GOLD MAGAZINE MARCH 2015 ISSUE

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the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus529

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ISSUE 48MARCH 14 - APRIL 13, 2015PRICE €4.95

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INTERVIEwSMarc de Panafieu Constantinos HerodotouTheo Paphitis

SURVEyCEoconfidencegrows in Cyprus

PLUS: MoNEy / bUSINESSECoNoMyTAX & LEGALLIFESTyLE / oPINIoN

GREECEwhy the‘Grexit’won’t happen

HARRIS GEORGIADES

‘The Worst Is Now Behind Us’

+ yARoN bLooM, GEoRGE MoUSKIdES, EMILy yIoLITIS

4 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

22| ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDSConstantinos Herodotou, Commissioner for Privatisations, on why he took the job and why he is absolutely determined to see it through.

25 | NICOSIA ECONOMIC CONGRESS 2015A preview of the biggest annual financial/economic event to be held in the capital.

26 | WHY THE ‘GREXIT’ WON’T HAPPENThose who think that Greece should be ‘allowed to fail’ do not realise the extent of the geopolitical shocks and the unfavour-able social and economic consequences of such an event on the rest of the eurozone, says Dr. Savvas Savouri.

30 | THE MULTIMILLIONAIRE SHOPKEEPERTheo Paphitis returns to Cyprus with a

6 814

Issue 48March 14- April 13, 2015

EDITORIALUP FRONTFIVE MINUTES WITH...

74 {money}

78 {business}

82 {economy}

84 {tax & legal}

86 {lifestyle}

FEATURES

68 | NO REGRETSGeorge Mouskides, Director of FOX Smart Estate Agency, has been through both the good and the bad times of the real estate sector but, he says, he has no regrets or complaints about his career choices.

few words for his homeland’s politicians

48 | EY CYPRUS INAUGURATES NEW NICOSIA OFFICESPhotos of the event.

50 | GOING IT ALONEThe partners in a relatively new legal firm have some fascinating suggestions regarding what can be done to revive the economy and allow Cyprus to regain its favoured position as an international finance centre of choice.

52 | OIL PRODUCERS OVER A BARRELWhat caused last year’s dramatic decline in oil prices and when – if ever – may we see a return to 2013 levels?

54 | CEO CONFIDENCE GROWS IN CYPRUSThe results of PwC Cyprus’ fourth country-specific survey, which sets out the views of more than 80 CEOs.

BEHIND US”

“THE WORSTIS NOW

HARRIS GEORGIADES

Harris Georgiades looks back over his 23 months as Finance Minister and confirms his optimism about

the country’s future.

16

26 30

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SUPPLEMENTS33 | CYPRUS CITIZENSHIP GUIDE7 companies present their services and express their views on the success of the ‘Citizenship Through Investment’ scheme. 57 | OIL & GAS SERVICES IN CYPRUS5 companies present their services. 71 | RE-PROFESSIONALISING BANKING TOGETHERGlobaltraining is the exclusive education partner for the Chartered Banker MBA in Cyprus, Greece, Russia, Romania and Eastern Europe.

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MANAGEMENT CONSULTINGPEOPLE & CHANGE SERVICES

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EDITORIAL

John Vickers,Chief Editor

[email protected]

Back to the Future

It’s often said that everything has to do with timing and here at Gold, we discovered the truth of this exactly two years ago when we published our March 14, 2013 is-sue. Containing the first interview with newly elected President Nicos Anastasiades, the cover bore his photo and the optimistic title “Cyprus Means Business”. Twenty-four hours later, the Eurogroup proposed the infamous bail-in to save the island’s

banks…I mention this simply to make the point that the timing of that particular cover story was somewhat unfortunate. I cannot help wondering, however, what excuse the island’s political establishment and most of the Greek-language media have for obsessing with the same story virtually every day for the past two weeks. Supposedly ‘secret’ documents are being presented by various parties that allegedly prove that the idea of bailing-in depositors in the country’s banks was first brought up months before the fateful Eurogroup meeting, as if this is actu-ally going to change anything. The only thing it achieves is to enable so many of the island’s publicity-seekers to get another 15 minutes of fame instead of having to behave sensibly and contribute to the efforts being made to stabilise the economy. You can be sure that, one year from now, the subject will still be monopolising the media as the parliamentary election cam-paign reaches its climax.

One is tempted to imagine that there is some kind of informal code of practice that all would-be politicians in Cyprus have to sign before they are allowed to address the media. It means that they constantly have to revisit past events in an effort to lay the blame on the shoulders of their opponents, while at the same time, failing to come up with any proposals whatsoever that might contribute positively to moving the island forward. We saw it when President Anastasiades decided to restart reunification talks after insisting on having a joint declaration of intent by both sides, and we saw it when he decided to halt those very same talks in the face of Turkey’s decision to send a seismic exploration vessel into Cyprus’ Exclu-sive Economic Zone. Eleven years have passed since the twin referenda on the UN Plan to reunite the island and still barely a week goes by without some MP or media columnist bring-ing it up.

Whatever our political affiliations, we should all be grateful to President Anastasiades for appointing Harris Georgiades as Minister of Finance two years ago. A real breath of fresh air in our past-obsessed political establishment, he is a straight talker who recognises the mistakes of the past but understands the futility of blaming whoever may have been responsible and shows remarkable (for Cyprus) self-control in not attacking previous administrations with anything like the acrimony they deserve. Faced with a House of Representatives that has frequently appeared to be bent on destroying the country’s chances of recovery for its own petty interests, he chooses to focus on the occasions when opposition MPs have sided with the Government and even thanks them for their support and cooperation (see this issue’s Cover Story).

Above all, Georgiades stands out from many of his colleagues because he has his sights fixed firmly on the future, not on the past, refusing to let populism and rhetoric deflect him from his mission to do what is best for Cyprus. This is why we decided that, as everyone else tries to take advantage of the second anniversary of Cyprus’ very own ‘Black Friday’ (15 March 2013), we would make the Minister of Finance only the second politician ever, apart from the President, to feature on the cover of Gold. Read his interview and you’ll understand why.

We are not suggesting that the mistakes and sins of the past should be buried or ignored. On the contrary. But we do believe that, for the sake of the country and coming generations, we urgently need to get back to the future in our discussions.


MANAGING DIRECTOR George Michail

GENERAL MANAGER Daphne Roditou Tang

MEDIA MANAGERElena Leontiou

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John Vickers

JOURNALISTSEffy Pafitis, Chloe Panayides

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Fred Balm, Andrew Lumley-Holmes,

Dr. Savvas Savouri

ART DIRECTION Anna Theodosiou

SENIOR DESIGNERAlexia Petrou

PHOTOGRAPHY Jo Michaelides

MARKETING EXECUTIVE Kevi Chishios

SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE

Phivos KarayiannisADVERTISING EXECUTIVES

Irene Georgiou, Christopher ConstantinouOPERATIONS MANAGER

Voulla NicolaouSUBSCRIPTIONSMyria Neophytou

PRINTERS Cassoulides Masterprinters

CONTACT5 Aigaleo St., Strovolos 2057, Nicosia, Cyprus

Mailing address: P.O.Box 21185, 1503, Nicosia, Cyprus

Tel: +357 22505555, Fax: +357 22679820e-mail: [email protected]

subscriptions: [email protected]

ISSN 1986 - 3543PUBLISHED BY IMH

INTERVIEWSMichael DobbsTim PotierColin Wright

INVESTMENTRecord-breaking sales for alternative assets

PLUS: MONEY / BUSINESSECONOMYTAX & LEGALLIFESTYLE / OPINION

BANKINGBank of CypruslaunchesPremier Club

+ DAI LINGYUN, SAVVAS SAVOURI, GEORGE & ALEXIS TSIELEPIS

THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

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UP FRONT

Director of CIM, told Gold. “It is Cyprus’ leading Marketing & Management event, attracting a high-calibre audience from Cyprus, the Middle East and Russia. In the past 7 years, more than 2,000 executives have attended the Summit, which is growing every year.” CIM has been Cyprus’ leading Business School since 1978 and, Hadjiyiannis said, it considers the annual Summit as a way of ‘giving back’ to the Cyprus business world which has supported its operations over the past 37 years.

“Apart from interactive sessions with the acclaimed speakers, the Summit provides an excellent platform for networking and for maintaining relationships with CIM alumni and associates. The fact that, on a Saturday morning, more than 300 senior executives choose to attend and 15 leading firms support the event through sponsorships, is sound evidence of the recognition that it enjoys. The CIM Summit is being upgraded every year and I can assure you that it’s here to stay!”

CIM SUMMIT 2015SATURDAY 28 MARCH, 8:30-14:00, BANK OF CYPRUS HEADQUARTERS (AYIA PARASKEVI), NICOSIAADMISSION IS FREE (REGISTRATION ESSENTIAL)


In a new book by

the Turkish Cypriot academic Niyazi Kizilyurek, the former President of Cy-

prus discusses a host of subjects, includ-ing his early life, studies and employment, his decision to run for the presidency in

the EU and subsequent membership of the

longstanding Cyprus Problem as essential if the island is to make use of its full poten-tial to grow and prosper. The book, which has also been published in Greek and

was translated by John Vickers, Chief Edi-tor of Gold.

NEW BOOK ABOUT EX-PRESIDENT

VASSILIOU

0,

The 2015 CIM Sum-mit takes

place at the Bank of Cyprus HQ in Nicosia at 9am on Saturday 28 March. The Summit is be-ing organised for the 8th consecutive year (admission is free) and the purpose is to inform local executives about the latest trends affect-ing the way they run their businesses. Every year, world-renowned academics and professionals are invited to share their knowledge

and experience; this year, Prof. Jack Lang (University of Cambridge), David Chaffey (CEO, SmartInsights) and Jonathan Gabay (ac-claimed consultant and author) will ad-dress the theme The Digital Era for Busi-ness, shedding light on new technologies that affect the busi-ness world and pro-vide opportunities for growth. “The Summit is highly on-hands and case study-focused,” Yangos Hadjiyannis, Deputy

CORRECTIONIn last month’s cover story, a number of the figures quoted were incorrect, due to printing errors. With regard to cdbbank, the figure for deposits should have been €395 million (not billion), for net loans €345 million (not billion), and assets €531.7 million (not billion). For Hellenic Bank, the the figure for deposits should have been €6.1 billion (not €61), for net loans €3.3 billion (not €33) and for assets €6.9 billion (not €69). For USB Bank, the figure for deposits should have been €621 million (not billion) and in the case of Piraeus Bank the corresponding figure should have been 1.2 billion (not million).We apologise for any confusion and inconve-nience caused.

CYPRUS-SOUTH AFRICA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION HOLDS FIRST NETWORKING EVENTT

he recently-founded Cyprus-South Africa Business Association will hold its first networking event on March 18. Speakers include Association President Maria Zav-rou, Antonis Mavrides,

Trade Officer at the South African Embassy in Cyprus, Angelos Gregoriades, President of the Cyprus Investment Funds Associa-tion, and Bert Pijls, CEO of Hellenic Bank. The Cyprus-South Africa Business Associa-tion operates under the auspices of the Cy-prus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which supports it in its efforts to reinforce commercial and economic relationships between the two countries.

nMinPrrou

de Officer at the Soutyprus A

The Cyprus Institute (CyI) has been awarded a European Re-search Area (ERA) Chair grant of €2.5 million in the field of Solar Thermal Energy (STE).

Following what is described as a highly competi-tive process, CyI secured one of the 13 grants awarded out of the 88 proposals submitted from 15 countries. The grant – which constitutes recognition for the successful research work being pursued at the Institute – is intended to allow CyI to develop excellence on a European level in the relevant field.

Part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research funding programme, the ERA Chairs are intended to support research or-ganisations in countries with low research and development investment, such as Cyprus, to attract and maintain high quality scientists from across the European Union and implement the structural changes necessary to achieve excel-lence in specific fields of research. The secured European funding will enhance and upgrade the Institute’s existing substantial activity in solar energy, aiding its strategic objec-tive of becoming an innovation hub for Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Prominent Cyprus real estate and development firm Aristo Developers has further expanded its global reach through the

establishment of a new Head Office in Zhujiang New Town, Guang-zhou, China, marking another milestone in its broadening Asian operations. Tony Antoniades will be heading the company’s new China office, along with an established network of Satel-lite Offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.“The new office, which has been established in line with our custom-er-oriented strategy, is bolstered with experienced professionals to meet customer needs,” commented Theodoros Aristodemou, CEO and Managing Director of Aristo Devel-opers.“We believe there is still tremendous opportunity to be tapped. Our en-hanced presence will further enable us to position ourselves as a leader in the Cyprus property industry, bringing us closer to our existing and potential clients, and our network of associates across China and beyond,” he concluded.

Aristo Unveils New China

Head Office

Cyprus Institute Secures €2.5m

European Research Area

Grant

CIPA SIGNS MoU WITH RUSSIAN INVESTMENT AGENCY

Within the framework of President Nicos An-astasiades’

to Moscow on February 24-25,

Agency (CIPA) signed a Memoran-dum of Understanding (MoU) with

-

President Nicos Anastasiades, his --

Angastiniotis and the Chairman of

cooperation and the exchange of information between the two

During the signing ceremony, Angastiniotis referred to the strong economic ties between Cyprus

cooperation between business-

“The signing of the Memoran-dum of Understanding sends a

ties between Cyprus and Russia and the deep friendship between

-eration with strategic partners

-

of the country, Angastiniotis

the Eastern Mediterranean an e le East.

g itsation hub for

d th Middln and the Middle E

CYPRUS- RUSSIA AGREEMENTS

President Anastasiades an d Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow last month for

private talks and, later, the signing of a number of agreements. The two leaders signed the Joint Action Programme between the Republic of Cyprus and the Russian Federation for 2015-2017, which constitutes an umbrella document, covering

numerous areas of cooperation between the two countries. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Cypriot Ministry of Finance and the Russian Ministry of Education and Sciences on cooperation in the fields of research and technology.

The Protocol of the 8th Cyprus-Russia Intergovernmental Commit-tee for Economic Cooperation was

also signed, as was an MoU between the Ministries of Defence of the two countries for cooperation in the naval field. An agreement on military coopera-tion was also signed by the coun-tries’ Foreign Ministers. Moreover, the two countries agreed to cooperate in the fight against drugs smuggling and on combating terrorism.

UP FRONT


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THE 10 HIGHEST-EARNING FOOTBALL CLUBS

T he 18th edition of the Deloitte Football Money League, which looks at the high-est earning clubs in the world’s most popular sport, is the most contempo-

rary and reliable analysis of the clubs’ relative fi-nancial performance. It reveals that Manchester United and Real Madrid are currently the only

clubs to earn over €500m in a season but notes that “such is the pace of growth seen at the largest clubs, it is possible that in next year’s edition, all of the top five Money League clubs will be generating in excess of half a billion euros for the 2014/15 season.” Below are the Ten Highest-Earning Foot-ball Clubs in the world.

1(1)

2(4)

3(3)

4(2)

5(5)

6(6)

7(7) 9(12)

8(8) 10(9)

)) 2)2))2)


UP FRONT

1. REAL MADRID 2014 REVENUE: €549.5M 2013 REVENUE: €518.9M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 3RDAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 70,739

2. MANCHESTER UNITED 2014 REVENUE: €518M 2013 REVENUE: €423.8M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 7TH AVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 75,203

3. BAYERN MUNICH 2014 REVENUE: €487.5M 2013 REVENUE: €431.2M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 1STAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 71,131

4. FC BARCELONA2014 REVENUE: €484.6M 2013 REVENUE: €482.6M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 2NDAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 71,988

5. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 2014 REVENUE: €474.2M 2013 REVENUE: €398.8M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 1STAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 45,420

6. MANCHESTER CITY2014 REVENUE: €414.4M 2013 REVENUE: €316.2M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14:1STAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 47,166

7. CHELSEA 2014 REVENUE: €387.9M 2013 REVENUE: €303.4M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 3RDAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 41,474

8. ARSENAL 2014 REVENUE: €359.3M 2013 REVENUE: €284.3M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 4THAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 60,014

9. LIVERPOOL2014 REVENUE: €305.9M 2013 REVENUE: €240.6M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 2NDAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 44,831

10. JUVENTUS2014 Revenue: €279.4M 2013 Revenue: €272.4M DOMESTIC LEAGUE POSITION 2013-14: 1STAVERAGE LEAGUE MATCH ATTENDANCE: 35,564

GOLD MAGAZINE MARCH 2015 ISSUE

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