Evgenios Evgeniou to investors: “Your trust is greatly appreciated, and it is not taken for granted”
21:05 - 03 July 2024
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Invest Cyprus Chairman Evgenios Evgeniou expressed the country’s appreciation to international investors, saying their trust will not be taken for granted, as he addressed the 12th Invest Cyprus International Investment Awards presented by PwC Cyprus, which pay tribute to major international investors active on the island.
“This event is a celebration and an appreciation to those who have invested in Cyprus and have made Cyprus their business base,” he told attendees. He went on to thank international investors active on the island for choosing Cyprus. “You are making a significant contribution to our economy and to our society. You are fostering innovation, you are facilitating the green transition, and digital transformation of our country. Your trust is greatly appreciated, and it is not taken for granted.”
As he pointed out, Cyprus has made significant progress towards a brighter economic future. Recently, Moody's, S&P, and Fitch have upgraded Cyprus's credit rating with a positive outlook.
Moreover, the European Commission's Spring Forecast paints an encouraging picture, he said, predicting that the Cyprus economy will grow at 2.9% in 2025.
“The International Monetary Fund (IMF) echoes this optimism, forecasting stable growth of 3% over the medium term,” said Evgeniou. “Importantly for us at Invest Cyprus the IMF highlights the important contribution of foreign direct investments to the growth of our economy and forecasts further FDI growth.”
This, he argued, is proof of the resilience of Cyprus and of the prudent economic policies followed. “These achievements are the result of our collective efforts to navigate challenges and to seize opportunities.”
Previously reliant mostly on growth within a single sector at a time, today the country’s economic landscape is diversifying and expanding across multiple sectors, said Evgeniou.
“The recipients of this year’s investment award with investments in higher education, AI driven advertising, ICT, shipping services, renewable energy, hospitality projects and light manufacturing reflect this diversification,” he said.
Though he conceded that whilst acknowledging progress and celebrating success, the country must also accelerate the implementation of reforms that drive its competitiveness and which are included in Vision 2035 and in the Resilience and Recovery plan. “We need to take a giant leap forward regarding the digital transformation of the country, the shift to cheaper and greener energy and the streamlining of bureaucratic processes. We should build on our achievements and accelerate our progress in creating a prosperous future for Cyprus,” Evgeniou pointed out.
Invest Cyprus is working hard on a targeted basis to attract foreign investments and businesses to Cyprus, to showcase Cyprus as a business hub connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa providing support and facilitation at all stages of the investment process or for the relocation of business to Cyprus, the investment promotion agency’s CEO said.
“For us it is of vital importance that investors already here continue to grow and expand their presence and become advocates of our country,” he explained. “For this reason, we invest significant time and effort to support them, and we are very excited to see companies that relocated to Cyprus only a couple of years ago significantly expand their presence.”
He proceeded to thank the relevant government departments and private sector partners that it collaborates with. “The same spirit of collaboration will drive the implementation of the rebranding project that we have undertaken.”
He concluded by sending his heartfelt congratulations to all the investment award recipients. “Thank you for your commitment to Cyprus.”
Taking place at the Hilton Nicosia, the 12th Invest Cyprus International Investment Awards are hosted by GOLD magazine and organised by Invest Cyprus, the official body the government has entrusted with the task of attracting foreign investment to Cyprus.
The Awards are sponsored by Platinum Sponsor PwC Cyprus, Elite Sponsor Eurobank, as well as Golden Sponsors Ecommbx and Lanitis Group, Beverage Sponsor KEO Plc and Communication Sponsor CBN.