Cyprus targets business from China

Cyprus wants to become a key financial booking centre for investments from China into the EU and vice-versa, similar to the way it acts for Russia, the Ukraine and other countries.

Cyprus Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis said he has held “several meetings with the Chinese Ambassador in Cyprus working out a comprehensive plan as to how Chinese enterprises may be attracted to use Cyprus and take advantage of the double taxation avoidance treaty in place.”

He said China is the world’s largest country and growing at a fast pace and Cyprus needs to spare no effort to get a share of this market. The passage by the House of Representatives lifting the bank confidentiality law is seen having paved the way to remove Cyprus from the two tax black lists of Russia and at the same time help in efforts to maintain tax avoidance treaties in place with other major European countries.

The number of company registrations by non-residents in Cyprus continues at a fast pace, said Stavrakis adding that prospects remain good.
“Our future is in services and we want to grab a 1-2% share of the global services market, which for us (Cyprus) will be great. We have the knowhow, the expertise and attractive taxation treaties with over 40 countries to allow us to become a key player in the area of investments,” said Stavrakis.