EBRD President, Suma Chakrabarti, said that the Bank stands ready to finance the development of Cyprus` natural gas reserves and make post reunification investments should the ongoing talks between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community succeed in reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Chakrabarti was addressing an investment outlook session on Cyprus, at the Filoxenia conference centre in Nicosia, where the 26th EBRD annual meeting is taking place.
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Speaking on EBRD`s operations in Cyprus, he noted that “there are many more things we can still do here, to help the government make further progress with it`s economic perform”.
Chakrabarti said that the EBRD is ready to support the privatisation of large state enterprises, an area in which the Bank has a lot of “experience and expertise from around all of our countries of operation”.
He noted that EBRD`s assistance can be effectively utilised to support energy sector reforms, noting that it stands “ready to assist with the reform of the electricity authority, finance further sustainable energy investments, renewable power generation, energy efficiency investments and help Cyprus to increase its energy security by financing the development of natural gas reserves, in its offshore waters”.
“We are also actively seeking further opportunities to help with the work out of non performing loans,” he said.
Suma Chakrabarti stressed that “the EBRD is closely following the negotiations on the reunification of the island”, underlining that “should there be a successful conclusion to those talks, we will of course be ready to make significant investments to make that reunification a real economic success as well”.
“I`m gonna be meeting later today my colleagues from other institutions to compare notes and agree on a coordinated approach to post reunification investments, if those talks succeed,” he said.
According to EBRD`s President, to date the Bank has invested in Cyprus almost 225 million euro, focusing on financial sector stabilisation and support of SMEs.
Minister of Finance Harris Georgiades stressed the significant investments under-way in Cyprus, in sectors as marinas, hotels, renewable energy, medical facilities and pharmaceuticals and casino.
He added that the public sector has also been implementing major investments making good use of the fiscal space that has been attained especially in higher education and research, in an effort to broaden the space and diversify the economy.
“According to rough estimates public and private sector investments in infrastructure alone, currently underway, exceeds 12% of the GDP”, he said.
He added that the restoration of stability and confidence in Cyprus opens the way for new business and new investment opportunities. He repeated that the Government is thankful and appreciative for the decisive presence and strong support of the EBRD during the last few years.
“Our government remains committed to continue striving for an even friendlier environment for entrepreneurship and business. We are not becoming complacent and fully realise that there is still more which need to be done”, Georgiades said, adding that the legacy problems of the crisis of the last few years have not been fully resolved yet, including the high stock of NPLs and unemployment.
He also stressed that maintaining the reform momentum is imperative and that an area which the Government consider as of high significance is the judiciary where major reform effort is under-way. He also noted that Cyprus is also committed to work for regional stability and cooperation and that Eastern Mediterranean is a region of opportunities and prospects, especially in in the energy sector.
“Within this region Cyprus is a stable and safe jurisdiction for business and investment”, he said.
CEO of RCB Bank Ltd Kirill Zimarin has praised Cyprus’ economic achievements and return to growth, stressing that the EBRD meeting on the island is another important step towards a successful and resilient economy.
In his welcoming address, the CEO of RCB Bank, which is the Main Host Sponsor of the event, noted that such functions offer a great opportunity to all to acknowledge efforts made by the Government of Cyprus and EBRD for the recovery of the country’s economy after the crisis.
“As a cyclamen – national plant of Cyprus, selected as a logo of the event, Cyprus economy survived during hot and dry summer, and started to bloom bringing colour and inspiration”, Zimarin said.
He further said that the major lesson learned following the 2013 financial crisis was that proper governance and sometimes non popular Government decisions are the basis for success. Pointing out that the most difficult times are in the past, RCB’s CEO referred to investment opportunities, which are necessary to “support growth and structural improvement of the economy”.
“Cyprus economy is developing. This development, as you will see during those days, is not only quantitative, but qualitative. It reflects all six characteristics, defined by EBRD for the modern economy: competitive, well-governed, green, inclusive, resilient and integrated. Cyprus made a real progress in support of innovation, green energy and improvement of business climate”, Zimarin said.
