The European Investment Bank signed two loan agreements on Friday to fund expansion plans at the state University of Cyprus and to inject liquidity into the banking sector, worth a total €155 mln, with the aim of boosting SMEs and tackling youth unemployment.
In a speech delivered at the University of Cyprus, EIB President Werner Hoyer recalled the projects that the EU bank financed in Cyprus in 2014 and reaffirmed the EIB’s strong support for the country and in particular for its knowledge economy.
The bank finalised an agreement to provide UCy with financing of €80 mln for the extension and modernisation of the university’s facilities, strengthening its engagement in the educational field.
The finance agreement which Hoyer signed together with Finance Minister Harris Georgiades, and UCy Rector Constantinos Christofides, is the EIB’s largest ongoing investment in Cyprus and includes new buildings, upgrading of existing facilities for energy efficiency and anti-seismic armouring. The EIB had already financed a prior investment programme of the university, successfully implemented between 2002 and 2012. Education and Culture Minister Costas Kadis, and Professor Christopher Pissarides, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2010, also attended the ceremony.
Earlier, President Hoyer met with representatives from Cypriot banks to sign credit lines totalling €75 mln in support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). This new financing is in addition to lending signed earlier this year for a total of €110 mln. The new loan facilities were signed with George Georgiou, Managing Director of Alpha Bank Cyprus (€20 mln), Michalis Louis, CEO of Eurobank Cyprus (€30 mln), Nicholaos Th. Beis, Managing Director of NBG Cyprus (€15 mln), and Khalil Letayf, CEO and General Manager of Société Générale Cyprus (€10 mln).
“The EU bank joins forces with the most dynamic elements of the Cypriot society: the University of Cyprus, promoting an educated and innovative youth, as well as the banking sector, valuable partner in supporting SMEs for growth and jobs,” President Hoyer said.
“With today’s signatures, we tackle youth unemployment in the short and long term. In a bid to support EU competitiveness, we invest in our future, in generations of competent and skilled youth. Furthermore, our cooperation with these additional financial partners will boost the creation of jobs by providing affordable finance to Cypriot SMEs.”
