Daily Press Review - 14/2/2019

Nicosia’s giant buildings

Limassol may have taken the lead when it comes to high-rise buildings, but the capital also has its fair share of “giant” buildings, Philenews reports. These buildings are both residential and offices. The site presents the tallest buildings in Nicosia, starting with Cyfield’s “360” building which is 127 metres tall on Makarios Avenue. The second tallest at 78 metres is Central Park, which has 22 storeys and is located on Evagorou Street; followed by the Wargaming building that houses the company’s central offices, which is 63 metres tall with 12 storeys, and is also located in a central location in Nicosia, on Demosthenis Severis Avenue.



University of Nicosia: Creating “Healthy Leaders” at the next Life Changing Ideas

Internationally renowned anti-ageing physician Dr Angel Durantez will share the secrets to good health and a long life, during a speech on matters relating to ageing and wellness as part of the “Life Changing Ideas” series by the University of Nicosia, which is sponsored by Hellenic Bank. The series is supported by OPAP Cyprus and Wargaming.



Advisory services to 56 companies

In May 2017, a three-year cooperation agreement was signed between the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MECIT) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) registered and operating in the Republic of Cyprus. A year and a half later, the programme “Advice for Small Businesses” provides us with an overview of the achieved results. Throughout the period he EBRD co-funded 56 business advisory projects with local consultants out of which, 19 of them have already been completed. The total net cost of these projects amounts to €610,000 while the amount of grants provided totals to €390,000. It is worth noting that beneficiary SMEs operate in more than 10 different industries, including wholesale & retail trade (23%) and food & beverages production (16%). Business advisory services purchased by the beneficiary SMEs related to quality management (34%), marketing (18%), strategy (18%) and organizational design (16%). For more information about the “Advice for Small Businesses” programme contact EBRD at: +357 22 395 508 or knowhowcyprus@ebrd.com.



National Bank of Greece to go to AstroBank

The acquisition of the National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) by Lebanese group Holding M. Sehnaoui SAL, which controls AstroBank, is considered “clinched”. According to a report in economistas.gr yesterday, the group will acquire the National Bank, after acquiring Piraeus Bank Cyprus back in 2016. The merger of AstroBank and USB was also completed recently. The new acquisition significantly increases AstroBank’s size and market share. According to Politis’ sources, AstroBank is acquiring the National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) with a “clean slate”, without NPLs, which is expected to significantly improve its balance sheet.

 

Co-op assets given at any price to private investors

State asset management company KEDIPES is selling the former Cyprus Co-operative Bank’s assets to private buyers, despite the Finance Minister’s assurances that these would be granted to communities for social purposes, Haravgi reports. KEDIPES recently sold a property in Lythrodontas, which used to belong to the Co-op and which was used in the past to sell building materials and farming products. The community leader of Lythrodontas, Lambros Louka, told the paper that the community council recently submitted an offer of €100,000 to purchase the building so it can be used as a Cultural Centre and to house other services. But it received a negative response, with the excuse that the Co-op wanted the building for its own use. Instead, he said, the property was recently sold to private buyers via Altamira.



Cabinet sets up General Secretariat for European Affairs

The Council of Ministers decided on Wednesday to set up a General Secretariat for European Affairs, after a proposal submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, aiming at the comprehensive management of European issues, in order to secure the full utilisation of political and economic benefits of participation in the EU, based on the experience accumulated in the 15 years since the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the EU. It also decided to set up a Ministerial Committee on European Affairs to examine strategic and important European issues, to assist drafting national policy. Furthermore, the Council of Ministers decided to reestablish and strengthen the European issue groups set up for the Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council in 2012, so that they can play a catalytic role in the decision-making mechanism, the coordination of EU issues, and the flow of information within the Ministries.



TERNA-Avax take up the construction of €550m Limassol casino

Kathimerini says that with this new contact, GEK TERNA is boosting its presence abroad. The article goes on to say that the investment that is being carried out by Integrated Casino Resorts Cyprus, which is made up by companies Melco and Cyprus Phassouri, member of the CNS group. The target is to launch the new casino, in 2021. It will include 136 tables, 1.200 slot machines, a 5-star hotel with 500 rooms and luxury villas, 11 restaurants and cafes, pools, sports centres, a conference centre comprised of 9.600 square metres and many green spaces. It is expected that the casino will add 2.500 permanent new job positions, contributing 4% in the country’s GDP and attract an additional 300.000 tourists on an annual basis. The other bidders, were a consortium consisting of French company Bouygues Construction Group and Cybarco and a third consortium under the Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). The article goes on to report on TERNA’s recently announced projects in Cyprus (installation of fuel gas desulphurization plants for EAC, fuel installations for Hellenic Petroleum), Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.



PASYXE conference: “Value for money: from a slogan to word of mouth”

The Cyprus Hotels Association (PASYXE) announces that it is organising the 41^st Annual Hotels Convention that will take place on Tuesday, 26 February at Hilton Park hotel in Nicosia (between 9am-4pm). The Convention is open to both English and Greek speakers (with live interpretation), with “Value for Money from a Slogan to Word of Mouth” being its general theme. The Convention will include the following presentations: 1. Prospects and challenges of the UK Market.  2. Air connectivity strategy. 3. MELCO’s vision in taking Cyprus Tourism to new/elevated dimensions. 4. Securing our businesses by creating our own water resources. 5. Energy efficiency challenges. 6. Our vision of Cyprus Tourism and immediate priorities. The key-note speaker of the event will be Savvas Perdios, Deputy Ministry of Tourism. PASYXE thanks its official sponsors, who support the organisation of such events and exhibitions. The press release reports on the Speakers of the Convention that will include Sir Craig Ballantyne, Property President of City of Dreams Mediterranean & Cyprus Casinos. The article mentions that City of Dreams Mediterranean is the ‘gold sponsor’ of the event.



Perdios to talk at PASYXE conference

The Deputy Minister of Tourism will be the keynote speaker at the Annual PASYXE hotels convention that will take place on 26 February in Nicosia. The Minister is expected to talk about the challenges that the tourism industry will encounter this year. The article notes that tourist actors are looking forward to the Minister’s speech, because he will not only refer to the challenges in view of Brexit, but he will also refer to his visit to Israel and his contacts there. Israel last year was the third most important country for Cypriot tourism.



Who is the mediator after all?

Phileleftheros reports that the mediator who gave the memorandum of understanding to the Minister is a Deloitte advisor working for CyMA. The members of CyMA insist that the “MoU” was prepared by the Minister of Health, but they admit that they were given a proposal which they examined and subsequently, rejected.



Doctors cannot reach an agreement regarding GHS, 8 deaths due to influenza type A

Haravgi reports that even among CyMA doctors, there is disagreement concerning the GHS. There is discontent on the way CyMA’s leadership handled the different proposals (including the Memorandum) without any discussion at the Board. The president of the Patients Association said that some key people in CyMA’s leadership are going against the GHS. The article reports that some doctors are dissatisfied with the leadership of CyMA concerning the GHS, especially following the recent concessions that the Ministry of Health has made. At the same time, despite the fact that new cases of influenza type A have been reduced, the flu remains dangerous and deadly. Up until now, there have been 8 deaths and 47 serious cases.



State pharmacies to operate in the afternoon in rural areas

Phileleftheros reports that state pharmacies are entering a transitional period, in the framework of the healthcare reform, which stipulates that pharmacies will remain open in the afternoon at Rural Health Centres. This transitional period will last until 30^th June. Following this period, when a private pharmacy opens in rural areas, the respective state pharmacy in the community’s Health Centre will shut down. The government is giving incentives to private pharmacists to establish pharmacies in rural areas.