Marios Tannousis: Cyprus was ready at the right time to respond to the needs of businesses

In 2018, Cyprus put its plan into motion to boost its incentives package for foreign investment, managing to create an investment environment that it was able to capitalise on after the war in Ukraine started in 2022, according to Invest Cyprus CEO Marios Tannousis.

In an interview with InBusinessNews, Tannousis said among other that a number of Western companies in particular that left Russia were looking for countries to continue their operations, and so Cyprus, which had already formed an appealing package as an investment destination, attracted a large number of investments.

He added that Cyprus, as the closest European country to Israel and Lebanon, is affected by developments in the Middle East, with the new round of hostilities that began in October 2023 creating another source of investment. As many multinational or large companies looked elsewhere for their offices, Cyprus, as a nearby, European and democratic country, with a business-friendly environment, attracted some of these companies, said Tannousis.

Word of mouth

As the Invest Cyprus CEO pointed out, in both cases Cyprus was ready at the right time to respond to the needs of businesses and bring them to the country. And he said this momentum was further boosted by the positive assessments these businesses received from foreign companies that were already active on the island.

This “word of mouth”, the majority of which came from US companies, created a momentum that helped Cyprus and placed it firmly on the global investment map, in a convincing and penetrating way, said Tannousis.

Interest shown in various sectors

Investor interest is not just limited to specific sectors either, he added, as there is activity in various sectors of the economy and especially the technology sector; though recently there has been interest in other sectors, such as finance, shipping and tourism.

Steadily gaining ground

Cyprus has been steadily gaining ground with its effort to become and get established as an even more attractive destination for foreign investments, with an increasing number of companies – leaders in their industries – choosing the island to either move their headquarters or expand activities.

Just last week, Kassatly Group and Hellenic Dairies inaugurated their new production units in the country, joining a host of foreign corporations that chose to give the Cyprus economy and business ecosystem their vote of confidence.

This inflow of FDI is expected to continue and pick up

Asked by InBusinessNews to comment on the recent wave of investments from abroad in a number of business sectors, Tannousis said he was almost certain this interest in foreign direct investments (FDI) in the country will continue, with all the positive benefits this entails; that is, new, better quality jobs, improved salaries and multiple positive impacts on the economy.

“Cyprus is on the map of corporate groups or international corporations, which see in a positive light Cyprus’ stability, the incentives the Cypriot investment environment offers – such as tax – and the experience of other organisations, which have invested in the island and now have the best to say about our country, despite any challenges that may exist,” said Tannousis.

The government’s priority

According to Tannousis, the government believes foreign investments are important for the economy which is why President Nikos Christodoulides has met twice with foreign investors, and continues to be in constant communication with them.

“Our goal as Invest Cyprus is to assist the economy by providing our help to these companies,” he said.

In the next few years, Cyprus’ branding effort is going to be really taking off, he added, and so this inflow of FDI is expected to continue and pick up even.

It is worth noting that a significant percentage of recruitments made in the context of these investments is foreign personnel, who in turn contribute to increasing the turnover of many sectors, such as real estate, restaurants, hotels and hospitals, which means the investment results are multiplicative.