EU Presidency: Cyprus to adopt the Euro based on same criteria

The German EU Presidency reaffirmed that the decision regarding the Republic of Cyprus’ accession to the Eurozone will be based on the same criteria that had been applied to all countries.

A written statement by the German Presidency said ''the Presidency advocates that the decision whether the Euro can be introduced in Cyprus will be based exclusively on the criteria laid down in the EC Treaty, as it was the case with all previous demands of countries requesting to join the Eurozone”.

Germany’s Minister of Finance Peer Steinbrueck had reportedly said that Cyprus' accession to the Eurozone might have political repercussions and thus should be discussed on a political level. Cyprus expects to enter the Eurozone on 1st January 2008.

Source: Financial Mirror

Moneycorp opens office in Cyprus

Moneycorp is continuing its ambitious international expansion with the opening of a new office in Cyprus. The Cyprus property market is proving to be one of the fastest growing property markets within Europe, with people buying homes and real estate for investment purposes.

The Cyprus office is Moneycorp’s fourth new overseas office in the last two years. It will offer local clients and local-based expatriates with a full range of services, including account management, advice and support. It will allow Moneycorp to further develop relationships with professionals in the Cyprus property and migration sectors.

Vasilios Dimarakis, Head of Overseas Operations says, “The property market in Cyprus has been something of a phenomenon in recent years. The market is now showing stable but healthy growth with the promise of more good things to come as the country prepares to adopt the Euro currency on 1st January 2008”.

“By opening a new office in Cyprus we are able to provide local support and assistance to vast expatriate communities and our local referring partners. Overall, the expansion underlines our commitment to fully capitalising on this growing market.”

Moneycorp is a trading division of the TTT Moneycorp Group, which was established in 1979 and last year traded in excess of GBP7.5 bln in currencies. The Company is part-owned by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and has been accredited to ISO 9000 quality assurance since 1996, a unique achievement in the foreign exchange industry.Moneycorp is the UK's leading foreign exchange company and provides tailored foreign exchange services to help individuals save money on their overseas currency transfers.

Source: Financial Mirror

Cyprus official interest rates remain unchanged

Cyprus Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided unanimously to leave the official interest rates of the Central Bank unchanged. The official interest rates of the Central Bank of Cyprus remain unchanged at 4.5%. Central Bank Governor Christodoulos Christodoulou said that international and domestic developments have not substantially changed since the last meeting of the MPC on 23 February 2007, so as to warrant at this juncture a change in domestic interest rates.

He said that the global economy is continuing to exhibit robust growth with inflation hovering at relatively low levels.

He added that a similar picture can be drawn for the domestic front, with decelerating inflation and satisfactory growth rates. In particular, domestic inflation receded to 1.49% in March compared with 3.23% in the same month of 2006.

For the first quarter of 2007, inflation reached 1.53% compared with 2.72% in the corresponding period of 2006. Despite the significant inflation deceleration, the MPC expressed its concern about the sizeable expansion of money supply and credit to the private sector, which contribute to the widening of the trade deficit.

The MPC, taking into account all the above as well as the fact that most of the major central banks maintained their interest rates unchanged at their recent meetings, decided, unanimously, to adopt a wait-and-see stance at this juncture, leaving the official interest rates of the Central Bank of Cyprus unchanged, a Central Bank press release said.

Source: Financial Mirror

Cyprus stamp duty ceiling at CYP 10,000

The Cyprus House Finance Committee has decided to lower the ceiling for stamp duty on agreements made in Cyprus to CYP 10.000 or EUR 17.000 per contracts above CYP 25 mln or EUR 43 mln in a move widely seen as improving Cyprus’ changes of attracting foreign companies to book deals through the island. The government had initially suggested a cap of CYP 50.000, but the House decided to force the ceiling lower to CYP 10.000 to attract more deals. The government had earned a total of CYP 23 mln in 2006 and 2005 from such deals compared to CYP 20 mln in 2004.

Source: Financial Mirror

Cyprus house price inflation accelerates to 9.9% in March

Residential house price inflation in Cyprus has accelerated, rising by 9.9% compared with the year earlier in March, having risen by 9.4% in February according to the BuySell Home Price Index prepared by MFC S. Platis. This marks the sixth consecutive month of a rise in year-on-year prices. If it continues at this pace, house prices will record a faster rise in 2007 than in 2006, when the BuySell Index recorded an increase of 6.6%. Compared with the previous month, home sale prices in March rose by 0.8% compared with February. The BuySell Home Price Index reached 121.13, bringing the average home price in Cyprus to CYP 94,373 (EUR 162,430). The BuySell Home Price Index was created and is updated monthly on behalf of BuySell Cyprus Real Estate by MFC S. Platis. The Index is announced during the second week of each month and depicts the movement of prices at which residential properties are sold in Cyprus, based on the extensive BuySell Cyprus Real Estate database. The BuySell Home Price Index was rebased in September 2005, in order to keep the Index updated with respect to the most recent quality characteristics of the housing market in Cyprus. For more information on the methodology of the Index and on Hedonic Prices please refer to: The “Asking Price and Transaction–based Indices for the Cyprus Housing Market (Rebased)” by Dr. Stelios Platis and Marios Nerouppos of MFC S. Platis.

Source: Financial Mirror

GB Airways increases flights to Paphos

British Airways franchise partner GB Airways has increased its summer service from Paphos to reach a total of 19 weekly flights to London and Manchester.In the peak season, the airline will operate up to twelve flights to London Gatwick, having launched the service in winter 2003 with just two flights a week. It is now also operating a daily service to Manchester.Alan McIntyre, commercial director GB Airways said, “flights from Paphos to London and Manchester have proved very popular and by increasing our service we are giving our customers the flexibility to travel when they want, still at a value for money fare”.One-way fares from Paphos to London Gatwick and Manchester currently start at CYP 50 plus taxes for travel between April 15 and 29 June 29 for bookings made by April 20. After that regular fares start from CYP 60 plus taxesThe Manchester service offers high quality buy-on board food and drink.The airline recently launched GB Privilege, an email service offering overseas homeowners a range of benefits, with the aim to save time, money and make the planning of regular trips abroad easier.

For more information visit www.gbairways.com/gbprivilege

Source: Financial Mirror

Cyprus March inflation unchanged at 1.5% on year

Consumer prices in Cyprus rose 1.5% on the year in March, unchanged from February's rate, the statistics service said Thursday. Food and beverages led the increase with a 5.6% increase, while health and education prices recorded a 5.4% and 4.9% increase, respectively. The transport sector posted a 2.7% decline. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 1.2% in March from February, mainly due to higher prices for clothing and footwear following the end of winter sales. Prices for petroleum products, some fresh fruit and poultry also rose, the service said.

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