.” The new currency pairs are: ✶ USD/TRY (US dollar vs Turkish

Lira)✶ EUR/TRY (Euro vs Turkish Lira)✶ AUD/DKK (Australian Dollar vs

Danish Krone)✶AUD/NOK (Australian Dollar vs

Norwegian Krone)

✶ AUD/SEK (Australian Dollar vs Swedish Krone)

✶ AUD/SGD (Australian Dollar vs Singapore Dollar)

✶CHF/SGD (Swiss Franc vs Singa-pore Dollar)

ForexTime CFD Shares, Commod-ity Futures and Index Fund Future instruments now include: ✶#AIG - American International Group, Inc.✶#AAPL- Apple Inc.✶#AMZN- Amazon.com, Inc.✶#EBAY- eBay Inc.✶#FCX- Freeport-McMoRan Copper

& Gold Inc.✶#FDX- FedEx Corp.✶#GOOG- Google Inc.✶#HAL- Halliburton Company✶#GS- The Goldman Sachs Group,

Inc.

All of these currency pairs and CFDs are available for trading via Stand-ard MT4 accounts. Additionally, the USD/TRY and EUR/TRY currency pairs are available for trading with ForexTime’s unique Shariah compli-ant Amanah accounts. ForexTime gives its clients access to the global currency market and offers trading in forex, precious metals, commodities, shares and indices.

ForexTime launches new currency pairs and cFDs

Tax Law Amendments Approvedby pArLiAmenT In accordance wIth the provIsIons of the agreement on a fInancIal assIstance package to cyprus, the house of representatIves has approved the followIng amendments to varIous tax laws:

8 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou, Founder and President of WISTA Cyprus (the local branch of the Women’s Interna-tional Shipping & Trading

Association) has just become the first woman to be elected to the Board of Di-rectors of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CFC). Despina is the Chief Financial and Operations Officer of Tototheo Group of Companies. Despina’s election took place during the CFC’s AGM last month.

Income Tax Law

from 1 January 2013, the corporate income tax rate is

increased from 10% to 12.5%.

Special Contribution for

Defence Law the special defence

contribution rate applicable on interest income

received by or deemed to be received by or credited to cyprus tax residents increases from 15% to 30%. this amendment

will come into effect upon publication in the Official gazette of the republic.

Special Levy on Credit Institution Law from 1 January 2013, the special levy rate for institutions operating in

cyprus is increased from 0.11%

to 0.15%.

Unaffected provisions of the Laws mentioned above: ➲ In the case that the total annual income of an individual including interest income does not exceed the amount of €12,000 per annum, it is subject to a refund of any withholding tax suffered on interest income in excess of 3%. ➲the reduced special defence contribution rate of 3% which is applicable to income from deposits certificates issued by the Government of cyprus and cyprus government Bonds and on the interest received by or credited on provident funds and social Insurance fund.

Excise Duty Law

the rates of excise duty will be revised on a

frequent basis so as to meet the real economic

value. the reviewed rates will require approval from the council of ministers

and a subsequent law will be passed by the house

of representatives.

1st woman elected to cFc Board

Austria and Luxembourg to disclose tax details

A ustria and Luxembourg are preparing to ease longstand-ing and controversial bank secrecy rules, amid mounting pressure to crack down on tax evasion in Europe. Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann said, “We are prepared to negotiate about automatic data-exchange concerning the accounts of foreigners in Austria that has been requested by the EU.” Meanwhile, Luc Frieden, Luxembourg’s finance

minister, said “Luxembourg does not rely on clients who want to save tax.” Austria and Luxembourg are the only countries among the 27 member states to have refused automatic exchange of information about depositors.

Page 9: Gold May

IRI Hellas Ltd.in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators

tel: +30 210 4294 404 | [email protected]

www.register-iri.com

The Marshall IslandsCorporate Registry

The leading jurisdiction for

• Asset Management,

• Vessel Ownership

• Real/Intellectual Property Holdings

• Initial Public Offerings/ Publicly Traded Companies

©Corbis

IRI Hellas Ltd.in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators

tel: +30 210 4294 404 | [email protected]

www.register-iri.com

The Marshall IslandsCorporate Registry

The leading jurisdiction for

• Asset Management,

• Vessel Ownership

• Real/Intellectual Property Holdings

• Initial Public Offerings/ Publicly Traded Companies

©Corbis

IRI Hellas Ltd.in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators

tel: +30 210 4294 404 | [email protected]

www.register-iri.com

The Marshall IslandsCorporate Registry

The leading jurisdiction for

• Asset Management,

• Vessel Ownership

• Real/Intellectual Property Holdings

• Initial Public Offerings/ Publicly Traded Companies

©Corbis

IRI Hellas Ltd.in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators

tel: +30 210 4294 404 | [email protected]

www.register-iri.com

The Marshall IslandsCorporate Registry

The leading jurisdiction for

• Asset Management,

• Vessel Ownership

• Real/Intellectual Property Holdings

• Initial Public Offerings/ Publicly Traded Companies

©Corbis

IRI Hellas Ltd.in affiliation with the Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrators

tel: +30 210 4294 404 | [email protected]

www.register-iri.com

The Marshall IslandsCorporate Registry

The leading jurisdiction for

• Asset Management,

• Vessel Ownership

• Real/Intellectual Property Holdings

• Initial Public Offerings/ Publicly Traded Companies

©Corbis e mirates Airline

has been appointed an Official Partner of the Roland Garros Tennis

Tournament for five years, starting with this year’s which runs from 21 May to 9 June.

“Appropriately named after the famed French aviation pioneer and tennis supporter, Roland Garros, this tournament is a natural extension of our existing tennis sponsorship portfolio. Watched by millions around the globe this acclaimed clay court championship is the perfect platform with which to align our brand,” said Tim

Clark, President of Emirates Airline. “The global following for tennis is extensive. You don’t have to play tennis to be a fan of and appreciate the dedication needed to be one of the world’s best play-ers,” he added.

“We are particularly delighted and also proud to welcome an international brand such as Emirates amongst our official part-ners,” said Jean Gachassin, President of the Fédération Française de Tennis. “The arrival of Emirates fits in per-fectly with our development and partnership strategy of aiming to expand our global reach.”As part of the partnership,

Emirates will benefit from significant branding of the Philippe Chatrier Centre Court, as well as panels on competition courts. The sponsorship of Roland Gar-ros is the airline’s third tennis sponsorship in Europe after the Italian Open announced last year and the Barcelona Open revealed in March 2013. Other major tennis competitions sponsored by Emirates around the world include the US Open, the Rogers Cup, BNP Paribas Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. Emirates is also the Official Airline of the ATP World Tour and sponsor of Emirates ATP rankings..

EmirAtEs sponsors roLAnd GArros

Jean Gachassin, president of the French Tennis

Federation (left) and Tim Clark, president of emirates Airline,

signing the agreement for Emirates’ five year sponsorship of roland

Garros Tournament in paris.

The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) has three new members, following the resignation of Andreas Sophocleous, Nikos Rotos and Michalis Avraam. The first two had been appointed during the final hours of the Christofias government in February. President Anastasiades

has replaced them with lawyer Elias Neocleous, Michael Pilikos, Director-General of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation, and Energy Consultant George Demetriou. Christodoulos Angastiniotis remains as Chairman. The other members are Christos Mavrellis, Marios Klitou, Charis Papacharalambous (Director-General of CIPA), Charis Anastasiou, Christis Christoforou, Evegnios Evgeniou, Angelos Grigoriades, Kyriakos Kakouris, Thomas Kazakos, Kyriakos Kokkinos, Nelly Koulia and Nicholas Theocharides.

3new members for CIPA boArd

elias neocleou George demetriou michael pilikos

Page 10: Gold May

up front

10 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

24th AGm oF The Cyprus shippinG CounCiL

The 24th Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) attended by government officials, MPs, diplomats and representatives of political parties and various professional organisations was held in Limassol on Friday, 26 April 2013. The meeting was ad-dressed by President Anastasiades, by Nicos Nicolaides, on behalf of Yiannakis Omirou, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and

CSC President Capt. Eugen Adami.

In his address, the President of the Re-public praised and congratulated the CSC for its continuous contribution to and active involvement in the further develop-ment of Cyprus ship-ping, describing the shipping sector as the “backbone” of the Cy-prus economy, upon which it will depend on the road to recov-ery. He also recalled his pre-election promise to create the post of Under-Secretary for Shipping which, he said, will provide the necessary impetus to be in a position to contribute practically to the recovery of the

economy through the faster and more ac-curate development of government policy on shipping.

On behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nicos Nicolaides said that MPs are ready to support measures that aim to maintain and further strengthen Cy-prus shipping, such as the Bill for the creation of the post of Under-Secretary for shipping and the promotion of the Tonnage Tax system abroad. CSC President Capt. Eugen Adami emphasised that, irrespective of the effects of the recent banking problem on a number of shipping companies, the ship-

ping Industry remains faithful to Cyprus and its Registry and con-tinues to support the Cyprus economy. He also stated that only through the restoration of its economy, image and credibility will Cy-prus be able to restore its position as a reliable investment centre. He therefore appealed to all the political par-ties to join forces with the government and support efforts in this direction, including the immediate approval of the Financial Assistance Package by the House of Representatives. Elections were also held for a new Board of Di-rectors of the Chamber for the period 2013-2015.

Banc De Binary, one of the world’s fastest-growing online binary options trading brokerages with

over 200,000 client accounts and trading activity in over 80 countries, is in the process of opening bank accounts in the UK, Germany and eight other EU countries. As the first EU-regulated standalone binary options company, Banc De Binary is growing rapidly on a global basis, despite the current economic crisis in the EU. “The EU may be suffering a downturn now, the crisis has impacted Cyprus, Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, the UK. But if I’ve learned anything from business, it is that a downturn is always followed by an upturn, and we are ready for this when it happens,“ said company CEO Oren Laurent. Banc De Binary plans to increase the numbers of its employees “when the time is right” and is aware of the opportunity offered by new bank-ing and compliance talent on the market, following the financial crisis in Cyprus’ banking system. “We are always on the lookout for talented professionals in the financial servic-es sector, who are interested in en-tering the Binary Options industry, which we expect to see challenging the Forex industry within the next three to four years,” said Laurent. “While we sincerely hope that the banking sector in Cyprus and the rest of the EU recovers quickly, we believe that Binary Options offers an incredible alternative opportunity for proactive, experienced financial services professionals,” he said.

Banc de Binary was established in 2009 in the United States and it is the first EU-licensed binary op-tions brokerage in the world. It was the first company in this booming industry to meet the strict regulatory requirements of the Cyprus Securi-ties and Exchange Commission (CySEC), which follows Markets in Financial Instrument Directive (MI-FID) laws in the European Union.

more eu expansion By Banc De Binary

president nicos Anastasiades

nicos nicolaides, mp

CsC president Capt. eugen Adami.

Page 11: Gold May

Focus on tomorrow,starting today

www.pwc.com.cy

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