Two U.S. companies have so far shown keen interest to invest in Cyprus, following a presentation on the advantages of being in Cyprus conducted at the Harvard Club in New York by the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA).
Commerce and Industry Minister Antonis Paschalides addressed the invitation-only event that focused on the financial services sector of Cyprus, with particular emphasis made to the island’s tax regime, the double taxation agreements signed with more than 40 countries including the United States, the highly educated labour force and a host of other financial services offered to companies and investors in Cyprus.
The Q&A session that followed highlighted the comparative advantages Cyprus offers in specific areas of industry and services, while participants showed great interest in the tax advantages with other competitive European jurisdiction, as well as in the stability and the transparency of the Cyprus economy, a CIPA announcement said.
After the seminar, various one-to-one meetings and discussions took place and CIPA pledged to continue with targeted efforts and communication.
Representing CIPA were its Treasurer Marios Kleitou (CEO of Baker Tilly Kleitou) and board member Christos Christoforou (CEO Deloitte Cyprus), accompanied by CIPA’s Director of Development, Marina Theodotou.
Also present were the Cyprus Ambassador to the U.S., Andreas Kakouris, Nicosia Chamber of Commerce president Chrstodoulos Angastiniotis, Cyprus-American Business Association president Christakis Christodoulou, Employers’ and Industrialists Federtion (OEV) secretary general Michalis Pilikos and other officials from the Cyprus Trade Office in New York.
CIPA wants faster CySEC
CIPA has called on the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to speed up the review of new applications for financial services companies (KEPEY) due to the increased interest from foreign financial services providers.
CIPA chairman Phidias Pilides, accompanied by Director General Soteris Soteriou and board member Kyriakos Kakouris, urged CySEC chairman Yiorgos Charalambous to find ways to facilitate newcomers that would attract fresh foreign direct investments (FDI) to the island.
Charalambous said that a number of new measures would be introduce and suggested both sides engage in a dialogue to seek new ways to boost the sector.
