Daily Press Review - 13/6/2019

Ioannis Matsis: CEO of the Association of Cyprus Banks

Phileleftheros reports that Ioannis Matsis, Hellenic Bank (HB) CEO, has as of yesterday become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Association of Cyprus Banks. According to the relevant announcement, during yesterday’s annual general meeting, Mr. Matsis was elected as the association’s new CEO. It was noted, that the association’s board of directors (BoD) serve a one-year term. Meanwhile, executives of Bank of Cyprus, Alpha Bank and Ancoria ensured three vice-president seats and in the executive committee of the BoD. Phileleftheros highlighted that this year’s annual general meeting was also commemorative, as the association completed 50 years of presence in the Cypriot economy, and the association presented its re-designed logo for the first time during the meeting.

 

Technology, security, NPLs and banks’ top priorities

During the speeches of the annual general meeting of the association of Cyprus Banks, which was held on Wednesday at the Landmark hotel in Nicosia, it appears that the biggest issues of the banking industry at the moment are NPLs. Speaking exclusively to Economy Today during the meeting, HB’s CEO Ioannis Matsis commented on the banking sector’s challenges and his concerns. He stated that at this stage the biggest challenge for the banking industry is the high number of non-performing-loans (NPLs). All of Cyprus banks have acknowledged this fact for a while now, thus they are trying to tackle this issue by quickly decreasing the high amount of NPLs. Concerning the ESTIA scheme, which supposedly will contribute to the solution of this problem, Mr. Matsis agreed that this is something that will ultimately aid banks in reducing the number of their NPLs. Called to respond to recent comments concerning the banks’ recent accumulation of real estate through acquired mortgages or through the procedure of exchanging debt vs real estate, Mr. Matsis said that this does not constitute a major issue as it appears the process of restructuring is moving at a quick pace; “real estate is moved and sold”, he concluded. Lastly, concerning the major issue of money laundering, Mr.Matsis mentioned that this has greatly burdened Cypriot economy, however banks are now in the process of solving them; “over the last 5-6 years, things are improving day-by-day”, he highlighted.

 

Estia in its final stages

Minister of Finance, Harris Georgiades during yesterday’s 50th anniversary of the Association of Cyprus Banks announced that the Estia plan will proceed with its implementation and will be open for participants to apply within the month of July.  Mr. Georgiades noted that the plan will be presented for final approval most likely at the next Cabinet meeting.  Finance Minister expressed hope that the Estia scheme will serve as an additional tool that will enable the economy to resolve this issue and end the period of unreasonable credit expansion.



Estia does not cover the vulnerable

Accodring to Haravgi, AKEL stresses the need for an integrated housing policy and raises the question what will happen to the vulnerable groups of the population that do not quality for the Estia scheme, i.e. those with low or no income.  AKEL went on to stress that the government's concern is not to help with the vulnerable groups but primarily to subsidize the banks.



40 new properties for sale by Altamira

Phileleftheros reports that 40 new properties are for sale from Altamira. The new properties include both expensive and inexpensive ones.  The Altamira properties being sold include 5 houses, 29 plots and land plots, 6 residential and commercial buildings. Among the properties, there are several cases whose value reach close to € 2 million.

 

Curved Gaming Monitor

Politis reports that Samsung is expanding their series of curved gaming monitors with a new monitor featuring a curved 27-inch 1,920 x 1,080 VA panel with wide viewing angles, a 240Hz refresh rate, and a 4ms response time. Samsung Electronics announced that his new 27-inch CRG5 gaming monitor (C27RG5), which incorporates innovative operations, such as the very high refresh rate 240 Hz and the compatibility with Nvidia G-SYNC, to offer the ideal combination of high-quality image and speed for intense gaming.

 

Port workers to initiate strike action

The risk of a new strike that will affect both Larnaca and Limassol harbours is once again visible, due to the unjustified delays -according to the workers’ union- as concerns the approval of the provident fund for the hourly staff. Having this in mind, all the port workers are planning to initiate strike action in order to pursue the rights of the hourly staff. Specifically, after the employees were briefed by their representatives on the latest developments, decided to go on strike, which will have a significant negative impact on the cleanliness of all workplaces of the two ports. Their main demand is to immediately promote to the Parliament the relevant statute of approval of the provident fund for the hourly staff.



Cypriot trawlers immobilized for months after Turkish threats

The Cypriot market has been flooded with imported fishes, as well as Turkish fishes that are baptized Cypriot, as Cypriot trawlers have been immobilized for months because of threats from Turkey in case they attempt to fish north of Apostolos Andreas, according to complaints. “Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do after these threats. We do not risk fishing in the area, something that a colleague attempted a month ago, with the result that his trap boat was expelled from a Turkish warship”, said the owner of the company "The fisherman", Aristos Aristidou. He also called on the state to intervene and ban the transfer of fish from the occupied Cyprus as a pressure lever to allow Cypriot trawlers to fish, as they are legitimately entitled, in the international waters north of Apostle Andrew.

 

 

Second Belt and Road Forum

President Nicos Anastasiades travelled to China on April, at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, to represent Cyprus in the Second Belt and Road Forum. Cyprus and China have signed Memorandum of Understanding which promoted among others, connectivity between the two countries. Cyprus is a major player in the construction of China’s Belt and Road initiative according to President Anastasiades. China would like to work with the Cyprus in areas such as ports, shipping and infrastructure construction and would like to explore the possibility of co-operating with third countries in the Mediterranean region. In addition, President Anastasiades said that Cyprus will actively participate in the construction of Belt and Road, by promoting the EuroAsia interconnection and achieving mutual benefit for all.

 

Kuwait Airways Returned after 15 years

Kuwait Airways, the state-owned airline of the Emirate of Kuwait, on June 3, 2019, launched its new route between Kuwait and Larnaca with a large Airbus 330 aircraft restoring a major connection last offered in 2004. Kuwait Airways will link Emirates with Larnaca with two flights each week Monday and Thursday.

 

Kozyavkin in Eden

An extremely important agreement in the field of health which, among other things, is expected to contribute to the development of medical tourism in Cyprus was signed on Wednesday, June 12, between the Eden Resort Rehabilitation Wellness Assisted Living and the International Clinic of Medical Rehabilitation Cyprus LTD ICMR. According to the agreement, Eden - which is located in the community of Tersefanou in Larnaca - will provide hospitality, food, medical support, nursing care, specialized rehabilitation, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services as well as programs for recreation and activities for young children and adults with organic and neurological disorders which are ICMR patients. The deal was signed by Antonis Demetriou co-owner of Eden and the world-renowned Ukrainian scientist Dr. Volodymyr Kozyavkin.