The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) expects to have the first conclusions after examining the data provided by entities under its supervision in relation to the leaked Panama Papers.
CySEC Chairwoman Demetra Kalogerou said that by the end of the month the Commission will have the first indications after having examined the data. Immediately after the Panama Papers were leaked, the Commission issued a circular requesting data from 500 entities it supervises.
“These data have been gathered, they are too many and are being processed by the Commission’s officers. I hope that by the end of the month we could have a first indication,” Kalogerou said.
She was speaking at a press conference on Monday to announce that CySEC will promote amendments to the legal framework for collective investments that would boost the Cyprus investment fund sector.
“We believe that these substantial improvements will create all the necessary preconditions for the further improvement of the collective investment sector which is expected to contribute substantially to the grow of our country’s economy,” Kalogirou said.
She said that the law on the Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) will feature a registry for funds which will be directly regulated by their fund manager and not by CySEC.
CySEC will also amend the AIF Managers law to include mini managers that would manage assets below EUR 100 mln. This would facilitate the development of a new competitive market in Cyprus, she said.
Kalogirou added that CySEC is considering facilitating the operation of companies that will administrate AIF which currently are not regulated. Under the current legal framework, a licensed fund administrator regulated by CySEC has the right to assign AIF administration to companies providing fiduciary services.
CySEC adopted the proposed amendments after assessing the legal frameworks in other financial centres such as Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland and Britain.
So far, CySEC has licensed 11 fund managers, nine of which are already operating in AIF management. These companies are of Cypriot, Russian and Greek interests managing a broad spectrum of assets mainly covering financial products, real estate and shipping both in Cyprus and abroad.
The Committee has approved applications for eight AIF as well as four UCITS management firms. These companies are of Cypriot, Greek and Ukrainian interests that invest in securities, among which Cypriot bonds.
She added that CySEC has licensed 39 AIFs and one European Venture Capital Fund (EuCEVA) that aims to invest in Cypriot small and medium sized enterprises.
On his part Angelos Gregoriades, President of the Cyprus Investment Fund Association, said in “the future these organisations will act as the alternative funding source for projects in Cyprus.”
He also added the fundamental factors determining the credibility of a robust financial centre is a developed economy, an efficient public service, including regulating authorities and an attractive economic and investment environment.
