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Russia has not yet agreed to extend the terms of its 2.5 billion EUR loan to Cyprus, Russia’s deputy finance minister Sergei Storchak said on Saturday. “There was a request to change the duration of the loan, we promised to think about it”, Sergei Storchak told reporters. “This was a kind of promise – if … more »

Having the opportunity to become a strong energy centre in the Eastern Mediterranean Cyprus should invest in education in the field of oil and gas exploitation.   This message was conveyed by a workshop held yesterday in Nicosia on developing the oil and gas sector with a focus on education. The workshop was organised by the … more »

On Monday Eurozone finance ministers will ratify the agreement reached at the technical level for the disbursement of Cyprus’ first tranche of €3 billion out of the €10 billion EU bailout loan. There will be a first review of the course of the Cyprus aid programme at the meeting on Monday, while a political decision … more »

Parliament last night ratified the island’s bailout amid warnings that tougher times lie ahead for Cypriots, already suffering from the effects of a deep recession. With the majority of just two votes, lawmakers approved terms accompanying 10 billion euros in aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Government officials had warned … more »

The International Monetary Fund explained on Monday it is “carefully” monitoring massive capital flows into Asia and urged the region’s policymakers to guard against risks of overheating. The level of the inflows – which have sent Asian stocks and property prices skyrocketing – are close to or above historical trends in most economies including those … more »

Global multinational corporations are willing to shift their investment budgets towards the region impressed by the continuing growth of the Asian Economy. This data has been supported by the latest Asia Business Outlook Survey by the Economist Corporate Network. China and India remain the top destination for investments, with Indonesia and Malaysia following them. The … more »

Under a decree issued by the Central Bank, insurance companies are no longer exempt from a deposit haircut at the Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and the old Laiki. Authorities had initially excluded various entities from the write-down but were forced to rethink after it became obvious that it would increase the losses on depositors who … more »

Cyprus has been an unwilling “guinea-pig” for the possible rule that will be enforcing a haircut on banks’ deposits, President Nicos Anastasiades explained to European Union members in Nicosia yesterday. “Cyprus was treated as an experimental guinea-pig for testing the economic theory of enforcing a haircut on bank deposits and the consequent repercussions which were … more »

The Turkish Cypriot leadership claimed rights to the state gold locked away in the Cyprus Central Bank and earmarked for sale to meet the country’s financing needs. According to Turkish Cypriot reports, the office of Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu issued a statement in response to recent considerations to sell most of the gold bought … more »

After bank deposits above 100,000 EUR suffered a haircut, Cyprus and its president are looking for a solution to maintain the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors. The government may soon offer EU citizenship to Russians hit by the Euro Group measures. The president explained yesterday in a speech to Russian businesspeople in Limassol on Sunday.  … more »

Deloitte will be in charge of evaluating the implementation of Cyprus’ Anti-Money Laundering (AML) framework, together with Moneyval of the Council of Europe. Preliminary key findings are expected around the 20th of April. International lenders will then report to the Euro group on the level of implementation of the preventive measures by the financial institutions, … more »

EU finance ministers are meeting today in Dublin for two days of meetings where the main topic to discuss will be the Cyprus bailout.  Unfortunately, while numerous changes have been made and continue to be made to the terms of the bailout, the Cypriots remain in the dark about exactly what is being decided on. … more »

The time has come for Cyprus to pay for the past mistakes as the Finance Minister explained yesterday. He highlighted that Cyprus could have delays in the ratification of the bailout and this might have consequences. The government needed an additional €80 million on top of an €85 million reserve- before April 24 to avoid … more »

Economic experts agree that the activity in tax havens jurisdictions have increased during the last year even though international organizations have tried to finish with them. With only 200 euros you can incorporate a company in Delaware, the second smallest state in the USA. Yearly you will need to pay an additional 49 euros to … more »

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will contribute 1 billion euros over three years to the 10 billion euros bailout for Cyprus, as Christine Lagarde explained yesterday. Lagarde expected the funds to be approved in early May. “A staff team of the International Monetary Fund has reached staff level agreement with the Cypriot authorities an … more »

A three-man committee of will investigate the near-bankruptcy of the Cyprus economy to determine political, civil or criminal involvement. The committee will be formed by Giorgos Pikis, a former Supreme Court judge and a former member of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and former Supreme Court judges Panayiotis Kallis and Yiannakis Constantinides. … more »

After the haircut on deposits over 100,000 EUR and the restrictions on ATMs withdrawals and bank transactions, the Finance Minister of Cyprus has explained the new financial measures to be taken by the executive. The Central Bank published yesterday two government decrees on Laiki Bank and Bank of Cyprus (BoC) that came into effect from … more »

The chaos that was expected yesterday as banks reopened after two weeks of forced holidays was just a fear as the reality translates in relatively calm and patient. Long queues formed from early in the morning although banks were not to open until noon but at early afternoon the queues disappear without a single incident … more »

As it is stated on the Department of Registrar of companies of Cyprus website in view of the developments of the last few days and especially the non-operation of Credit Institutions, the annual fee of three hundred fifty Euros (€350) may be paid until the 26th April 2013 instead of 29th March 2013. Therefore, we … more »

The complete plan to control capital in Cyprus and avoid a run on the banks by depositors is expected to be ready on Wednesday. Thousands of Cypriots have protested at the bailout deal this week in the streets of Nicosia and all the other cities. They believe these measures will cost many of them their … more »

The executive achieved an agreement yesterday on setting up an Investment Solidarity Fund in order to collect the 5.9 billion euros required to unlock the EU/IMF’s financial aid for the island. After the parliament’s rejection the creation of the fund is seen as a backup plan in order to avoid a levy on bank deposits. … more »

The government forced the banks to stay closed until next week as it work on a third draft on taxing bank deposits, this time however at a much lower rate in order to minimize the possible drain on deposits. Cyprus has turned to Russia seeking alternative solutions after parliament historical “oxi”. According to Neophytou (deputy … more »

Cyprus stood on the brink of bankruptcy last night after its MP’s voted against a bailout deal that would have taxed bank deposits. The decision sets in motion a showdown with its European creditors who are insisting that the island contribute towards its rescue package or risk going bust. EU countries stated prior to the … more »

Cyprus’s revised draft bill for a levy on bank deposits will not affect deposits under 20,000 euros.  However, this measure does not compensate for the resulting lost revenue by raising it for the wealthy. The draft will not fulfill the conditions required by the Euro group in return to the 10 billion loan. The draft … more »

The British Government has confirmed that it will protect the savings of British military personnel based in Cyprus who were facing the prospect of levy on their savings as part of the €10 billion bailout. The Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that Cypriot banks in the UK would be unaffected by the Levy. There is still … more »

The EU will lend Cyprus 10 billion to avoid the bankruptcy. The statement was made after Cyprus woke up with a decision to impose an unprecedented all-out haircut on Cypriot deposits.  President Anastasiades in a press conference yesterday explained that they have faced decisions that had already been taken, the solution chosen may be painful, … more »

After weeks of negotiations the bailout has not been signed yet. The delay on the funding for Cyprus presents a risk for the whole Eurozone, as Mr. Demetriades, Central Bank governor explained. According to Reuters Agency, the negotiations are still at a delicate state. Demetriades said that reigniting of debt crisis will bring chaos to … more »

The new Cypriot government is considering opening casinos on the island within two years, promoting a project that was not approved by the previous government due to ideological reasons. Giorgos Lakkotrypis, the commerce minister has spoken with the Cyprus Tourism Organizations and has requested an update of the 2007 Study about the creation of casinos. … more »

China’s commerce minister has advised other major governments to avoid suppressing the value of their actual currencies to help exports. In his opinion, this measure could cause damage to the global worth. Mr Chen Deming was answering to some of the questions made at the news conference on Friday about the weakness of Japan’s currency … more »

The Finance Ministry of the Russian Federation is planning to obtain information about Russian Beneficial Owners from Cyprus Authorities in exchange for the financial aid to the country. Russia will require full financial transparency regarding Russian founding directors and Beneficial Owners of the companies from those countries it gives loans, Russian media reported. This provision … more »