04/05/20

CYPRUS: Foreign investors 'highly satisfied' with gov't covid-19 response plan.

As published on internationalinvestment.net, Monday 4 May, 2020.

As Cyprus today began relaxing lockdown restrictions, foreign investors on the island reported a high degree of satisfaction over the measures taken by the government to tackle the covid-19 pandemic, according to Invest Cyprus.

The survey by Invest Cyprus, the island's investment promotion agency, found 92% of investors were either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the government's handling of the crisis, with 88% agreeing that service providers in Cyprus, including lawyers, accountants and bankers, had performed well to ensure business continuity.

Cypriot finance minister, Constantinos Petrides, spoke to foreign investors and government officials during an online briefing Cyprus Covid-19 Response Plan: What Lies Ahead, and sent a message of optimism for Cyprus's early recovery.

"We are optimistic that with the measures put in place, we will overcome this crisis," he said. "Early enough, the government took economic measures to support businesses."

From 4 May, the Cypriot government started to lift the strict lockdown measures imposed to slow the spread of the disease. According to President Nicos Anastasiades, this will be done in different phases to ensure there is no spike in new cases and that from 21 May, all restrictions on free movement will be lifted.

Referring to the government's €2bn guarantee scheme to boost liquidity, Petrides said he expected the plans would be submitted for approval in the Parliament in the coming days.

Petrides stressed that the economy in Cyprus is structurally sound, while the government adopted a flexible policy taking targeted measures to support businesses. He assured that the government is in close collaboration with the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, acknowledging the contribution and impact of foreign investments towards the recovery of the economy.

George Campanellas, CEO of Invest Cyprus, said: "We are very optimistic that Cyprus will emerge stronger from this crisis and that as the agency responsible for investments on the island, we have all the means in place to support existing and potential investors at any point during these difficult times."