gold issue 62 may 2016

www.pwc.com.cy

© 2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. All rights reserved

We support you to create the value you are looking for in the shipping industry by providing specialised and innovative solutions based on quality. Together we build relationships based on trust and we say things as they are, to assist you to deal with issues that tomorrow will prove important. We adapt our expertise and the power of our global network to your specific needs helping you make the difference.

We do more than just consult We deliver

Shipping

Gold

ISSUE 62 | MAY 14, 2016 | T

HE

CY

PR

US SH

IPP

ING

IND

UST

RY

Goldt h e b u s i n e s s m a g a z i n e o f c y p r u s

5 291295 000577

0 0 0 0 1 >

TECHNOLOGYWe can change the world, says

Stefano Ceccarelli

PEOPLECleopatra KittiSievert LarssonArfat Qayyum

ACCOUNTINGGeoff Barnes &

James Castellano on the profession

PLUSBusiness Briefing,What’s On, Books,

Opinion & More

THE CYPRUS SHIPPING INDUSTRY

ISSUE 62 may 14, 2016PRICE €3.00

INTErvIEwS & OPINIONS

DEvELOPmENTS & PrOSPECTS

FACTS & FIGUrES

PRESENTS

34 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus

ForexTime (FXTM) is an award-winning online forex broker committed

to providing a superior trading experience for clients around the world

• Trade currencies, metals, and CFDs

• Extremely competitive trading terms

• Attractive partnership programs

• Free & comprehensive forex education

• Regular contests and promotions

• Security, safety, and transparency

Global Brokerwith a Local Touch

www.forextime.com/eu | [email protected] | Tel: +357 25 558777

ForexTime (FXTM) is an international online forex broker offering financial services in forex, spot metals and CFDs. ForexTime Limited is regulated by the

Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) under license number 185/12.

There is a high level of risk involved with trading leveraged products such as forex and CFDs. You should not risk more than you can afford to lose. It is possible

that you may lose more than your initial investment. You should not trade unless you fully understand the true extent of your exposure to the risk of loss. When

trading, you must always take into consideration your level of experience. It is the responsibility of the Client to ensure that the Client can accept the Services

and/or enter into the Transactions in the country in which the Client is resident. If the risks involved seem unclear to you, please seek independent advice.

@2016 FXTM


T H E B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E O F C Y P R U S

I S S U E 6 2 M A Y 1 4 , 2 0 1 6

C O N T E N T S6 | EDITORIAL 8 | BUSINESS BRIEFINGEconomic & Business Highlights of the past month. 12 | MY WAY Kevin Mudd’s management style.

14 | FIVE MINUTES WITH… Arfat Qayyum

16 | THEY SAID WHAT?A selection of recent memorable

OPINION92 | ICPAC TURNS 55By Kyriakos Iordanou

FEATURES18 | BANKING ON GOODNESSInterview with Ancoria Bank founder Sievert Larsson.

22 | THE CYPRUS PRIVATE BANKING AND WEALTH MANAGEMENT CONFERENCEPhotos from the event.

76 | KEEPING THINGS RELEVANT

Barnes, CEO & President of Baker Tilly International on the Cyprus operation and the main challenge facing the accounting profession.

80 | FROM INSPIRATION TO COMMUNICATION Interview with Andrea Solomonides, Business Director of the Cubik-S communication agency.

84 | WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLDStefano Ceccarelli, Sales Manager, SAP Digital EMEA South, on what the future holds.

88 | A REFORMED CORPORATE INSOLVENCY REGIMEBy Amalia Hadjipapa.

COVER STORY23 | The Cyprus

Shipping Industry Interviews with the Minister of Transport, the Director of the

Department of Merchant Shipping and the Director-General of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, plus

that contributes an impressive 7% of the country’s GDP.

1484

90 | WINNING TEAMS

94 | BUSINESS CLASSBaiba Saldovere

95 | BOOKSHELFFive of the best new business titles.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

41 | The Cyprus Shipping Industry

Seventeen companies present their products and

services in detail.

18

100

103 | WHAT’S ONGold’s guide to the best cultural events of the coming month.

106 | A DAY IN THE LIFEChris Christodoulou

96 | MY COLLECTIONTasos Andreou, the History Man.

100 | LUNCH WITH GOLDCleopatra Kitti, founder of the Mediterranean Growth Initiative.

1

tles.

76


| EDITORIAL |

John Vickers,Chief Editor

[email protected]

In Search of Leaders

n May 22, the people of Cyprus will elect a new House of Represen-tatives. In an interesting reflection of the current state of the labour market, there are almost 500 candidates for the 56 parliamentary seats. Unlike those in search of a job who may try to boost their chances of being selected by enlisting the help of an influential friend or relative (often an MP), the people seeking our support at the ballot box will – fortunately – have to succeed on their own merit.The members of the House have never been an impressive bunch but

there are strong arguments to suggest that, taken in its entirety, the outgoing group may be the worst we have ever voted into office. I am not referring simply to one or two instances of disgraceful personal behaviour or to the many ridiculous statements that are regularly heard during so-called debates. Unfortunately, the problems with our elected represen-tatives are far deeper and more widespread than that, from the party leaders to the back benchers.

One only has to look at the workings (or non-workings) of the National Council to see our senior political figures at their worst. EDEK leader Marios Sizopoulos may be an extreme case, in the sense that he publicly divulged confidential information from its last meeting, but all the others have regularly leaked things to the media, following the example of those who came before them. They clearly can’t be trusted to keep their mouths shut if their reward will be good publicity.

As for those lower down the party ranks but still in parliament, many of them seem to believe that their job is to win votes by facilitating promotions and contracts for friends and relatives. Cyprus has always been a place in which the term “conflict of interest” has appar-ently had no meaning for so many people in public office, MPs included. It is only now that so many instances of graft, bribery and corruption have begun to see the light of day.

There are, thankfully, the exceptions to this disappointing rule and it is to be hoped that they are the models for these several hundred would-be parliamentarians. Cyprus needs good leaders, people with integrity as Eisenhower put it, who have a genuine wish to do what is best for the country as a whole and not only for their sup-porters. A large number of the candidates in this month’s elections are relatively young. Hopefully they have not lost the idealism of youth, and will honour the office to which they are elected.

MANAGING DIRECTOR George Michail

GENERAL MANAGER Daphne Roditou Tang

MEDIA MANAGERElena Leontiou

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John Vickers

JOURNALISTSArtemis Constantinidou, Voula Loizou

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Amalia Hadjipapa, Kyriakos Iordanou,

Marco Mancesti

PHOTOGRAPHYEmma Louise Charalambous,

Jo Michaelides, Andreas Loucaides

ART DIRECTION Anna Theodosiou

SENIOR DESIGNERAlexia Petrou

ASSISTANT DESIGNERStephanie AndreouPHOTOGRAPHY

Jo Michaelides, Harris Kyprianou MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Kevi ChishiosSALES MANAGER

Irene GeorgiouSALES EXECUTIVE Stavros Epifaniou

OPERATIONS MANAGER Voulla NicolaouSUBSCRIPTIONSMyria Neophytou

PRINTERS Cassoulides Masterprinters

CONTACT5 Aigaleo St., Strovolos 2057, Nicosia, Cyprus

Mailing address: P.O.Box 21185, 1503, Nicosia, Cyprus

Tel: +357 22505555, Fax: +357 22679820e-mail: [email protected]

subscriptions: [email protected]

ISSN 1986 - 3543PUBLISHED BY IMH

O

GOLDT H E B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E O F C Y P R U S

5 291295 000577

0 0 0 0 1 >

TECHNOLOGYWe can change the world, says

Stefano Ceccarelli

PEOPLECleopatra KittiSievert LarssonArfat Qayyum

ACCOUNTING

James Castellano on the profession

PLUS


ISSUE 62 MAY 14, 2016PRICE €3.00

INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS

DEVELOPMENTS & PROSPECTS

FACTS & FIGURES

PRESENTS

“THE SUPREME QUALITY OF LEADERSHIP IS INTEGRITY.” Dwight D. Eisenhower


BOC’S €50 MILLION Q1 PROFIT

Bank of Cyprus announced that it

loan restructuring activities continues with progress across all asset quality

restructurings of lending exposures

-

BARCLAYS TO CLOSE CYPRUS OFFICES

that the bank plans to close both its

in Cyprus have bank accounts based in London and will continue to receive

--

Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos in casino pictureThe three preferred bidders for the licence to build and operate a Casino Resort in Cyprus are each reportedly

-

BANKING

BUSINESSBRIEFING

CASINO

ECONOMYLAGARDE CONGRATULATESCYPRUS International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde congratulated the Cypriot authorities on the favourable economic results achieved under the programme, which in-cluded restoring output and employment growth,

--

ment noted that “The Managing Director and the Cypriot authorities agreed that the reform mo-mentum should continue in order to extend these favourable developments and further strengthen

Harris Georgiades had a series of meetings with Lagarde and

-lines of the 2016 World Bank-IMF

his interlocutors expressed their great satisfaction with the Cypriot economy’s per-

Eleni KaloyirouEleni Kaloyirou was ap-pointed Chief Executive Officer of Hermes Airports last month, following the resignation of Wes Porter, who has left to take up a senior executive position at a US airport. Kaloyirou joined Hermes Airports in November 2014 as Ex-ecutive Manager Business Control and on 1 January 2016, she assumed the position of CFO. She has many years of experience in the airline industry, having been CFO and Deputy CEO of Cyprus Airways. She is a Chartered Accountant and holds a degree in Economics from Cambridge University.

CCB EXPECTS UP TO €30 MILLION Q1 PROFIT

owned lender that controls 18 local

core tier 1 equity ratio rise to close

-

year after increasing its provisions

APPOINT-MENT

www.goldnews.com.cy | GOLD | 9

Trust in Jordanswherever your business takes youJordans Trust Company (Seychelles) can help your business thrive.

Our professional team provide local insight and a full range of management, trust and director services.

All services are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the Seychelles.

Close links between all our

mean you have easy access to our services through our Cyprus

Jordans Trust Company (Cyprus) LimitedT +357 22 767 294E [email protected]

www.jordanstrustcompany.com

ICPAC-IMH ACCOUNTANCY

CYPRUS COLLABORATION

the publication and distribution

Accountancy Cyprusof the collaboration between

enhanced with additional

ACCOUNTANCY CYPRUS

KEAN TO DISTRIBUTE KATERINA

for the distribution of the products known under the

Group we are very excited for this new collaboration as we appreciate the high quality and authenticity of

believe in the potential of the

and help bring an delicious aspect of Cypriot tradition

SATLINK APPOINTED INMARSAT PARTNER

-sat Partner for Fleet Xpress and

-

enables a closer relationship and

the launch of Fleet Xpress will set -

ensure we have the global reach and expertise of a dedicated

PARTNERSHIPS

GAP VASSILOPOULOS GROUP AND DP WORLD AWARDED LIMASSOL

PORT CONCESSION

MARINE

T he Cypriot logistics and ser-vices company GAP Vassilo-poulos Group and DP World, one of the world’s biggest port operators, have won two concessions to manage com-

mercial activities at Limassol Port starting in January.DP World was awarded a 25-year conces-sion to manage activities that include break-bulk, general cargo, ro-ro and the operation of the passenger terminal, the port operator said in a statement.P&O Maritime Cyprus, a unit of DP World, won a 15-year concession to ex-clusively provide port marine services at Limassol.DP World will own 75% of each joint venture, with its Cypriot partner owning the rest.

The port operator’s net profit rose by 30.7% last year, beating analyst expecta-tions, thanks to its acquisition of a free zone in Dubai in 2014 and growth in volumes.The port operator plans to spend between US$1.2 billion and $1.4bn this year to ex-pand its terminals in Jebel Ali in Dubai, the Economic Zones World (EZW) free zone in Jebel Ali, London Gateway in the UK and Prince Rupert on Canada’s west coast.The group spent $1.4bn on capital expen-diture last year, in addition to $4bn on acquisitions, which included inland termi-nals in Mannheim and Stuttgart, as well as the Fairview Container Terminal in Prince Rupert.DP World expects to have about 86 million units of gross global capacity by the end of this year, up from 79.6 million units at the end of last year.


BUSINESSBRIEFING

VICTORIA NULAND

US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland reiterated her country`s support for the ongoing negotiation process in Cyprus during a two-day visit in April. “I think you know how

strongly the US supports the work that is being done on both sides of the island towards a settlement,” she said after a meeting with President Anastasiades. “It is clear that progress is being made to take the agreements that the leaders are making and bring them together and consolidate them,” she stated.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT

The former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was in Cyprus last month to promote investments in this sector, and specifically in the two solar ther-mal parks to be constructed on

the island. Albright who, following her retirement, has been working with investment companies, met with Agriculture Minister Nikos Kouyialis with whom she discussed her plans for investments by US funds that support such projects and the com-panies that build them.

REAL ESTATE

Zephyros Village 3

located in the picturesque coastal -

with private pools and spacious

-

-

Leptos Venus Gardens-

ern hilltop resort with views of the

a clubhouse as well as a tennis

--

nus Gardens gain exclusive bene-

Nireas Residences

-

UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN BY 13%

Registered un-employment fell by 13% year-on-year to 36,986 in April,

the lowest level since October 2012, according to figures re-leased by Cystat. The highest number of unemployed per-sons is in the 30-39 age group (9,290), followed by 50-59 year-olds (8,613). The number of long-term unemployed in April declined marginally to 12,112 compared with 12,161 in March 2016.

VISITORS

THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES REGISTERED

IN THE FIRST THREE

MARKED AN INCREASE OF 28% OVER THE

NUMBER REGISTERED IN THE FIRST QUARTER

6,394 OF THEM WERE PASSENGER SALOON CARS, OF WHICH 3,254

,


CYSEC ISSUES NEW BINARY OPTIONS DIRECTIVES

T -

FINANCE

New McDonald’s for Nicosia

T he next McDon-ald’s fast food restaurant to open in Cyprus, and

the 19th in the chain, will be in Anthoupolis, Nicosia, housed in a former Orpha-nides supermarket on the main road linking Lakatamia and the Nicosia suburb. It is expected to open in 2017. McDonald’s served over 6 million customers last year, prepared 1,300 tons of fries, and is set to further expand its operations in Cyprus.

House of the Child in 2017

T he “Hope For Children” UN-CRC Policy Center has an-

nounced the start of one of its long-term goals: the process to establish of a House of the Child in Cy-prus in 2017. The House of the Child is an integrat-ed and specialized facility that provides the necessary security that abused chil-dren need in order to re-port their experiences and express their feelings.

FXTM LAUNCHES UK DIVISION

L -

to expand its services and to add new

-

-

ART NICOSIA PUBLIC ART PROJECT

NEW TO

CYPRUS


“The biggest mistake that managers make is not delegating properly. You have to decide who to trust for a task and let them get on with the job with-out constant interference.”

Kevin Mudd

DIRECTOR OF KMG CAPITAL MARKETS

HAVING NEW IDEAS AND AN ENTREPRENEURIAL APPROACH ARE AMONG THE KEYS TO THE SUCCESS OF KEVIN MUDD, DIRECTOR OF KMG CAPITAL MARKETS. TEAMWORK AND EXTENSIVE DELEGATION ARE AMONG THE KEY ASPECTS OF HIS MANAGEMENT STYLE, WHICH HE GOT FROM HIS FATHER, WHO ALSO HELPED FINANCE WHAT HE NOW SEES AS HIS GREATEST FINANCIAL ACHIEVEMENT. IMPORTANTLY, HE MAKES SURE THAT HIS SMARTPHONE IS SWITCHED OFF AT NIGHT!

“A chiev-ing a healthy balance

between life at work and at home is difficult in an era of mobiles and smart-phones, when calls and e-mails don’t respect office hours. On a day-to-day basis, you have to com-partmentalize. We operate an international business, we are multi-jurisdictional, spanning many time zones, so it is hard. But I don’t look at e-mails after 9.00pm, phones are banned at meal-times and always switched off at night! My children are good at de-manding the time they want with us and my wife insists we take at least two family holidays per year.”

“My greatest profes-sional achievement was building one

of the first and largest international distributors of Financial Planning products of the ‘80s and ‘90s, after borrowing £1,000 each from my fa-ther and an insurance company. In 2014, I established the first CySEC regulated Alternative Investment Fund Management and UCITS Management company, which pro-vides outsourced AIFM solutions to third parties.”

“My leadership style been most influenced by

my father, who was a very successful businessman himself.“

“Ihave been helped throughout my career by coming up with new

ideas and taking an entrepreneurial approach.”

“My management style involves

building multi-skilled teams and delegating extensively. I am fairly brutal in recognizing my shortcomings, so I am good at ideas and finding constructive solutions but putting them into action and seeing them through require a very different skill set. I recognized early on that I would need other people to complement my skills.”

“Irelax by devoting an hour a day to

sport or exercise. It is a good time to totally switch off. I also like to watch a little TV and read at the end of a day. My favourite pastime is dragon boating and I am currently trying to make the National Team for the European championship in Rome this July. Outside sports, I enjoy drinks and meals with friends and family.”

MYWAY

h-

witched

od at de-hey y

Kevin Mudd -

cial services industry in-ternationally since 1982 and has over 25 years’ offshore experience in managing client assets, building companies and

advising clients. He became Director of

KMG Capital Markets in 1991.

“Objects of my professional admiration? There are many. I have always admired those who live by their wits, those who have to take risks to achieve their dreams/ambitions and have made sacrifices to get where they are today. It is easy to be jealous of success, but it is a sobering thought that, for every one that makes it,

there are probably ten who didn’t succeed, possibly losing their house as well as their business along the way.”


F I V E

W I T H

MINUTES as Real Estate Advisory, Tax Advisory and Estate Planning. What are the latest trends in this area?The Family Office space is growing quickly as significant wealth has been created since

the 2008 global financial crisis. More family offices are being established and existing offices have significant cash to invest in new opportunities. The lower end of the private banking market is relatively under-serviced because clients are largely ignored by the global banks and are often serviced the same way as retail banking clients. There is a huge opportunity to create value in this segment of private banking. Debt continues to be a key requirement for private clients in the GCC, typically for real estate acquisition or development. This is where local/regional banks hold an edge over global banks.

How important and widespread are Family Offices?Family offices are a key segment of the market and more offices are being established because a significant amount of new wealth has been created recently. In some cases, the demise of patriarchs who headed mega family offices is leading to fragmentation. However, the fragments themselves are fairly large. Who are the main clients of Family Offices and what do they require?Family offices are set up to manage all financial affairs related to one family. In general, the principals of the family office look for sufficient cash flow to support their lifestyle needs and a

consistent growth in their net worth.

What particular aspects of the GCC market should outside companies bear in mind when trying to establish themselves?One of the most important factors is the origin of private wealth and the impact that it has on investment behaviour and asset allocation. A client who has generated wealth primarily from real estate will have a proclivity to yield-generating investments and is unlikely to display an appetite for more sophisticated products such as Hedge Funds. However, if the wealth is generated from business activity, the client is more likely to hold a wider array of investments. This is particularly true for Family Offices because the sophistication level of the Family Office CEO for a business family is generally higher than that of a Real Estate Family Office CEO. This goes back to the origin of wealth and the need for a business to employ qualified accountants and finance managers who generally move on to manage the Family Office.

hefrath

W

Wmbeth

ARFAT QAYYUM

Head of Private Banking,Al Khaliji Commercial Bank

Q.S.C, Qatar

How has private banking developed in the GCC?The GCC private banking market has matured at a swift pace over the past 15-20 years and is very much comparable to other markets in terms of client sophistication, family office structure and decision making. There has been a simultaneous increase in the quality of private banking platforms, the qualification level of private bankers and the investment acumen of private clients. This has fostered a dynamic and competitive market which continues to be attractive to global private banks as well as their local/regional competitors. Who make up the main clientele of your bank?Our private banking clients are primarily from Qatar although a number of them are very active in Europe and UAE at a personal and business level. We are also growing our Emirati client base very quickly. What services do you provide?We provide a range of services for private banking clients. We manage their local and international transactional banking requirements and we provide structured financing facilities across Qatar, UAE and Europe to help clients build their wealth. We also have a growing range of wealth management and fiduciary services such

The Bank I can trust“On camera and on stage, people determine your success. In life, success also depends on the choice of a reliable financial partner. RCB Bank.”

Christina Pavlidou Actress

RCB branches are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pmwww.rcbcy.com

RCB Bank Ltd. Private Company.Registration number: 72376. Registered office: 2, Amathountos street, 3105 Limassol, Cyprus. 800 00 722

They Said What?Some of the remarkable things said by Cypriots over the past month.

“THE LOGO AIMS TO CREATE CONFUSION AMONG THE PUBLIC

REGARDING THE CITIZENS’ ALLIANCE, SINCE IT REFERS TO A ‘GREEN PARTY-

CITIZEN’S COOPERATION’. WHILE THE GREENS’ COLOUR IS GREEN, BLUE

WAS CHOSEN FOR THE CITIZENS’ COOPERATION PART OF THE LOGO,

WHICH IS THE COLOUR OF THE CITIZENS’ ALLIANCE.”

“THERE ARE CERTAIN POLITICIANS – AND MR PAPADOPOULOS IS ONE

OF THEM – WHO DO NOT WANT A SOLUTION

TO THE CYPRUS PROBLEM.”

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides reaches the same

conclusion as everyone, with one exception...

“I ACTUALLY RECEIVED MORE THAN 73% IN THE 2013 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BUT

THE ESTABLISHMENT, INCLUDING SECRET SERVICES LIKE THE CIA

AND MOSSAD, DOESN’T WANT ME IN POWER BECAUSE IT WILL MARK THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLAPSE

OF THE WORLD SYSTEM THEY MAINTAIN”.

“IN HIS LATEST OUTBURST, MR

KASOULIDES FALSELY

ACCUSED ME OF NOT WANTING A SOLUTION. I

CONSIDER THIS AN INSULT.”

Nicholas Papadopoulos seems to be saying

that, despite everything he has ever said on the issue, he actually does want a solution after all.

QUOTESOF THEMONTH

“THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO ESPECIALLY CASTIGATE: THE SLOPPINESS EXHIBITED

BY PARLIAMENT AND ITS LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR

INCLUDING LAST-MINUTE PROVISIONS THAT HAVE NOT

BEEN ADEQUATELY DISCUSSED.”

COSTAS CLERIDES

IOANNIS KASOULIDES

Rejected independent candidate Utopos (Costas Kyriacou) demonstrates

why he ought to have been allowed to run for parliament.

the true meaning of the

complaining about colours on ballot papers that are

printed in black and white.

COSTAS KYRIACOU

Costas Clerides blasts MPs who passed at least

16 constitutionally suspect laws on

in the House of Representatives.

want a solutiooooooon after all.

NICHOLAS PAPADOPOULOS

“I WAS VERY SAD TO SEE THAT THE

FORWARDING OF A TWEET REGARDING APOEL FANS

HAS BEEN MISCONSTRUED.

IN NO WAY DO I ENDORSE THE CONTENT OF THE POST, WHICH I DID NOT AUTHOR.

IT WAS NOT MY INTENTION

TO OFFEND ANYONE.”

Former CTO Director-General (and

Omonia supporter) Marios Hannides,

realising too late that he was not helping his election chances by

retweeting a comment describing APOEL fans as ‘wimps’,

tries desperately to convince everyone

that it was all a misunderstanding.

MARIOS HANNIDES



T H E F I R S T N A M E I N L O N G - T E R M L O Y A L T Y

M A R I A

We are one of the world’s largest independent providers of trust, fund and corporate administration services.

We are committed to helping our clients protect, nurture and grow their wealth.

Above all, we are a people business.

To find out more about our services and to get to know us better, visit

www.firstnames.com

| PROFILE |

18 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus18 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus

Virtually nobody knew what a computer was when I became a programmer in 1962.

I could never explain to my mother what I was doing!

or the founder of a bank, you be-gan your profes-sional career with what sounds like an unlikely start as a program-

mer and IT specialist in a Swedish ball bearing factory. That doesn’t sound very exciting. Was it?Sievert Larsson: Well, since I was deal-ing strictly with the computer, that part was exciting, yes, and it didn’t really mat-ter what business we were in. It actually took me quite a while to learn exactly what it was that SKF was doing because I was a programmer and, as such, rather

business administration on a two- year course where you were paid a salary to work and study at the same time. It was very efficient and it was actually the only studying I ever did because when I finished I was selected to work in the new department. The company had bought this enormously expensive computer and everything had to be written in machine lan-guage. The work could be very te-dious but I found it fascinating and, after being sent to IBM to learn how to programme, it turned out to be something that I was very good at. I enjoyed it, which is why I stayed there for 13 years.

remote from the manufacturing and sales departments.

Gold: Computer technology must have been in its infancy then.S.L.: Virtually nobody knew what a computer was when I became a program-mer in 1962. I could never explain to my mother what I was doing! There was no such thing as IT being taught in schools or universities at the time.

Gold: So how did you come to be a programmer?S.L.: When I was in High School, SKF set up a business school where you could learn accounting, English and basic

From computer programming in Sweden to banking in Cyprus – plus charitable work in Thailand along the way – it has been a long and adventurous journey for Sievert Larsson. The founder of Ancoria Bank tells Gold how he came to be living in Cyprus, why he donated all his shares in a successful insurance company to his scholarship foundation, and what good management entails.By John Vickers, Photo by Jo Michaelides

F

BANKING ON GOODNESS

| PROFILE |


mers were much better and better educated. We eventually employed 20 programmers in Larnaca so we were outsourcing before the term existed.

Gold: The offshore tax regime must have been attractive back then too.S.L.: Yes, corporation tax was very low at the time but that wasn’t the driving force behind

our decision. What swung our decision was the fact that investment income on behalf of the policy holders was tax free so this gave us an advantage in the Swedish market. In the beginning, everything was being run from France, including the administration and customer service but eventually, Yiannis Loizou, (currently CEO of Ancoria Bank), moved the entire operation to Larnaca.

Gold: Alpha later became Akelius Insur-ance and then Ancoria Insurance. Did the name change signify other major changes?S.L.: Yes. After Roger Akelius and I sold the tax programme and the book publish-ing companies, we started a property firm together in Sweden. That also became very successful and, in the end, the two compa-nies together were becoming too big for us so we split them: I got the insurance com-pany and Akelius the property company. In 2006 it was renamed Ancoria Insurance and I became the sole owner.

Gold: From what you have told me so far,

Gold: What happened next?S.L.: It was the start of quite a journey! During my time with SKF, I met my friend and business partner Roger Akelius, who worked for IBM, and we started a number of companies together. In 1977 I left SKF and we worked together full time. When one of our finance companies was successful in Sweden, we sold it and then we both moved to France, where he started writing books on the Swedish tax system, one of which became the definitive guide, very popular with professionals, which he subsequently updated and republished every year. At some stage he bought one of the first ever personal computers to do the writing and he suggested that I write a programme to make tax calculations for the Swedish market. I agreed so I bought a PC in America and I started work on it in May 1985. It turned out to be extremely successful. It was while Akelius was researching his next book that he discovered that Swedish citizens were entitled to invest up to 3,000 krona per per-son in a foreign life insurance policy. Cur-rency controls at the time meant that, with this exception, they could not invest legally outside Sweden, so we thought that we should make use of this. We looked around to see where we might easily start an offshore insurance company and one of those places was Cyprus.

Gold: And what did you think?S.L.: We decided that it was the perfect place for it and so we started Alpha Insur-ance here, together with a consultancy com-pany for the Swedish tax calculation pro-gramme. We started that with two female programmers and I was very proud of the fact that we were up and running within one week. I am still proud to say that one of our first employees is still with us. At the time, we could get three programmers here for the cost of one in Sweden and Cypriot program-

It’s important to choose

a business with the potential for expansion

one might assume that you are just anoth-er successful businessman but a decade ago, you changed course yet again and set up the Sievert Larsson Scholarship Foun-dation. What was behind that?S.L.: That story goes back to 1965 when I met my other half in Sweden. She was from Thailand and we were together for 40 years and we used to go to Thailand on vacation

with growing frequency. On one occa-sion when we were there, I came across a book by an Englishman called Peter Robinson who had been ordained as a monk. In the book he mentioned that he took care of some underprivileged youngsters to whom he wanted to give an education. I sent him some money and later I met him, I bought him a computer and arranged for him to have an Internet connection. Eventually his charitable organisation evolved into the

SET Foundation, of which I am now the President, and Peter had to leave the monas-tery because he was so busy with it. So that was the reason behind the Thai connection.

Gold: And what does the Sievert Larsson Scholarship Foundation do?S.L.: The Foundation’s primary purpose is to facilitate the education of promising students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The parents of many children there are poor rice farmers so they don’t have the means or the inclination to get those often very bright students to study. The Foundation has also started facilitating the education of high-cal-ibre Cypriot students who have shown aca-demic excellence.

Gold: Have you had a chance to see for yourself how your financial assistance has helped deserving students?S.L.: Oh yes! We receive a lot of letters of appreciation from them. It’s personally very rewarding and, of course, as a businessman, I see it as an investment: I am giving young people a completely different life which will

I am giving young people a completely different life

themselves and broader society too


allow them to benefit their own families, themselves and broader society too much more than they ever could by staying on the rice farm.

Gold: There are many examples of suc-cessful entrepreneurs devoting time and effort to philanthropy, while continuing to enjoy the profits of their business. But in 2007, you decided to donate all your shares in Ancoria Insurance to the Foun-dation. S.L.: Yes, so it is owned by the Foundation and all the dividends go there. I knew how much money I needed for my own expenses and I decided that I could make a good and rewarding investment in the work of the Foundation so I was happy to do so. I’m now 72 and I hope that the Foundation and its work will survive me many years into the future.

Gold: Recently the Foundation decided to expand its efforts to Cyprus, to sup-port promising, high-calibre, students who wish to further their education at educational institutions here or abroad. How much interest have you had from Cyprus?S.L.: This has being going on for about 4 years now. I decided that, since Ancoria Insurance and now Ancoria Bank are based here, we should do something for Cyprus and also, because many of our Ancoria In-surance customers are Swedish, something for Sweden too. We started a scholarship programme with the University of Cyprus and the University of Nicosia and we also started an Excellence Programme giving Cy-priot students a chance to study abroad. In my home town of Gothenburg I arranged for the Technical University there to take

Thai students for Master’s Degree. All the schemes have been very successful.

Gold: Would you encourage other successful businessmen to follow your example?

S.L.: Yes and no. It’s a very personal choice. In my case it was perhaps easier because I have no children, but those who do natu-rally want to take care of their family. Of course, I know that many successful busi-ness people don’t want to give everything to their children because they understand that it is important that we all learn to do things by ourselves. So I think that they should perhaps think about doing something with at least a part of their wealth. If it’s done properly, they won’t regret it.

Gold: Your most recent venture is the founding of Ancoria Bank Ltd. What made you enter a sector which, as you have seen for yourself as a semi-per-manent resident of Cyprus, has been through a very tough few years?S.L.: What happened in 2013 was a shock to everybody. It made me want to contrib-ute to the recovery of the Cyprus economy especially the banking sector, which was severely affected. I have always been a strong believer in the strong human capital base of Cyprus and I wanted to offer my support with actions. We were extremely lucky to find some very good professionals with previous banking experience but also wanted to give opportu-nities to recent graduates who were starting their careers. The Sievert Larsson Scholar-ship Foundation, Ancoria Insurance Public Ltd and I are the three major shareholders. Everything is transparent and things are working out well.

Gold: Ancoria Bank opened at the end of last year. What are your aspirations for it?S.L.: We offer products and services for individuals and businesses. For businesses our objective is to promote entrepreneurial

spirit and help Cyprus’ economy to move forwards. This can be achieved through financing young entrepreneurs as there are many highly educated locals. We believe in supporting the younger generations so that they can create a better future and we

definitely support previous generations too. Our aim is to provide personalised service. As we say, we are “Big enough for your peace of mind, small enough to care”. We meet our clients, build trust and rewarding relationships by understanding what they need and provide transparently the right products and services for them. I would like to see our honesty, commit-ment, integrity and transparency in every-thing we do.

Gold: What has been the key to your business success over the years?S.L.: Everything I’ve done has involved a lot of hard work. Transparency and integrity are aspects of business that have always been present in Sweden so I had them from the start. Also, in terms of management style, I have always tried to convince people of something rather than simply instruct them to do it. Managers and owners have to delegate, let people grow and take their own initiatives. This is the Swedish way and it seems to be successful. Also, despite our later success, we have always worked on a small scale. It’s important to choose a business with the potential for expansion and then, of course, you need a bit of luck. A lot of start-ups believe that once they have a product or a design, the job is done. They need to know that 50% of the effort has to be put into selling the idea. Marketing is so important.

Gold: You mentioned earlier that you’re now 72. Haven’t you heard the word “retirement”?S.L.: I’ve heard it but when you have your own projects, you can’t retire unless you are not involved. On the other hand, there

is so much regulation and specialisation in a bank that I am no longer qualified to play an active role in it – well, I might make a good receptionist! – so by default I am semi-retired already and, therefore, I don’t need to think about it!

I hope that the Foundation and its work will survive me many years into the future


| CONFERENCE |

The Cyprus Private Banking and Wealth Management Con-ference, presented by Piraeus Bank (Cyprus), was attended

by 150 delegates from private banks, family offices, independent wealth managers and intermediaries who came together for a dis-cussion on the key issues facing the industry. Chaired by Charis Kynigou, Head of Private Banking, Piraeus Bank, (Cyprus), the con-ference, entitled “The Meaning of Wealth Management in the 21st Century” featured speakers from leading firms in the UK, Swit-zerland, Qatar, Greece and Cyprus.

Piraeus Bank Cyprus presents:

Charis Kynigou, Piraeus Bank (Cyprus).

Marios Loizou, MPL Accountants – Roedl & Partner & George Appios, Piraeus Bank (Cyprus).

Panel of Speakers (l-r): Tony Hadjiloucas, PwC, Ilias Lekkos, Piraeus Bank, Arfat Qayyum, Al Khalij Commercial Bank Q.S.C, Charis Kynigou, Piraeus Bank (Cyprus), Clare Archer, Partner, Penningtons Manches LLP, Emily Yiolitis, Harneys Aristodemou Loizides Yiolitis LLC, Fedor Poskriakov, Lenz Staehelin, Dr. Rania Azmi, SWF-Middle East.

George Hasapakos & Kostas

Charis Kynigou & Angelo Philota, Piraeus Bank (Cyprus).

Savvas Pentaris, EY &Menicos Mavrommatis, IBM Cyprus.

Pavlina Andreou & Caroline Stavrou, PwC.

Andreas Loizou, Cyprofund Administration & Marinos Zingas, Cydris Fund Services.

Georgia Jacovides,

MSJ Jacovides & Co Ltd & Marina Ioannou,

KMG Capital Markets Ltd.

Eleni Aristodemou, Cablenet.

Evangelia Kapnistou, Petroula Christodoulou, Piraeus Bank (Cyprus) &

Cyprus.


INTERVIEWS & OPINIONS

DEVELOPMENTS & PROSPECTS

FACTS & FIGURES


PRESENTS

| COVER STORY |

SHIPPING IN CYPRUS

Cyprus has long been recognized as an established maritime centre where leading ship owning and ship management companies have chosen to base their global operations, with Limassol taking centre stage as the main location of the island’s resident industry and successful maritime cluster. On the occasion of Cyprus’ presence at the prestigious Posidionia 2016 shipping event in Athens, we

feature interviews with three key players – the Minister of Transport, the Director of the Department of Merchant Shipping and the Director-Gener-al of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber – as well as facts and figures about the industry that contributes an impressive 7% of the country’s GDP.

INTERORRIENT MARINE SERVICES LTD

Themis Papadopoulos, CEO

“Cyprus combines a stable taxation regime with a ship-ping cluster that boasts high calibre individuals with a wide range of skills. The unique tonnage tax system, approved by the EU in 2010, enables companies to

make long-term decisions regarding investment in Cyprus. In addition, in recognition of its valuable contribution to the economy, the shipping in-

dustry has been looked upon favourably by successive governments and has been targeted for further growth. Cyprus certainly has the potential

provided that the public and private sectors work hand in hand.”

“Cyprus is considered a major global hub for ship owning and ship management services

and is home to some of the world’s most

of the resident shipping sector has also meant the development of a strong mar-

itime cluster that caters to the needs of Cyprus-based companies (including bank-

ing, professional services, insurance and IT). The cluster has gone from strength

to strength over the years, and is consistently attracting more quality tonnage and shipping related com-

panies. We are recognised and globally acknowledged for our

maritime infrastructure (two deep sea multipur-pose ports in Limassol

and Larnaca).”

ÖL SHIPPING GROUPCapt. Eberhard Koch, Chairman, CEO & Partner

work

FACTS & FIGURES

COLUMBIA SHIPMANAGEMENTCaptain Heinrich Schoeller, Chairman

“Among the advantages of being in Cyprus are the fact that it is an established maritime cen-tre with a highly skilled workforce. A strate-gically located member of the EU, it receives

strong backing from the Government, which makes

tax regulations continue to make the cost of operat-ing companies here among the most competitive in Europe. The Cyprus shipping industry has room to

-ern coast is a positive development. Earlier this

year, Limassol port was privatised and we expect positive developments from the new-ly appointed port operator.”

INTERSHIP NAVIGATION CO LTDDieter Rohdenburg, CEO

“Cyprus is no longer only known for its

industry, which continues to grow. Through this

growth, the importance of the cluster is increasing – both domestically and inter-nationally – which in turn fosters further growth. Cyprus is an ideal place to do business from, not only for the well-

excellent infrastructure, etc., but also because we enjoy unrestricted Gov-ernment support. The shipping cluster in Cyprus has come a long way, but I have absolutely no doubt that there is room for tremendous future growth. As the maritime cluster grows, so does the attractiveness of Cyprus as a base.”

LOWLAND INTERNATIONAL SHIPPINGPavlos Michaelides – Director

“Among the many advantages of being in Cy-prus are the island’s geographical location at the crossroads of three continents and very close to the Suez canal, its EU mem-

bership, its inclusion on the White List, which ensures high standards of services and quality, the tonnage tax and the law regarding foreign investment in Cyprus, which are very competitive for vessel owners and managers. There is

Oil & Gas industry developments in the region. Cy-prus can accommodate even more vessel owners and management companies from around the world, given that continuous training of skilled employees is provided.”

The Cyprus Registry has approximately 1,000 ocean-going vessels of a gross tonnage ex-

ceeding 22 million.

Cyprus has the 10th largest merchant in the world and the 3rd largest Eu-

ropean Union -mately .

Cyprus (and more particularly Limassol) is the largest third party shipmanagement centre

in the European Union, and one of the largest in the world. Around 20% of global third-party shipman-agement activities are controlled from Cyprus.

More than 180 shipowning, shipmanagement, chartering and shipping-related companies

-national activities from Cyprus.

The total number of vessels owned, managed or operated by Cyprus Shipping Chamber

members in 2015, amounted to 2,500 ocean-going ships, with a total tonnage of over 50 million gross tons.

Approximately 4% is man-aged from Cyprus.

Among the shipowning and shipmanagement companies established and operating from Cy-

prus, 90% are controlled by EU countries, including Cypriot interests.

The Cyprus shipping Industry contributes around 7% of the island’s GDP.

Domestic shipping, continues to employ around 4,500 55,000

seafarers.

The Cyprus Shipping Taxation System (“Tonnage Tax”) is an innovative and a pio-

neering piece of legislation, which covers the three basic international shipping activities: shipowning, shipmanagement and the chartering of vessels.

The Maritime Administration, (Ministry of Transport, Communications & Works and the

Department of Merchant Shipping) commissioned a Study on the “Future of Shipping in Cyprus”, undertaken by EY Cyprus and funded by the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) with the active support and contribution of the Cyprus Shipping

in which Cyprus shipping can be upgraded structur-ally and developed in terms of quantity and quality in the coming years.

seaCHANGE

| COVER STORY |

THE CYPRUS SHIPPING INDUSTRY MAY BE IMPRESSIVELY SUCCESSFUL BUT CHANGE AND EVOLUTION ARE THE CONCEPTS THAT LIE AT THE HEART OF TRANSPORT

MINISTER MARIOS DEMETRIADES’ STRATEGY

SUCCESSFUL PORT COMMERCIALIZATION AND MORE

By John Vickers

Cyprus has a long history as a maritime nation but history isn’t always reflected in the present. Why do you think the island’s shipping indus-try is still thriving in the 21st century?Marios Demetriades: We do

indeed have a long maritime tradition, which means that we have a vibrant maritime cluster and we’re very good at providing services to ship-ping – a good legal system, very good lawyers and ac-countants. Since the arrival of the first shipping companies in Cyprus in the ‘70s, we have over the years acquired expertise in the shipping in-dustry. Today, our success is partly due to the good fiscal environment. The tonnage tax system has been very beneficial to people in the

shipping industry and ours is the only EU-approved system for an open registry, which is very advantageous. Of course, the really big challenges came when we joined the European Union. We had to “clean up” our registry, for start. More recently, there was the finan-cial crisis of 2013.

Gold: Isn’t it the general consensus that the shipping industry was not affected by the crisis?M.D.: In the sense that it does not depend on the local

economy, the local industry may not have been affected by the crisis but foreign compa-nies still want to be based in a country which has a stable fiscal and political environ-ment. So 2013 was a major test that showed that the fiscal system did not change, despite the crisis, and we can see that it’s only now that we have established a stable fiscal environment that we are at last managing to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). However, it’s not only about stability. Competition

TTHE CCSUCCCO


VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL BODIES LISTEN TO US


| COVER STORY |

is increasing all the time. We see new flags arriving on the scene, other countries are copying our system and even big countries like China are trying to enter the shipping industry. So we need to im-plement change and not only to shipping. This applies to every area related to foreign business where we are facing competition from all over the world.

Gold: Are you saying that the industry has not been supported enough to devel-oped to its full potential?M.D.: No but I am saying that, even if there are lots of positives in the present sit-uation, we still have a lot to do. The industry is divided into the flag and the cluster and although some people believe we should focus more on one aspect or the other, we actually need both and for a number of reasons. We need the flag, even though it doesn’t bring in a lot of in-come, as a matter of prestige. If a country has a large flag, it has a say in international shipping, so it’s definitely an advantage and it can be used to attract foreign com-panies to the country as part of the maritime cluster. Let me give you some numbers: since 2013, gross tonnage has risen from 22.2 million and now it’s almost 23 million so there has been a small in-crease. Over the years, gross tonnage has continued to rise but it hasn’t kept up with the

rate of increase in the broad-er industry. This is partly to do with the Turkish embargo on Cyprus-flagged ships, which certainly puts us at a disadvantage, especially in the current market. So we are still the 10th largest fleet in the world but we’re slipping.

Gold: What about revenues from the tonnage tax?M.D.: In the last two years there has been an increase of almost 30% in the num-ber of companies under the system and this year is going to be very good as well. The maritime cluster is getting bigger. It revolves around ship management but we are now attracting more ship owners and, in order to get all the supplementary services as well, we need more of them.

Gold: How much of your large portfolio of respon-sibility do you devote to shipping issues?M.D.: This ministry is very significant to the real econo-my and the most important part of it is transport: mar-itime, aviation and roads. We’re an island so the first two are essential – the ports with trade and the airports with tourism and business travel. The main focus of my term so far has been on the maritime sector and, to a lesser extent, on civil avia-tion. Change in these areas can have a huge impact on the economy. Merchant ship-

ping is the third largest con-tributor to the island’s GDP and so we obviously need to pay it the necessary attention. Its contribution has been increasing, despite the crisis, which is a very good sign and it affects everyone, not just the shipping sector.

Gold: You mentioned the major role of ship owning and ship management companies that are based here but also of great im-portance is the recent com-pletion of the major com-mercialization project for Limassol Port. You must feel proud of it.M.D.: I do and I believe the benefits of the project are going to be great, as we will see over the next few years. What we have achieved as a country by commercializing the port of Limassol and re-structuring the port industry is remarkable. It was a rela-tively fast, totally transparent

process with enormous par-ticipation from all over the world. We have brought two huge organisations to Cyprus as our partners: Eurogate, the largest independent container terminal operator in Europe, and DP World, one of the largest port operators in the world with 74 ports under management. Big organisa-tions like these do not only improve the operations that they take over, with very big benefits for the whole econ-omy as well as the industry itself, but they also act as a magnet for FDI, bring-ing more investors to the country, who will ultimately transform the country. Such partners are our best ambas-sadors.

Gold: What’s happening as regards a similar agreement for Larnaca?M.D.: We’ve appointed a new team of advisors who are working on the project and

ACHIEVED AS A COUNTRY BY

COMMERCIALIZING THE PORT OF

LIMASSOL AND RESTRUCTURING

THE PORT INDUSTRY IS


hopefully there will be prog-ress this year. The focus for Larnaca will be more tour-ism-related but we’ll follow the same model as Limassol.

Gold: The Limassol Port project is clearly a major achievement. Can you point to other positive steps that have been taken to help the industry over the past three years?M.D.: There are several. For example, we brought the public and private sec-tors together to carry out a study and we then set up three working groups and a steering committee to implement its conclusions. We began with a number of issues that have been ‘tormenting’ the shipping industry for many years, such as changes to stamp duty. We met with the tax authorities and it was agreed that there will be someone specifically responsible for dealing with the shipping industry. We managed to gain approval for people investing in shipping funds for the purpose of obtain-ing citizenship. We have arranged to have a private sector firm with expertise in shipping running media operations for the Depart-ment of Merchant Ship-ping, which now has a new logo. We have spent money on business development, with events in New York, Hamburg and London. We

still need to make ourselves even more visible so this year we’ll be in Athens at Posidonia 2016, of course, and we’ll also be doing something in Asia in con-junction with CIPA. We are going to be employing more people in our offices abroad. Each of these moves may be small in itself but together they amount to significant changes that will help the industry and they have already created a more posi-tive climate. Do we need to do more? Of course we do, especially on the upgrading of the maritime administra-tion, and we are working on it right now.

Gold: What kind of a rela-tionship does the ministry have with the key players here, such as those rep-resented on the Boards of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber or the Union of Cyprus Shipowners?M.D.: People need to feel that the responsible ministry is close to their industry and so I spend a lot of time with them and we have regular meetings. In my view, the Government should be here to accommodate the private sector so regular contacts are essential.

Gold: From your own observations abroad, what kind of image do the Cy-prus shipping industry and the bodies represent-

ing it have in other coun-tries?M.D.: They have a very positive image. When we speak about shipping, the various international bodies listen to us. It’s important to know where our expertise is and to leverage it. I have meetings with the EU Com-missioner for Transport at least every three months and I think it’s very important to do so, plus meetings with the IMO.I recently met the new Secretary-General in London and we’re hoping to have him in Cyprus later this year.

Gold: How do you think the reunification of Cy-prus will impact the ship-ping sector?M.D.: The removal of the Turkish embargo will be hugely positive not only for the flag but also for the whole maritime cluster, which will probably double in size. There are many companies that would like to be in Cyprus and to reg-ister ships under the Cyprus flag and I believe that the embargo is the only thing preventing us from becom-ing the largest shipping centre in the area. Beyond shipping, the benefits of a solution will be huge for the economy in general. Many people are paying a great deal of attention these days to the cost of a solu-tion but I believe that the

economics of the solution will work themselves out. We can work together with the Turkish Cypriots and develop the island so that everyone benefits. Cyprus has a lot of potential.

Gold: What are your short- and long-term predictions for the future of the Cyprus shipping industry?M.D.: I’m confident that it will grow by around 20% over the next few years, especially the cluster. The commercialization of Limas-sol Port will bring in more companies. If we manage to implement the necessary changes in the administra-tion, this will support the predicted growth rate and perhaps even increase it. If there is a solution to the Cyprus Problem, I think we can expect the doubling of the maritime cluster. So I am optimistic and it’s because I can see what’s happening. And I will re-main optimistic as long as we continue to implement structural changes in every area and not only shipping. Without them, we can’t move forward. So we need reform of the civil service and privatization of the semi-government corpora-tions as essential next steps. If we don’t take them, we will not be able to go any further. Complacency is not an option.


| COVER STORY |


THE INDUSTRYthat Never

SLEEPSINDUSTRY THAT NEVER SLEEPS” AND NOTES THAT VESSELS

FLYING THE CYPRUS FLAG AND SHIPPING COMPANIES BASED

ALL YEAR ROUND AND THUS MERIT A HIGH DEGREE OF CARE

By Voula Loizou, Photo by Andreas Loucaides

One of the main aims of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) is “to promote the interest of Cyprus shipping and furthering the repu-tation of the Cyprus flag”. What differentiates the Chamber from the Depart-ment of Merchant Shipping, which has the same objec-tive?

Thomas Kazakos: The sim-ple answer is that, while they both form part of what we call “Cyprus Shipping”, the Department of Merchant Shipping (DMS) is the gov-ernment department respon-sible for the registration and inspection of ships and the promotion of Cyprus as a base of operation for shipping companies, whereas the CSC represents the private sector as the local trade association of the shipping industry. Of course, we work closely with the DMS in order to improve standards, and we also aim to promote and protect the

legitimate interests of our member companies in Cyprus and abroad.

Gold: The Chamber prides itself on being ‘the voice of the shipping industry in Cyprus’. Where and in what ways does it raise this voice?T.K.: We do it through lob-bying at home and abroad. The CSC is considered to be the authorised representative of the shipping industry, not only by the shipping compa-nies themselves but also by the state and internationally. We are actively involved in the decision-making process in order to provide the views

of the industry to the mari-time administration to help it take the most appropriate action for the industry, the economy and Cyprus as a country. We do that by par-ticipating in all the relevant ministerial working groups, committees and boards, in parliamentary committees and through regular meetings with the political parties in order to update them on all current issues, concerns, prospects, challenges and dan-gers facing Cyprus shipping. The Chamber is represented at Board level on three im-portant bodies – the Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (OEB), the Cy-

THE BIGGEST CENTRE IN EUROPE


| COVER STORY |

FROM A COMMERCIAL

A SOLUTION TO THE CYPRUS PROBLEM

ONLY BENEFITS

prus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), and the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) – while, internationally, we represent the Cyprus indus-try in the European Com-munity Shipowners’ Associa-tions (ECSA) in Brussels and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) in Lon-don. At the same time we have our own channels of communication with the European Commission.

Gold: We hear a lot about Cyprus’ importance on the global shipping scene. How do our competitors view us? Presumably ship-ping is a sector where the geographical and popula-tion size of the country is of little or no significance?T.K.: Shipping currently provides 7% of Cyprus’ GDP, which is one of the highest percentages in Eu-rope and impressive on a global scale. From here, the Chamber’s members collectively control a fleet in excess of 2,500 ships of various flags. Cyprus has the 10th largest fleet in the world and the third largest in the European Union in terms of the number of ships registered under the Cyprus flag, while for ship man-agement, Limassol is by far the biggest centre in Europe and perhaps second or third in the world. Shipping is a great ambassador for Cyprus because it is an industry that never sleeps and, yes, you are right: the size of a country doesn’t really matter when it comes to international recognition and, in shipping, Cyprus is considered one of the big players. However, we may be in the Top 10 but we aspire to be first in terms of quality and, then, in

numbers. This is what we have been working on very closely with the maritime administration; in fact we spent 10 years on improv-ing safety standards for Cy-prus-flagged ships, moving from the black list to the grey list to the top of the white list, where we have remained ever since. We then worked very hard for another 10 years to secure the viability of our indus-try, especially on the most important issue of taxation, and we succeeded with that too. The challenge now is to continually improve and enhance it.

Gold: Which are the key areas on which the Cham-ber is focusing its attention at present?T.K.: The number one issue for us is the upgrading of the maritime administration. The private sector trades and competes internationally. As I said before, the industry never sleeps and so, if we are to operate on a competitive basis, we need the DMS and the responsible ministry to be upgraded in the sense that they match the requirements of the 10th largest fleet in the world and the biggest ship management centre in Europe. We are not asking for money for the industry; we simply want the admin-istration to move with the times and at the same pace as the industry, in order to attract more business and maintain what we have. So the number one issue is the upgrading of the maritime administration. The second is the further enhancement of our shipping taxation infrastructure and the third is the lifting of the Turkish embargo on Cyprus-flagged ships for the benefit not only

of Cyprus shipping but of Turkish and EU shipping as well.

Gold: In addition to the benefits that an end to the Turkish embargo will bring, what other advan-tages to Cyprus shipping do you foresee if there is a solution to the Cyprus Problem? And what are the prospects if the problem continues unresolved?T.K. I am a natural opti-mist so for me the question is about ‘when’ and not ‘if’ there is a solution and how it will benefit not only shipping but the economy and future generations of Cypriots. From a commercial perspective, a solution to the Cyprus Problem will bring only benefits. We have lived with the Turkish embargo for more than 20 years now and yet the shipping industry has not only survived but grown tremendously. On the day the two leaders reach agree-ment, the elements of credi-bility and trust, so important to long-term investment in the flag, will immediately be strengthened so one of the first industries to benefit from a solution – and it will benefit both communities in Cyprus – is shipping. Right

now we have thousands of ships being controlled by Cyprus-based companies that do not use the Cyprus flag. After a solution, there will be a huge switch to the Cyprus flag and we have the potential to rise from 10th place to 4th or even 3rd in the world, with our existing clientele. Imagine if we bring more from outside. So the prospects for growth, when it comes to the issue of the flag and, by extension, to the res-ident industry in Cyprus, are tangible. At the same time, I believe that the prospects for Cyprus shipping – with or without a solution and with or without the energy indus-try – are equally tangible. The question is whether we as an industry, together with the maritime administration and the parliament, are able and willing to give shipping the appropriate attention to take it to the next level. Giv-en the richness of our Greek history, I would like to be-lieve that we don’t live in the past but we make good use of our historical experience and the richness of our civilisation to move things forward. Are we ready for the day after the Cyprus issue is resolved? This is what we should be looking at right now.


Assuring the availability of your application is a critical part of securing your business.

The right service reduces downtimes and increases your application’s performance and

lifetime. Getting your service plan from ABB Turbocharging guarantees dependable

delivery of results and lower total cost of ownership of your turbocharger. We are

dedicated to providing our customers a comprehensive turbocharging service offering

24 /7, 365 days a year at any one of our 100+ ABB-owned Service Stations in 50+

countries across the globe. Get the right service. www.abb.com/turbocharging

ABB at Posidonia

Hall 2 | Stand 2.211

ABB SATurbocharging

1, Alexandrias Str.

Ind. Zone Ag. Sylla, 3rd Phase

Tel.: +357 25343428

Email: [email protected]

Customized service support. With you every step of the way.


| COVER STORY |

No NAME CONTACT DETAILS

1223 Chr. Hatzipavlou Str. 3316, Limassol Tel.: 25747015, Fax: 25342157 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.acheonakti.com.cy

2

Tel.: 25335501, Fax 2533553 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.ads.no

33 Makarios III Street, Mesa Yitonia P.O. Box 56668, 3309 Limassol Tel. 25750469, Fax 25722937, Telex 051 94078607 AMBRA G, e-mail: [email protected]

4

P.O. Box 50760, 3609 Limassol, 3609 Limassol Tel.:25028400, Fax 25028405 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.aos-cy.com

513 Karaiskais Street, 3032 Limassol Tel.: 25843140, Fax: 25310086 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.asia-marine.com.cy

623 Artemidos Avenue, 4th Floor, 6025 Larnaca P.O. Box 42579, 6500 Larnaca Tel.:24-659218, Fax 24627101 e-mail: [email protected]

7 Hanseatic House, 111 Spyrou Araouzou Street, 3036 Limassol, P.O. Box 50127, 3601 Limassol Tel. 25846400, Fax 25745245, Telex 3282 'HANSE CY ‘ e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.bs-shipmanagement.com

8

Tel: 25814038, Fax: 25814039 e-mail: [email protected]

9

Tel.: 25270900, Fax: 25270999, e-mail: [email protected], Website: www. Cassiopeia-marine.com

10Leoforos Lemesou, no. 11, 2112 Nicosia, P.O.Box 21301, 1506 Nicosia Tel. 22588000, 22588001 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.louiscruiselines.org

11Columbia House, Dodekanison Street, 4043, P.O. Box 51624, 3507 Limassol Tel. 25843100, Fax 25320325, Telex 3205/6 'CSM CY’, e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.columbia.com.cy

12 Chrisalia Court, Makarios Avenue 206, 5th Floor B, 3030 Limassol Tel.: 25749360, e-mail: [email protected]

13Ammochostou Avenue (Larnaca - Dhekelia Road), Larnaca 6019, Cyprus, P.O.Box 40365 Tel.: 24811881, Fax: 24668115 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.cymare.com.cy

14

Tel.: 25660810, Fax 25660804 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.dalaroshipping.com

15P.O.Box 53340, 3302 Limassol Tel: 25431107, Fax: 25431131 e-mail: [email protected] , Website: www.deepseasupply.no

16124 Ayias Paraskevis Street, 4044 Yermasoyia Village, P.O. Box 54548, 3725 Limassol Tel. 25899000, Fax 25324440, Telex 5119 'EDT CY’,

17Arch. Makariou III, 229, Meliza Court, 4th Floor, 3105 Limassol, Cyprus Tel: 25580691, Fax: 25583822 e-mail: [email protected] , Website: www.euroafrica.com.pl

18601, Ghinis Building, 58-60, Dhigenis Akritas Ave., 1061 Nicosia, PO Box 27249, 1643 Nicosia

CYPRUS SHIPPING CHAMBERFULL DOMESTIC MEMBERS



19 Costa Residences, 2 Ioanni Grypari Street, Flat 401, 3012 Limassol Tel.: 25105357, e-mail: [email protected] , Website: www.frs.eu

20

P.O. Box 53691, 3317 Limassol Tel. 25898000 Fax 25898295 e-mail: [email protected]

21Larnaca Dhekelia Road, opposite Jumbo, P.O Box 40365, 6303 Larnaca Tel.: 24821666, Fax 24635789 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.intergaz.com.cy

22Posidonos No. 2, Ayios Tychonas, 4532 P.O.Box 54368, CY-3723 Limassol, Cyprus Tel.: 25818755, Fax 25818707 e-mail: [email protected]

23

Tel. 25840300, Fax 25575895 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.interorient.com

24Miltonos 32, 3050 Limassol, P.O.Box 70185, 4161 Limassol Tel. 25584000, Fax 25585756 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.intership-cyprus.com

25P.O.Box 56420, 3306 Limassol Tel: 25750310, Fax: 25750370 e-mail: [email protected]

26P.O. Box 50700, Riga Fereou Str. 35, Kanika Fereos House Apt. 303, 3609 Limassol Tel.: 25871004, Fax: 25344428 e-mail: Claus.Horn@jpc-shipmanagement-de Website: www.jpc-shipmanagement.de

27

1 Kilkis Street, P.O. Box 40162, Larnaca Tel. 24652142, Fax 24657173, Telex 2222 'LEFKAR CY' e-mail: [email protected] 119 Spyrou Araouzou Street, P.O. Box 50042, Limassol Tel. 25362670, Fax 25369060, Telex 2224 'LEFKAR CY’

28Eleni Court, 17-21b Agias Zonis Street, P.O. Box 54970, 3729 Limassol Tel. 25818830, Fax 25746926 e-mail: [email protected]

29 LIMITED

5A, 28th Octovriou, 7560 Pervolia, Larnaca Tel: 24427342, Fax: 24427343 e-mail: [email protected]

30Vassili Vryonidi 1, 3095 Limassol, P.O.Box 56848, 3310 Limassol/Cyprus Tel: 25 871355, Fax: 25 871357 e-mail: [email protected]

31Marlow Building, 13 Alexandrias Street, 3013 Limassol, P.O. Box 54077, 3720 Limassol Tel. 25882588, Fax 25882599 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.marlownavigation.com.cy

32MSM House, 63, Christaki Kranou Street, 4042 Limassol,Cyprus Tel.: 25256000 e-mail: [email protected]

33

Tel.: 25327050, Fax 25327060 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.matrixshipmanagement.com

34MSC House, 8 Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue, Limassol, CY-3070 Tel: 25844800, Fax: 25844707 e-mail: [email protected] , Website: www.msc.com

352-4 Makarios 3 Avenue, Capital Centre, 9th Floor, Nicosia, Cyprus

e-mail: [email protected]

3667 Franglinou Rousvelt, 3011 Limassol, P.O. Box 57280, 3314 Limassol Tel. 25662555, Fax 2566266 e-mail: [email protected]

37

Tel.: 25335501, Fax: 25335536 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.osm.no

38145-149 Chr. Hadjipavlou Str., Christiel Building 4th Floor, 3036 Limassol P.O. Box 50663, 3608 Limassol Tel 25889100, Fax 25346289 e-mail: [email protected],


| COVER STORY |


39City Chambers, 6 Regas Fereos Street, P.O. Box 54535, 3725 Limassol Tel. 25820505, Fax 25817601, Telex 3656 'PTF CY' e-mail: [email protected]

40Libra Tower, 23 Olympion Street, P.O. Box 56345, 3306 Limassol Tel. 25841400, Fax 25345077, Telex 5938 'RNKEO CY’, e-mail: [email protected]

41P.O. Box 50531, 3607 Limassol Tel: 25860000, Fax: 25342600 e-mail: [email protected] , Website: www.salamisorganisation.com

421 Katanis str., A.T. Stavrinides Tower – 3rd Floor Tel: 25660820, Fax: 25660804

43Makarios 3rd, 74 Mesa Gitonia, 4003 Limassol P.O. Box 59605, 4011 Limassol Tel. 25206664, Fax 25751160 e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Website: www.seachefs.com

44Libra Tower, 23 Olympion Street, 3rd Floor, P.O. Box 58079, Limassol 3035 Tel.: 25761880, Fax: 25761890 e-mail: [email protected]

45702A Nicolaou Pentadromos Center, P.O. Box 57114, 3312 Limassol Tel. 25820000, Fax 25749080, Telex 3773 SMTLTD CY e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.smt.com.cy

46

Tel: 25871207, Fax: 25760220 e-mail: [email protected] , Website: www.stena.com

475 Deligiorgy str., Lapithion Tower, 5th Floor, 1066 Nicosia Tel: 22666147, Fax: 22666173 e-mail: [email protected]

48143 Spyrou Kyprianou Ave, Chrysanthou Business Center, P.O. Box: 56889 – 3310, 3083 Limassol Tel.:25004500, Fax 25004501 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.terra-navis.com

49Avenue Kostakis Pantelides 1, Nicosia Akti Poseidonos 10, P.O. Box 18531, Piraeus Greece

e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.tsavliris.com

503 Thalia Street, P.O. Box 51335, 3504 Limassol Tel.: 25577590 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.tuftonoceanic.com

51

Tel.: 22473133, Fax 25751200 e-mail: [email protected]

52SCF Unicom Tower – Maximos Plaza, 18, Maximos Michaelides street, 3106 Neapolis, Limassol P.O. Box 56674, 3309 Limassol Tel. 25890000, Fax: 25890089 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.unicom-cy.com

53Fortuna Court, 284-286 Makarios Avenue, P.O. Box 54086, 3720 Limassol Tel: 25846100, Fax: 25581706 e-mail: [email protected], Website: www.uniteammarine.com

5418 Vasili Michaelidi, Agias Zoni, 3026 Limassol, P.O. Box 58474, 3734 Limassol Tel.: 25340019, Fax: 25745028 e-mail: [email protected]

55UPT United Product Tankers Ltd, 10-12 Emmanouel Rhoides str., 3031 Limassol Tel: 25346999, Fax: 25345373 e-mail: [email protected]

56V.Ships House, 13 Omonia Avenue, 3052 Limassol, P.O. Box 57115, 3312 Limassol Tel. 25848400, Fax 25560170 e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.vships.com

57 XALOC LTD

Tel.: 25030909, Fax: 25820037 e-mail: bernt.gienskey@ xaloc-shipping.com


| COVER STORY |


As the newly appointed Direc-tor of the DMS, how do you believe that you can personally affect the way the Department works? Ioannis Efstratiou: Shipping is a rapidly evolving industry and a flag administration needs to keep up with the industry at all times. Now, more than ever be-

fore, Cyprus requires a flexible, modern and even more efficient maritime administration to deal with the rapid changes in ship-ping. Therefore the continuous upgrading and restructuring of the Department of Merchant Shipping is one of our priorities and I will support all proactive actions and measures in order for the Department to be able to provide the shipping industry with quality and timely services.

Gold: The DMS has always had a positive image in the global shipping world. To what do you attribute its excel-lent reputation?I. E.: Cyprus recognised the

political, economic and social importance of shipping as early as 1963. Since then, by imple-menting the correct policy, suc-cessive governments have man-aged to develop the island into a fully-fledged shipping centre combining both a sovereign flag and a resident shipping industry, which is renowned for its high quality services and standards of safety. Since its establishment, the DMS has employed high-ly educated and well-trained personnel with a professional orientation, shipping expertise and a client-friendly attitude. Moreover, I believe that the un-derlying factors for the pioneer-ing role that Cyprus enjoys on

the international shipping scene and the positive image which Cyprus reflects worldwide may be attributed to hard work, ex-cellent working relations and the invaluable cooperation between the public and private sectors over the years.

Gold: What are the main func-tions of the DMS on which you intend to focus the most attention?I. E.: The DMS is responsible for the development of maritime activities, which include registra-tion of ships, administration and enforcement of the Merchant Shipping Legislation, control of ships including maritime safety,

PROMOTING CYPRUS

as a Maritime CentreTHE DEPARTMENT OF MERCHANT SHIPPING (DMS)

FUNCTIONS UNDER THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND WORKS AND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EFFECTIVE

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MERCHANT SHIPPING LAWS AND THE INTERNATIONAL MARITIME CONVENTIONS TO WHICH CYPRUS IS A CONTRACTING PARTY. IOANNIS EFSTRATIOU, A SENIOR MARINE SURVEYOR AT THE DMS, WAS RECENTLY

APPOINTED DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT. HERE HE SPEAKS TO GOLD FOR THE FIRST TIME

AFTER TAKING UP HIS NEW RESPONSIBILITIES.By Voula Loizou, Photo by Emma Louise Charalambous

THE PROMOTION OF CYPRUS AS A MARITIME CENTRE AND AN INTERNATIONAL REGISTRY

IS AMONG OUR PRIORITIES


I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THE FUTURE IS

MORE YOUNG PEOPLE BEING ATTRACTED TO THE SEAFARING

PROFESSION

security and pollution preven-tion as well as the enforcement of international conventions ratified by the Government of Cyprus. The DMS is also responsible for the training and certification of seafarers and the investigation of accidents involv-ing seafarers on board Cyprus ships, the promotion of the Cyprus flag and the maritime cluster as well as the implemen-tation of the Cyprus Tonnage Tax System. All these functions of the DMS are of great impor-tance and our efforts are aimed at improving and continuously upgrading all DMS activities in order to maintain and develop a quality-oriented and competitive registry and shipping centre.

Gold: One of the DMS’s stat-ed objectives is the promotion of Cyprus as a maritime centre and an international registry. Do you believe that enough has been done in this direc-tion? What more can be done?I.E.: The promotion of Cyprus as a maritime centre and an international registry is indeed among our priorities. The ne-cessity to further enhance the promotion of Cyprus shipping was among the suggestions of the study on the Future of Shipping in Cyprus, which has been recently completed. This suggestion has already been adopted and the development of a National Shipping Promotion Strategy is under way. The first objective of the promotion strat-egy is to redefine the market to be targeted. We need to identify the owners with the largest fleets and approach them. The second objective is to develop a specific organisational structure, which is oriented towards modern rela-tionship management and client service techniques. These tech-niques are used by a number of other competitive registries. Furthermore, we have to mod-ernize and upgrade the IT infra-

structure of the Administration, which will result in the provision of fast, flexible and effective on-line services. The third objective is to design a formal promotion plan, which will signal that Cy-prus is a modern, efficient mar-itime nation with a long-term commitment to the industry. This can be achieved through a more aggressive promotion of the flag and the maritime cluster through extensive advertising and participation in maritime exhibitions. In an effort to pen-etrate new markets, visits have to be arranged with major ship owning and shipping companies in Cyprus and abroad in order to identify their needs, wishes and expectations and adjust accord-ingly. Obtaining feedback from existing customers is also an im-portant tool in order to identify our strengths and weaknesses and to improve and adopt our procedures accordingly.

Gold: Many people will per-haps be surprised to know that the DMS has six overseas offic-es. Where are they and what is their precise role?I.E.: The DMS operates offices in Piraeus, London, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Brussels and New York. Our offices abroad widen the activities of the DMS on an international level. They offer a variety of services to our overseas clients, promoting the Cyprus flag and Cyprus as an interna-tional maritime centre and they actively participate in the work of international and European shipping fora, thus contributing to the formulation of Interna-tional shipping policy.

Gold: If and when the Turkish embargo on Cyprus-flagged vessels is lifted how do you think that will impact the Cy-prus shipping industry?I.E.: The lifting of Turkey’s illegal restrictive measures against Cyprus shipping, in force since

1987, would certainly allow the further development of the industry, as well as having a positive economic and political impact.

Gold: How do you view the prospects for Cyprus shipping if (a) there is a solution to the Cyprus Problem and (b) if the problem continues unre-solved? I.E.: A settlement of the Cyprus Problem is our wish and we hope that a viable solution will be reached soon. Such a solution will boost our shipping sector and the Cyprus flag, and, of course, the illegal trade restric-tions imposed by Turkey against Cyprus shipping will cease to exist and therefore many more ships will be registered under the Cyprus Flag. A potential solution of the Cyprus problem will also contribute to the sub-stantial growth of our maritime cluster with more companies to establish offices and operate from the reunited Cyprus. Beyond the great effects of a potential settle-ment on Cyprus shipping, we will continue and intensify our efforts for the further improve-ment and development of the maritime sector in Cyprus. Gold: Despite its huge im-portance and financial con-tribution to the economy, the Cyprus shipping industry maintains a surprisingly low profile. What is the DMS do-ing to change this?I.E.: The Cyprus Registry ranks tenth among international fleets

and third within the European Union. Its contribution to the country´s Gross Domestic Prod-uct is increasing and currently stands at approximately 7%. At the same time, it employs about 4,000 people ashore. Shipping is a business sector of which Cyprus is proud and it is undoubtedly an invaluable asset, with significant political and economic advantages. The promotion of the Cyprus flag as a quality flag and of Cyprus as an international maritime centre is an ongoing activity for the DMS, which participates in meetings, conferences and maritime exhibitions around the world. Furthermore, every two years we organise the “Maritime Cyprus” conference, which has acquired great significance over the years and ranks as one of the largest shipping conferences in the world. Furthermore, Cyprus has a strong presence in the IMO and the EU and, through the DMS, participates actively in all the meetings of its Commit-tees and Subcommittees.

Gold: If you could change just one thing concerning the Cy-prus shipping industry, what would it be?I.E.: The Cyprus shipping in-dustry is a very successful model. However, what I would like to see in the future is more young people being attracted to the seafaring profession. In other words, I would like us to rise to the challenge to have more Cyp-riot officers employed on our vessels.

| COVER STORY |

contentscontents contents

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

ON THE OCCASION OF THE POSIDONIA 2016 SHIPPING CONFERENCE IN ATHENS, 17 COMPANIES IN CYPRUS PRESENT

DETAILS OF THEIR SHIPPING-RELATED SERVICES AND PRODUCTS.

EUROBANK CYPRUS 42AIR FRANCE-KLM 44 COLUMBIA SHIPMANAGEMENT 46COSTAS TSIRIDES & CO LLC 48DELOITTE 50INTERNATIONAL REGISTRIES 52INTERSHIP NAVIGATION 54KPMG 56LAVAR SHIPPING 58

LIMASSOL MARINA 60MICHAEL KYPRIANOU & CO. LLC 62NETU CONSULTANTS LTD. 64ÖL SHIPPING GROUP 66PAPANTONIOU & PAPANTONIOU LLC 68PwC 70TOTOTHEO GROUP 72UMAR 74

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

PRESENTS


I n August 2007, Eurobank Cyprus commenced operations with a banking centre in Nicosia and is currently operating a network of banking centres in all major cities of the island.

The Bank successfully implements a four-pillar strategy that focuses on:• Corporate Banking• Wealth Management• International Business Banking• Treasury Sales and Global Capital MarketsEurobank Cyprus has grown at an impressive pace, while at the same time demonstrating a very healthy profitability, a solid capital base and strong liquidity. The cornerstone of its success is the Bank’s firm commitment to relationship management, by offering high quality services and innovative products within a culture of professionalism, proactiveness, trustworthiness and discretion. Its people undergo continuous training to ensure they are kept up to date with all the new products and services offered, as well as with new developments in the regulatory environment.The Bank is committed in providing outstanding solutions and first-rate services as a key component of its corporate culture. It offers a wide range of tailor-made products and services to High Net Worth Individuals and institutional

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED• Deposit Products - Current accounts in major currencies, fixed deposits, fiduciary deposits• Payment Services - Swift and SEPA transfers, direct debits, payroll services• E-Banking – Fully fledged service, including multiple payments • Credit and Debit Cards – in EUR and USD• Treasury Products – Wide range of solutions including FX products, structured products, hedging instruments

• Custodian Services • Escrow Services• Credit & Trade Finance Facilities Eurobank Cyprus is optimistic about the future of the shipping industry in Cyprus. In these challenging times, Cyprus offers competitive advantages to shipping market participants and will continue to play a prominent role as a leading shipping and ship management centre.

SPECIAL promotional feature

EUROBANK CYPRUS

clients and also provides custodian services to local and international clients, including institutional investors, large corporations and investment funds.

SERVICES FOR THE SHIPPING SECTOR Eurobank Cyprus has been facilitating clients in the shipping sector since 2007. Committed to serve the shipping industry, we believe that understanding clients’ needs, offering insightful advice, in-depth knowledge and courteous service leads to mutual success. Based on a combination of talent, experience and dedication, we constantly strive to exceed the expectations of our discerning clientele.

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: 41, Archbishop Makarios III

Avenue, 1065 Nicosia, Cyprus Tel: (+357) 22208000 Fax: (+357) 22875456

e-mail: [email protected]: www.eurobank.com.cy

BANKING SERVICES FOR THE SHIPPING SECTOR


+357 22208000 l www.eurobank.com.cy


PANAMA

MANILA

2

1

THE BEST AIRLINE FOR MARINE COMPANIES

Panama, Manila, Kiev or Moscow… Marine

France KLM Delta Airlines marine fares with special characteristics to suit their requirements

etc. to the top marine destinations! Furthermore, participation in the BlueBiz programme gives

corporates.

Air France KLM is the leading group in terms of

Airlines, Transavia and HOP!

Air France-KLM and its partners Delta Airlines and Alitalia operate the biggest Trans-Atlantic

177 countries.

within Argentina via Buenos, within Peru via Lima and more.

www.airfrance.com

MARINE DESTINATIONSTOP 10


KIEV

SINGAPORE

3

9 HONG KONG10

LIMA8

AMSTERDAM6

MOSCOW4

THE BEST AIRLINE FOR MARINE COMPANIES

ST. PETERSBURG 5

HAMBURG7


Columbia’s core ship management of-fices are located in Cyprus, Germany, Singapore and China, while two affiliated offices are located in Greece and Germany.Through its strategic network of owned crewing agencies in Europe, Russia and Asia, Columbia has direct access to highly qualified and expe-rienced sea-going personnel. Our 14,500+ employees, on land and at sea, form the foundation upon which we have built our range of services from technical, crew and commercial management, to new building super-vision, consulting and cruise vessel services. Columbia is committed to provid-ing its customers with competent, safe and environmentally sound and

• Vessel Condition Inspection• Vessel Registrations• Lay-up Services• Vessel Recycling• Client Portals

At Columbia Shipmanagement our unique expertise, passion for our work and commitment to delivering quality of the highest level combine to ensure that clients of Columbia will always enjoy the finest ship management services from a trusted partner.


COLUMBIA SHIPMANAGEMENT

COLUMBIA SHIPMANAGEMENT (CSM) WAS ESTABLISHED IN LIMASSOL, CYPRUS, IN

cost-efficient services meeting best industry standards. At Columbia, we believe in establishing firm long-term relationships with our clients, partners and employees, treating each individual with proper re-spect and dignity. With high retention rates among our employees onboard and ashore, we are able to retain valuable accu-mulated experience for the ultimate benefit of our clients and their assets.Managing a fleet of vessels has always been a challenge, and one that has become even more complex over recent years, as new rules and legislation are being introduced and requirements from charterers are be-coming more sophisticated. Meanwhile, the shipping environment has become more competitive. Ship owners entering into a ship management agreement with Columbia will gain significant benefits as well as competitive advantages through the following value added services:• Significant number of owned crewing agency offices• Network of ship management offices• Cost efficiency through utilization of ship managers purchasing power• Insurance & Claims Handling• Navigation & Communication (NavCom) and IT Solutions• Pre-Purchase Vessel Inspection

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: 21, Spyrou Kyprianou

Avenue, Yermasoyia, 4042 Limassol, Cyprus Tel: (+357) 25843100 Fax: (+357) 25320325

e-mail: [email protected]:

www.columbia-shipmanagement.com


CONTACT DETAILSAddress: Jean Nouvel Tower, 6,

Stasinou Avenue, P.O.Box 21656, 1511, Nicosia

Tel: (+357) 22209999 Fax: (+357) 22209997

e-mail: [email protected]: ey.com/cy


business.”Spending time on a client’s website and understanding the business, the products and/or services, is essential in creating value. “We we pretend we are their customers, we buy their products or services and we use them. When we understand what are their target market is and what their sales targets are, we can deliver the best possible way to achieve them. If we don’t feel part of our clients’ goal, we will ultimately fail in com-municating it properly” she says.Andrea and her team always try to remind clients that there is more to communi-cation than having a large number of followers on social media. “It is about them interacting with their cus-tomers, and their customers interacting with their prod-ucts, giving genuine feedback and spreading the word about them. Turning customers into ambassadors and evangelists maximises the communica-tion effort” she says. Offering creative and innova-tive tailor-made media solu-tions is not easy, Solomonides admits. “It is important is to be out there,” she explains. “You cannot be isolated and expect that every day you will have creative ideas. Going out, interacting with people, understanding what they are feeling, as well as reading and following the business in oth-er countries, especially in the US, is what helps us create great campaigns. Everything needs to be inspirational. You

need to be inspired in order to come up with something great for your customers.”On the future of digital mar-keting, Andrea believes that it

is already a matter of creating valuable content, rather than simply advertising products. “It is only a matter of time before Cyprus and Europe in general catch up with the rest of the world in this area,” she notes. “The next big thing is ad content. Since 2012 we have been tracking the trends of where people access the Internet from and mobile has now surpassed online laptop use. Businesses should there-fore invest in an app or a very good website optimised for mobile because that’s how consumers are increasingly accessing the Internet. So that is where the advertising needs to be.”The role of social media mar-keting is becoming increas-ingly significant for businesses nowadays and, consequently, Andrea Solomonides and her team spend a lot of time educating clients about how to use it, how to disseminate content and how to advertise on it. “It’s all about educa-tion,” she says, “and for us it is the future. We are just helping the market get there faster.”Online marketing is not only a way for local businesses to expand in the Cyprus

market. It makes entry into foreign markets easier, faster and more cost-effective since local companies can test new markets by first advertising

online and tracking demand. “We have done this for cli-ents in a number of markets, presenting them online rather than spending a lot on having a physical presence. If you can spend a small amount to see what people in a specific region want to buy, why not do it?”The big challenge for estab-lished businesses that spend heavily on conventional mar-keting is working out how to allocate a certain amount to digital. Online marketing is still a relatively new concept in Cyprus but, says Andrea, eventually all companies will be using it. “Survival in the long term requires continuous business process evolution. Conventional marketing will eventually stop working and established clients understand that the key to their long-term success is diversification and their ability to stay rele-vant. Our job is to make con-sumers aware that our clients are still around by persuading them to try something new. People evolve, technology evolves, everything evolves.”

PULLOUT QUOTES:

The key is to become part of

the client’s company

Turning customers into ambassadors and evangelists maximises the communica-

tion effort

| PROFILE |

ONCE YOU ARE ABLE TO FOCUS ON THE LAW ITSELF, THAT

ROMANTIC ELEMENT NEVER TOTALLY DISAPPEARS

RelationshipPartnershipLeadershipColumbia Shipmanagement

Singapore | Shanghai | Hamburg | Limassol

COLUMBIA SHIPMANAGEMENT


T he firm specialises in civil, commercial and cross-border litigation, among other areas. Managing Director Alexandros Tsirides has been active in the area of civil and commercial law for more than 15 years. He is a member of the Cyprus Bar Association.According to Mr. Tsirides, the use of Cypriot com-panies in international business structures and the country’s re-liable legal system make Cyprus an attractive place to litigate. Mr Tsirides is personally seeing an increase in commercial and cross-border litigation in Cyprus.One of our primary targets and concerns in dealing with clients has been to respect their bespoke needs, offering a personalised service that is tailored to their specific circumstances. More-over, the firm is committed to handling each case with respect and discretion, aiming to devel-

receives the same personal service and care. The aforementioned values are fundamental to our approach, and will always remain so.Our typical clients are currently High Net Worth Individuals and interna-tional corporations; however, we aim

to strengthen our litigation team by recruiting experienced litiga-tion lawyers. Our cooperation with international law firms in handling the Cyprus aspect of in-ternational litigation is testament to our strength in the litigation field and has significantly im-proved our market position.We believe that our expertise in this area and the positive results we achieve for our clients, give us an advantage in the interna-tional litigation field. This is demonstrated by the cooperation we have established with interna-tional law firms and large inter-national corporate clients as well as High Net Worth Individuals.

Costas Tsirides & Co. LLC has been heavily involved in international business and has established a strong dedicated department dealing exclusively with corporate formation and administration. This department consists of lawyers, paralegals,

COSTAS TSIRIDES & CO LLC

COSTAS TSIRIDES & CO. LLC WAS FOUNDED IN AND, SINCE THEN, HAS BECOME ESTABLISHED AS ONE OF THE MOST REPUTABLE AND

RESPECTED LAW FIRMS IN CYPRUS.

op a personal relationship with clients, based on mutual trust. This philosophy has always helped us offer our exper-tise by understanding the true needs of our clients, and we pride ourselves on the fact that each client, private or commercial, individual or corporate,


THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

Alexandros Tsirides,Managing Director


THE FIRM IS COMMITTED TO

HANDLING EACH CASE WITH RESPECT

AND DISCRETION, AIMING TO DEVELOP

A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH CLIENTS

accountants and client managers. We have succeeded in attracting and maintaining a strong client portfolio, including major industrial and fi-nancial groups from Central Europe, Russia, Ukraine and other CIS coun-tries and the Middle East.In the fast-moving world of business, it is paramount to respond to clients’ needs with speed and efficiency. We pride ourselves in being able to offer both. It has always been our aim to respect our clients’ individual needs and offer them tailor-made personal services.The personal service and attention to each client’s needs and the speed and efficiency with which we respond give us the edge in the competitive area of corporate services.Costas Tsirides & Co. LLC also specializes in takeovers, mergers and acquisitions and has acted as legal consultant in transactions where Cy-prus Law is involved.Furthermore, our firm has extensive experience in IPOs and listings of Cyprus companies on various stock exchanges worldwide.Other areas in which the firm spe-cialises are shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, partnership formation and dissolution, agency and distributorship agreements and joint venture agreements.

ARBITRATIONCOSTAS TSIRIDES & CO LLC is in a position to provide its clients with services in the field of arbitration as required. Members of the firm have substantial experience in arbitral proceedings of commercial disputes, acting both as counsel and arbitrators.

We have a broad experience in a vari-ety of commercial areas and cases in-volving disputes ranging from breach of contract to fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.The firm has experience in advising clients on all aspects of arbitration law and proceedings, from the drafting of the necessary arbitration agreements to referring disputes to arbitration, the hearing of the matter in dispute and dealing with the enforcement of arbitral awards, both local and for-eign.Members of the firm have been ap-pointed as members of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.Costas Tsirides & Co. LLC is also one of the leading law firms in Cy-prus, with a vast experience of Real Estate and Property Law, offering a wide range of services.Our firm also provides the full range of construction law advice and assis-tance. The firm is a member of B.G.I. a worldwide association of independent law firms (www.bgi-law.com).

AWARDSCostas Tsirides & Co. LLC has received the following awards:• 2010-2015 Business Formation Law Firm of the Year in Cyprus Award (Corporate INTL legal awards)• 2010 Boutique Law Firm of the year in Cyprus Award (Corporate INTL Global awards)• 2011 Litigation Law Firm of the year in Cyprus (Corporate INTL legal awards)• 2011 &2013 Business Forma-tion Law Firm of the Year in Cy-prus Award (Global Law Experts Practice Awards)• 2014 Business Formation Law Firm of the Year in Cyprus Award (Corporate INTL Global awards)• 2015 Litigation Law Firm of the year in Cyprus award (Corporate INTL Legal Awards)• 2015 Global Law Experts-Busi-ness Formation Law Firm of the Year in Cyprus • 2015 Global Law Experts-Lit-igation Law Firm of the Year in Cyprus

CONTACT DETAILSTel.: (+357) 25820810

e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.tsirides.com


T he ability to offer top quality professional services to the shipping industry, requires in depth knowledge, extensive experience and specialised skills in a variety of functional

and technical areas. Deloitte is uniquely positioned to serve the Shipping industry in Cyprus. We provide an optimal balance between local resources and international expertise of our global organisation. Understanding the needs, expectations and business challenges of the shipping industry is paramount to ensuring that we provide high quality cost effective services to our clients.

Deloitte is one of the leading advisory professional services organisations for the shipping industry in Cyprus. Our clients, of which we are extremely proud, include some of the world’s largest international shipmanagement and shipping companies operating through Cyprus as well as leading shipping lines, cruises, ferries, ports and port authorities.

Our Services in Shipping We offer our clients a broad range of traditional audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services. We also offer attestations for the operating effectiveness of systems, a critical certification required by ship managers to be furnished to their customers as evidence of the ship manager’s service organisation credibility. In addition our financial advisory can assist clients in the development of cash forecast models for their business plans which is something very critical for the shipping industry today.

To combat cybercrime and the increasing number of cyber attacks in the Shipping industry we have developed our Cyber Risk Services (CRS). We can help our clients to prevent reputation-damaging incidents and if needed to provide specialised services to support their position in cases such incidents do occur. Our CRS service offerings are designed to include Ethical Hacking, Digital Forensics, Cyber Incident Response, Information Security and Business Continuity Planning Consulting.

Why Choose Deloitte?There are a number of factors, which differentiate Deloitte from the competition.

We are one of the biggest contributors to the success of Cyprus in becoming a truly international and shipping centre.

Our unique difference is that we are the only professional services firm that has all the competencies, audit, tax, consulting, financial advisory integrated to understand the issues that our clients face and serve them best with their business needs.

Our top priority has always been to maintain and protect our core values of integrity, objectivity, independence and technical excellence. The client is always at the centre of everything we do, and every client regardless of its size and location, receives the best our firm has to offer.

The Future of Cyprus ShippingDespite the challenges faced by the Cyprus economy and particular problems caused in the banking system, the operational and taxation infrastructure are unaffected. The shipping industry has therefore a huge potential for further growth as a quality and competitive shipping center. Cyprus continues to be without a doubt one of the most attractive shipping and shipmanagement centres in the world.

Thought Leadership

Shipping in CyprusA detailed brochure that highlights the major aspects of shipping in Cyprus, outlining the tax advantages of using Cyprus and setting out the services that Deloitte provides for the international shipping community on the island.

The Cyprus Tonnage Tax System (Q&A)A leaflet that provides answers to questions about the new tonnage tax system in Cyprus for shipping activities.

The Cyprus Tonnage Tax systemA leaflet that summarises the bill introducing a new tonnage tax system in Cyprus for shipping activities, effective 29 April 2010.

Shipping in CyprusLeading the way


CAPABILITY

(IRI) provide administrative and technical support to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime and Corporate Registries. IRI is the world’s oldest and most experienced privately administered maritime and corporate registry provider, recognizing

and economic spectrum. The RMI Maritime Registry (the “Registry”) is the world’s third

experience at sea and ashore who focus on quality, service, and continual improvement. The RMI Registry surpassed 3,785 vessels and over 131 million gross tons at the end of April 2016 and is now

been the largest shipowning group in the RMI Registry in terms of gross tonnage since 2009.

SUCCESS FACTORS

1)

others, are resourced based on their expertise, experience, and industry outreach.

2)

3) Decentralized operations provide customers with 24-hour worldwide service.

4) The RMI Maritime Administrator (the “Administrator”)Societies to act on its behalf, while maintaining its own technical team responsible for oversight of delegated functions, simplifying matters for owners/operators.

©C

©C

©hrhr

isisLe

wewis

Scan with smartphone.


5) The RMI is not only white listed with the Paris and Tokyo Memorandums of Understanding (for 11 consecutive years, and has been preliminarily recognized for the 12th year, which is unprecedented. These accolades are attributed to the RMI Registry’s thorough pre-registration vetting and assessment process for each vessel and new owner/operator entering the RMI

6) The RMI maintains a permanent representative and active delegation at the International

allows the RMI to proactively manage the implementation of new requirements and provide relevant advice to owners/operators and other industry stakeholders.

7) The Administrator has experience with all major vessel types.

VALUE

IRI is committed to providing the highest quality ship registry services. The RMI Registry’s decentralized worldwide operations ensure a high level of responsiveness to clients and the technical organizations acting on behalf of the Administrator. The RMI Registry offers full support from its worldwide

1) Vessel registration, including the registration of vessels under construction, and mortgage and

2)

3) Relationship outreach (port State control (PSC) )

4) Administrative matters including support for in-service matters such as regulatory updates,

while the vessel is registered in the RMI.

CONTROLLING COSTS

The Administrator is very conscious of maintaining competitive fees and avoids duplication of costs

acting on behalf of the RMI.

1)

2)

SERVICES INCLUDE:

FLEET TYPESthrough 30 April 2016

VESSEL TYPE NO. OF VESSELS

% OF FLEET

% OF FLEETGROSS TONSGROSS TONS

TOTAL FLEET ( ) TOTAL FLEET ( )

3,785 131,049,717

FLEET GROWTHthrough 30 April 2016

0

30

60

90

120

150

0

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

200220032004200520062007

200820092010201120122013

VE

SSE

LS

MIL

LIO

N G

T

201420152016


T he company currently has 84 ships under ownership or full management, the majority belonging to the Hartmann Group. Of these, 18 are tankers and the rest dry, mostly bulk carriers ranging from 5,700dwt all the way up to 180,000dwt Capesizes, plus around 20 general cargo vessels. In addition, Intership partly manages a fleet of more than 100 ships on a crew management basis.

The company stands at the forefront of technical and commercial innovation, having ordered a significant number of newbuilds in recent years. These include prototypes for several series of ships that have proved high-ly popular, both with charterers and other owners who have since ordered the same. As well as designing its own ships, Intership has been able to partner leading suppliers and technical bodies in introducing new equipment and systems that improve efficiency and reduce environmental

Today, Intership enjoys long-term relations with its partners, which have grown beyond the transport of cargo from A to B. Intership offers tailor-made solu-tions, such as stockpile/inventory management and other logistical tasks. In some cases, relations have grown beyond shipping, to the extent that Intership today manages a power plant in Jamaica for one of its shipping customers. Intership also continues to devel-op new buildings, always in close liaison with its industrial partners, so that new ships meet the cus-tomers’ needs.

Intership coordinates its global operations with a network of technical support offices in Hou-ston, New Orleans, Montreal and Brisbane as well as com-mercial and manning offices in Germany, Poland and the Phil-ippines and, has more recently opened an office in Greece, oper-ating under a separate DOC.

A key characteristic of Inter-ship is the importance it places on

the training and welfare of seafarers. In 1994, Intership Navigation es-tablished its own training centre in Manila, Philippines and, in the same year, saw the first batch of company cadets graduating after their ship-board familiarisation training.

Intership Navigation Training

CONTINUING TO SET THE RIGHT COURSE

INTERSHIP NAVIGATION

SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN HAS GROWN FROM A SMALL OPERATION SET UP BY THE HARTMANN

GROUP OF GERMANY INTO A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL SHIP OWNER AND

impact. One such innovative project will see the conversion of two pneumatic ce-ment carriers to LNG propulsion.

Intership has always strived to maintain close relations with its clients, charterers and industrial partners. Not only meeting customers’ expectations, but consistently exceeding them has been the target.


THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY


School, (ISNTC) has been certified by Germanischer Lloyd for compli-ance with ISO 9001. ISNTC conducts courses in compliance with IMO re-quirements, particularly the codes of STCW, ISM and MLC. The training school is recognized by the Philippine authorities as a professional training institution and has obtained several Flagstate approvals for their courses.

ISNTC operates sophisticated bridge and engine simulators and maintains an extensive range of deck and engine equipment for hands-on training, which includes a full scale mooring station and the only real ship’s crane available in the Philip-pines. A fully operational engine room allows for real-time training for

engineers and engine ratings. Having moved several offices over the years to accommodate an ever- growing num-ber of personnel, Intership settled into new purpose-built offices in 2013.

The 5,700m2 headquarters are lo-cated in Limassol, Cyprus and feature open-plan office space which is fully automated and equipped with the lat-est technology.

The offices boast a large cafeteria (serving subsidized lunch), as well as a lounge area with TVs, a well-equipped gym and a ‘games room’ to promote physical and mental well-being. A Day Care Centre was constructed adjacent to the building exclusively for employ-ees’ children. It comes as no surprise that Intership maintains a remarkably

high staff retention rate of 96%.For Intership, human capital is

considered as its main asset. Inter-ship Navigation was the first shipping company on the island to be certified for compliance with the “Investors in People” shore staff development pro-gramme and received the Bronze ac-creditation in 2015. Intership offers a flexible work-hour scheme; on-the-job coaching for new employees; training for existing employees, as well as ca-reer planning tools for its 150 employ-ees. With all this in its favour, CEO Dieter Rohdenburg justly believes the company is well-positioned to face the challenges of the future.

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: Hartmann House,

32, Miltonos Street, 3050 Limassol, Cyprus

Postal Address: Hartmann House, P.O. Box 70185, 4161, Limassol, Cyprus

Tel: (+357) 25584000 Fax: (+357) 25585756

e-mail: [email protected]: www.intership-cyprus.com


Cyprus forms the base for a con-siderable number of international corporations engaged in shipping and related maritime activities. The Cyprus Ship Registry ranks 10th in the world’s largest merchant fleets and 3rd in the EU, with a total capacity exceeding 21 million gross tonnage. Cyprus is also the largest third party ship management cen-tre in the EU. More than 60 ship management companies operate on the island, placing Cyprus within the top 5 countries worldwide by number of ship management com-panies - some of which are amongst the largest in the world.

The Cyprus tonnage tax system has been approved by the EU and enhances the advantages offered to owners of Cyprus ships, as well as to those of foreign ships (commu-nity and non-community ships), to charterers and to ship managers.

Under the tonnage tax system, tax is paid only on the basis of a ship’s net tonnage, without any profits link. Therefore, the profits from the ownership and/or oper-

not domiciled in Cyprus. This devel-opment, together with the fact that gains on the sale of securities are not taxable (provided such securities do not comprise of immovable property situated in Cyprus), offers significant scope for personal tax planning.

As for salary income, special incen-tives are also in place to attract foreign businessmen to relocate to the island, such as the 50% exemption from income tax for 10 years of the emolu-ments of new Cyprus tax residents.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Sylvia A. Loizides Board Member, Head of Shipping Tel: (+357) 25869138 Fax: (+357) 25363842 e-mail: [email protected]

Alexandros S. Sofocleous Board Member Tel: (+357) 25869223Fax: (+357) 25363842 e-mail: [email protected]

CYPRUS SHIPPING: A GROWING OPPORTUNITY


KPMG

THE MERCHANT SHIPPING SECTOR CONTINUES TO STEADILY

IT IS EXPECTED TO BE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT GROWTH AREAS IN THE COMING YEARS, AS CYPRUS BECOMES AN EVEN MORE

COMPETITIVE PLAYER IN THE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING ARENA.

ation of a qualifying ship engaged in a qualifying shipping activity, as well as the profits of qualifying ship (technical and crew) managers, are not subject to any other tax, whilst the same applies to the dividends distributed by such ship-ping companies as well as to the profit from the disposal of their ship.

In addition, Cyprus offers one of the friendliest and most competitive tax regimes in Europe as well as a clear and robust legal framework that secures investments in the sector, whilst having bilateral cooperation agreements with 23 countries through which specific privileges are granted to Cypriot ships calling at the ports of these countries.

The high standard of living, availabil-ity of high calibre professionals offering specialist shipping and support services at competitive prices, the strategic geo-graphical location of the island, and the innovative shipping cluster and govern-ment department (Cyprus being one of the first countries to enact legislation allowing armed guards onboard its vessels) are additional benefits enjoyed by shipping companies based on the island.

Furthermore, changes recently enact-ed to the broader tax legislation further encourage businessmen to relocate to Cyprus in order to benefit from a fa-vourable personal tax regime.

More specifically, the ‘non-dom’ legislation provides that tax resident individuals (i.e. residing in Cyprus for more than 183 days) will not be taxed in Cyprus on their dividend and passive interest income provided they are also

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: 11, 16th June 1943 Street, 3022 Limassol, Cyprus

Tel.: +357 25869000Fax: +357 25363842

Website: www.kpmg.com.cy




Tel: (+357) 22209999 Fax: (+357) 22209997


wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.g.go.gogogoogogo.g.go.g...g.ggggggg ldnldnldndnldnlldnldnl nnnnl nnewsewewwsewsewwsseeewewewwe .co.coco.c m.cm.cm.cm.cmm.m.cm.cm.cm.cm.cc.ccm.cc.c.cmm.ccyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy |||||||||||||||| GOLGOLGOLGOLGGOLGOLGOLGOGOLGOLGOLLGOOLGOLGOLOLGOGOLGOLGGOLGOLGOGOLGOLGGGOLGOLGOOLOOOGOLOGOLGOLLGOLGOLGGGOLGOGOLLLGOLGOLGOLOLGOLOOOLOLGOLGOLGGOLOOLOLLGOLGOLGOOGOGOOOOGOLGOLGOLGOLLGGGGOLOLGOOLOOLGOLOLGGOOOLOGOLOLGOLOGOLOOGOLOLGOLGGOOOOLLOLLGOGOOLLGGGOGGOGOGOOLOLGOGOOOLGOOOLOOOLLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD 5| 555||| 5| 555| 5| 5555| 555555555||| 555555| 5| 5555555| 5| 5555| 5555| 555| 55| 55| 555555| 5| 55| 5| 555555|| 55555| 5 5555555 | 555| 5555555| 5 555 5| | 55777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

CCCCCCCCCCCOCOOOOOOOCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCOOOOCCCCCCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOCOOOOCCOCCOCCCCCCCOOOOOOOOOCOOOOCCCOCOCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOCCCCCOCCCCOCOCOCOOOOCOCCCCCOOOOCCCOCOCOOOCOCCCCCOCCOCOCOOOOCCCCOCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCOCCCCCCOCOCOCOCCCCCCCOCCCCCCCOCCCCCCCCCOCOCCCCCCOCCCCCCCCCCCCC NTNNTNNTNTNTTTTTTTNNNTNNNTNTTTTNTNTTTNNNNNNNTNNNNNTNNNTNTTTTTTTTTTTNTNNNNNNNTNNNNTTTTTTTTTTNTTNTNNNNNTNNTTTTTTTTTNNNTNTNTNTNNTNTTTTNTNNNTNTNNTNTNTTTTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTNTTNTNTNTNNNTNTNTNTNTNTNNTNTTTNNNNNNTNTTTTTNTTTTTNTTNTTNNTNTTNTNTTTNNTTTTTTNNNNTTTTNNTTTNTNNNTTTTNTTNNTTTTTTNTTNTAAAACAACACACAACCCCCCCCCCAAAAAAAAACAACACCCACCACCCAAACAACCCCCCCAAACAACACAACCAAAAACACACCCCCCAACACAACACCACACACAACACACCCCCCCACAAACCCACAAACACACCCACACACCACACACCCACCCCCCCCCCCCACCCCCCCCCCCCCCACCCACCCCACCCCCA TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT T T TTTTT TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT DDDDDDDDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEEDEEEEDDEDDDDEDDDDEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDEEEEEEEEDDDEDEEEEEEEEEEEDEDEDEDEDEEEEEDDDEDEDEDEEEEEEEDEDDEDDDEDDEEEEEEEEEEDEDEEEEEEEEEEDEDEEDEEEEEDEDEEEDEEEEEEDDDDDEEEEEEEEDDEDEDEDEEEEEEEEDDEDEEEEEEEEEDEDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDEEEDEEDDEEETATTTATATATATATTATAATAAAATATATATAAAAAATTTTTATAAAAATATAAATAATATTATAAAAAAATATAATTTATATATATTATTTATAAATTTTAAATAATAATTTATAAAAAATTTATTAAAATATTTTTATATAAAATTTTATTATTATAATTTATTTTATAAATATATATATTAAATATTAATATATAAATTTTTAATTTAAIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLIIIIIIILLLLLLLLIIIIIILLLLLLLILILILIIIILLLLLILLLILILIIIIILLLLLLLLLLILIILIILILLLILLLILLIIILLLLLLLLLLILLLLLLLILLLLLLLLLILLLLLLIIILILILLLLLLLILLILILIILLILLLLILILLLILILLLILILLLLILILLLLILILLLLLILLLLLLILLLLLLLLILILLLIILLLLLSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAddrddrddrddrdddrrdrd reesseeeeeeessesssseseeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesseeeeeeeeesseees ::: JJeJJJJJJeeeeJJJJeJJJJeeeJeJJJJJeJJJeJJJeeJeJJeJeJeJeeJeeeJeeJeeeanan an ananan an aanaaa NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNouvouvouvouvouvouvouvouvouvouvvvuvvvouvouvvvouvvvvvvvuvvvvo vvooouvoooooooooo eelelleeeleleeleeeeleeeleleeeeeeeeeeeleeeleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeleeelleeeee TTowTowTowTowTowTTowwwTowTowwTowToTowTowTowTowwwwTowToowwwwTowwoowowwwwwwowwwwwwwTowTT wwwwwwwTT wwwwer,er,er,erer,er,eeeer,er,er,er,er,ereeeeeee ,eeeeeeeeeeee 6,66,666,66666666666666,66,666666666666,66,6,,666666,66,,,,,

StattStStSSSSSSSSSttStaaSSSStaSSSStaStttStaStaaaSSSttttaStaSSSSSSSStttaStaSSSSSSSSSSSStattaaaaSSSSSSSSSSSStaStttaaaaaSSSSSSSSSSSSttaStaaSSSSSSSSSSSSSSttaaaaaSSSSSSSSSttaaaSSSSSSSSSSStttaSSSSSSSS aaaaaSSSSSSSSSS aaaaSSSSSSSSS aSSSSSSSSSttSSSSSS aaSSSSSSSStttaaSSSSSSSStta iiiiiisiniisissinssinsissinnnsinsinssinsins nsisinsinsins ouoououoouoouououoououooooooouuuooooooooouuuoooooouuuuuuoooouuuuuuuooooooouuuuooouuuuooooooouuuuuooouuuuouuuuuooooouoou AAAveAAAAAAAAveAAveAAvveAvAAvAveevveeeeeeveeeeAvAveAveAvveeeeeeAveAAAveAveAAveAvevAveAveeeeAvAveAveAveeeAAveAveAveeAAveeeeAveAveeAAveA eeeennuennnueueuennnnnnnuuueennuueunnnnnuenuenuenuenuenueeeue PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP, PPPPP, PP, PPPPPP, P, PPP, PPPPPPPP, P, P, P, PP, P, P PP P, ......OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BBBBBBBoBoBBoBoBoBo.BoBBBBBBBBoBooBBBBBBBBoBoBoBBBBBBooBoBoBBBoBoB.BoooBoooBBBBBoBoooBBBBBBBBBBooooooBBoBBBBBBoooBBBBBoBBBBBB.BooBoBBBBBBBBBBoBooo.BBBBBBBoBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB.Bo.B.BBBBBBB 22222x 2222222222x 22x 22222x 2x 2x 222x 2x 22222222xx 2x 2222222x 2x 2x 22222222222222222222xxx 222222x 2x 22222x 2x 2x 2x 22222x 2x 2x 222222x 22x 2222222222221111116566565656655165111665165116111111161651111616516511111651651651166511111116511656665516 66,6666,6666666666666666,6666666,,,,,6,6,,,,151151151151155151151515111511551115151115115551111151111555111111151151111151515115111151111115511111151111 1115151111151111111,11,1111 NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNicoicocoicoicoi oi ooooooooooooocooooooooooooooooooooooooosiasiasiasiasiaaasiasiasiasiaasiaaaaaiasiaaaas aas aaaas as aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTel:el:l:l:eeleleeeleleeeeeeeeleel:eelelelel:l:l:eeeleeell:el:eeeleeeeeelelllll:el:::eeeeeeeeell::el:eeeeeel:eeeeeeell::TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT (+3(+3(+3+3(+3+33(+33333+3+3(++333(((+(+(+++3(+3333(+3(+(+3(+(++3(+333+333(+3(+((((++++(+3(+3(+33(+3(+3((((((+(+++++++333(+3(+333333+++++33333333333333(+(+++333333++33333333( 57)57)557)55777))55757555557)))))57557)555577)))))55555555555757777))))))57)57)55555557)))))57)57)557)57)5757)57)577))))) 22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222209209209209209209209209992099920992092099909209090920909909099090990920992090920990920999999999920999020999992092220922020999222222222099999222222222220099999222022222222200099999999922222220009999999922200999999999222200009999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999FaFaxFFaxFaxaaxFaaxxxxFaxFaxFaFaaxFaaaaaxaaxaaaxaaxaaaaxxFFaaaaaaxxaxFaaaaxxxaxxF xxx::::: (+((((++++(++33333(+3(+3+((+++++3(++((++3((+++++333++((+3(++(+++(((((( 57)57)57)5757)57))57)57))57)5757))57)57)57)5777)57)57))7)577757)7757)5757)57)577)575575 222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222000000099999999920922209992222 992220099200200999220000999922 9922 9222220009222002200900 997997999979979979979997777777999997977777779999999977777999999977777779979999999797777797999977799997979977777799997977777999977779777779977777777779 7777777779777777777777779777777777

e me me me me me me-mmme-me-meee mee-me mee-m-mee-mmmme-mee-meee---m-meeeeeeeeeeee----m-m-mmmm-mmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeee-m--m--------mmmmmmmmm-meeeeeeeeeee me mmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeee me me mmmmmmmeeeeeeeee me mmmmmmmmaiiaiaailaiilaailaaaiaiaaillaiaaaililaiilaiaaiailailaailllaaiaailaiailaaaaaaiailailaaiaaaaillaaaaailiilaaaaaaaa llaaaaaaaaaillilailaaaaaaaaaaaaailiillailailaaiaaaaaaaailaaaaaaaaaaaiiaillaaaaaaaaaaiil:::::::::::::::::::::::::::: eyeeyeyeyeyeyeeeyeyeeeyyeeeyyyyeyeyeyeeeeyyyyeeyeeyeyyyeeyeeeyyyeeeeeeeyyeyeeeeeeeyeyyyeyeeeeeeeeeyyeyeyeyyyeeeeyeeeyyyyeyyyyeeeeeyyyyyyyeeyeyeyyyyeyeeeyyeyyyyyyyyyyyyy cyccccycycycyyccyccycyccccyccccccccyyccccccyyyycccccccyccyyyyyyyycyccyccyyy.c..ccccycycycyycy...cccc.cycccyyy...ccccycyyyprprprprprprupruuuprpruuupprruuuruuuuuuruupruuruuuuuuuuprrpruuuuuuuuprprruuuupruuuuupprrrrruuuuuuuuuuupppppprrrrruuuuuuuuprppprrprruuuuuuprpppprurrururuuuuuprprruuuuuuuuppruruuuuuurupp @s@c@@@@@@c@@@@c@s@cs@cs@c@@@c@@cc@@c@@@@c@@s@c@@@@@@@@s@@@@@s@c@cs@s@@s@@@@@@@cs@cs@s@c@@s@@cccs@cccs@sss@s@s@c@s@@ccccs@sssss@@@@@@@@@@cccccsssss@s@cs@@@@s@@@s@@@c@cccccsss@cs@ss@s@c@@@s@s@s@@@@cs@cccsssssss@@@@@@@@s@@@@cs@c@ccccssss@s@@@@c@@c@@ccccs@sss@@@@@@@@@ccccss@@@s@s@s@s@c@c@@@ccs@cccs@cs@ss@@@@cccs@cs@cs@@ccyyy eyy ey ey eyyyyy eey ey ey eyy eyyyyy eyyyy eeeeeyy eyyy eeeeeeyyyyyy eeeeeeyyyyyyyyy eey eeeey.eeyyyyyy.yyy.eeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy..e.eeyyyyyyyy...y.eeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy...y.y.ey.eeeeyyyyyyyy.....ey.eeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy cy ccy.cy cy cccy cy.cyy ccy ccyyy ccy cccccccyyy ccccccyy ccccccccccyyyy cccccccccccyy cyy cccccccccccyyyy.cyy cccccccccccccyy.cyyy cccccccccccccccy.cy.cccccccccccccyyyyyy...ccccccccccccccy.cyy..y.cccy.ccccccccccyyy.c...cccccccccccyyyyyyyyyy omomomoomomomoomomomoooommmmmmmmooommmmmmmmmommmmomomoooooommmmmmmmmmmmomooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmoooooooommmmmmmmmmmoooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmoomooomomommmmmommmmmmmooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmoooooommmmmmmmooooommmmmmmmmoooooommmmmmmmmmmWWWWWWWebWebWebWebWeWebWebWebWeWebWebWebWebWeWeWebWebWebWebWWWWebWebebWeWebWebWWWebW beWeWebbbWWWWWWeWWeWeWeWWWWWWWWeWebbWWWWWWeeWWWWWWWWWebbWWWWWebWWWWebeWebWWWWWeWWWWWWWWWeeWWWWWWWeeWeWWWWWWWWWWebWWWWWWWWWeWWWWWWWWWWeWWWWWWWWWee sitssitsitsitsititttsititsiitssissiisisissisiittttttttss e:e:eee:e:e:eee:eeee:ee eeeeyeyeyeyeyeyyyyeeeyyyyeyeeyeyyyeeyyyyeyyyyeyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.co.co.co.c.coco.cooooooooocooo.c.coooooocoooooc.coococ.cco.coooooooccoo..cooooo..coccooooomm/m/cm/c/mm/cm/c/////c/cm/cmm/cm/cm/cm/c/m/m/m/m/cmm/cm/cmm/cmm/m cmm/cmm cmmmmm/ccmmm/mmm/cccmmm/ccmmmm/m/c/ccccmmmmmmm////////ccccc///////cccccccyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

We understand

shipping

© 20© 2© 20© 2016 K16 K16 K6 KPMG PMG MG MG LimLimiLimiLimL ted,ted,ted,edt a CCa Ca Ca Cypruyprupruuyprupruypruypruyprus lilis ls lis lis llimitemmmitemitemitemitemm d lid lid lid lid lilid liabilabilabilabilabilabilababa ityty ityityity tt compcompcompcompcompompany anyanyanaaany anddandandandandand membmembmembbmembm mber oer oer oer oooer of thf thf thf thf thf tf the KPe KPe KPe KPKPPPe KPK MGMGMGMGMGMGMGMGMMGGMGGPPPMGMGMGMMKKKf thf thhttttbbbdddbilbililitittlilililiittt dlillilCCCCddddiittLLiLiLMGMMGM6 K6 K6 KKPP20201©©©netwnetwnetwnett ork ork rk of iof iiofof iindepndepndepndepndependeendeendeendeendent mnt mnt mnt mt mntnt membeembebeembeembeembeer fir firr fir fir firms rms rmsmsrmrms s affiaffiaffiaffiaffia f liatatliatliatlia ed wed wed wwd ithithitthith th KPMGKPMGKPMGKPMGMMGMGGGGG IntIntIntIntIntI ernaernaernaernaer ationtiontiontiontiontiononnnal Cal Cal Cal Cl Cal CCal CCCCCooopeoopeoopeoopeoopeoopeoopeoo ratiratiratiratiratiratiratratttratirrat veveveveveveeveevevev(”KP(”KP(”KPP” MG IMG IMGMG IMMG MG nternternternternatitinatinatinationalonalonaonona ”),”), a Swa Swa SwSSwSwissississississ entientientientientity. ty. ty. ty. ty. yy All AllAllAll All lll righrighrighrighrig ts rts rts rts reseresereseesereserved.ved.ved.ved.ved.

Cyprus is at the forefront of global shipping with a fully functional and innovative department of merchant shipping, an EU approved tonnage tax regime and a committed resident shipping industry.

At KPMG Cyprus, our dedicated team of shipping professionals provide expert support to our clients by drawing on a depth of shipping knowledge and experience, offering tailored solutions to the challenges they face. Our highly qualified practitioners undergo continuous industry specific training so as to remain at the forefront of developments within the shipping industry and, together with our global network of shipping specialists, apply this expertise to the services we offer to the maritime sector, which include:

Audit and assurance related services

International and local tax planning, structuring and restructuring

Tonnage tax compliance services

Advisory services (corporate finance, valuations, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings)

ISAE 3402 service reports on ship managers for communicating information to ship owners on the former’s internal controls

For more information please contact:

Sylvia A. LoizidesBoard Member, Head of Shipping T: 25 869 138, F: 25 363 842E: [email protected]

Alexandros S. SofocleousBoard Member T: 25 869 223, F: 25 363 842E: [email protected]

kpmg.com.cy


Having celebrat-ed its 50-year anniversary in 2015, Lavar Shipping -the flagship com-

pany of the Limassol-based RPT Group, and one of the very first shipping companies established in Cyprus- has been at the forefront of developments in the industry, playing a leading role in establishing Cyprus’ position as a shipping and energy hub in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Its membership of the RPT Group has expanded Lavar Shipping’s scope of activity into the oil and gas sector, collaborat-ing effectively with other group members to provide integrated logistics services to operators and support companies in the oil and gas industry in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Since the early 1990s, under the stewardship of its CEO and current president of the Cyprus Shipping Association Reginos Tsanos, Lavar Shipping has evolved into a multi-faceted organisation, offering traditional and specialised maritime services to the local and international industry. This followed a pioneering move on behalf of the company’s founder Pantelis Tsanos, who had previously introduced a mul-timodal transport method of goods through Ro-Ro vessels, TIR tilt & reefer trailers, handling the exports of over 60% of Cyprus’ fresh produce.

Representing a number of prestig-

fleet of temperature-controlled reefer containers.

Moreover, as a member of the Easyfresh network, with enhanced knowledge and strengthened experience, quality and excellence in perishable trade, leading traders are placing their trust in Lavar Shipping for the prompt delivery of their orders, counting on the company for the safe import and export of sensitive refrigerated cargo.

“50 years on, with an established presence in the industry, I am extremely proud to be have succeeded my father

as the head of such a diverse com-pany that has evolved in line with changing economic circumstances and industrial trends”, said Regi-nos Tsanos. “As our country slow-ly but steadily enters a new period of growth, the shipping industry – and companies like ours – can take centre stage, building on our strengths and professionalism, while at the same time continuing to diversify our products and ser-vices. Staying true to our founding principles, Lavar Shipping will

continue to broaden its –and Cyprus’ – horizons in the years to come.”


LAVAR SHIPPINGTHE SHIPPING INDUSTRY IN GENERAL -AND IN CYPRUS IN PARTICULAR- IS EVOLVING IN LINE WITH SECTOR-SPECIFIC TRENDS, AS WELL AS GLOBAL

ECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS. THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN IN CHINA, THE LIFTING OF SANCTIONS ON IRAN, THE INSTABILITY AFFECTING

THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION, AND THE ADVANCEMENTS IN FUEL-EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY, ARE JUST SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE

STIMULATING THIS ONGOING EVOLUTION.

ious clients, ranging from high-profile ship owners, global oil companies, commercial representatives and traders, Lavar Shipping has a long history of providing top-qual-ity shipping and agency services. The company has positioned itself as the main shipping agent operating at Cyprus’ ports and terminals, handling all types of vessels, including tankers, STSOPL bulk carriers, liner container vessels, cruise ships, and mega yachts, while also acting as a Ship-to-Ship transfer agent at designated points of anchorage performed off Limassol Port limits.

In addition, Lavar Shipping’s highly experienced team also provides a vast range of maritime services. Its strong track record in the field of logistics includes: a forwarding service that ensures reliable door-to-door handling and movement of goods by air, sea, and road; a certified, in-house clearance department; a com-prehensive service for the supply and distribution of ships spares; reefer plug-ging facilities and open storage space for oversized cargoes; state-of-the-art ware-house facilities; and a privately-owned

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: 109 Omonoias Avenue, Flamingo Building, Ground Floor,

3048 Limassol, CyprusTel. +357 25258800Fax: +357 25258801

Email: [email protected] Website: www.lavarshipping.com


GROUP

MEMBER OF

109 Omonoias Ave., Flamingo Bldg., Ground Floor, 3048 Limassol, Cyprus | t: +357 25 25 88 00 | f: +357 25 25 88 01 | e: [email protected]


A milestone project for Cyprus, and the island’s first superyacht marina, it has already established itself as one of the most enticing projects across Europe. Located in the heart of a vibrant city, it is surrounded by a rich history and a diverse, international commu-nity- all at the crossroads of three continents.The marina development offers 650 berths for yachts up to 110m, 191 luxury apartments and 74 exclusive villas, with private berths or direct access to the beach. It also combines fine dining and shopping establishments with an elegant spa and fitness club, leisure and cultural facilities, to create a lifestyle uniquely shaped by ‘living on the sea’.

THE ONLY HOMES OF THEIR KIND With property sales in excess of €220 miliion, Limassol Marina has now welcomed its growing community of home owners across the fully completed luxury apartments and villas. Served by a central reception and concierge

service, first-class facilities and 24-hour security, residences within the waterfront development provide an ideal second home or investment opportunity for a broad range of property buyers.Introducing an unrivalled concept to the shores of Limassol, the Peninsula Villas are the only homes of their kind in the Mediterranean. Sur-rounded by water, they benefit from direct access to the beach or private berths attached to each individual property, epitomising the essence of ‘living on the sea’ just a stroll away from the city centre. Just months since their completion and delivery, 65% have already been sold.A new range of luxury apartments has also just been released for sale to meet increasing demand. The 29 sea-view homes at Nireas Residences are perfectly situated just steps away from the sparkling Mediterranean, with uninterrupted views of the Marina. The one, two, three-bed-room apartments and four-bedroom penthouses benefit from immediate proximity to both the city centre and the sea. They come complete with a communal swimming pool, covered terraces, private parking and storage space, all adjacent to the development’s dining, shopping and leisure facilities. Apartments at Limassol Marina have already attracted buyers from over eighteen nationalities. Of the 121 units delivered to date, there are only 5 remaining. Commenting on their

LIVING ON THE SEA

LIMASSOL MARINA

LIMASSOL MARINA IS CONTINUING TO CREATE WAVES IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN AND HAS BUILT A REPUTATION

AS THE MOST EXCITING NEW DESTINATION IN THE REGION.


THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY


high demand and ongoing success George Englezos, Sales Manager at Limassol Ma-rina, re-affirmed that “these newly released apartments offer one last opportunity for buyers to own a waterfront home at one of the most exciting marina developments in the Mediterranean. We have every con-fidence that the unique product offering and excellent value proposition will be em-braced with enthusiasm. It is rare to find a residential experience in such an ideal loca-tion and with such attractive pricing.”Adding to the charm of these elegant homes’ design and ar-chitecture, is their location just a stone’s throw away from the heart of Limassol. Residents can choose between privacy or community, taking advantage of the numerous facilities and services on offer, or simply staying cocooned in their own luxurious surrondings. Be it fine dining, shopping, fitness, culture or leisure on demand, there is always something for residents to do, literally just steps away from their home.

A FULL SERVICE MARINABeyond the luxury residences, the Marina itself offers facilities and services of the highest standards, with the internationally renowned stamp of Camper & Nicholsons Marinas behind the management and operations. Every berth has access to fresh water, electricity, fibre to the boat, high-speed wire-less internet and telephone, fuel and waste removal. There are also haul out and shore-side technical facilities, a 100-ton travel lift and 40-ton trailer, slipway, fuel station, helipad and boatyard for light re-pairs and maintenance.When the first superyacht sailed into Limassol Marina back in 2013, few could believe that this would be the beginning of a new era for Cyprus. M/Y Anastasia made history as the largest vessel to enter a marina on the island.

Peering over the lighthouse, her slick 75m claimed their position along the south eastern breakwater and changed the dynamic of Limassol’s most ambitious waterfront development for ever. The shores of the vibrant Mediterranean city have since been frequented by a string of distinguished guests. Just last week, four of the most prestigious superyachts in the world used the services and facilities at Limassol Marina, the only superyacht marina on the island. Second time visi-

tors, 88.5m M/Y Nirvana and 99m M/Y Madame Gu, were followed by 119m M/Y A and 72.6m M/Y Queen K. And these are just a handful of more than fifty superyachts to have visited or signed long-term berthing agreements with Limassol Marina since its official opening.

A VIBRANT DESTINATIONNow almost two years in operation, Limassol Marina is one the most talked about projects to have ever materialised

in Cyprus, attracting an average of 3,000 - 4,000 visitors daily and boasting an active calendar of events throughout the year. Exuding charm in an unrivalled en-vironment, it offers the perfect blend of luxury and elegance, comfort and convenience, privacy and commu-nity. An exciting new destination for living, yachting, dining and shopping, it offers a complete mix of products, facilities and services for everyone’s convenience.With the word ‘lifestyle’ at the pinacle of everything the development aspired to during its planning, not only do residents and visitors have access to a luxury spa and gym, they also have a boutique mini market, bank, pharmacy and car rental service on site, complete with designer shops, an international gallery, carpet art and world-famous jeweller. For the yacht owners, captains and crew, a fully-stocked chandlery, show room, yacht brokers and agents of all top brands are also based in the com-mercial area and adjacent to a listed cultural centre.

For more information on ‘living on the sea’, the villas, apartments

and berths, contact +357 25 020 020

or visit limassolmarina.com.


C yprus is an internation-ally renowned shipping centre, home to some of the world’s leading names in the global shipping industry. The country’s accession to the European Union, in 2004 further boosted the reputation and overall image of the Cyprus flag and the infrastructure of Cyprus shipping.The country’s unique geographical location at the crossroads of three continents, its advanced infrastructure and ser-vices, as well as very competitive shipping tax-ation and other strategic advantages, make Cyprus the ideal location for ship owning, ship manage-ment, ship chartering and ancillary shipping-related services.

THE CYPRUS SHIPPING SECTORMore than 140 ship owning, ship management and shipping related companies control a merchant fleet of 2,200 vessels of 50 million Gross Tonnage.Cyprus has the 10th largest merchant

fleet in the world and the 3rd largest merchant fleet in the EU. Cyprus is considered the 2nd largest Ship Management Centre in the world, and the largest third party Ship Man-agement Centre in the EU.Most of the island’s cargo im-ports and exports are handled at Limassol Port. In 2016, the port has been privatised to a consortium led by Germany’s Eurogate International for the container terminal, while DP World will be the operator of the multipurpose passenger terminal.

ADVANTAGES OF CYPRUSCyprus has the only EU-ap-proved “Open Registry” regime with a very wide and legally endorsed Tonnage Tax System (TTS), which was introduced with the Merchant Shipping Law in

MICHAEL KYPRIANOU & CO. LLC

CYPRUS – AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED SHIPPING CENTRE

Cyprus has a well-functioning legal sys-tem based on common law and other principles established through historical links with the United Kingdom. Ship-ping legislation, as well as commercial and banking practices, are all essentially based on the British model.


THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY


2010 and covers the three main maritime transport activities: ship owning, ship management (crew and technical management), and chartering. Cyprus has adopted a maritime safety policy, which focuses on the effective control of ships and the improvement of the quality of the country’s merchant fleet. Cyprus’ Maritime Offices are located in Limassol (Cyprus), as well as Hamburg (Germany), New York (USA), London (UK), Athens (Greece), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Brussels (Belgium). In addition to tax incentives and the country’s excellent geographical location, Cyprus maintains its competitive advantages through a high-quality maritime cluster, offering efficient and quality services, as well as:• Competitive ship registration fees• Recognition of Competence Cer-tificates from many countries• Bilateral agreements of coopera-tion in merchant shipping with 23 countries• Classification of the Cyprus flag on the “White List” of the Paris and Tokyo MoUs• Beneficial owners’ protection through nominee or trustee share-holders• Advanced maritime infrastructure (two deep sea multipurpose ports in Limassol and Larnaca)• No income tax, estate duty or capital gains tax for Cyprus-regis-tered ships• No stamp duty on documents or mortgage deeds• Easy deletion from the Cyprus Shipping Register.

The law firm’s offices in Cyprus, Greece and Malta have been assist-ing individuals and corporations from around the globe, provid-ing legal advice and assistance on a wide range of services. The maritime and admiralty team of Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC acts for various ship owners, ship managers, financial institutions, maritime security companies and other shipping corporations. The team often advises on and negoti-ates transactions, and issues legal opinions on a range of ship financ-ing transactions, guarantees and securities. The firm assists clients with the registration and deletion of ship mortgages in the Cyprus Ships Registry and other securities registered with the Registrar of Companies in Cyprus. The team also provides assistance in relation to vessel registration under the Cy-prus flag and advises on contracts for the chartering and employment, sale and purchase of ships as well as the financing of these activities.Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC is one of the largest law firms in Cy-prus. The firm maintains seven ful-ly fledged offices: three in Cyprus (Nicosia, Limassol and Paphos), two in Greece (Athens and Thessa-loniki), one in Malta (Birkirkara) and one in Ukraine (Kiev). Michael Kyprianou & Co. LLC is annually praised by the reputable interna-tional “Legal 500” legal directory for providing advice that is “prac-tical and of a high standard” and for being “responsive” with an “in-depth business understanding.”

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: Michael Kyprianou House, 116 Gladstone Street,

3032 Limassol, CyprusTel.: (+357) 25363685Fax: (+357) 25363698


Website: www.kyprianou.com.cy

NicosiaAddress: 2 Agias Elenis Street, 6th & 7th Floor, 1060 Nicosia, Cyprus. Tel.: +357 22 447777Fax: +357 22 767880Email: [email protected]

LimassolAddress: Michael Kyprianou House, 116 Gladstonos Street, 3032 Limassol, Cyprus Tel.: +357 25 363685Fax: +357 25 363698Email: [email protected]

PaphosAddress: Michael Kyprianou House, 19 Kinira Street, 8011 Paphos, Cyprus Tel.: +357 26 930800Fax: +357 26 930808Email: [email protected]

AthensAddress: 5 Zalokosta Street, 3rd Floor, Syntagma 10671, Athens, Greece Tel.: +30 210 3387060Fax: +30 211 7150149Email: [email protected]

ThessalonikiAddress: 44 Tsimiski Avenue & Karolou Diehl, Thessaloniki 546 23, Greece Tel.: +30 2310 222267Fax: +30 2310 222269Email: [email protected]

BirkirkaraAddress: 115A Valley Road, Level 5, Birkirkara, BKR 9024, Malta Tel.: +356 21 331810Fax: +356 21 331810Email: [email protected]

Kiev Address: 1A Sportyvna Square, Business Centre Gulliver, 17th Floor, Kiev, Ukraine, 01601Tel.: +38044 394 58 78Fax: +38044 394 57 01Email: [email protected]

www.kyprianou.com.cy


With presence in Cyprus, Greece and Serbia, NetU is recognized as a major Integrator in the region and has developed strong local and in-ternational activity. Being a trusted IT business partner to medium and large organizations in the Private and Public sectors, NetU provides world-class IT solutions in the areas of Systems Integration, Business Solutions, Technology Solutions and Professional Services.NetU is specialized in Shipping and it represents a wide range of business solutions for Ship-ping companies, based on enterprise software plat-forms of leading software vendors such as Infor and Saleforce. In addition, NetU offers advanced technology solutions in the areas of Integration, Data, Software, Mobil-ity and Infrastructure. Many Shipping companies have set up their own competitive advan-tage by selecting NetU solutions and services to cover their unique needs. NetU’s solutions include:

required to achieve your planned objectives.

• Customer Relationship Man-agement (CRM) & Services Man-agement, with CRM Salesforce Cloud SolutionsThe world’s #1 CRM & sales force automation application for manag-ing contacts, accounts and opportu-nities from anywhere, on any device.

NetU has been delivering Infor-mation Technology solutions since

1991 and it has been working with companies in the Shipping Industry almost since its intro-duction. With a proven track record of suc-cessfully implementing and supporting vertical industry solutions for a large number of Ship-ping companies, NetU provides solutions to the Shipping industry, hav-ing developed significant expertise and integrated software solutions.


NET-U CONSULTANTS LTD.NET-U IS A LEADING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

AND SERVICES ORGANISATION IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN.

• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems, with Infor SunSys-temsA unique combination of accounting, financial and business software ap-plications that enables you to better manage, understand and improve your business.

• Reporting & Business Intelli-gence, with Infor Query & AnalysisA powerful financial and management reporting software tool which allows desktop applications to quickly and

efficiently create and analyse reports that target the information you seek, highlighting trends and patterns.

• Solutions Performance Manage-ment (Budgeting, Planning, Con-solidation), with Infor CPM A solution that helps you quickly set high level plan targets, develop de-tailed driver-based operational and fi-nancial plans and collect and manage the budget and forecast information

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: 13, Acropolis Ave.,

2006 Acropolis, Nicosia, CyprusTel: (+357) 22670080Fax: (+357) 22671026

e-mail: [email protected]: www.netugroup.com

The ÖL Shipping Group owns and operates a small, strong,sturdy young fleet mainly focusing in all kinds of project cargoes,dry bulk, container, general cargo, MPV shipping sectors proudlyflying the Cyprus Flag.As a visionary European Shipowner, ÖL has an abundance ofmanagement experience in Bulk Carriers, Containers, MPV’s,Car Carriers, Chemical Tankers, Cruise vessels and MegaYachts – Management and makes available extensive in-housemanagement skills to own vessels, as well as, other selectedShipowners sharing its philosophy.Additional to the already existing partners, private andinstitutional investors are welcome to participate in way of equityacquisition in a market orientated profitable shipping segmentand ÖL is delighted to open the doors of new cooperation inproven shipping business models.ÖL invests in market orientated and gainful specialized shippingsegments and the complete management of its fleet isundertaken within the Group. Our philosophy is Our ShipInvestments + Our In-House Management = Value. Theprotection of our shipping investment offers, combined with asteady demand generated from the growing world economy andever expanding global trade, are very good reasons to includeshipping as a permanent part of any investment portfolio withdirect access to the Board / Top Management.Favourable terms and conditions have been proven by theGroup’s uninterrupted total management of services with lowand stable OPEX and practically no off-hire, where one couldconclude its main objectives is to maximise fleet availability andoperation in a safe environment. The in-house technical repairflying squad abides by their attitude of maintenance= right bringing about stronger reliability andlower operational risks.

Primarily dealing with Shipowning, the Group certainlydoes not exclude third party management utilizing its in-house exclusive crewing services. In light of many outsideinfluences, Owners are demanding full transparency, whichis certainly nothing new to the ÖL Group or its investors.The ÖL Group comfortably offers full ship management, in-house crew management, ship operations, turnkeynewbuilding projects, technical consultancy and alwayswithin strict budget and securing approvals.From its Chairman downward, the ÖL team passionatelyadvocates the EU Cyprus Flag and Cyprus MaritimeCluster taking pleasure in accommodating a mostfavourable tonnage tax scheme sanctioned by the EU. TheÖL Group is clearly Investor Focused in a purpose driven“True North” to not only meet but, strives to exceed investorrequirements.

We welcome your investment in

Capt. Eberhard KochChairman, CEO & Partner

Strong Family EthicsResilient Commitment

Protection of the EnvironmentSolid Professional Quality Services

Our Ship Investments PLUSOur In-House Shipmanagement

ADDS VALUE !

Share Certificate of Oesterreichischer Lloyd Steamship Company, 1907

3rd Floor | 67 Franklin Roosevelt Avenue | 3011 Limassol Cyprus Phone | +357 25 662555 | Fax: +357 25 662666 |email: [email protected]

WWW.OELSM.COM


T he areas of practice in which the firm specializes are:• Admiralty and shipping law.

• International Tax & Trusts• Corporate & Commer-cial Law• Mergers & Acquisitions• Banking & Finance Law • Investment Law• General Litigation & Ar-bitration• Intellectual Property Law• Wills & Probate• Debt RecoverySince 2004, the firm has been a member of the Euro-pean Law Firm (E.L.F.) net-work, an international or-ganization consisting of law firms from every European country. E.L.F. is a sophisti-cated and cohesive network of independent dynamic law firms who know each other personally and collaborate to offer clear, cross-border legal advice and legal services across Europe and beyond. Membership is by invitation only and is limited to one representative per country.

solving legal disputes that arise in the field. As a member of the European Law Firm network, Papantoniou & Papantoniou LLC is in the advanta-geous position to provide legal ser-vices in the shipping law field every-where around Europe and in other key countries such as the US, India,

China and Thailand. Moreover, due to the firm’s long-term and successful cooperation with Greek entrepreneurs, Papantoni-ou & Papantoniou LLC special-izes in providing legal services to Greek businesses, whose purpose is to expand their operations globally .

CYPRUS SHIPPING:An ideal destination offering a plethora of opportunitiesThe history of the sea and shipping in Cyprus dates back hundreds of years. The country’s geographical position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as its proximity to the Suez canal, has historically favoured merchant shipping as an important industry for Aph-rodite’s island. Today, as Europe’s Eastern Border, Cyprus constitutes a bridge of communication and cooperation between Europe and the countries of the Middle East.

PAPANTONIOU & PAPANTONIOU LLC

PAPANTONIOU & PAPANTONIOU L.L.C. WAS FOUNDED IN , BY ANTONIS S. PAPANTONIOU. IT IS AN ESTEEMED LAW FIRM THAT PROVIDES

AN EXTENSIVE RANGE OF HIGH QUALITY LEGAL SERVICES TO LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS.

ADMIRALTY AND SHIPPING LAW.Papantoniou & Papantoniou LLC is a leading Cypriot law firm in the field of Admiralty and shipping law. The firm offers a range of services to ship owners, freight forwarders, insurers, charterers and has experience on re-


THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY


The country’s accession to the Euro-pean Union in 2004 further boosted the reputation and overall image of the Cyprus flag. The country’s unique ge-ographical location at the crossroads of three continents, its advanced services, as well as its very competitive shipping taxation system, make Cyprus the ideal location for ship owning and ancillary shipping-related services.

FACTS ABOUT CYPRUS’ SHIPPING SECTORAccording to the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, the island:• has the 10th largest merchant fleet in the world and the 3rd largest merchant fleet in the EU• is among the Top 5 ship manage-ment centres in the world• is one of the largest third-party ship management centre in the EU It is notable that Cyprus has an EU-ap-proved “Open Registry” regime with a very wide and legally endorsed Ton-nage Tax System (TTS), which was introduced with the Merchant Ship-ping Law in 2010 and covers the main maritime transport activities. In a nutshell, the Cypriot Tonnage Tax System (TTS) provides the follow-ing advantages:

No tax on shipping activities other than “Tonnage Tax”

No tax on shipping profits, including profits from the sale of Cyprus regis-tered ships

No estate duty or capital gains tax No income tax for seafarers on Cy-

prus-flagged ships No stamp duties on ship mortgage

deeds or other security documents. No tax on dividends paid out of

profits made from qualifying shipping activities.

No tax on the wages or other bene-fits of seafarers on Cyprus-flagged ships

Ship owners of Cyprus flag ships automatically fall within the scope of the Tonnage Tax System(TTS) whereas ship owners of foreign flags, charterers and ship managers may opt to be taxed under the tonnage tax system(TTS) under certain con-ditions.Cyprus maintains its competitive advantages through a high-quality maritime cluster, offering efficient and quality services, as well as:

Efficient and reliable services to the shipping industry,

Competitive ship registration feesFull protection for financiers and mort-gages. Bilateral agreements of cooperation in merchant shipping with 28 countriesClassification of the Cyprus flag on the “White List” of the Paris and Tokyo MoUs.the favourable income tax legislation, which complements the excellent Merchant Shipping Legislation, creat-ing a highly efficient tax harbour for shipping groups and an ideal holding company location.Furthermore, Cyprus :

has Double Tax Treaties with more than 48 countries

has low set-up and operating costs for companies

Has only 12.5% corporation tax – one of the lowest in the EU.

Cyprus plays a prominent role as a leading shipping centre. The tax ben-efits combined with the economic and the other significant benefits provided, make Cyprus the perfect choice for ship owners, charterers and ship managers.Our services and assistance are sought on all types of maritime matters, in-cluding:

Formation of shipping companies Ship registration Purchase and sale of vessels Charter agreements Maritime commerce Choice of flag and registration All related company law and tax

matters Disputes under shipbuilding and

repairing contracts Litigation and arbitration involving

claims for lost, damaged, delayed or hazardous cargo; claims arising out of collisions , wrongful death and personal injury; contract disputes; claims against vessels and other property; and complex marine insurance claims. Our goal is to provide the highest quality legal services in a timely and cost-effective manner.Our philosophy is based on clear com-munication and prompt service. Our values, which dictate the Firm’s approach to every legal issue, include:

Dedication to our clients’ interests Commitment and courage in rep-

resenting our clients’ interests and welfare.

Ambition and determination to become a globally acclaimed law firm where clients from all over the world will trust us on handling their legal concerns.

Passion and devotion to our profes-sion.

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: 41, Themistocles Dervis

707-708 P.O. Box 21233, 1504 Nicosia, Cyprus

Tel: (+357) 22817711Fax: (+357) 22817717

e-mail: [email protected]: www.paplaw.com.cy


Cyprus shipping:A sea of opportunities

Cyprus plays a prominent role as a leading shipping and ship management centre and aims to strengthen further its position in the world economy by maintaining and enhancing its sound maritime infrastructure, favourable tax regime and competitive ship registration and annual tonnage tax rates.

Why Cyprus?

tax system have made the island one of the most

The tax rates, as well as the simplicity of the tax system,

In a nutshell, Cyprus offers complete tax exemption

operations. Instead of corporate income tax, tonnage tax is paid on the tonnage of each vessel at the Department of Merchant Shipping.

The exemption is given under three pillars: Shipowners Charterers Shipmanagers

system under more than one pillar. This proves very

shipmanagement arm and/or groups that partly own

Shipping.

This is not all though. The tonnage tax system is

system. This is very important in the shipping world

for surplus cash that is not needed for reinvestment

investments.

tonnage of the vessels and full exemption from

Totally exempt companies are regulated completely

the Tax Authorities Applies to owners, charterers and shipmanagers of

Supports an open registry Allows split shipmanagement activities (crewing or

PwC Cyprus

Contact us:

Yiangos Kaponides PartnerIn charge of

[email protected]

Cleo PapadopoulouPartnerTax Advisory

[email protected]

Nicosia Limassol

PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd


How we can help?

We deliver customised services from our industry specialists in the following areas:

Tax planning, structuring and restructuring (legal,

Audit and assurance Listings/IPOs

process re-engineering Ship registrations, deletions, transfers and mortgages Human resource advisory including full repatriation service for expatriates Payroll services and accounting outsourcing Provident fund services

Comparison with zero tax jurisdictions

Marshal Islands etc have no taxes and this is why they are often referred to as ‘tax havens’. Even though these countries are extensively used for registration of vessels

jurisdictions.

The trend emerges from several anti avoidance

withholding taxes and freight taxes.

Moving to Cyprus

does not necessarily mean transferring all the vessels to

a time consuming one to implement if the vessels are mortgaged.

the legal structure, or the ownership of the vessels, or

www.pwc.com.cy

four main categories of issues:

PwC Cyprus Shipping & Ports team

the years in step with the industry, supporting

industry restructurings, regulatory transformations,

the needs of leading shipping and port organisations,

small. We have developed our Shipping and Ports

port companies operating in various countries over

record in auditing and consulting within the contexts of international shipping, ports, logistics and supply chain management.


Tototheo Group is consid-ered as the first and leading supplier of high-quality sophisticated on-board electronic equipment in Cyprus. With its head-

quarters strategically located in Limassol, one of the biggest shipping hubs in Europe, and offices in Dubai, Athens and Singapore, the Group continues to grow with new locations and services offered worldwide. As an active member of the Cyprus Shipping Community, Tototheo is a member of several local and international organizations. Sharing knowledge and experiences is a basic principle of the company, which allows us to grow, dynamically respond to market needs and even foresee and affect trends and changes.

Participating on the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, the Group actively contributes to strategic and policy-making decisions for the shipping industry: “We feel it is our duty to take what has been built over the years and take it to the next level, always keeping Cyprus amongst the top shipping centres globally”, says Group Co- Managing Director Despina Panayiotou Theodosiou,.

Established in 1978 in Limassol, the Group specializes in innovative, efficient and functional solutions in the fields of satellite and radio communication, automation, navigation systems and ship repairs. Every day we support our customers with the supply and installation of high quality on-board electronic equipment, maintenance and integration engineer duties, security and surveillance for the equipment in use, online tracking solutions and management tools, and consultancy services.

A complete range of quality products from well-established manufacturers allows us to offer our customers tailor-made solutions, varying from supply and installation to en-gineering, project management, shore-based

VALUE ADDED SERVICES is our in-house developed

Tracking System and is an end-point solution for the management and fleet operation of vessels. It simplifies the way of handling asset information and reports in order to support ship management companies with an easier decision-mak-ing process, and asset tracking. Constant development allows Tr@ckLite to keep up and even stay ahead of the most de-manding requirements.

is a bandwidth management and optimisation solution, especially designed and developed to reduce the costs of both business and crew com-munications. Multiple benefits, such as all-in-one solution for easy & intuitive communication, access through secure user profiles, user friendly interface, ef-fective & proactive cost control through monitoring, alerts and reports, Solid State Hard drive, easy installation and low cost maintenance, integration with other systems and being a fully customisable-in house development, make S@tLite a high value added product.With over 30 years of successful oper-ation, Tototheo Group is the reliable partner you need to support you at all levels of Satellite Communications and Ship Repairs. Our experience and global network of owned offices and partners ensure that you will always receive time-ly service and deliveries of any desired brand.

INNOVATION EFFICIENCY INTEGRITY


TOTOTHEO GROUP

THE LEADING SUPPLIER OF HIGH-QUALITY SOPHISTICATEDON-BOARD ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT IN CYPRUS.

& condition-based maintenance, traffic accounting and training. Our fast and reli-able service, through a worldwide network of qualified partners and branches along the international shipping routes, enables us to serve merchant fleets, the offshore industry, the fishing industry and government organ-izations.

MARITIME SOLUTIONSA leader in providing mobile and fixed satel-lite and conventional communications ser-vices, we also specialize in navigation systems and technical services around the globe, rep-resenting leading manufacturers. Hundreds of vessels rely on our unrivalled end-to-end systems and service availability for global coverage and operational communications, navigation and safety solutions.

LAND SOLUTIONSTototheo Group provides a broad portfolio of global voice, broadband data, M2M and value-added services. From oil and gas engi-neers carrying out remote diagnostics on an oil wellhead, through to journalists reporting live with breaking news, our services offer a compelling proposition for businesses requir-ing ‘must-have’ remote, fixed and mobile connectivity.

GOVERNMENT SOLUTIONSOur comprehensive portfolio of services de-livers seamless voice, data and video commu-nications across the globe – for use on land, at sea and in the air.

ENGINEERING SERVICESAs a prime contractor, Tototheo Engineering Services combines close cooperation with the most capable and technically advanced work-shops and shipyards in Greece and abroad, with its dedicated highly qualified and expe-rienced Technical Management team. It is a Purely Technical Company that offers servic-es and technical support worldwide.

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

CONTACT DETAILSAddress: 89, Omonia Avenue, P.O. Box 51449, 3048 Limassol, Cyprus

Tel: (+357) 25570868 Fax: (+357) 25267033

e-mail: [email protected]: www.tototheo.com




Tel: (+357) 22209999 Fax: (+357) 22209997



From our modest beginnings, we have evolved from strength to strength throughout the first decade of our existence, with an expanding series of acclaimed principles and a parade of dry docks to match our outstand-ing service performance. We were honoured with the OEB Innovation Award by the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation, in recog-nition of our Online Information System (U.O.L.I.S.), which enables continuous project handling infor-mation to our customers. If we had a mission statement in those days, it could not have been expressed more eloquently than “To offer a level of service and commitment to our clients, without compromise”. These words are just as relevant today as they continue to reflect our beliefs, actions and ambitions for the future. Located in Limassol, Cyprus, UMAR I WSR maintains its dedication to offering premium quality maritime products and services to professionals anywhere and at any time, globally.The characteristics that define the company are unmistakable: unparal-leled commitment, quality products, dedicated service, a personalised approach and expert know-how. It

developed equipment that serves specific aspects of the shipping industry, we have created a global network able to serve any task, regardless of size, complexity or time frame.

WSR SERVICESAt WSR, worldwide resources are our greatest asset and the most important differentiating factor. Through our exclusive representation, our princi-pals offer WSR’s clientele strategically located ship repair yards, underwater services, repair stations worldwide and marine coatings. Reliable services cover all aspects of shipping and the respective needs, including new buildings, dry dock repairs, modifications and conversions. Prompt delivery schedules, response time, cost-effectiveness and professional expertise in the field have earned WSR an enviable reputation and a sustainable market share within the industry.


UMAR I WSRUMAR I WSR WAS FOUNDED IN , TO OFFER SUPERIOR MARITIME PRODUCTS

AND SERVICES TO SHIP OWNERS AND SHIP MANAGEMENT COMPANIES.

is the combination of these characteristics that has made our brand unique.At UMAR I WSR we like to do things differently. We employ personnel based on values and knowledge. Each and every member of the team is considered family, and our numerous clients are simply… family friends. UMAR I WSR is no ordinary company; for us, the maritime industry is life itself. We challenge business conventions in search of a better approach. We believe that people who follow their dreams can celebrate their very existence.The company operates in accordance with ISO 9001/2000 with regard to quality and ISO 14000 certification for environmental procedures. We have also established the Life Jacket Foundation, which was formed in order to support the needs of children, both locally and around the world. The Life Jacket Foundation is a result of many years of community service that was eventually developed by the founders into a non-profit organisation. Every company in the group of UMAR | WSR contributes a fixed amount to the Foundation with every order we take, resulting in an annual donation. In this way, we involve our clients as well as individuals, who share our vision and sense of social responsibility.

UMAR SHIPPING SERVICESOur philosophy is to ensure that everything we offer and every principal we represent reflects our brand’s emphasis on quality and high service standards. It is with this philosophy in mind that we care-fully select our principals and, in a manner of speaking, why they choose UMAR to represent them. Today, UMAR represents over 30 of the world’s leading manufactur-ers of maritime equipment. From highly sophisticated electronic systems, electrical and mechanical equipment to uniquely

THE CYPRUS

INDUSTRY

CONTACT DETAILSCyprus

Address: 234, Ayias Fylaxeos Street, 1st & 2nd Floor,3082 Limassol, Cyprus Tel: (+357) 25355518


Address: 1, Klisovis Street, 3rd Floor, 18538, Piraeus, Greece

Tel: (+30) 2104282552e-mail: [email protected]

RussiaAddress: Chernomorskiy Center,

Novorossiysk, RussiaTel: (+7) 4999184307


Address: 1557, Keppel Road, 03-16 Block C, 089066 Singapore

Tel: (+65) 31581050e-mail: [email protected]




Tel: (+357) 22209999 Fax: (+357) 22209997



| ACCOUNTING |

LAST MONTH MARKED A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE FOR BAKER TILLY IN CYPRUS, WHICH CELEBRATED ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH AN EVENT

ATTENDED BY JAMES CASTELLANO, CHAIRMAN, AND GEOFF BARNES, CEO

AND PRESIDENT OF BAKER TILLY INTERNATIONAL. LATER THEY BOTH

SPOKE TO GOLD OF THEIR ADMIRATION FOR CYPRUS CEO MARIOS KLITOU AND HIS TEAM AND DISCUSSED WHAT THEY

SEE AS THE MAIN PROBLEM FACING THE GLOBAL PROFESSION.

By John Vickers Photo by Jo Michaelides

GEOFF BARNES JAMES CASTELLANO


KEEPING THINGS RELEVANT

ou can always tell when senior executives get on with each other outside the Boardroom and it is evident from the fun that James Castellano and Geoff Barnes are having with photographer Jo Michaelides that the two men at the top of

Baker Tilly International, one of the world’s leading networks of independently owned and managed accountancy and business advisory firms, have a great deal of mutual respect, understanding and personal chemistry, compounded by a shared passion for football.

Castellano, the quieter of the two, is based in St. Louis, Missouri, where he has been Chairman of RubinBrown LLP for more than a quarter of a century, so his visits to Cyprus and elsewhere in Europe are not as frequent as those of Lon-don-based Barnes, who remarks that “It would be easy to spend all our lives going to these things. There are a lot of them!”

“I come as I can to celebrations like this,” says Castellano, recalling that the two men attended the anniversary celebra-tions of a Dutch partner firm two years ago, but the Chairman and CEO & President are united in their appreciation for what Marios Klitou has done, particularly in the Balkans. “This is an important jurisdiction for us,” Barnes explains, “and I think it’s good to show support in such instances.”

Under Klitou’s leadership, Baker Tilly operates through offices in Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Greece. Castellano describes as “remarkable” the fact that “what was an emerging firm 20 years ago is now a very prominent, well established firm. And its growth in South East Europe is even more remarkable when you think about what’s happened over the last 20 years in the capital markets.”


Barnes echoes his Chairman’s sentiment, noting that Klitou has achieved a great deal by investing in his people. “Marios has contin-ued to develop not just in Cyprus but in the other countries in which he operates. In many firms, the budget for learning, training and people development is often the first to go in difficult economic times and he hasn’t let that hap-pen. Today he is seen by his peers as a guy who, after all these years, remains absolutely dedicated to the business.”

“He’s a very strategic, entrepre-neurial and ambitious thinker,” adds Castellano. “I trust him a lot.”

The 20th anniversary of Baker Tilly in Cyprus may indeed have been what Castellano describes as “a special occurrence” but, as Geoff Barnes notes, the network has a lot of firms with “quite a history”, many of which have been members for 20 years, including Castellano’s own firm which is 65 years old.

“It depends on what part of the world they are in,” he explains. “The profession may be more de-veloped in the US and Western Europe, whereas it’s newer in Eastern Europe and still emerging in other parts of the world where you’ll find firms that haven’t been around for very long at all.”

The arrangement whereby the Chairman is based in the US while the CEO is in London is, says Barnes, quite common these days. He describes Castellano as “a fantastic Chairman. It’s in his DNA” and confirms that they two are “on the same page. When we talk, I can get straight onto the nub of the mat-ter and always pretty easy.”

“Geoff runs the network and he’s the boss,” confirms Castel-lano. “The Board approves the strategy and oversees its imple-mentation but it’s the CEO and his team that actually do the work.”

Like all the world’s biggest accounting firms, Baker Tilly In-ternational is a network of independent companies (165 in 141 countries) rather than a massive single one, though Barnes notes that “our attitude has always been to try and run it like a busi-ness, like a corporate, so we take governance issues extremely seriously. It’s not a rubber stamping process.”

“Quality Assurance is the bedrock of our network,” adds James Castellano, “Our members have to rely on the quality of our colleagues around the world, so we don’t admit a new firm to the network unless it passes a rigorous QA review and they all have to submit to one every three years. If there are issues,

they receive a warning and if those issues aren’t addressed, they’re out.”

“Thank goodness there have only been six or seven such instances in a decade,” Barnes clarifies, “but we are not fearful of giving people a ‘yellow card’, as I call it, and a ‘red card’ if they don’t get themselves fixed.”

The conversation moves to the current challenges facing the profession. For the CEO & President of Baker Tilly International, the main one concerns the public perception of the relevance of the role of auditors and consultants.

“I think we’ve done a pretty poor job of explaining to the community what it is that we do,” he says. “We should not be in a position where audit is viewed as a commodity but, unfortunately, it is. Many governments around the world are looking at our brief as auditors – report-ing on the truth and fairness of a set of accounts – and questioning if it fulfils its role for all stakeholders. In the UK, for instance, they’re looking at widening the law to require us to look for fraud. So for me, the relevance of what we do is a major issue, and that includes how young people see us. We’re trying to secure the

best people for what we do and they are looking for relevance as well. Do they want to become auditors? What’s the point of do-ing it? Should they go straight into consulting? So, redefining our role in the global environment is the challenge.”

James Castellano agrees, though he has a slightly different slant on it. “I think these things go in cycles,” he says, recalling that “audit was being described as a commodity in the late ‘90s and then all of a sudden it became important again. It’s now shifted back a little way. I learnt business by working in companies as an auditor and I don’t think there’s any better way to learn how a business operates and generates revenue and what its risks are if it wishes to continue to be successful. The more we talk about that to the young kids entering the profession, the more excited they’ll be about choosing the audit side of the practice.”

Finally, I ask Geoff Barnes about the impact on Baker Tilly International of the EU’s decision to impose the rotation of audit firms on the profession. Will it mean taking work from the so-called Big Four? No, he says. “The reality is that audits of the biggest companies are simply rotating among the Big Four. However, we are getting more opportunities to pitch our service capabilities to the big groups and we are picking up a lot of non-audit work with them so our revenues continue to increase. Audit is not falling off a cliff and advisory is growing. The mix is changing, that’s all.”

QQQQQQUUUUUAAALLLIITTTY AAAAAASSSSSSSSUUUUURRRAAANNNCEE

IIISSS TTTHHHEEE BBBBBEEEEEDDDDDRRROOOCCCK

OOOOOFFF OOOUUURRR NNNNNNEEEEETTTWWWWWOOORRRK

– JAMES CASTELLANO

RRRRRREEEEEDDDDDEEEEEFFFINNIINGG OOOOOOUUUUURRRRR RRROOOLLEEE INN TTTTTHHHHHHEEEEE GGGLLLOOOBBBALL

EEEEENNNNNNVVVVVIIIRRROOOOONNNMMMENNT IIISSS TTTHHHEEE

CCCCCCHHHHHHAAAAALLLLLLLEEENNNGEE – GEOFF BARNES

| ACCOUNTING |


| MARKETING |

FROM INSPIRATION


TO COMMUNICATION

C

Cubik-S was launched in Athens in September 2012, with the aim of providing innovative media tools for business. Eventually demand

grew in Cyprus and, in 2014, Andrea Solomonides and her team decided to open a rep-resentative office in Limassol to explore the possibilities and opportunities available in the local market.

“We started off in Athens as three women who wanted to

do something different, but it was not a political statement,” she recalls. “Soon the team had grown to five men and women and now we have a large network of external col-leagues, based in Cyprus and Athens.”

One of the interesting

aspects of the company is that it offers internships and other work experience oppor-tunities, especially to young graduates. “People come and go, young graduates complete their internships, they move on to obtain another degree and they come back; it’s quite

exciting,” she says.From the outset,

Andrea and her col-leagues had identified a gap in the market: the opportunity to

THE KEY IS TO BECOME PART OF THE CLIENT’S COMPANY

ANDREA SOLOMONIDES DESCRIBES HERSELF AS

MUSICIAN AT HEART, A BUSINESS MAJOR BY CHANCE AND AN

ENTREPRENEUR BY CHOICE. THE BUSINESS DIRECTOR OF

THE CUBIK-S COMMUNICATION AGENCY IS DRIVEN NOT

ONLY BY HER EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND BUT ALSO BY AN

INNER SENSE OF MISSION, WHICH SEES HER CONSTANTLY TRYING TO THRIVE IN CHAOS. HERE SHE

SPEAKS TO GOLD ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE FOR AN AGENCY TO BECOME PART OF ITS CLIENTS’ COMPANIES IF IT IS TO CREATE AN INSPIRED COMMUNICATION

CAMPAIGN. By Voula Loizou


offer marketing communica-tion services to SMEs, NGOs and young professionals at a competitive price. “At the time, they were paying a lot of money to access new ways of marketing communication. When we started as a business, the use of digital media instead of conventional mar-keting was still up and coming,” she explains. As well as the price element, she says, “We added passion to our main vision.” This has also meant adding services that were not part of the initial plan, such as event management. “It’s something that the members of the team used to do a lot of and they brought that skill to us as we grew. So our services include event management, con-ventional marketing, media buying, content writing...everything about communi-cation.”

The team has grown as a result of Cubik-S’ ability to attract bigger clients and projects, while collaborating closely with third parties and external vendors, and to be-come part of a wide variety of projects. Gaining and retain-ing customers is fundamental for growth, Solomonides states, and part of the secret comes down to understand-ing each client’s vision. “The key is to become part of the client’s company. In Cyprus, companies are sometimes hesitant to collaborate with an external party, especially in our field, because they feel the need to monitor it – ex-cessively! – all the time. This is why we try to become part

of our clients’ business.”Spending time on a client’s

website and understanding the business, the products and/or services, is essential in creating value. “We we pre-

tend we are their customers, we buy their products or ser-vices and we use them. When we understand what their target market is and what their sales targets are, we can deliver the best possible way to achieve them. If we don’t feel part of our clients’ goal, we will ultimately fail in communicating it properly” she says.

Andrea and her team al-ways try to remind clients that there is more to com-munication than having a large number of followers on social media. “It is about them interacting with their customers, and their cus-tomers interacting with their products, giving genuine feedback and spreading the word about them. Turning customers into ambassadors and evangelists maximises the communication effort” she says.

Offering creative and in-novative tailor-made media solutions is not easy, Solomo-nides admits. “It is important to be out there,” she explains. “You cannot be isolated and expect that every day you will have creative ideas. Going out, interacting with people,

understanding what they are feeling, as well as reading and following the business in oth-er countries, especially in the US, is what helps us create great campaigns. Everything

needs to be inspirational. You need to be inspired in order to come up with something great for your clients.”

On the future of digital marketing, Andrea believes that it is already a matter of creating valuable content, rather than simply advertis-ing products. “It is only a matter of time before Cyprus and Europe in general catch up with the rest of the world in this area,” she notes. “The next big thing is ad content. Since 2012 we have been tracking the trends of where people access the Internet from and mobile has now surpassed online laptop use. Businesses should therefore invest in an app or a very good website optimised for mobile because that’s how consumers are increasingly accessing the Internet. That is where the advertising needs to be.”

The role of social media marketing is becoming in-creasingly significant for businesses nowadays and, consequently, Andrea Solo-monides and her team spend a lot of time educating clients about how to use it, how to disseminate content and how

to advertise on it. “It’s all about education,” she says, “and for us it is the future. We are just helping the mar-ket get there faster.”

Online marketing is not only a way for local businesses to ex-pand in the Cyprus market. It makes entry into foreign markets easier, faster and more cost-effective since local companies

can test new markets by first advertising online and track-ing demand. “We have done this for clients in a number of markets, presenting them online rather than spending a lot on having a physical presence. If you can spend a small amount to see what people in a specific region want to buy, why not do it?”

The big challenge for established businesses that spend heavily on conven-tional marketing is working out how to allocate a certain amount to digital. Online marketing is still a relatively new concept in Cyprus but, says Andrea, eventually all companies will be using it. “Survival in the long term requires continuous business process evolution. Con-ventional marketing will eventually stop working and established clients under-stand that the key to their long-term success is diversi-fication and their ability to stay relevant. Our job is to make consumers aware that our clients are still around by persuading them to try something new. People evolve, technology evolves, everything evolves.”

| MARKETING |

TURNING CUSTOMERS INTO AMBASSADORS AND

EVANGELISTS MAXIMISES THE COMMUNICATION EFFORT

STEFANO CECCARELLI, SALES MANAGER, SAP DIGITAL EMEA SOUTH, WAS THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER AT LAST MONTH’S SAP FORUM CYPRUS

2016 REIMAGINE BUSINESS FOR THE DIGITAL ECONOMY. FOLLOWING HIS ADDRESS ENTITLED “LEADING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: NEWS FROM

THE EDGE”, HE SPOKE EXCLUSIVELY TO GOLD, REVEALING AMONG OTHER THINGS HIS PREDICTIONS FOR THE NEXT MAJOR WORLD-TRANSFORMING

TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS.By John Vickers

| TECHNOLOGY |


WE CAN

CHANGE THE

WORLD


Does what you call ‘Digital Business Transformation’ simply mean introducing more technology?Stefano Ceccarelli: No. If it was only about technology, it would be easy but it also means changing your organi-sation, the way you deal with your customers and possibly the company’s whole mindset. Technology simply facilitates this new model but there is a lot of work that has to be done on the organisation and its people and that is the dif-ficult part.

Gold: How significant has Cloud computing become to today’s businesses?S.C.: It can be a new para-digm for business. We are used to having our own software and our server on the company premises and we know how much of an effort it is to keep up with

the requirements of innova-tion. Every 18 months to two years, we are doubling the speed of our machines. With the Cloud, we can access all the power we need and eve-rything required to keep our systems online and it is much easier to integrate with other applications. Our Ariba net-work connects more than two million companies managing one trillion transactions per year. Imagine if each one had to connect separately to the others without having the in-frastructure.

Gold: What about ‘Big Data’?S.C.: In today’s world, we are all hyper-connected and this is generating a huge amount of data – there has been more created in the last two years than in the entire history of IT. We all generate a terabyte of data every day! If we want to get real value from it and change the relationship we have with our customers or a public administration with its citizens, we need to manage and analyse this data. Once we have the tools for this, we can then provide our custom-ers with what they need at the right moment.

Gold: Isn’t there a conflict between all this data that is being generated and people’s need or desire for privacy?S.C.: Privacy is an issue but we already accept many things that may clash with the concept of privacy. From the moment you join Face-book or LinkedIn, you are already compromising your

privacy and I would also say this: every day, my inbox is full of e-mails that I don’t want, I don’t like and I don’t need. In my opinion, having the possibility to provide a customer with content that is relevant at a specific moment means giving a service that has value. So instead of receiving 1,000 e-mails a month that are trying to convince me to buy things that I have already bought or I don’t want, I would prefer to receive one e-mail, for example when I’m in a bookstore with an ad for a book that I am probably looking for. And this is a real possibility now.

Gold: We’ve started to hear a lot about the Internet of Things (IoT). Are we really going to be controlling eve-rything we do from a mobile phone in the future?S.C.: Having all these con-nected devices can give us advice and help us take deci-sions about what to do. It’s already happening in indus-try. For example, the Italian train company Trenitalia has 2,000 high-speed trains on which there is a total of 6 million sensors. The sensors provide data that can predict when a train may break down so that maintenance work is carried out before that hap-pens. We have a customer that makes harvesters and, through the use of sensors, it can predict failure 72 hours in advance so it prepares the replacement parts and sends them to its customer who can fix the problem before it even occurs and without stopping the harvesting process. We

are living in a time when, if we are able to obtain and analyze the right informa-tion – and that is the role of SAP – we can literally change the world.

Gold: What do you say to those who claim that there are security issues that have not been resolved with IoT technology and so we are making ourselves more vul-nerable?S.C.: Most security issues are all about human behaviour so, for instance, it’s important not to use simple passwords, not to leave our devices unat-tended and to pay attention to the information we reveal on social networks. Basically, we need to treat our digital life like our real life and to under-stand that our smartphone or other device is like the key to our house. If someone steals it, it’s as if they have stolen our door key. Of course, we have the technological capa-bility to defend ourselves and we cannot stop evolution just because we fear that someone might steal our identity.

Gold: You’ve been involved in software and technology for 20 years now. How has your job changed since you started?S.C.: My job changed along with the change from dig-itisation to digitalisation. There’s a difference! At first, we adapted all the old pro-cesses to new technologies but we didn’t change them. We just digitised them. Now everything is digital and we need to collect this data in order to change the business

THERE HASBEEN MORE

DATA CREATEDIN THE LASTTWO YEARSTHAN IN THE

ENTIRE HISTORY

OF IT


| TECHNOLOGY |

model. Take the example of an insurance company. If you want car insurance, you will usually be asked how long you’ve been driving and how many times you’ve been involved in an accident, and you’ll be given a price. To-day, however, the company has the ability to base the price offered to customers on their driving habits – how long they spend in the car, where they go, etc – and, in many instances, offer a better price. Data analysis technolo-gy is changing the paradigm, enabling companies to offer precisely the right product at the right moment. This was certainly not the case when I began working in this field.

Gold: Is there are country or a region that, in your view, is the leader in tech-nology right now or does globalisation mean that everyone is doing the same thing simultaneously?S.C.: International com-panies are now working all around the world and I be-lieve that it is they who are driving these new processes because of their access to this huge amount of data and the ability to analyse it. If I look at my territory – EMEA South (Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Middle East and North Africa) – I must

say that I am impressed by the speed at which all these countries are adopting new technology. We are growing exponentially – doubling the number of customers each year – and this suggests to me that in the countries where the financial crisis has had the greatest impact, the need for change is appearing faster. In Greece and Cyprus, for example, I have seen a large amount of investment in SAP products and services that had not previously been planned. All the major play-ers in the technology market are growing. Soon we will have self-driving cars, arti-ficial intelligence and other things that will change soci-ety and the world.

Gold: So, do you and your colleagues at SAP already know what the next big thing in business technol-ogy is going to be?S.C.: We have some idea, yes! Virtual reality will have a deep impact on the way we consume technology but, in my opinion, what will really change our lives are self-driv-ing vehicles and we are going to get them sooner than we expect. Everything is ready and they will have an impact on pollution, on the way we move around our cities and much more. I also expect that after that, the next really big move will be the integra-tion of biological and IT. Today it is still difficult for us to consume information so our brain needs to be di-rectly connected to the Inter-net or by using brainwaves.

Gold: This sounds more like science fiction!S.C.: No, there are pro-totypes working already. The only thing preventing humans from evolving to the next level is the speed at which we acquire infor-mation. If we can increase it, we will take a huge step forward. Many new start-ups are working on this and a lot of investment is being made in this and into anti-ageing in Silicon Valley. We can

now analyze DNA a million times faster than before so biological research is open-ing up new frontiers. SAP is already at the forefront of digital transformation and business transformation and we are working with several thousand start-ups on the next steps.

Gold: It sounds like an ex-citing time to be involved in technology.S.C.: I can honestly say that, for the first time in my life, I feel that I’m doing a job that is truly impacting the world. We are changing everything and progressing to the ulti-mate sophistication, which is simplicity. And we will get there. I am certain of that.

SOON WE WILL HAVE

SELF-DRIVING CARS, ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCEAND OTHER

THINGS THAT WILL CHANGE SOCIETY AND THE WORLD

WE CANNOT STOP EVOLUTION JUST

BECAUSE WE FEAR THAT SOMEONE

MIGHT STEAL OUR IDENTITY

SAP FORUM CYPRUS ORGANISER: SAP. SPONSORS: AMS LTD, LOGICOM SOLUTIONS AND SUPERNOVA CONSULTING LTD. SECRETARIAT: IMH. MEDIA PARTNER: IN BUSINESS MAGAZINE


Insolvency Law has been for a long time a taboo subject in the EU. Although it should be a classic single market project, insolvency laws are still governed by national rules

which are conflicting, cause uncertainty and discourage cross-border investment and the fast restructuring of companies. There is no relevant EU legislative act that harmonizes national practices. Companies continue to fail for a number of reasons, including old business models, high operating costs and labour protection laws. Clearly something needs to be done, but we are still a long way from creating an EU Insolvency framework.In its action plan on building a Capital Markets Union, published in September 2015,

the European Commission noted that a legislative initiative is to be expected on business insolvency in the fourth quarter of 2016, with the aim of facilitating company restructuring and increasing certainty for cross-border investors as well as reducing transaction costs that add to the costs of investing in the EU. The European Commission is basically working to prepare a legislative proposal by the end of 2016 for the harmonization of some key features of national insolvency regimes to facilitate company restructuring and possibly target specific further aspects of insolvency law. It will draw on the experience of

Commission Recommendation C(2014)1500 final, published in March 2014.The Commission focuses on restructuring because a restructuring framework should enable debtors to address their financial difficulties at an early stage, when insolvency can be prevented and the continuation of their business is

assured. Efficient restructuring rules are expected to lower the costs of assessing the risks of investing in another Member State, increase recovery rates for creditors, and remove the difficulties in restructuring

cross-border groups of companies.Other groups of professionals have been actively supporting

the creation of a European Insolvency framework. In February 2016, the Association of Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) published a report entitled “Potential economic gains from reforming insolvency law in Europe”. The report elaborates on corporate insolvency in the framework of the capital markets union and on how insolvency is indirectly related to the banking union because of non-performing loans (NPLs) that weight down bank balance sheets. The report examines the current state of European insolvency laws and practices and provides an assessment of the economic benefits that could be achieved through insolvency reform. Key findings of the report include:• 11 EU Member States (Cyprus is one of them) are already reforming their national insolvency rules but there

A REFORMED CORPORATE INSOLVENCY REGIME

| INSOLVENCY |

WHAT IT MEANS FOR CYPRUS

Info: Amalia Hadjipapa is a Partner

at Marangos & Hadjipapa LLC. She

specialises in Corporate Law and Mergers & Acquisitions.

FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN INSOLVENCY FRAMEWORKS ACROSS THE EU COULD

INCREASE GDP BY BETWEEN €41 BILLION

AND €78 BILLION

€€


remains the opportunity for targeted and coordinated reform.• Further improvements in insolvency frameworks across the EU could increase GDP by between €41 billion and €78 billion (between 0.3% and 0.55% of EU28 GDP). This assumption is made if all the member states raise their recovery ratio to 85% (according to the World Bank Doing Business Report for 2016, Cyprus’ currently stands at around 71.4%).• A number of additional channels could increase the economic impact of insolvency reform in Europe, including improved access to finance for companies (because companies can circulate money faster), greater levels of entrepreneurship and company formation, and progress in addressing Europe’s high level of non-performing loans.In order to capture these economic benefits, the report recommends the following areas of reform:• Stay - a US Chapter 11-type stay of proceedings to enable quick and effective restructuring;• Ongoing (DIP) financing - granting super-priority status to new financing to provide working capital to a distressed company;Cramdown – Provisions to prevent creditors with no remaining value or economic interest in the in the company from holding up restructuring.Creditor rights - giving creditors a more influential role and information regarding the

company in distress; andReporting - requiring national insolvency agencies to publicly report on outcomes.

Cyprus embarked on its own insolvency framework reform recently. As with other reforms that have taken place during the last three years, it was much- needed but it only materialized because it was a prerequisite for obtaining cash payments from the Troika. The reform mainly amended existing legislation by introducing a reorganisation/restructuring procedure as well as provisions to facilitate the continuation of the debtor’s business during insolvency proceedings and allow creditors greater participation in important decisions during the proceedings. Two of the amending pieces of legislation concern the bankruptcy of natural persons. In total:

Insolvency of Natural Persons (Personal

Repayment Schemes and Debt Relief Order) Law of 2015 (affects natural persons)

Bankruptcy (Amending) Law of 2015 (affects

natural persons)

Companies (Amending) Law (No.3) Law of 2015,

simplifies the liquidation procedure

Companies (Amending) Law (No.2) Law of 2015,

introduces a mechanism for

restructuring corporate debt (Examinership)

Insolvency Practitioners Law of 2015

Insolvency Practitioners Regulations of 2015

While the new insolvency framework is a positive step forward, there are some drawbacks too. The absence of an established, experienced insolvency profession and the entire regulatory and other infrastructure that develops

with it, for example, is an issue that will need to be addressed. On the other hand, the new framework allows for the creation

of a brand new area for qualified professionals, which Cyprus has in abundance. Another disadvantage is that the increased involvement of the courts, not only in the review of corporate voluntary arrangements but in basically all matters that involve restructuring and liquidation, is likely to be a particular pressure point and an area of vulnerability, due to the country’s notoriously slow court proceedings and judges’ inexperience of insolvency proceedings. It will take some time to set up specialized insolvency courts, just as it will take time to create specialized insolvency practitioners. It is still too early to draw any safe conclusions about whether the reform has been

successful or not, but it is worth noting its positive impact regarding the overall picture of Cyprus as an investment destination.One category of the World Bank’s Doing Business Report ranks countries on the strength of their insolvency framework. In 2015, Cyprus ranked 51st out of 189 economies regarding its insolvency framework. In 2016, after Cyprus implemented the new insolvency framework, it moved up 34 places and is now in 17th place with a score of 13 on the strength of insolvency framework index (0-16). The EU average is 11.6, which is 5% below the OECD average for high income countries. Finally, the higher the recovery rate of collaterals, the lower the borrowing costs for the country and consequently for companies. Lower borrowing costs ultimately mean that not so many companies will fail in the long run. Whereas, in the past, the average duration of insolvency proceedings was more than 10 years (especially in cases where there was collateral involved), it has now been reduced to 18 months. An efficient insolvency regime will not deter foreign investors from entering a jurisdiction. It is one that allows companies to circulate money and assets faster in an economy. An efficient insolvency regime basically means more economic activity and investments for a jurisdiction and this is exactly what we hope the reformed insolvency regime will achieve for Cyprus.

A RESTRUCTURING FRAMEWORK

SHOULD ENABLE DEBTORS TO

ADDRESS THEIR FINANCIAL

DIFFICULTIES AT AN EARLY

STAGE

€ €


So, you’ve got a great idea, the funding is in the bag, and your business model has been well crafted. Success is guaranteed, right? Wrong! According to

research by serial entrepreneur Bill Gross, the two most important factors for success for start-ups are “timing” and “team.” And it’s not just start-ups launching their first products on the market which face “critical moments.” Every company has them. More and more multinationals or entire industries have to transform their organisations from top to bottom following digital disruption. Thankfully, what makes teams successful as start-ups can also be applied to large firms. Over the last 20 years, I have had the opportunity to directly hire and/or follow the performance of several hundred key employees working on strategic initiatives. I have observed that when things go wrong, in most cases it is related to one or several of the following dimensions, which I refer to as the PIKES model. PIKES stands for Purpose, Integration, Knowledge, Ecosystem, and Self.PURPOSE: This relates to an individual’s sense of purpose. It refers to the genuine and profound personal motivation of each team member to make the project a success. Motivation is different for each individual, but it has to be there, otherwise the risk of people dropping out when the team faces its first serious crisis is very high. INTEGRATION: It addresses the degree of integration between team members, which is really about team maturity. In other words, the team should have a deep understanding of which tangible and intangible elements contribute to its cohesion – values, behaviours, and written

and unwritten rules, such as reliability. The concept of integration is central when hiring new team members. KNOWLEDGE: This covers the mastery of key technical competencies required for the job or the specific initiative. It also includes soft skills. In addition, knowledge is about each person’s ability to bring novelty to the table. Beyond the obvious need for innovation, a team that does not have the potential for creativity runs the risk of lacking imagination when it comes to resolving complex problems. ECOSYSTEM: This dimension relates to each individual’s capacity to understand the dynamics of the broader environment (e.g. the company and, more generally, the area of business) in such a way that the team can navigate and interact efficiently, even during stormy weather. From an outcome perspective, it means the ability to mobilise resources across the organisation and beyond, and to obtain support from key stakeholders. SELF: This is probably the least-discussed aspect of project management but it is vital, especially during the critical moments mentioned above. It addresses each team member’s ability to be in control of his/her own emotions. Uncontained stress has the potential to derail all the other dimensions. It is therefore crucial that strategic teams have stress management as a core competency and are fully aware of where weaknesses lie in order to be able to anticipate stress-related challenges. Last but not least, teams are like mirrors; they reflect the ability of top management to translate their vision into reality. So the pressure is on to choose the right people and then nurture them. The buzz phrase “people are our most important asset” really does say it all!

| MANAGEMENT |

WINNING TEAMS

By Marco Mancesti

TEAMS ARE LIKE MIRRORS; THEY

REFLECT THE ABILITY OF TOP MANAGEMENT TO TRANSLATE THEIR VISION INTO REALITY

Info: Marco Mancesti is R&D Director at IMD Business School, Geneva


Starting in 1961 as a humble club of the very few qualified account-ants on the island, and passing through various phases of development

and maturity, ICPAC has grown into a significant stakeholder on the economic and business scene, a multi-disciplined organisation serving more than 3,700 members and nearly 3,000 students.

This exponential expansion of the Institute’s roles and interests is evident in the fact that it has been entrusted legal responsibility and authority under four separate pieces of legislation. Today ICPAC regulates three distinct professions and operates via its management and 24 special-ised committees. At the same time, the Institute Council’s agenda is furnished with multiple and diverse issues, that go beyond the traditional professional role into broader economic issues.

One of the most challenging periods for ICPAC has undoubt-edly been the one that we have recently experienced with the eco-nomic crisis and the Troika dominating the scene. Apart from the overall financial and social predicament which affected everybody (ICPAC was no exception), the island’s professional accountancy body actively participated in the efforts to successfully meet the obligations of the adjustment programme of the Memorandum of Understanding. In parallel, the Institute’s Council, management, committees and other members worked hard in order to alleviate adverse repercussions on the economy, to maintain Cyprus as an international business centre and to restore the county’s repu-tation and credibility.

We are, of course, very pleased with the successful completion of the adjustment programme but we are definitely not out of the woods yet and the economy still faces a number of serious chal-lenges, such as high unemploy-ment, slow economic growth,

non-performing loans and the market’s lack of liquidity, accompanied by the inevitable social effects.

Something we will hopefully have learned from this tough lesson is that we need to adopt a new mindset and culture, be more professional and less tolerant towards mediocrity, corrup-tion, nepotism and complacency. The necessity for genuine and effective structural reform to the way the State is both governed and run is imperative, requiring fair but tough and bold deci-sions without consideration of political or personal cost.

What ICPAC has achieved so far, compared to other local organisations and interna-tional accountancy bodies, is truly impressive, given the constraints on our capabilities and resources.

ICPAC is currently at a strategically transitional stage, exploring its possibilities for restructuring and developing new skills and compe-tencies. This is, of course. partly dictated by increasing legal and professional obligations, new EU Directives and Regulations, the overall regulatory environment and global developments.

As an organisation whose activities, like the work done by its Members, affect public trust, ICPAC is committed to servicing the public interest and safeguarding public value. The accountancy profession carries its share of social responsibility, something that is well understood and addressed by the Institute.

2016 is a landmark year for ICPAC, not only because of the successful completion of its first 55 years but because it is envis-

aged as a turning point in its activities and image. Placing ethics, competence, knowledge and professionalism at the top of its agenda, ICPAC is committed to pursuing the further enhancement of its services to its members, the economy and society. History is never, of itself, a guarantee of what will follow but it is a strong indication that we shall continue to progress thanks to our robust founda-tions. The first 55 years of professional commitment have passed and ICPAC is still going strong!

Info: Kyriakos Iordanou is General Manager of the Institute of Certified

Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC)

w

WE NEED TO ADOPT A NEW MINDSET AND CULTURE, BE MORE PROFESSIONAL AND

LESS TOLERANT TOWARDS MEDIOCRITY, CORRUPTION, NEPOTISM

AND COMPLACENCY

Opinion

THIS YEAR, THE INSTITUTE OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS OF CYPRUS (ICPAC) CELEBRATES

By Kyriakos Iordanou


How often do you travel,

whether for business or pleasure?

On average, once a month.

BUSINESSCLASS

The Managing Director at Sovereign Trust (Cyprus) Limited is a frequent traveller and while London remains a favourite and Japan has impressed, it is

a Greek island that currently tops her wish-list of new destinations.

Baiba Saldovere

What is your favourite

airline, and why?

-ates or Qatar Airways. The

destinations.

What is the most exciting destination

you have visited for work? And for pleasure?

to do and see.

Tell us about your best corporate

travel experience.

ns.

your rited why?

What is the most impressive hotel you

have ever stayed at and why?

azine of Cyprus

If you could travel anywhere

tomorrow, where would you go?

and it is within easy reach

How does Cyprus compare to this location?

C pprprrusn?

ruruuuuuon

s on

ussusus

a Gre

Teb

What is your favourite

international destination and why?

Wh


1. AND THE WEAK SUFFER WHAT THEY MUST?

By Yanis Varoufakis (Bodley Head, 2016)R.R.P. £16.99 (£11.89 FROM AMAZON.CO.UK)

Subtitled “Europe, Aus-terity and the Threat to Global Stability”, the short-lived Greek Finance Minister (dubbed “The emerging rock star of Eu-rope’s anti-austerity up-rising” by TheTelegraph) delivers a fresh look at the history of Europe’s crisis and America’s central role in it. Passionate, inform-ative and humorous, he warns that the implosion of an irrational European monetary union should, and can, be avoided at all costs.

2. GROUND RULESBy Jeremy Miller

R.R.P. £12.99 (£12.08 FROM AMAZON.CO.UK)

From 1956 to 1970, the young Warren Buffett wrote 33 letters to his small but growing group of partners, setting out what he termed “ground rules” for investing. They remain startlingly relevant today and this book brings together the key investment principles and teachings revealed in the letters, as well as Miller’s own articulate and insightful comments which help the reader understand Buffett’s “ground rules” on each theme.

3.THE CITY

(Verso Books, 2016)R.R.P. £20.00 (£16.59 FROM AMAZON.CO.UK)

London and the Global Power of Finance is the book’s subtitle and Norfield explains how the City’s operations are critical both for British capitalism and world finance. He details, among other things, the role of the US dollar in global trading and the network of Brit-ish-linked tax havens. If you don’t like ‘finance’ but have no problem with the capitalist mar-ket system, think again: they can’t be separated.

4.LEADERSHIP DUBAI STYLEBy Tommy Weir

(Emlc Print, 2016)R.R.P. £24.75 (£24.75 FROM AMAZON.CO.UK)

Fifty years ago, Dubai was a cholera-plagued backwater. Today it is a global super-city. How did this incred-ible transformation take place? Weir puts the miracle down to leadership and he spent three years interviewing leaders and identifying the city’s leadership secrets. The book is filled with examples, as in the amazing rise of Emirates Airlines, while his ‘twelve habits’ are beneficial to anyone interested in leadership.

5. CHRONICLES: ON OUR TROUBLED TIMES

By Thomas Piketty (Viking, 2016)R.R.P. £16.99 (£11.89 FROM AMAZON.CO.UK)

Coming hot on the heels of his award-winning masterwork, Capital in the 21st Century, one might expect this to be a lesser contribu-tion. Comprising the very best of his writ-ing for Liberation over the past ten years, it is certainly different and it tackles a wider range of subjects, from pro-ductivity in Britain to Barack Obama, setting out Piketty’s analysis of the financial crisis and its aftermath.

The anti-austerity

radical on how to save European

capitalism from itself.

greatest investor knew what he was

doing 60 years ago.

Why London

is so important in the global

landscape.

How Dubai was transformed

through 12

leadership habits.

Compilation of the award-winning

journalism.

1 2 3 4 5

BOOKSHELF

BOOKS of the month


MYCOLLECTION

THE HISTORY


OLD BOOKS, PHOTOGRAPHS, POSTCARDS AND HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS HAVE HELD A FASCI-NATION FOR LIMASSOL ARCHITECT AND AUTHOR TASOS ANDREOU EVER SINCE HE WAS A YOUNG BOY. HE HAS NEVER LOST WHAT HE CALLS THE ‘HUNTING INSTINCT’ FOR OBJECTS THAT TAKE HIM BACK A CENTURY OR MORE TO A CYPRUS THAT IS NO LONGER WITH US.

the young Tasos Andreou gained good marks at school, his father would always reward him with a book. That love of reading has never left him. Indeed, it just kept growing.

“Later, when I was studying in Grenoble, France, I used to go around the second-hand shops, always looking to buy books with a Cypriot or a Greek connection,” he recalls, adding that, “In those days they were really cheap, which was for-tunate because I was spending what very little money I had on them!”

Once back in Cyprus and in charge of an established architecture practice, he became more serious about collecting. “I focused initial-ly on old postcards and books on Cypriot and Greek history, which I have always loved reading about,” he says, explaining how he would come across items in junk shops, while oth-ers were bought from other collectors in Cyprus or at auctions in Greece. “Gradually my own collection grew although, having seen others abroad that are absolutely huge, I’m not sure if I can really call myself a serious collector,” he says. “But I realised that I had something special here when it was no longer necessary for me to look outside the books in my own possession for any information I needed because I could find it all here.”

Andreou still makes a point of going out every week and searching around second-hand shops but, he admits, the market is shrinking fast. “A few years ago there was still plenty to be found. Now it’s much more difficult, either because there are

By John Vickers Photography by Emma Louise Charalambous

when

MANThe whole

collection is part of me and my life.

It’s like another child


fewer old items around or – and I hope this is the case – people perhaps have a greater appreciation for their ancestors’ possessions and they are holding on to them instead of throwing them away.”

He admits that he has plenty of items in his collection, which their owners had thrown out with the rubbish but, luckily for him and posterity, someone spotted and saved them.

It may be getting harder to find new additions but that doesn’t stop a collector. He beams with pleasure as he shows me a rare 1930 guide to Cyprus which he had discovered only the previous week in a junk shop.

Part of his library consists of books signed by their au-thors. “Knowing that he held that very book and wrote in it creates a stronger connec-tion with the author,” he explains. “When someone like Kazantzakis or Palamas has signed a book that you pos-

sess, it’s a very special feeling.”One of the few signatures

that Andreou has not been able to obtain is that of the Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, whose works were published after his death, so any autographs are to be found only on letters and manuscripts.

These days, he says, the search is no longer limited to books or postcards.

“Part of the magic of collect-ing things is simply seeing some-thing and liking it. It doesn’t have to be a book. For example, I found a First World War German helmet at a market in London and I bought it, even though I am not a collector of military memorabilia, simply be-cause I liked the look of it. Lon-

don is a collector’s paradise, especially for Cyprus-related items, many of which were taken back to the UK by British citizens who worked and lived on the island after 1878. Their descendants are not interested in them so they sell them to those of us who are.”

Old postcards are won-derful historical documents of how life was in Cyprus from the end of the 19th century onwards, and Tasos Andreou has been collecting them for many years. The first publisher of such postcards in Cyprus was the photographer John P. Foscolo who came to Cyprus with the British in 1878 and took pictures of monuments, landscapes and the people of the island. “Foscolo published many postcards, which are still in great demand by collectors and they are becoming increasingly rare,” he explains. “They depict a Cy-prus that we have never seen in reality.” He adds that, in some instances, the message or the signature of the sender on the

London is a collector’s

paradise, especially for

Cyprus-related items

card can be even more significant than the photograph.”

One of the especially striking items in Tasos Andreou’s library is a 1912 drawing of Eleftherios Venizelos, found in a junk shop in Limassol. He also several letters written by Venizelos, including one that is particularly rare, which was written before he became Prime Minister of Greece. It was bought at an auction and a mu-seum later made an approach to buy it. “I refused to sell it, with-out even asking what they were offering for it,” he says. “I can’t be separated from the things I love.”

It is not surprising, then, that when I ask about the value of these thousands of items, Andre-ou is firm: “I’m not concerned about the monetary value. What is important to me is the sen-timental value I place on every piece. The whole collection is part of me and my life. It’s like another child.”

A rare letter written by the future Archbishop Makarios III when he was still Bishop of Kitium.

A book signed and dedicated by its author, Nikos Kazantzakis.

1912 Drawing of Eleftherios Venizelos, found in a junk shop in Limassol.

Many old books on Cyprus have beautiful bind-ings, illustrations and covers.

WWI German helmet bought at a London market.

MYCOLLECTION

PwC SUPPORTS THE “COMPANY OF THE YEAR” COMPETITION FINAL

PwC CYPRUS CEO EVGENIOS C. EVGENIOU PRESENTS “BEST BRAND” AWARD

SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

T he 2016 “Company of the Year” competition

PwC Cyprus helps organisations and individuals create the value they’re looking for. We’re a member of the PwC network of

services. Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.cy


Lunch with Gold LuncwithGold

here are some people who weave a path in and out of our lives and, each time they reappear, we pick up the thread as if it has never been broken by the years. Cleopatra Kitti is one such person, whom I have known for close to three decades and yet the number of times we have actually sat down and talked at length can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. So there is always a great deal of catching up to do because she has always been a remarkably active person and is constantly adding new positions and responsibilities to an already impres-sive and varied CV.

A quarter of a century ago, she

founded Cyprus’ first Public Affairs and strategic communications firm servicing clients from Europe into the Levant region and the then emerging Dubai. Today, she chairs the Brussels-based LITUS Advisory, is a member of the Cyprus Institute of Directors and founder of The Mediterranean Growth Initiative, which she set up to demonstrate the dynamic of the Mediterranean as an economic region in global trade, and destination for investment. And in between, Cleopatra has been ad-

THE FOUNDER OF THE MEDITERRANEAN GROWTH INITIATIVE

AND CHAIR OF THE BRUSSELS-BASED LITUS ADVISORY REFLECTS

ON A VARIED 20-YEAR CAREER THAT HAS TAKEN HER TO HALF A DOZEN

DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND REVEALS WHAT HER TRAVELS AND DIVERSE

EXPERIENCES HAVE TAUGHT HER, IN PARTICULAR ABOUT CYPRUS.

By John Vickers

RUSTICO TASTES AND TALES

1, Zenonos Kitieos St.,

RUSTICO SALAD €7.50

€7.50

GLASS OF WINE (2) €9.00

MINERAL WATER €2.50

MASTIC DESSERT €3.50€1.00

FILTER COFFEE €2.00

TOTAL €33.00

CLEOPATRA KITTI

T


vising governments and mul-tinational firms on leadership, governance and reputation, market entry and crisis man-agement across markets in Eu-rope, Middle East and Africa.

We meet at one of her recommended restaurants – Rustico Tastes & Tales – in Nicosia, which she has chosen for its simple yet delicious dishes as well as the fact that the owners have offered us a quiet corner in which to chat.

Over the past 20 years, Cleopatra Kitti has lived in six European countries as well as in Turkey, where she went in 1996 with her son and her then husband, who had been appointed General Manager of the Hilton Izmir. After an apprehensive three months, during which she rarely ventured outside what she calls the ‘golden cage’ of her hotel apartment, she final-ly began to make friends and to understand the similarities in culture between the Turks and the Cypriots. When I note that these similarities are even more obvious between the Greek and Turkish Cypri-ots, she tells me, “But we are the same. We have the same DNA. We Greek Cypriots may have a different religious faith from our Turkish Cyp-riot compatriots but we share this country and we should be doing our best to reunite it so that we can all enjoy what it has to offer.”

In Turkey she was unable to run her own business (“I had to learn how to be de-pendent and respect the rules of a country where they think and do things differently”) but upon moving to Athens for two years she was able to restart her career, before another transfer to Holland

taught her something else about her herself: in order to thrive, she needs the Medi-terranean light and sunshine. “That was a real hardship,” she says, ”and after a year I couldn’t cope with it. Cyprus was not yet a member of the EU, so I couldn’t get a job, and my unhappiness was compounded by the need to learn Dutch and the fact that the authorities suspected that ours was a marriage of con-venience! Such was the image of Cyprus at the time!”

We are brought a large green salad (for my guest) and chicken penne (for me), accompanied by two glasses of white wine. Lots of conver-sation means that we take our time with what turns out to be an excellent meal.

The next place of residence for Cleopatra and her family was Brussels, which may have similarly gloomy weather to its Dutch neighbour but it gave her the chance to study Internation-al Regulatory Affairs before getting a job with APCO World-wide, where she initiated the con-cept of the firm’s International Advi-sory Council and developed niche government relations assign-ments. She sub-sequently moved to London where

she developed the firm’s busi-ness in the Southern Mediter-ranean and the Balkans and, from 2002, would lead AP-CO’s operations in the Gulf.

Having lived and worked in Brussels, albeit at different times, Cleopatra and I have a shared enthusiasm for the Bel-gian capital and, in particular, for its rich cultural life. She stresses the positive effect that

spending time away from Cy-prus has on one’s perception of the country and suggests that it would be good if our politicians were able to see the broader picture.

Later, as a volunteer with the International Crisis Group, she was spotted by (Lord) Mark Malloch-Brown, who had served as Deputy Secretary General and Chief of Staff of the United Nations under Kofi Annan, who in-vited her to work with him on dispute resolution issues at the New York-based FTI Consulting. She did so but a growing need to give her son a more permanent place of residence, coupled with concerns over the her father’s’ failing health, persuaded her that it was time to return home to Cyprus.

So how is she filling her time? “Having seen

how conflict of all types affects economies and ultimately dest-abilises peo-ple’s lives in the region,” she explains, “I decided to focus on the Mediterrane-an. The es-sence of my work is bro-kering access

to capital for private sector, pursuing good

WE NEED TO BE STRIVING TO BE THE BEST OF CLASS INSTEAD

OF SIMPLY COPYING OTHERS


governance, and dispute resolution in the region.”

In Brussels, she has also set up LI-TUS, the first investor and policy advisory for the Mediterranean region and, to support the cause of growth in our part of the world, , she founded the Mediterranean Growth Initiative, and funded an independent report (“from my own savings because no-one was interested”) to develop economic indi-cators for the region.

I suggest that the Mediterranean is such a diverse region that, apart from the geographic convenience of the name, it cannot really be considered as a united area in any other way. “You are right, but its strength lies precisely in this diversity,” she counters. “When you consider that the anticipated growth for Southern Europe by 2020 is 1.8%-2.8% whereas for North Africa it’s 4%, it’s clear that we need more intra-Med trade and this is one of the causes I’ve been championing. Next month I am co-chairing an event at Chatham House, London, with the participation of the EIB and the EBRD as well as pri-vate equity groups based in the City, to discuss the Mediterranean as a growth area. Investment money is available but it tends to overlook our part of the world.”

Surely, I say, Cyprus is a prime target for such investment, especially when one considers the current state of most of our neighbouring countries, particu-larly those in the Middle East. “We can certainly become a regional business hub,” she agrees, “and we need to look at things on this scale, which means improving the public service, the gov-ernance, and changing what have always been inward-looking, insular attitudes. We are behind and we need to move with the times. We need to be striving to be the best of class instead of simply copying others. I’m very proud of being Cypriot but I am not shy when it comes to saying that we need to be better.”

She points to the island’s lack of connectivity, and she is not referring to

we have and to compare things more objectively.”

We decide to share a piece of the restaurant’s signature mastic cake over coffee and it turns out to be a dessert that we shall both be recommending. Light, creamy and delicious.

Cleopatra’s main aim today, she says, is to try and give herself a better work/life balance. “It has always been perhaps too much about work,” she acknowledges. “I’m blessed with good health and I have a wonderful son to whom I’m very close after all the adventures and travels that we have shared, so I think it’s time to slightly re-focus.”

This should not be interpreted as slowing down, however. As a firm be-liever in lifelong learning, she recently took a six-month intensive INSEAD course to obtain the Certificate of the International Directors Program. She laughs when I say that I admire peo-ple who can run a business and, at the same time, continue their education.

“’Where there’s a will, there’s a way’. Isn’t that what they say?” she asks. “You just need to want it enough.”

As we prepare to leave, she tells me, “I know that the world isn’t perfect and I’ve had my share of personal and professional setbacks but I choose to be an optimist. My motto is “Do good, have fun and make money.” If the last one doesn’t happen, two out of three is OK with me!”

airports or broadband: “I mean cultural connectivity, being more open to di-versity and more tolerant of foreigners coming to work here at all levels of the economy, thinking about broadening our market through collaboration with other countries and forgetting our obsession with being a small country. We can do so much more and it’s this mindset that we’re lacking.”

This she puts down to a weakness in the education systems which, she be-lieves, teaches young people to copy and repeat rather than to develop critical thinking. “We see the proof of this in Cyprus’ poor results year after year in the PISA global tests for 15-year-olds,” she asserts, adding that the system is failing to deliver future leaders.

While fiercely defending her right to criticize those aspects of life in her homeland which could and ought to be better, Kitti admits to feeling blessed for the opportunities that she has been given in her life and recognises that fact that she, like so many of us, are lucky

to be living in Cyprus. She relates how a Canadian friend recently took her to task, telling her that, ‘Other people work and save all their lives so that they can retire and have this life. You have it all year round and you don’t appreciate it!’ “It’s true,” she says, “although, iron-ically, I think that anyone who has lived abroad, and can therefore ‘step back’ a little more easily than those who have not, has the ability to appreciate what

WE GREEK CYPRIOTS MAY HAVE A DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS

FAITH FROM OUR TURKISH CYPRIOT COMPATRIOTS BUT WE SHARE THIS COUNTRY AND WE SHOULD BE DOING OUR BEST

TO REUNITE IT

| LUNCH WITH GOLD |

DANCEBALLET MOSCOWIA

Two performances by the Russian

Ballet Theatre Moscowia.

WHAT’S

ON

THINGS to do

ANCIENT CURIUM, LIMASSOL

NYMPH NEFELIFRIDAY, JUNE3, 9PM

CARMENWEDNESDAY, JUNE

8, 9PM

CLASSICAL MUSICGUITAR FESTIVAL

Honouring the great guitar-ist and composer, Leo Brouwer, who will be

present and giving master classes.Mediaeval Fort, Paphos Thursday, May 19, 8pmFriday, May 20, 8pmSaturday, May 21, 8pm

ARTEROTOKRITOSRetrospective of the late Limassol artist.


ELEONORA OF CYPRUSEnglish-language dramatisa-tion of the story of Eleonora, wife of King Peter I (1328-1369) of Cyprus.

BOLSHOI OPERA SOLOISTSOperatic arias, classical

and modern songs.Rialto Theatre, Limassol

CONTEMPORARY WORLD OF CYPRUSHigh school students’ work inspired by “The World of Cyprus” by Adaman-tios Diamantis. A.G. Leventis Gallery, NicosiaUntil Wednesday, June 8

MORFI GALLERY, LIMASSOL

UNTIL MONDAY,

MAY 30

THEATREALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

The annual Shakespeare at Curium charity performances.

ANCIENT CURIUM,

LIMASSOL FRIDAY, JUNE 17, SATURDAY,

JUNE 18 & SUNDAY,

JUNE 19, 8PM

CENTRE OF VISUAL ARTS AND RESEARCH

(CVAR), NICOSIAWEDNESDAY, MAY 18, THURSDAY, MAY 19,

MONDAY, MAY 23 & 30, TUESDAY, MAY 24 & 31, WEDNESDAY, MAY 25

& JUNE 1, 8PM


DIMITRA GALANI, ELENI TSALI-GOPOULOU, YIOTA NEGAPattichion Municipal Amphitheatre, Larnaca, Monday, May 30, 8.30pm

MARINELLA, ANTONIS REMOSPattichion Municipal Amphitheatre, Larnaca, Saturday, June 4, 9pm

GREEK MUSIC

Many of the biggest names in Greek popular music will be in Cyprus

in May and June. The main ones are the following:

MICHALIS HADJIYIANNISRed Music Stage, Nicosia

IMAM BAILDIAmmos Beach Bar, LarnacaSunday, May 22, 6pm

WHAT’S

ON

SATURDAY, MAY 21,

10PM

Some of the world’s greatest musicians will join forces for six concerts in the most impressive annual celebration of classi-cal music in Cyprus

– the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival – which begins in Nicosia on Thursday, May 19 with a recital by the exceptional young Viennese violin-ist Emmanuel Tjeknavorian and his compatriot, pianist Maximilian Kromer, in works by Mozart, Schubert, Franck and Kreisler. The Festival then moves to Kouklia near Paphos and the Royal Manor House, which is specifically trans-formed each year into a first-class recital hall, before returning to Nicosia for the closing performance. Lovers of classical music should not miss the opportunity to attend these outstanding recitals.

16th INTERNATIONAL PHAROS CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL

MOZART, SCHUBERT, FRANCK, KREISLERMozart: Sonata for violin and piano in A major, K.305 Schubert: Fantasie in C major, D.934 Franck: Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major Kreisler: Viennese Rhapsodic Fanta-sietta Emmanuel Tjeknavorian (violin), Maxi-milian Kromer (piano)

MOZART, SCARLATTI, PROKOFIEV, RACHMANINOFF Mozart: Quintet in A major for clarinet & strings, K.581 Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet), Henning Krag-gerud ( violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Diemut Poppen (viola), Tim Park (cello) Scarlatti: Sonata in D minor, K.213 “The Lover” & Sonata in C major, K.159 “La Caccia” Yevgeny Sudbin (piano)

Prokofiev: Overture on Hebrew Themes, for clarinet, string quartet & piano, Op.34 Yevgeny Sudbin ( piano), Ales-sandro Carbonare (clarinet), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello)Rachmaninoff: Sonata for cello & piano in G minor, Op.19 Yuja Wang (piano), Alexander Chaushian (cel-lo)

SCHUMANN, BRAHMSSchumann: Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op.47 Yevgeny Sudbin (piano), Levon Chilingirian (violin), Diemut Poppen (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)Brahms: Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op.34 Yevgeny Sudbin (piano), Boris Brovtsyn (vio-lin), Monika Urbonaite (violin), Diemut Pop-pen (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

The Shoe Factory, Nicosia

Thursday,

ROYAL MANOR HOUSE,

KOUKLIA FRIDAY, MAY

27, 8.30PM

ROYAL MANOR HOUSE,

KOUKLIA SATURDAY,

MAY 28, 8.30PM

VINYLIO WINE ETC, LIMASSOLSATURDAY,

MAY 28, 9.30PM

ALKINOOS IOANNIDESAncient Curium,

Limassol, Saturday, June 11, 9pm

GYPAM

M

ATURAA DARR Y, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,AAMAY 21, AA

10PM

p

RALLIA CHRISTIDOU

DIMITRA

AAIIAMAKARIOS II

AMPHITHEATRE, NICOSIA

TUESDAY, MAY 31, 8.30PM SKALI

AGLANDJIAS, NICOSIA

TUESDAY. JUNE 14 & WEDNESDAY,

JUNE 15, 9PM

MAKARIOS III AMPHITHEATRE, NICOSIA SUNDAY,

JUNE 5 & MONDAY 6 JUNE, 9PM

LAVRENTIS MACHAIRITSAS & YIANNIS KOTSIRASSkali Aglandjias, Nicosia, Thursday, June 16th, 9pm

ay,

EMEE OSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSStre,

SDAY, A MAY A, 8.30PM

LLLLLLLLLLAVLLMMMMMMAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM& YKOKKSkaThu

PATTICHION AMPHITHEATRE,

LARNACASUNDAY,

JUNE 12, 9PM

MUNICIPAL GARDEN

THEATRE, LIMASSOL

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 8.30PM


PUCCINI, BARTOK, SCHUBERT Puccini: Crisantemi for string quartet Henning Kraggerud (violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello) Bartok: Contrasts for clarinet, violin & piano, Sz.111 Alessandro Carbonare (clarinet), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Yuja Wang (piano) Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major, D.667 “Trout” Yuja Wang (piano), Henning Kraggerud (violin), Diemut Poppen ( viola), Tim Park (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

DVORAK, MOZART, ROSSINI, HUMMEL Dvorak: Two Waltzes for String Quintet, Op.54 Levon Chilingirian (violin), Boris Brovt-syn (violin), Tim Park (cello), David Abrahamyan (vio-la), Nabil Shehata (double-bass) Mozart: String Quintet No.3 in C, K.515 Levon Chilingirian (violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Diemut Poppen (viola), David Abra-hamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello)Rossini: Duo for cello & double-bass in D major Tim Park (cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass) Hummel: Quintet for piano, violin, vio-la, cello & double-bass in E-flat, Op.87 Katharina Treutler (piano), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Shira Majoni (viola), Tim Park

(cello), Nabil Shehata (double-bass)

BOCCHERINI, DOHNANYI, SCHUBERT, SUKBoccherini: Guitar Quintet in E minor, G451 Fabio Zanon (guitar), Levon Chilingirian (violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello) Dohnanyi: Serenade in C major for

string trio, Op.10 Levon Chilingirian (violin), Shira Majoni (viola), Tim Park (cello)Schubert: An Schwager Kronos; Pro-metheus; Der Erlkönig; Der Zwerg Markos Kleovoulou (baritone), Katharina Treutler (piano)Suk: Piano Quartet in A minor, Op.1 Katharina Treutler (piano), Boris Brovt-syn (violin), Shira Majoni (viola), Alexan-der Chaushian (cello) PAGANINI, CHAUS-SON, MASSENET, RESPIGHI, SHOS-TAKOVICHPaganini: Quartet for guitar & strings No.6 in D minor, Op.5/3 Fabio Zanon (guitar), Daishin Kashimoto (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello)

Chausson: Chanson Perpétuelle, for so-prano & piano quintet, Op.37 Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano), Katharina Treutler (piano), Daishin Kashimoto (vio-lin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), David Abra-hamyan (viola), Tim Park (cello) Massenet: Élégie for soprano, cello & piano Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano), Alexander Chaushian (cello), Katharina Treutler (pi-ano) Respighi: Deità silvane: Five Songs Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano), Katharina Treutler (piano) Shostakovich: String Quar-tet No.8 in C minor, Op.110

Daishin Kashimoto (violin), Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Shira Majoni (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)

SANDOVAL, OBRADORS, GUASTAV-INO, LISZT, KOMITAS/SERGEY ASLAMAZIAN, SCHUBERT Sandoval: Sin tu Amor Fabio Zanon (guitar), Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano) Obradors: El Vito Fabio Zanon (guitar), Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano) Guastavino: Jeromita Linares for guitar & string quartet Fabio Zanon (guitar), Daishin Kashimoto (violin), Levon Chilingirian (violin), Shi-ra Majoni (viola), Alexander Chaushian (cello)Liszt: Im Rhein, im schönen Strome; Vergiftet sind meine Lieder; Die Lo-reley Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano), Katharina Treutler (piano)Komitas / Sergey Aslamazian: Pieces for string quartet Daishin Kashimoto (violin), Levon Chil-ingirian (violin), David Abrahamyan (vio-la), Alexander Chaushian (cello)Schubert: Salve Regina for soprano & string quartet, Op.153 Ruzan Mantashyan (soprano), Levon Chilingirian (violin), Daishin Kashimoto (violin), David Abrahamyan (viola), Alex-ander Chaushian (cello)

Royal Manor House, Kouklia Tuesday,

Royal Manor House, Kouklia Sunday,

SANDOVAL,S OBRADORS, GUASTATAVV-VV

THE SHOE

FACTORY, NICOSIA

SATURDAY, JUNE

4, 8.30PM

ROYAL MANOR HOUSE,

KOUKLIA THURSDAY,

JUNE 2, 8.30PM

ROYAL MANOR HOUSE,

KOUKLIA WEDNESDAY,

JUNE 1, 8.30PM


n weekdays I get up just before 7am. We have three children – twin boys aged 10 and a girl of 8 – and my wife Andri and I share duties in the house, so for me, breakfast is a sandwich in the car on the way to the office from the school run! Action is both a family business and a multinational business. In recent years, my sister Kathy and I have been trying to change the man-agement structure so that each country office (we have about 35) has its own responsibilities. Since many of them operate on a different model, we are in communication with them as often as possible.

As a kid, I wanted to become a mechanic and, later, an avi-onics engineer but after going with my Dad [company founder Tony Christodoulou] to dif-

ferent places as a teenager and learning more about the busi-ness, I decided to study Market-ing Management & Information Systems in London and I then worked for two years in the ad-vertising sales department of the Wall Street Journal there. When I came back to Cyprus, I spent 5-6 years in Action’s advertising department, while learning about all the other parts of the business. As a second generation family member, I was concerned that people might think I was there simply because of Dad but the truth is that both Kathy and I started from the bottom. It was not until about 8 years ago that I started helping whenever Dad was away and that slowly devel-oped into the role of managing an office. It certainly didn’t hap-pen from one day to the next.

I rarely have lunch unless it’s something light at my desk but maybe twice a week I’ll use the lunch break to go running, which is my biggest hobby. After spending hours talking to people and solving problems, I need to break up my day in some way and running really helps. I al-ways come back to work feeling stronger and ready to start again at a much better pace. I try to do a couple of short morning runs too and I’m planning on a lon-ger one – the Athens marathon.

Because of the time differenc-es, I tend to deal with the Mid-dle East countries in the morn-ing and the Europeans in the afternoon. Of course, in some countries they work on Sunday too, so that’s an additional chal-lenge. Friday, on the other hand, is my best day at work!

I make a point of leaving the office at 6pm so that I can spend some time with Andri and the children. Just checking their homework takes an hour, so she does that while I do some tidy-ing up and help get them to bed.

We might watch a foreign TV series later and I will probably do an hour or two of work before going to bed around midnight.

I listen to music a lot – it’s great for putting you in the right mood – especially YouTube playlists, and I’m mainly a rock fan so I like Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers and classic bands

like Metallica. I download music for my running, of course – Cold-play, Arctic Monkeys, Florence & The Machine – and I enjoy listening with the children too.

I love cook-ing and that’s my respon-sibility at the weekend, which is all about quality family time.

As for the elusive work/life balance that everyone strives for, sometimes I feel I’m on the right track but there are other times when it seems that I’m way off and it’s very frustrating. I hope that I can eventually cut down on work and, in the next five years, step back – I know it sounds a bit ri-diculous for me to say that at the age of 40! But I don’t want to get to 70 as my Dad did before he slowed down. I don’t want to be 60 and working 12 hours a day and I think I’ll find a way.”

Chris Christodoulou

My next running challenge

A DAY

IN THE LIFE The Managing Director of Action

Global Communications on the

around the world, how running keeps him balanced, and why he hopes that, in some ways at least, he won’t be following in his father’s footsteps.

OAFTER SPENDING HOURS TALKING TO

PEOPLE AND SOLVING PROBLEMS, I NEED TO BREAK UP MY DAY IN SOME

WAY AND RUNNING REALLY HELPS

www.pwc.com.cy

© 2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. All rights reserved

We support you to create the value you are looking for in the shipping industry by providing specialised and innovative solutions based on quality. Together we build relationships based on trust and we say things as they are, to assist you to deal with issues that tomorrow will prove important. We adapt our expertise and the power of our global network to your specific needs helping you make the difference.

We do more than just consult We deliver

Shipping

gold issue 62 may 2016

Documents