Cyprus has become the destination of choice for investors in search of an ideal location for their company headquarters and operational activities. Cyprus, which has a long established reputation as a safe and secure location for commercial and business activities, continues to develop into an ideal hub for doing business between the Middle East and Europe. Cyprus offers peace of mind and ease of doing business in a professional environment and the surroundings of a sophisticated culture and advanced quality of life, both to multinationals and small and medium enterprises. The European Union (EU) is one of the most attractive FDI destinations: by investing in an EU member such as Cyprus, a market of over 500 million citizens becomes immediately available.
An EU member state since 2004 and a member of the European Monetary Union since 2008, Cyprus provides a thriving market oriented economic system with the lowest corporate tax regime in the EU at 10 percent, combined with a range of double tax treaties with 45 countries worldwide. Cyprus offers relatively lower operating costs with high quality services, including banking, tax accounting, auditing, business administration, legal processing, trustee, investment, brokerage and funds management.
The Cyprus economy has been growing at a steady pace of 4.5 percent per year, and has weathered quite well the recent global financial crisis, as is evidenced by the slight decrease in growth observed in 2009. Cyprus’ real GDP growth rate is well above the average growth rate of the EU 27 as well as that of the eurozone. The full liberalisation of the capital market along with the elimination of tariffs and quantitative restrictions, fully harmonised with the European Union laws, presents new promising opportunities for foreign investors.
In terms of FDI, in 2009 Cyprus attracted a total of €4,493m in FDI compared to €3,112m in 2008 and €1,725m in 2007. Cyprus demonstrates a solid FDI performance and potential: according to the latest World Investment Report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Cyprus ranks among the front runners of the world in terms of both “Inward FDI Performance” and “Inward FDI Potential Index”.
In addition, the low risk of the economy of Cyprus is reflected in key economic indicators.
– Cyprus ranked 34th out of 133 countries by the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2009-2010
– Cyprus’ economy was ranked 24th most free out of 183 countries in the Heritage Foundation 2010 Index of Economic Freedom
– Cyprus ranks 40th out of 183 countries in the World Bank’s DoingBusiness 2010 Report
These scores reflect the fact that the economy of Cyprus enjoys solid investment, monetary, trade, labour, business and financial freedom. An independent judiciary system results in a robust and transparent legislative and regulatory environment open to foreign competition.
Cyprus has completed a programme of reforming all its finance sector legislation in line with international best practice and has put a simplified, effective and transparent tax system in place that is fully EU, OECD, FATF and FSF compliant. Cyprus possesses an advanced transport and telecommunications infrastructure with state-of-the-art high-speed internet and mobile telecommunications, two international airports and deep-sea ports in Limassol and Larnaca, with close geographic proximity to the Suez Canal. The shipping industry accounts for four percent of the GDP.
In addition, Cyprus offers highly qualified and multilingual talent. In 2009, 52 percent of all Cypriot university students studied abroad, mostly in the UK and US, in fields such as business administration, accounting, law and engineering. Additionally, 47 percent of the population in the 25-34 age bracket have tertiary education compared to the EU27 average of 29.9 percent (2007).
Cyprus is located in the ideal geographical position and can act as a hub for investments to Europe and to countries in the Middle East, Gulf States, Africa and Asia. Cyprus provides the ideal environment to set up business operations effectively and efficiently. Cyprus can fully cater to business needs ranging from registering and setting up a company’s operations to managing EU, North African and Middle Eastern clients at a considerably lower cost.
Cyprus is committed to sustainable growth and economic development. And with pristine beaches and enviable weather, Cyprus blends a quality of life with maximum business benefits, catering to individuals and families.
Companies at all stages of the process leading to the establishment of a presence in Cyprus – be it information gathering, conducting a site visit or even implementing a business plan in the country – have a partner on the ground: the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA).
CIPA was established with a Council of Ministers decision in 2007 and is registered as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. CIPA has a threefold mandate:
– to promote Cyprus as an attractive international investment centre in key priority growth sectors
– to advocate reform in Cyprus required to improve the regulatory and business environment and infrastructure
– to provide investor support with after care and further development services
“Our role is to support, in any way that we can, foreign investors that want to do business in Cyprus,” says Mr Sotiris Sotiriou, Director General of CIPA. “The organisation provides added value to foreign investors by providing information, facilitating investor needs, and advocating reforms in the business environment”.
For more information Email: info@cipa.org.cy; www.cipa.org.cy
