Daily Press Review - 31/12/2019

Five events that make up the mosaic of the past decade

Cyprus faced some unprecedented events over the past decade. Reporter takes a look back at the five most significant events that marked the island. These include the closure of the Co-op. The Cyprus Co-operative Bank (CCB) may have avoided a haircut in 2013; however, the financial injection of €1.5b that it received from the state was not enough to rescue it. Five years later, during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on 15 June 2018, the acquisition of its good part by Hellenic was approved, marking the end of the Co-op which existed for over 100 years. There was a strong political and social reaction over the decision, which led to 43 co-ops being shuttered and the voluntary retirement of 1,026 employees at a cost of €139m. Thousands of people gathered outside the branches to protest the closure of the historical institution, as well as the closure of branches which caused major inconvenience. On the instructions of the government, the Attorney General ordered a committee of inquiry to investigate the collapse of the Co-op, which after months of statements decided among other that Finance Minister Harris Georgiades was among those to blame. This led to a wave of reactions against Georgiades, who eventually departed his post at the end of 2019. The other four events the site mentions are the deadly explosion at the Mari naval base, the economic crisis, the companies that were shuttered (such as state carrier Cyprus Airways) and the serial killer Nicos Metaxas.



Hellenic Bank’s International Banking Division: Festive event for associates

Hellenic Bank’s International Banking Division hosted its associates at a festive event to celebrate another year of successful cooperation, on 17 December at The Jolly Joker in Nicosia. The event was attended by high-ranking executives from businesses in the financial sector that cooperate with HB. The head of the division, Kiki Papadopoulou, said that HB, as a leading bank in Cyprus, is currently going through some huge changes and challenges, but also important opportunities. The same applies for the International Banking division, which has seen some significant changes over the past few years, especially when it comes to the regulatory and legislative part. She said an internal reorganisation was currently taking place, with the aim of further improving the division’s efficiency and service.



First Career Open Day by Hellenic Bank

Hellenic Bank organised its first Career Open Day on Saturday 21 December, giving students the opportunity to become acquainted with the bank, become updated on its activities and operations, and gage future employment opportunities. Students also had the chance to acquire important skills that will help them in the labour market.



In a difficult position

The way things have turned out with the Estia scheme, with the indifference shown by a large portion of borrowers, the banks are now in a difficult position and must take other measures against the some 5,000 problematic borrowers. The banking sector (but also the government) wanted to avoid such a development, which was why the scheme was so generous. On the other hand, of course, these borrowers have now lost any sympathy society had towards them, Politis comments.



NPEs a thorn for the real economy

NPEs are a thorn for the real economy, according to the Central Bank. In its latest economic bulletin for December, the CBC says among other that despite a reduction of NPEs in the banking sector and an improvement of the banks’ balance sheets, they still remain a thorn for the broader economy. According to the relevant data, NPEs have dropped by €18.1b since 2015, with the biggest drop (€10.3b) recorded in 2018. This was mainly due to the transfer of the CCB’s NPEs outside of the banking system.



Employers-unions agree that they disagree

The heads of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEV) have laid out their goals and plans for the next year. The most important are the reform of the Public Service and Justice system, abolishing the Cost of Living Allowance (CoLA), regulating strikes in essential services and the proper implementation of the general health system (GHS). Meanwhile, trade unions SEK and PEO also announced their goals in their New Year announcements. SEK said that it would go after the renewal of collective agreements, with pay rises and improved benefits. It also wants a proper national plan on labour accidents, and the launch of a dialogue to bring back the CoLA. PEO said that it would seek an improvement of the benefits given to low-earning pensioners, a revision of the benefits for the disabled, large and single families and students, tax reform for a fairer tax system, and immediate measures for health and safety in the workplace.



Employers' priorities for 2020

In setting priorities for the new year, and in ensuring the economy continues on the same path of growth, the employers' organizations (CCCI, OEB) went ahead in their New Year's messages to refer to the reforms that have already taken place and those that are scheduled to take place in the coming year. They made references to Gesy, the creation of the deputy ministries for tourism and shipping, the public sector reform and the reform on local administration. In particular, CCCI President Christodoulos Agastiniotis notes in his New Year message among others, the need to continue working on the goal to make Cyprus a modern country that will offer high standard services in areas such as tourism, entrepreneurship, technology, shipping and others.



Cold war for drilling in Blocks 2 & 3

Turkey’s attempt to prevent the already planned drillings in Blocks 2 & 3 of the Cyprus’ EEZ by the consortium TOTAL-ENI is obvious, although the drillings are scheduled to begin in the next months. Specifically, as a first move, Turkey has issued an irregular Navtex committing a maritime area of about 3,500 nautical miles for illegal seismographic surveys by ‘Barbaros’ covering a large part of Blocks 2 & 3. ‘Barbaros’ and two other ships accompanying it have already moved to the area.



ExxonMobil Secures Exploration Acreage Offshore Egypt

ExxonMobil said it has secured more than 1.7 million acres for exploration offshore Egypt. “These awards strengthen our exploration portfolio in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil. “We look forward to working with the government and deploying our proven expertise and advanced technology.” The acquisition includes acreage in the 1.2 million North Marakia Offshore block, which is located approximately five miles offshore Egypt’s northern coast in the Herodotus basin. The remaining 543,000 acres is in the North East El Amriya Offshore block in the Nile Delta. ExxonMobil will operate both blocks and hold 100 percent interest. Operations, including acquisition of seismic data, are scheduled to begin in 2020. “ExxonMobil has been a partner in Egypt’s growth for more than 115 years, and these awards reaffirm our commitment to pursuing high-quality opportunities in the country,” said Hesham Elamroussy, chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Egypt.



Paphos: Raid in illegal gambling premises

On Monday night, the Paphos police carried out a targeted operation in a property where an illegal gambling business had been running. The business, ran by a 36-year-old, appears to have been operating as an illegal casino, after computers were identified to be operating as slot machines through a special software and were confiscated. The 36-year-old was transferred to the Paphos Police Department where he was interrogated and later released until the completion of the forensic examination of the evidence.

Dentistry is not expensive

The Cyprus Dental Association claims that dentistry in Cyprus is not expensive. In its announcement, the association refers to a recent Eurostat survey which placed Cypriots last on the EU list regarding the frequency of visits to the dentist, claiming that the findings of the survey “do not reflect reality, neither does the view that the low rate of visits is due to the fact that dentists in Cyprus are expensive”. The announcement reads that dentistry in Cyprus is not expensive, even when compared to respective Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Malta, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.



Racing for GHS’ second phase

Haravgi reports that while commenting on the memorandum of cooperation the HIO has proposed to PASIN, HIO Deputy Director Andreas Papaconstantinou said that the HIO’s guarantees have been adequate, and so private hospitals should feel secure. He noted that the HIO accepted private hospitals’ requests and is expecting a positive response from their association. Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou, while waiting for PASIN’s response, said that the HIO guaranteed the financial sustainability of private hospitals, accepted different remuneration between doctors and hospitals, while each hospital will be compensated based on its size.