Financial Mirror - July 3 2013

July 3 - 9, 2013

2 | NEWS | financialmirror.com

U.S. June jobs to keep Fed tapering on track l

Nonfarm payrolls seen having risen 165,000 in June; Unemployment ticking down to 7.5% PREVIEW

U.S. employers likely kept up a steady pace of hiring in June and the jobless rate probably dipped, which could keep the Federal Reserve on track to start curtailing its monetary stimulus later this year.

Nonfarm payrolls are expected to have increased by 165,000 last month, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

While the anticipated rise would be a bit below May’s tally of 175,000 jobs, it would be higher than the monthly average of 155,800 over the past three months. The unemployment rate is expected to fall a tenth of a percentage point to 7.5%.

June’s employment report will come two weeks after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank expected to trim its bond purchases later this year and to halt the program by mid-2014, as long as the economy progresses as it expects.

The report, which will be released by the Labor Department on Friday at 8:30 a.m., is always closely watched by investors around the globe. But with progress in the job market the key to the Fed’s plans, Friday’s data will likely receive heightened scrutiny.

“They are happy with anything in the 150,000 to 200,000 range at this point as long things don’t deteriorate,” Jacob Oubina, senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York, said of Fed policymakers. “There is nothing in the data that suggests we are going to switch pace, one way or the other.”

Pointing to little deviation from the recent pattern of moderate, steady job growth, first-time applications for unemployment benefits have been treading water.

The job gains forecast for June should be just enough to lower the unemployment rate a notch.

However, economists said there was a chance the labor force could shrink, leading to a bigger-than-forecast drop in the jobless rate, given that the number of people entering the labor force had increased in each of the prior two months.

Those workforce entrants have lifted the participation rate — the share of working-age Americans who either have a job or are looking for one — from a 34-year low touched in March.

PRIVATE SECTOR LEADS THE WAY

“Considering the tendency for the household survey data to be volatile, we look for the increase in the unemployment rate from May to be undone in June,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York.

Declining participation as older Americans retire and younger people give up the hunt for work in frustration has accounted for much of the drop in the unemployment rate from a peak of 10% in October 2009.

The Fed has said it expects the jobless rate to drop to around 7% by the middle of next year, when it anticipates ending the bond purchases it has been making to reduce borrowing costs and spur stronger economic growth.

All the anticipated job gains in June will likely come from the private sector, where payrolls are expected to have increased by 175,000, little changed from the prior month.

Government payrolls, in contrast, are expected to shrink by 10,000 jobs last month, although economists said the job losses were not due to the deep government spending cuts known as the sequester.

While the budget cuts that took hold on March 1 do not appear to be hitting government payrolls directly, some economists said they were weighing on private employers and help explain a sharp slowdown in hiring in the health care and social assistance sector.

“There were some signs of a negative sequester impact in parts of the private sector, most noticeably in an unusually weak result for hospitals,” said Ted Wieseman, an economist at Morgan Stanley in New York.

“That resulted in an unusually muted gain in the normally steadily growing and non-cyclical healthcare industry.”

Manufacturing payrolls are expected to be flat after three straight months of declines. But there is a high risk of another contraction after a gauge of national factory employment released on Monday tumbled to a near four-year low in June.

Construction employment likely added to May’s gains as the housing recovery pushes ahead, but it remains constrained by a still-sluggish nonresidential sector.

Other details of the report are expected to show average hourly earnings rose by 0.2% after being flat in May. Tepid wage growth is holding back the consumer-driven economy.

“This economy can’t grow sharply unless wages and salaries grow much more rapidly,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania.

The length of the average workweek is expected to have held steady at 34.5 hours.

Trucks pile up at border of new EU member Croatia A day after Croatia joined the European Union, a glitch in its EU-standard customs software caused huge delays at the border with Serbia, the bloc’s new external frontier.

Some 1,300 trucks were stuck on Tuesday in a 15 km long queue at the Batrovci crossing just inside Serbia, which lies along Europe’s main transit road from Turkey to Western Europe.

The drivers, mostly from southeastern Europe, said they were worried about the fresh produce they were ferrying, as they had to wait for 12 hours or more to cross.

“We have a huge problem. All of Europe is waiting for us,” said Bulgarian driver Emil Donev, bound for Italy.

“Customs are not working at all, the police will not let us leave our trucks and we are only moving 200 to 300 meters per hour,” he said.

The problems with the new software were quickly fixed but it will take two or three days for commercial traffic to return to normal, Serbian customs duty chief Predrag Milikara explained.

Passenger cars were moving normally.

A statement from Croatia’s customs service said problems were to be expected following the country’s accession to the EU. “It’s all part of the adjustment,” the statement said.

Croatia became the 28th member of the European Union on Monday, 20 years since the violent collapse of Yugoslavia.

Topshop’s Green calls for business rates shake-up Topshop billionaire Philip Green has joined the debate on the levying of local property taxes in Britain, arguing reform is crucial if traditional retailers are to compete fairly with pure online players.

Consumer spending generates about two-thirds of Britain’s gross domestic product, but job insecurity and a squeeze on incomes has put many retailers under pressure.

A week after Justin King, chief executive of J Sainsbury, Britain’s No. 3 grocer, labelled Britain’s business rates system which raises local taxes on commercial property - an “historical anachronism”, Green called on the government to conduct an urgent review.

“To be able to compete with the online retailers, who don’t have the same fixed costs, you’ve got some chance if you’re not laboured with all these additional costs,” said the retail tycoon, owner of the Arcadia Group which includes high street names such as Topshop, BHS and Miss Selfridge.

“There has to be a proper review and we have to be valued fairly,” he said after handing out graduation awards to students of the Fashion Retail Academy he founded eight years ago.

Business rates are taxes to help pay for local services,

charged on most non-domestic properties, including shops, offices and factories. They are set by central government.

Britain’s current business rates were implemented in 2010 based on property valuations carried out in 2008. They are also linked to annual inflation. The government was due to carry out a revaluation in 2015 but this is now expected to be pushed back to 2017.

Green said the Arcadia Group’s annual rates bill of about 150 mln pounds would be 30-40 mln pounds lower if reduced rentable values since 2008 were taken into account.

“To take a 2008 valuation, implemented in 2010, that’s supposed to be reviewed in 2015, trying to move it to 2017 - it’s sort of making the goal posts the size of the pitch,” he said.

July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | CYPRUS | 3

This is Cyprus… where water is more expensive than petrol l Operators

of all-inclusive resorts justified

Welcome to Cyprus, the land of cheap fuel and expensive water. Where at 4.40 euros a litre, a bottle of H2O costs three times your 95-octane petrol. Where a freshly-squeezed orange juice will set you back by 3.50 euros, almost as much as the tree. And where a burger and fries, at 16.50 euros, urges you to invest in a whole cow.

These are the results of a regular pre-season survey conducted by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation, based on the price list at 163 coastal establishments. By law, these outlets, whether restaurants, bars or beach hotels, must put up their price list or face a hefty fine. But the CTO does not have any executive powers to force operators to drop their prices I order to make Cyprus a more attractive destination, at least when it comes to food and drink. “Unfortunately, a lot of the complaints we get are by people who do not care to look at the price list at the entrance, before they enter the restaurant,” a senior CTO official told the Financial Mirror.

A market analyst, who has been monitoring the data produced by the CTO for the past four years, added that operators lure unknowing consumers with lower food prices that may seem reasonable at first, but are then accompanied by higher prices for drinks, which Cypriot consumers are accustomed to ordering in abundance.

“This is the main reason why all-inclusive resorts are getting more and more popular. Tourists meet on the beach, exchange experiences and then realise that the hotel where they are booked is too expensive when it comes to food and drink,” the analyst said.

THE SURVEY

A 500ml water bottle is generally sold for 1.00 to 1.50 euros, with some rising to 2.00 euros. The most expensive were found to be Karousos in Ayia Napa harbour (2.20), St Raphael Hotel Limassol (2.60), Amathus Beach (3.20), Le Meridien (4.50), Four Seasons (4.75), and the Elysium in Paphos (2.60).

However, the Ammos beach bar at Larnaca’s Mackenzie strip charges 1.00 euro for a bottle of water during the day and a whopping 5.00 euros at night, without a meal or other drink.

A litre of imported water sells for 4.40 at the Sunrise in Protaras, 3.50 at the Golden Bay in Larnaca, 4.00 euros at the Sailor’s restaurant in Limassol, 5.00 at the Grand Resort and 6.00 at the Four Seasons. By comparison, rival destination Greece has a cap of 90c for a litre.

The frappe cold coffee drink, with an estimated cost of 1015c, is sold for anything between 2.00 euros and 5.50. The Crystal Springs at Protaras charges 4.30 euros and the Golden Coast pool bar 4.50. In Larnaca, Lordos Hotel and Ammos are equal at 4.00 euros each, while in Limassol, the Four Seasons and the Londa top the list at 6.40 and 5.50 euros, respectively.

Down the road at Pissouri, both Columbias charge 5.00 euros, while in Paphos a frappe at the Elysium costs 5.50 euros and at the Paphos Amathus 4.75.

A glass of orange juice (250ml) is priced at 4.00 euros at Nissi Bay, 4.00 at the Princess in Larnaca, 4.00 at Loizos Koumbaris in Zygi, 4.00 at Sailor’s, Le Meridian, Apollonia and Four Seasons in Limassol and 4.20 at the Amathus Beach, while at the sister hotel, the Paphos Amathus, it is priced at 4.95 euros.

Burgers and fries come in all shapes, sizes and flavours.

Some are gourmet dishes, while others taste better when served in the cardboard box they arrive in. Kitchen labour is known to be costlier in Cyprus than many other destinations, and the menus at most beach-side establishment will range from 4.15 euros to an amazing 16.50.

The Vrissiana tops the list in Protaras at 12.00 euros for a serving of burger and fries, the Princess on Dhekelia road and Bennigan’s at Mackenzie at 12.00 each, Sailor’s in Limassol at 15.00, the Four Season’s at 16.00, rising to 16.30 at the Annabelle in Paphos and 16.50 at the Almyra.

However, the icing-on-the-cake award goes to a sandwich/burger parlour in Makronysos that charged 8.00 euros for a burger with a dollop of ketchup. When the Cypriot customer complained, “where’s my tomato?” the cook duly replied, “oh, sorry, thought you were a foreigner.”

No wonder tourists find Cyprus expensive.

Check out the comparative price lists on the CTO website at www.visitcyprus.biz and www.visitcyprus.com or call 22691100.

July 3 - 9, 2013

4 | CYPRUS | financialmirror.com

Gov’t merges state oil and gas companies l

Says KRETYK is its natgas “commercial arm””

The government has confirmed that the National Hydrocarbons Company (KRETYK) will be “the commercial arm of the government” and that it will have a “substantial role” to play in the future development of oil and gas discoveries and exports.

The clarification from Energy, Trade and Tourism Minister George Lakotrypis ends weeks of political wrangling over Kretyk’s status that has prevented the company from hiring staff and negotiating future deals with oil and gas companies.

Kretyk was established nearly two years to undertake sales contracts based on prospective oil and gas exports from offshore areas south of the island’s coast, currently being explored by multinational companies. However, realising that too many privileges were given to Kretyk by the previous administration, the present government was thinking of merging it with DEFA, the state natural gas distribution company.

Speaking after signing a memorandum of understanding with Houston-based Noble Energy and Israeli partners Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration to build a natural gas lique-

faction plant at the Vasiliko energy hub in Cyprus, Lakotrypis said that Kretyk will a substantial role in all future commercial agreements with exploration and production license holders.

Noble, that has already spent 57 mln dollars on its first drilling effort within Block 12 of the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone that lies adjacent to the Israeli EEZ where it already operates gasfields in the Leviathan basin, is currently drilling an appraisal well to confirm the average 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves.

Lakotrypis said that “negotiations for the MoU will be concluded by 2015 after which work will start on building the plant,” currently estimated to cost about 6 bln dollars, and that apart from the output from Block 12, the aim is to attract other license operators to liquefy their natural gas for export.

“Our aim is to become a regional energy hub, first for our own resources, and then to attract other countries as well,” Lakotrypis said.

France’s Total, that is expected to start exploratory drilling in two offshore blocks south of Cyprus next year, has also shown

interest to develop a second train at the Vasiliko LNG plant at a cost of about 3 bln dollars. Italy’s ENI and South Korea’s Kogas have licenses to explore for oil and gas in two other blocks east of Cyprus, adjacent to the Lebanese EEZ. Once construction work begins at the LNG terminal in 2016, the first phase of the project should be completed by 2019 to accommodate the first natural gas exports from Cyprus gasfields by 2019.

But Kretyk executive president Charles Ellinas told the Financial Mirror that a task force is urgently needed that will involve the government, the oil and gas sector, the education sector and social partners, to learn from similar examples in other countries and be prepared for the labour needs once natural gas is produced within the Cyprus EEZ. Ellinas said that building the LNG terminal in Vasiliko will create some 7,500 low-skilled jobs, with a third expected to be recruited locally, thus helping to relieve the burden of rising unemployment in a country faced with a major economic crisis created by the collapse of its banking sector.

HB launches Shipping Business Centre Hellenic Bank has inaugurated the Shipping Business Centre (SBC) in Limassol town centre, the first in Cyprus to serve exclusively companies operating in the shipping sector.

Marinos Athanassiades, General Manager of Group Global Markets and International Banking, said that the International Banking Sector is among the strategic priorities of Hellenic Bank.

“By continuously upgrading our services and our systems, we aim to serve our foreign clients at an exceptionally high professional level,” he said. Hellenic currently operates four dedicated International Business Centres (two in Nicosia, one in Limassol and one in Larnaca), as well as the newly-founded Shipping Business Centre. All five are manned by qualified personnel able to meet clients’ growing needs.

Antonis Charitou, Manager of the International Business Unit, pointed out that services for the shipping sector were already being provided long before IBCs were first established in 1990.

Charitou added: “It is well known that the shipping sector is one of the pillars of the Cypriot economy, with a long tradition.

Cyprus boasts the third largest merchant fleet in Europe and one of the ten largest fleets worldwide. At the same time, Limassol is the largest shipping centre in the European Union and the second largest in the world. Over 1,000 ships carry the flag of Cyprus

Cyprus Safety Platform – Risk Communication Day Following the successful launch of the Cyprus Safety Platform, the first symposium on Critical Infrastructure Protection and the second symposium on Man Made Disasters, the European University of Cyprus is hosting the next event on Friday, July 5.

The Cyprus Safety Platform – Risk Communication Day will take place at 16:00 in Auditorium Delta of European University Cyprus in Nicosia.

The first speaker is Dr Jan Gutteling, iCRISP, University of Twente, The Netherlands on “Risk Management: The importance of understanding public perceptions, concerns and behaviour”, followed by Dr Alan Waring on “Major Hazards Risk Management: a ‘Safety Case’ Discipline”.

For attendance on contact safety@euc.ac.cy or visit http://cyprussafetyplatform.blogspot.com

BOCY redundancy cap set at €150,000 The Bank of Cyprus board has decided to set a ceiling of 150,000 euros fro redundancy packages being offered to its 5,760 staff, with the aim of reducing the workforce by 1,200 to 1,500 people.

The offer is valid until the end of July and is applicable to all Group personnel, as well as staff at

subsidiaries and the employees of former Popular Laiki Bank.

The basic package correspond to a monthly wage for every two years’ of service, plus a bonus of five salaries, as well as medical cover until the end of 2014. At least 50% of all loans must be settled.

and more than 140 ship owning and management companies are registered here. We consider the establishment of this Centre as part of our natural progression considering the Bank’s long tradition in serving the Shipping sector, and we hope that the shipping community will welcome the arrival of the SBC.” Angelos Kosta, Manager of the Hellenic Bank Shipping Business Centre, pointed out that the Centre’s extensive clientele includes most of the key companies in the Cypriot shipping sector. The SBC offers specialised services focusing on ship owners, ship managers, charterers, ship suppliers, shipping insurance services and other sector-related services.

Kosta added that the know-how and expertise of Hellenic Bank in shipping is at the SBC’s disposal, thus enabling the SBC to offer services of a high quality.

“Being so close to our customers, we are able to better heed their needs. By adhering to strict schedules for the provision of the various services, using computer systems optimised for the shipping sector and with Client Relationship Officers being the primary communication channel with every customer, we aim to provide an even better professional experience.”

Kosta said that the Hellenic Bank Shipping Business Centre is now a member of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber.

Abacus appoints Marianna Charalambous as Head of Energy Abacus, a leading business advisory firm with a portfolio of elite multinational clients announces the appointment of Marianna Charalambous as Head of Energy.

“The recent developments in the oil and gas field in Cyprus and the dramatic changes in the energy industry have resulted in many of our multinational and global clients requiring our assistance in the area,” said Constantinos Chiotis, the Energy, Utilities and Mining partner at Abacus.

“Our decision to hire a senior professional to head the department shows our commitment to quality and our dedication to our clients,” added Nicos Nicolaides, the firm’s Managing Partner.

Marianna Charalambous brings to Abacus a diverse educational background with a degree in Accounting, an MBA in Technology, a Juris Doctorate in International Law and an LLM in Oil and Gas. She has worked at top executive and legal positions both at local, regional and European level for multinational organizations. “I am really excited to be working for a prominent, industry leading organization like Abacus, with such high caliber people. I anticipate that my international experience and diverse background will prove useful for our clients, especially at this early development stage of the energy sector in Cyprus as the challenges facing the industry and the government are both novel and diverse requiring innovative solutions covering a spectrum of disciplines,” said Marianna Charalambous.

July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | CYPRUS | 5

11 lessons from Cyprus’ bitter experience Cyprus has paid dearly, and will continue to pay a high price for several years, for the profligacy of its public sector, the recklessness of its banks, and the procrastination of its policy makers in taking corrective measures in the face of the crisis.

The jury is still out on whether Cyprus has learnt its lesson, a very expensive one indeed. For other countries, Cyprus’ bitter experience holds many lessons, for which a generous tuition has already been paid by Cyprus.

Lesson #1: Control public finances and the size of the public sector. If you cannot trust politicians to resist the temptation of paying supporters and cronies with public sector jobs and salary raises and privileges, adopt a constitutional requirement for balance budgets and a low ceiling on public debt. Keep the power of public-servant unions in check.

Lesson #2: Know what your bankers are doing; they may not have the country’s best interests in mind; they may not even serve their own bank’s best interests. Without effective corporate governance and strict supervision, they may be gambling depositors’ money by putting all their eggs in one basket or taking unreasonable risks or expanding into markets they don’t understand. Don’t be reckless, not even careless about risk exposure. Instead, be ruthless about risk assessment and risk management. Don’t trust the central banker blindly to keep the banking sector sound and solvent, or as President Ronald Reagan used to say, “trust but verify”.

Lesson#3: Do not allow your banking sector, or any individual organisation or company to become so big that it is too big to fail and at the same time too big to save. You are putting yourself in a no-win situation, the economy in jeopardy and sovereignty at risk. Healthy competition, diversification, and proportionality have become bywords for prudence. A banking sector eight times the size of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, as was the case in Cyprus, could neither be left to fail, nor could it be saved by the country.

Lesson #4: Do not give away your currency and monetary policy by joining a common currency area such as the Eurozone if you are not able to compete. Invest first in research and technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, cost control and quality management to raise productivity, cut costs, upgrade quality and produce innovative products and services that are internationally competitive. Common currency areas, especially those which do not involve transfer payments from the better performers to the laggards, ultimately benefit those who are able to compete effectively at the expense of the rest.

Lesson #5: Do not allow your labour unions to acquire such strength as to hold a chokehold on vital sectors and the economy as a whole, or destroy the flexibility of the labour market. You should want to learn from Cyprus’ experience with the unions so as not to repeat it. The insatiable demands of the unions – especially those of banking employees and civil servants – have been protagonists in the making of the drama unfolding in Cyprus. Even today, with 16% unemployment and rising and the public and banking sectors

bending under the weight of their wage bill and overstaffing, the unions are blocking reforms of life-and-death significance to our economy.

Lesson #6: Do not buy the economic tale about natural monopoly, or the social tale about the need to provide affordable services to the poor, or the political tale about sectors of national or strategic importance. State enterprises such as Cyprus Airways or semi-public organisations such as CYTA and the Electricity Authority have proved to be little more than another vehicle to tax the citizen, to allocate positions and favours, and to share the loot among the political parties, while the customer citizen is stuck with exorbitant bills due to greed and inefficiency.

By Theodore Panayotou Cyprus International Institute of Management

Lesson #7: Beware of easy credit, bubbles and pyramid schemes. The economic history of the world is littered with stories of economic collapses and catastrophes caused by “ingenious” schemes of buying into easy and quick riches, yet Cyprus has become the latest victim having failed to learn from the experience of others or its own recent history. First, there was the rapidly rising stock prices of the late 1990s inflated by easy credit which in the span of a few years led to collapse and the loss of fortunes by many people. It has been labelled “the stock exchange scandal” and, though nobody was punished, the stock market never recovered, despite the instituted reforms.

Then it was the real estate bubble: inflated by easy credit, property prices kept rising at 20-30% a year; yet no one expected them to stop rising much less to collapse. This came to be known as the “real estate bubble” which burst a couple of years ago. Property prices are now continuing to fall, steadily increasing the number of unsecured loans.

Another bubble kept gathering steam since the early 2000s and accelerated since we joined the Eurozone. The financial and banking bubble was built with high deposit rates of interest, poorly secured lending, attraction of “offshore” companies and reckless investments in Greek bonds and global expansion without risk assessment; it collapsed under its own weight and it is still in a coma.

Lesson # 8: Do not deviate from the iron rule that ties the growth of wages to the growth of productivity; measure public sector productivity, and assess and pay civil servants accordingly. If you earn and spend more than you produce on a long-term basis you are not building a sustainable economy; sooner or later the economy will collapse – sooner, if it is hit by a global economic crisis, as in the case of Cyprus.

With the meddling of political parties, the pressure of the labour unions, and the support of parliament, wages and benefits in the wider public sector rose well above productivity, contributing to budget deficit and increased taxation on the private sector, sinking the economy into deeper recession.

Lesson #9: Save for a rainy day. Build an emergency fund, the size of your GDP, as a security against uncertainties, world economic crisis and generally the vagaries of markets and nature. Save in good years for the bad years. If you spend the unusually high revenues in good years on salary raises and overstaffing, as well as marginal and unproductive show-off projects, you increase the state’s financial obligations for bad years too without having the means to meet them and you set yourself for deficit spending, escalating debt, and a need for a bailout (or a bail in).

Lesson # 10: Anticipate problems and challenges, build and analyse scenarios, and formulate and cost alternative strategies. Act early and proactively while you still have time and resources, while the problems are still manageable and you can still set your own terms. Always have a plan B ready.

Delays and procrastination carry a heavy price: the problem becomes that much bigger and more pressing, while you lose any bargaining power you may have had to influence the terms of support when you finally resort to it. Cyprus learned this lesson the hard way.

Lesson #11: Establish strong alliances, but never forget that in international politics there are no friendships, only shared interests. While this was known since ancient times and was repeated many times in modern history, Cyprus almost blindly counted on its friends and allies in the EU to show their solidarity and run to its rescue. Instead, they were quite unsympathetic administering bitter medicine or “tough love”, as some of us see it. Even our blood brothers, the Greeks, officially have shown little empathy, despite the rhetoric and the help from our side in their moment of need. Our interest and theirs in this juncture did not coincide.

Other countries in the European south and beyond should heed the lessons of the bitter experience of Cyprus with its banking and fiscal crisis that brought down its economic edifice, like a house of cards. Avoiding Cyprus’ mistakes can make the difference between a sustainable economic model and a serendipity- or casino-type economy with easy riches alternating with economic collapse.

Dr. Theodore Panayotou is Director of the Cyprus International Institute of Management (CIIM) and exProfessor of Economics and the Environment at Harvard University. He has served as consultant to the UN and to governments in the U.S., China, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Cyprus. He has published extensively and was recognised for his contribution to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. theo@ciim.ac.cy

Report: Banks plagued by politics, recklessness The island’s banking sector faces more trouble unless it can successfully tighten supervision, escape political meddling and change its culture of overt risk-taking, international experts said on Thursday.

The Independent Commission on the Future of the Cyprus Banking Sector, comprised of four senior academic and banking sector figures from around Europe, is studying the sector for the Cypriot central bank as it bids to launch reform.

Its interim report said a policy of complacency, oversight, cultural rigidity to change, weak bank governance and footdragging on reforms was partly to blame for the downfall of the sector, coupled with its heavy exposure to debt-crippled Greece.

Cyprus saw years of lax budget control and its banks gorged on Greek government bonds before its financial system fell into turmoil last March, forcing a raid on bank savings as part of a 10 bln euro bailout.

“Certainly in terms of the size of the crisis and in terms of the remedies that have been put in place to deal with it, it is the worst that I have witnessed,” said David Lascelles, the body’s head and a senior fellow of London-based think tank Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation.

Deposits exceeding the EU-wide insurance ceiling of 100,000 euros in Bank of Cyprus and Laiki were seized, offering the European Union a template to build upon in how to deal with troubled banks elsewhere in the bloc.

Laiki has since been wound down, with some of its assets transferred to Bank of Cyprus, where depositors have seen large chunks of their uninsured savings forcibly turned into equity to recapitalise the bank.

Looking forward, Lascelles said Cyprus should have to make do with a leaner banking sector with less appetite for overseas expansion, tighter supervision on all levels, streamline a now-fragmented system of regulation into one regulator under central bank control, and convert Co-Op banks into commercial businesses.

“What we don’t want to see is the aggressive expansion seen in the past five years. It’s imprudent and expensive,” he said.

The interim report, commissioned by the Central Bank of Cyprus and published last Thursday, argues risk-taking by banks was overlooked, there were few checks and balances by directors, lending was based on personal relationships and there was poor supervision at all levels.

Political influence also played out in several ways, either with political appointments to the board of the Central Bank, politically-affiliated individuals on boards of commercial banks and strong influence also in Co-Operative banks, Lascelles said.

“There is a direct political influence in the way the banking system was run in this country, and its one of our fundamental recommendations that Cyprus strive to get rid of that.”

“Otherwise you are never going to have a healthy banking system,” he said.

July 3 - 9, 2013

6 | OPINION | financialmirror.com

Where’s your task force, Mr. President?

EDITORIAL A week ago, Energy Minister George Lakotrypis signed an MoU with Block 12 oil and gas explorers Noble Energy, Delek and Avner. Together, all stakeholders will jointly decide on how and at what cost to build an LNG liquefaction plant that will allow for exports of natural gas from the various offshore gasfields. This was a truly historical moment that laid to rest all concerns about cheap energy and a rapid economic recovery. But that is in the medium-to-long term.

What is needed in the short term is to set up a task force that will include the recently merged national oil and gas companies Kretyk and Defa, the ministers in charge of the economy, energy, industry, labour, transport, defense and foreign policy. In other words,

nearly the whole Cabinet, with the addition of technocrats and a significant input from the president’s think tank, the Economic Advisory Council headed by Dr Christoforos Pissarides.

What we are witnessing is a knee-jerk reaction to developments. We seem to have no national policy of how to deal with an economy that is currently in heavy debt to one that will become cash-rich by the beginning of the next decade. Unemployment has reached record levels and will continue to rise in the absence of any support to the labour market and the business community that is expected to absorb graduates and the jobless. Companies are closing down under the heavy burden of taxes and payrolls they can no longer sustain, while banks, in their effort to recoup the cheap, unsecured money they lent out by the bushel, are now clamping down on individuals and businesses that can no longer stand the pressure.

And then there are the developments in our part of the world. Israel is quietly building up its energy sector and capitalising on the political vacuum of its neighbours, Egypt is falling apart and Syria has reached the pit, Lebanon is a powder keg ready to burst and Turkey is in a self-discovery mode and will come out of the current crisis the wiser.

Nicos Anastasiades has his plate full and cannot deal with all these issues at once, even though he is three months into his presidency and we have seen some progress in some areas and little or none in others. Perhaps now is the time for some of his ministers to take the initiative and get things moving as part of a collective effort where all will join in, including technocrats and high-ranking public servants.

A good leader is one who delegates work to competent people who will get things done.

So, then, where’s your task force, Mr. President?

The Euro on the Mend A year ago the eurozone was in serious trouble. A series of policy actions – the creation of a rescue fund, a fiscal treaty, and the provision of cheap liquidity to the banking system – had failed to impress financial markets for long.

The crisis had moved from the monetary union’s periphery to its core. Southern Europe was experiencing a sell-off of sovereign debt and a massive withdrawal of private capital.

Europe was fragmenting financially. Speculation about a possible breakup was widespread.

Then came two major initiatives. In June 2012, eurozone leaders announced their intention to establish a European banking union. The euro, they said, had to be buttressed by transferring banking supervision to a European authority.

For the first time since the onset of the crisis in Greece, it was officially recognized that the root of the eurozone’s problem was not the flouting of fiscal rules, and that the very principles underlying the monetary union had to be revisited. The endeavor was bound to be ambitious. In the eyes of most observers, to reach the leaders’ goal of “break[ing] the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns” required centralizing authority for bank resolution and rescue.

The second initiative came a month later. Speaking on July 26, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi announced that the ECB was ready to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro: “Believe me,” he said, “it will be enough.” The meaning of these words became clear with the subsequent announcement of the ECB’s “outright monetary transactions” (OMT) scheme, under which it would purchase short-term government bonds issued by countries

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benefiting from the European rescue fund’s conditional support.

Both measures had an immediate and profound impact on financial markets. Seen from Wall Street, the euro was moving closer to becoming a normal currency. Turmoil in bond markets began to abate.

A year later, where are we? First, the two initiatives resulted in markedly improved borrowing conditions for

By Jean Pisani-Ferry

southern European governments (at least until Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke created new shockwaves with his indication in mid-June that the US would wind down more than three years of so-called quantitative easing). Capital stopped flowing out of southern Europe and speculation eased.

Second, an agreement on authorizing the ECB to oversee the banking sector was reached at the end of last year. In a year, the new regime will be fully operational – not a trivial achievement in view of the complexity of the issue.

Third, discussions are being held to prepare the next steps, namely how to arrange the resolution of failed banks and support for ailing ones. Ministers recently agreed upon a template for action.

So there are clear positive outcomes. But questions remain.

One problem is architectural: any banking union is only as strong as its weakest component. What matters for markets is not what happens in normal times, or even what happens when uncertainty and volatility rise; what markets care about are possible scenarios in truly adverse conditions.

Breaking the negative feedback loop between distressed sovereigns and distressed banks – whereby bank rescues exhaust fiscal resources and make it likely that the next financial institution in trouble will not be able to count on government support – requires ensuring that it will not

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recur even in extreme circumstances. Merely “weakening” this loop, as European officials recently advocated, could prove deeply insufficient.

There are two ways to eliminate the feedback loop. One is to exclude bank rescues altogether: only creditors would have to pay for bankers’ mistakes. This type of rule could insulate governments from banking risk only if applied systematically, even at the expense of financial stability.

Simply put, governments should be ready to let banks fail.

The other solution is to mutualize the cost of rescue at the margin. States could be involved and accept losses, but catastrophic risks would have to be shared among all eurozone members.

Europe these days is vacillating between these two approaches. France does not want to rule out state-financed bailouts; Germany is reluctant to mutualize budgetary costs.

A compromise is being worked out, but it must pass the test of reality. Unfortunately, the middle way between two logically consistent solutions may itself not be a logically consistent one.

Meanwhile, the credibility of Draghi’s atomic weapon is being undermined. The miracle of the OMT scheme is that, since it was announced a year ago, it has had its intended effect without ever being used. Strong opposition on the part of the Bundesbank and many German academics, however, has raised questions about whether and how it could ever be used.

To defend its legality in hearings before Germany’s Constitutional Court, the ECB itself has argued that the OMT program is a less potent instrument than many believe.

Although the German government has been adamant that it is not a German court’s role to rule on the legality of ECB instruments, markets have taken note.

In a few months, it will be four years since the eurozone crisis began – almost an eternity by historical standards.

Much has been done to overcome it. But it is still too early to declare the job done and claim victory.

Jean Pisani-Ferry is Professor of Economics at Université Paris-Dauphine and currently serves as Director of Economic Policy Planning for the Prime Minister of France. © Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org

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July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | COMMENT | 7

Nearing the creation of a banking union in Europe Rationale and Significance

One of the major systemic weaknesses emerging from the Eurozone crisis is the mutually reinforcing sovereign and banking risks: weak public finances unable to support banks needing capital, and banks underestimating risk, getting into trouble and, thereby, undermining the sustainability of public finances. Breaking this negative feedback loop between banking and sovereign risk, by providing collective E.U. funding to banks, is the major motivation behind the initiative of creating a banking union in Europe. The seriousness of this challenge has been dramatised by the severe punishment of taxpayers in Ireland and, more recently, of bank depositors in Cyprus. Other negative consequences of the absence of a banking union include a slowdown of progress towards the single financial market in Europe and a substantial increase in the risk exposure of the European Central Bank (ECB).

For many, the stakes of a successful creation of a European banking union are even higher and include the very future of the Eurozone, the prospects of completing European financial integration, a major threat to the viability of the new rules for public finances and, ultimately, the vision of stronger European political integration. While the significance is clear, the challenge is substantial and requires careful design both in the transition to the banking union and in the architecture of the steady state. Recent statements by senior policy makers, particularly in Germany, and the outcome of the most recent Eurogroup suggest that political support for the creation of a banking union in Europe may be gathering renewed momentum.

Building Blocks

A major first pillar of the banking union are the new powers to be assumed by the ECB in banking supervision. These powers are meant to contain the building of risk, prevent financial instability and minimise taxpayer cost. The expectation is that the ECB would be more willing than national regulators to require banks to confront and deal promptly with problem loans and other impaired assets. Any resistance from national regulators to give up authority will have to be overcome. A second pillar is a deposit insurance scheme, with credible fiscal backing, to counter the threat of a bank run. Currently, prefunded national deposit guarantee schemes are vastly insufficient in case of a systemic crisis. While pooling national schemes into a single fund lowers the probability that it will be exhausted in a crisis, deposit insurance alone cannot credibly insure against threats to the integrity of the Eurozone financial system. This means that a mechanism for a common fiscal back stop is needed – along the lines of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM).

The third pillar of a banking union is a centralised bank resolution system, beginning with a fully harmonised system of

national rules with specific reference to the distribution of losses between taxpayers and creditors. These common deposit insurance and centralised bank resolution systems carry important moral hazard risks, with incentives for the national authorities to shift burdens onto the European taxpayers, and must therefore be very carefully designed. This explains why the system to recapitalise the banks directly through the ESM is the subject of detailed discussions with emphasis on national remedies having to be tried first.

Design Features

The most difficult challenge perhaps lies with short-term steps to design, build the architecture, persuade markets and implement convincingly the banking union.Market participants

By Michael Sarris Former Minister of Finance and the public will need to be reassured that adequate tools are in place to address any eventuality. Design principles would likely include the following: responsibility for pre-existing costs should be with member states, as much as possible consistent with public debt sustainability, and should be addressed headon, otherwise they will keep growing out of control. All banks in the euro-zone (and perhaps other EU countries) should be covered and, to summarise points made above, supervision should be given to the ECB, regulation should be based on a “single rulebook”, a common European resolution authority, drawing on ESM resources, should be established and a centralised deposit insurance should be put in place with fiscal backing, which implies a stronger fiscal union.

Dealing with legacy problems (i.e. pre-existing problems) is a special challenge. As some sovereigns and some banking systems in the Eurozone are already in trouble, or are at risk, agreeing on and introducing a common fiscal backstop will not be easy. Delaying finding a solution increases costs: already credit to many economies has dried through a Japanese style non-recognition of bank losses (several so-called zombie banks may be close to bankruptcy but have kept their losses hidden).

While, as said above, governments and creditors who did not exercise adequate surveillance should pay the bulk of the legacy costs, as perhaps is dictated by fairness, this may create more problems than it solves. That is why at the recent Eurogroup it was agreed that, on a case by case basis, banks in countries under EU support programmes should be eligible to apply retroactively for direct support. In any event, a robust governance system for quick and clear decision-making for bank res-

olution and cost distribution in a democratically legitimate way should be devised to deal with legacy problems.

Complementary Policies

Some of the lessons from the ongoing crisis suggest that, even with a well-designed banking union in place, additional instruments/measures may be required to help avert a future crisis. One of the clear lessons, illustrated by the case of Cyprus, is that dangerous imbalances can lurk beneath an apparently stable macroeconomic surface. Actual output could appear to be growing at its potential rate, inflation can be low and stable and unemployment at its natural rate. But the structure of output could be unsustainable because of sectoral booms, due to, for instance, excessive investment in the construction sector.

On the other side of the same coin, large household and business indebtedness, supported by capital inflows and excessively leveraged financial institutions, could lead to a build up of excessive financial risks. Moreover, the behaviour of these imbalances could be asymmetrical: slow and benign-looking buildups of booms can be followed by sudden and dramatic busts with substantial negative consequences on economic activity.

Appropriate eurozone-wide monetary policy and prudent national fiscal policy, together with improved prudential regulation and supervision may not be sufficient to prevent such scenaria from reoccurring. More is needed. For a start, policy at the national level must adopt a macro prudential approach: it has to add a macro and systemic dimension to its assessment of institution-based risk by looking at several key institutions, and their interconnections, and by monitoring specific developments in the economy such as sector and asset price booms, and overall credit expansion rates.

When such systemic challenges are identified, macro prudential tools can be deployed to complement enhanced regulation and supervision. These include cyclical capital requirements, leverage ratios and dynamic provisioning, which are designed to affect the behaviour of lenders. These are meant to force banks to increase their capital in boom times and also build additional provisions so as to deal better with losses when times turn bad. Macroprudential tools also include limits on loans-to-value and debt-to-income ratios, which are designed to impact borrowers. The purpose of these tools is to discourage excessive borrowing and make households less vulnerable to changes in their financial circumstances. In countries experiencing excessive, and perhaps unsustainable, capital inflows, capital flow management tools could also be utilised. While experience shows that some of these tools can be circumvented (for example the loan-to-value ratio in Cyprus over the last decade) they do hold promise in reducing the incidence of credit-booms and protecting against financial distress when the boom runs out of steam.

EU leaders clinch deals on banks, budget, jobless European leaders agreed on new steps to fight youth unemployment and promote lending to credit-starved small business on Thursday after deals on banking resolution and the longterm EU budget gave their summit a much needed lift.

The 27 leaders resolved to spend 6 bln euros over the next two years to support job creation, training and apprenticeships for young people, and to raid unspent EU budget funds to keep the effort going thereafter.

Critics say the money is a drop in the ocean with more than 19 mln people unemployed in the EU, and more than half of all young people under 25 without a job in Spain and Greece.

Leaders also approved plans for the European Investment Bank to lend hundreds of billions of euros to small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) particularly in southern EU states where bank finance has largely dried up due to the euro zone’s debt crisis.

“The last 24 hours have been a great success,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference. “Today we have agreed the money to back up our words.”

After late-night talks in Luxembourg, finance ministers agreed how to share the cost of future bank failures among investors and wealthy savers as far as possible.

Separately, negotiators for the European Parliament, the European Commission and EU member governments clinched a deal on a 960 bln euro seven-year budget for the bloc for the period 2014-20, ending months of squabbling.

The leaders unanimously endorsed the agreement, EU

Council President Herman Van Rompuy said, overcoming a last minute snag over Britain’s rebate, which will remain intact. The European Parliament must approve the deal so the new budget can take effect next January.

The banking resolution agreement designed to shield European taxpayers from having to foot the bill for rescuing troubled banks will be implemented on a national basis from 2018.

It lays the ground for a single system to resolve failed banks in the euro zone and the 27-nation EU, the second stage of what policymakers call a European banking union, meant to strengthen supervision and stability of the financial sector.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive, will put forward proposals for a single resolution mechanism this week, but any deal on it is a long way off because EU paymaster Germany opposes taking any liability for other countries’ banks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the EU budget breakthrough, saying it would allow new spending on everything from agriculture to research, roads, bridges and development aid to move ahead, promoting economic growth in Europe.

LOW GROWTH

The last summit before Germany’s September general election - a key date in Europe’s political calendar - was one of the least contentious of the past three years.

But Merkel, favourite in opinion polls to win a third term,

denied widespread talk that key European decisions on crisis management, banking union and issues such as entry negotiations with Turkey and carbon emissions for cars were on hold until after the vote.

The calm summit mood was a far cry from the peak of the debt and economic turmoil of late 2011 and early-to-mid 2012, when there was a real threat of the euro zone collapsing.

Since then, thanks largely to a promise by the European Central Bank last July to do whatever it takes to defend the single currency, pressure from financial markets has eased and EU leaders have made some progress in reforming their economies.

As well as strict new rules on budget deficits and tighter oversight of budget spending plans by the European Commission, steps have been taken to improve banking supervision and weaken the link between indebted countries and problem banks.

From late next year, the ECB will become the single supervisor for virtually all the euro zone’s 6,000 banks - the first stage of banking union.

The next step, the creation of a single resolution mechanism, is likely to prove a deeply divisive and drawn out process, with sharp differences between the views of the EU institutions, Germany, France and other member states.

Further-reaching plans for a single bank deposit guarantee across the euro zone look unlikely to gain traction due to German and north European opposition, although officially the idea remains on the table.

July 3 - 9, 2013

8 | COMMENT | financialmirror.com

Getting rid of ‘what can we get away with’ l

IoD Cyprus: Alan Waring launches his book on governance and risk management

Boards and individual directors and executives can no longer take a ‘what can we get away with?’ attitude towards running their organization unless they want to invite the kinds of corporate disaster that occur so regularly, said Dr Alan Waring in his lecture on Corporate Risk Management and Governance delivered to a special Institute of Directors (Cyprus) meeting held at the Bank of Cyprus headquarters on 27th June. Robust risk management is an essential part of good corporate governance and both are necessary for corporate reputation, business success and the avoidance of crises and disasters, he added.

Chaired by IoDC President Evdokimos Xenophontos, the lead panel included Petros Florides, Regional Governance Adviser for World Vision, and Masis der Parthogh, the publisher and editor of Financial Mirror. The audience included leaders from the business and finance world in Cyprus, including former Finance Minister Michael Sarris. Coinciding with the launch of his latest book ‘Corporate Risk and Governance: an End

to Mismanagement, Tunnel Vision and Quackery’, Dr Waring’s lecture drew heavily on the book’s content, which represents a distillation of his expertise and experiences in risk management over a 35-year career. He summarized a number of the book’s 75 case studies, including some relating to Cyprus such as The Decline of Cyprus Airways and the Mari-Vassilikos Disaster.

Michael Sarris asked what more might be needed from a public policy standpoint in order to get all large companies to carry out their governance and risk management responsibilities. Dr Waring replied that further and more precise legislation and regulation may be required but also there has to be a credible enforcement mechanism for those who choose to ignore the requirements. In addition, it is important to apply the governance and risk management requirements to all kinds of large organization and not just those listed on the CSE. This means organizations such as State Owned Companies, banks, insurers, large accounting firms, government ministries and departments, local authorities, large private companies and so on, as the principals of governance

and risk management are the same even if some required methods and procedures may vary. The stakeholders whose interests require protection are not just shareholders of listed companies and stakeholders of all kinds needed to be more active and vocal in demanding good behaviour from such organizations. Petros Florides concurred and went on to outline a new initiative he is driving, that includes a ‘Governance Charter’ which aims to cover all these organization types.

Masis der Parthogh noted that the book’s concluding chapter recommended greater emphasis on further education for directors and executives to improve their knowledge and understanding of risks and governance and enhance their decision-making. Dr Waring commented that better education needed to be in two areas.

First, all degree courses in the broad area of business, management and finance (and possibly some other areas) should include a compulsory module on risk management rather than an elective component, since the topic is core to the satisfactory running of any business or organization.

Second, all relevant professional bodies operating CPD (Continuing Professional Development) schemes should include compulsory requirements relating to risk management.

Does ethical leadership matter?

This is a good time to ask about the type of leaders that we, as a society, need to lead our country, institutions and businesses. After all, the consequences of poor decisions of the past proved to be dramatic and far-reaching.

Defining ethics and leadership

Ethics can be defined as the body of knowledge that deals with the study of principles that determine right from wrong.

Leadership can be defined as the art of helping, guiding and influencing people to act toward achieving a common goal.

By Rakis Christoforou BBA,CPA/ABV/CFF, CGMA, ACFE

By combining the two, one quickly derives a simple definition for ethical leadership: the art of helping, guiding and influencing people to achieve a common goal in a morally acceptable way. “Doing the right thing” underpins the ethical leader’s message and, therefore, style of behaviour.

Structures should be in place to provide the leader with a sounding board and advisory conscience. This will help to prevent him from taking ill-advised decisions and actions which may ultimately cause harm.

There are levels of behaviour from the unethical through to the highly ethical. Building on the work of Dexter Dunphy, Emeritus Professor in the School of Management at the University of Technology Sydney, we can define them as follows: Level 1: Rejection. Exploit, use and abuse others, and especially their relative disadvantages, for your own gain, without any regard for consequence.

Level 2: Non-responsiveness. Operate from a position that measures success only in terms of one’s own gain; exploit others where there is a power or monetary gain to be had; little real concern for the law of regulation.

Level 3: Compliance. Do the minimum required by the relevant law of the land, and continue to exploit others, but minimise consequential risk. In other words, don’t get caught out.

Level 4: Efficiency. Regard yourself as a good citizen (individual or corporate) and act in a manner that respects and upholds the morals, values, regulations, customs and styles of wider society; act in a holistic, integrated way across all areas of activity.

Level 5: Proactivity. Be a proactive agent for values-led leadership in the context of wider society in all areas of activity, recognising this as a point of personal or corporate distinction.

Or, be a role model by going “above and beyond”.

Level 6: Sustaining. Recognise one’s place in the grander scheme of things, and the inter-connectedness of everyone and everything; act as a co-evolutionary element to foster greater effectiveness for the whole.

Ethical leaders operate from Level 4, 5 or 6. They have a sense of mission in life. They operate according to their identity, and the values and morals they clearly possess.

They are marked out by the perspectives they bring to problem-solving, the capabilities they develop in themselves and others, the choices they make and how this is all expressed in their behaviour.

We contend that from the perspective of common sense definitions, a leader operating from Levels 1, 2 or 3 is not an ethical leader.

ciently considered and fostered in many organisations including government.

Does ethical leadership matter?

Conclusion

Unfortunately, the benefits of ethical leadership can be seen most clearly where it is absent; where there is misalignment of the level of leadership and the ethics of the leader on the one hand, and the organisation they are leading on the other.

Such conditions foster greed, fraud, confusion, alienation, tension and struggle. Most probably the clearest example of this is the Enron scandal and the unraveling of Arthur Andersen.

If we accept that ethical leaders ultimately create greater value for organisations, we can then ask: why have there been so many recent events that have exposed the lack of integrity and moral standing of so many high-profile leaders?

It seems that very often, the press especially abroad exposes a new leader that, quite frankly, fails the test of conducting the affairs of the organisation/governmental department he is leading in a morally sound and defendable manner.

It would appear that ethical considerations are not suffi-

An organisation is much more than an economic unit. It is an integral part of the broader society within which it operates. This is a responsibility much greater, and with a much higher purpose, than may initially be apparent.

Ethical leaders are those who grasp this concept and view their role as stewards of the organisation/government. They understand that they are called upon to leave a legacy which not only adds economic value but also adds to the organisation’s and/or government’s overall moral standing and an example to others.

Rakis Christoforou is the first qualified accountant in Cyprus to hold the CFF (Certified in Financial Forensics) and ABV (Accredited in Business Valuation) certifications. He is also the Vice Chairman of the Economic Crime and Forensic Accounting (ECFA) committee of The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC). rakis@spidernet.com.cy

July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | COMMENT | 9

The confessions of Andy Fastow The convicted former Enron CFO is now admitting his sins to audiences—but also claiming that what other companies are doing today is “ten times worse” than what Enron did.

By Peter Elkind Fortune Editor at Large “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Andrew Fastow!”

He was an improbable Las Vegas headliner, taking the stage before a packed convention hall of 2,500 fraud examiners.

For former Enron CFO Andy Fastow, who spent more than five years in federal prison for his crimes, last week’s appearance before the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners was his most public step in a uphill redemptive journey—to explain how he became a “fraudster”; to sound provocative warnings about today’s corporate practices; and even to offer a bit of revisionism on the company’s 2001 collapse.

Fastow launched his talk with a broad mea culpa, introduced with a grim joke. “Several of you have commented to me that your organization has grown dramatically over the past ten years,” he said. “And they thank me. They said no other individual has been more responsible for the growth of your industry than me. So: You’re welcome.”

The crowd roared.

“It’s not something I’m proud of,” he added soberly, after the laughter had died down.

Fastow was initially charged with 78 counts of fraud, mostly connected to his central role in a web of off-balance sheet entities that did business with Enron, disguised the company’s financial condition, and made Fastow tens of millions. He ultimately pled guilty to two counts, forfeited $30 mln, and agreed to testify against his former bosses as a government witness.

Since leaving prison in 2011 and resuming life with his wife Lea and two sons in Houston, where Enron was based, Fastow has kept a low profile. Now 51, he works 9-to-5 as a documentreview clerk at the law firm that represented him in civil litigation.

Fastow has given 14 unpaid talks, mostly at universities, usually with no press allowed. The first came at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He volunteered to speak to students after reading a column on ethics by the dean of the business school.

Fastow has also spoken at Tufts, Tulane and Dartmouth and is scheduled to address a United Nations group in the fall.

In Las Vegas, dressed in a blazer and open shirt, Fastow stood at the podium a bit grim-faced, his speech sometimes halting.

“I’m not used to giving talk to groups this big,” he explained. “I apologize to you if I feel nervous—if I appear nervous.”

“I’M GUILTY”

“Why am I here?” he asked. “First of all, let me say I’m here because I’m guilty….I caused immeasurable damage….I can never repair that. But I try, by doing these presentations, especially by meeting with students or directors, to help them understand why I did the things I did, how I went down that path, and how they might think about things so they also don’t make the mistakes I made.”

“The last reason I’m here,” Fastow continued, “is because, in my opinion, the problem today is ten times worse than when Enron had its implosion…. The things that Enron did, and that I did, are being done today, and in many cases they’re being done in such a manner that makes me blush—and I was the CFO of Enron.” He cited the continuing widespread use of off-balancesheet vehicles, as well as inflated financial assumptions embed-

ded in corporate pension plans.

Fastow said he was prosecuted “for not technically complying with certain securities rules”—but that wasn’t “the important reason why I’m guilty.” The “most egregious reason” for his culpability, he said, was that the transactions he spearheaded “intentionally created a false appearance of what Enron was—it made Enron look healthy when it really wasn’t.”

“Accounting rules and regulations and securities laws and regulation are vague,” Fastow explained. “They’re complex….What I did at Enron and what we tended to do as a company [was] to view that complexity, that vagueness….not as a problem, but as an opportunity.” The only question was “do the rules allow it—or do the rules allow an interpretation that will allow it?”

Fastow insisted he got approval for every single deal—from lawyers, accountants, management, and directors—yet noted that Enron is still considered “the largest accounting fraud in history.” He asked rhetorically, “How can it be that you get approvals… and it’s still fraud?”

Because it was misleading, Fastow said—and he knew it. “I knew it was wrong,” he told the crowd. “I knew that what I was doing was misleading. But I didn’t think it was illegal. I thought: that’s how the game is played. You have a complex set of rules and the objective is to use the rules to your advantage. And that was the mistake I made.”

After speaking for about 20 minutes, Fastow took questions.

He insisted on this despite the trepidations of conference organizers. “A lot of people are still angry,” explained James Ratley, a former Dallas police department fraud investigator and the Austin-based group’s CEO. “I was cautious that someone would create a disturbance.”

The fraud group invites a “criminal speaker” to address its convention every year. But Fastow’s invitation drew unusually acidic comments on a LinkedIn message board. “A total slap in the face to all of the honest and respectable investigators that could be utilized as a presenter,” one person fulminated. “Just scum,” was another’s summary. “To be blunt,” a third person wrote, “I see him as a calculating low life, as bad as an armed robber who would shoot up a bank to get the people’s money.”

CRITICISM

But Ratley dismissed the criticism. “If you’re a fraud examiner and you don’t want to deal with a fraud perpetrator, you ought to change professions.” Ratley said he had met with Fastow to

screen him “for any type of evasiveness. He has not dodged, ducked or blinked since I started talking with him.” ACFE made a point of noting prominently in promotional materials that Fastow was not paid to speak.

(The group did cover his travel expenses).

Among his questions, Fastow was asked about former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling’s sentence reduction last month—from 24 to 14 years. Fastow offered considerable sympathy for his former boss, against whom he had testified at trial. “Going to prison is terrible,” Fastow said.

“You’re never comfortable. All the talk about ‘Club Fed’ is garbage…. You’re surrounded by very violent people, very unstable people. Prisons work hard to make you uncomfortable. But that’s not what’s bad about going to prison.

What’s bad is that you’re separated from your family.”

(Skilling’s parents and youngest son all died while he was behind bars.) Fastow added that even Skilling’s reduced term is still “a devastating sentence.”

Fastow went on to insist that “Enron did not have to go bankrupt when it went bankrupt... It could have survived. And it was decisions made in October 2001”—after Skilling resigned as CEO—”that caused it go into bankruptcy” early that December.

That’s a highly debatable point—but Fastow did not elaborate.

And then, the final question: “This is on a lot of people’s minds. Many people vilify you for what you did at Enron, and the resulting effect on other companies, pensions, market share, people’s fortunes. How do you grapple with that? How do you react to that condemnation?”

“I DESERVE IT”

“Um, well, first of all,” said Fastow, looking down, “I deserve it. It’s a very difficult thing to accept that about yourself. I didn’t set out to commit a crime. I certainly didn’t set out to hurt anyone. When I was working at Enron, you know, I was kind of a hero, because I helped the company make its numbers every quarter. And I thought I was doing a good thing. I thought I was smart. But I wasn’t.”

“I wake up every morning and I take out my prison ID card, which I have with me here today. And it makes certain that I remember all the people. I remember that I harmed so many people in what I did. It encourages me to try to do the little things that I can to make amends for what I did.”

“I can’t repay everyone. I can’t give them jobs. I can’t fix it.

But I just have to try bit by bit to do that. Being here is hopefully a little contribution to that.”

And with that—despite the organizer’s fears that Fastow’s speech might be disrupted—the former Enron CFO received a broad round of applause. For 15 minutes afterwards, he lingered, chatting with a crowd of the fraud examiners. More than one asked to pose for a photo with Fastow, who politely agreed. An ACFE staffer who did so said she felt a bit weird about the request, but that Fastow seemed nice and she felt he was “part of history.”

That over, the former Enron CFO departed for his flight back to Houston, carrying a tote bag he’d been given bearing the logo of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

“Quite a bit of irony in that,” Fastow remarked.

(Fortune Editor at Large Peter Elkind is co-author, with Bethany McLean, of The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron)

PwC: Future of government is doing less for less Public sector organisations around the world face a stark challenge: adjust to the reality of “doing more for less” – or even “doing less for less” – whilst focusing on what society needs and doing all this at a time of seismic changes.

The new normal is for governments and public sector organisations to deal with uncertainty and offer solutions while delivering quality services that are affordable, all set in the context of deficit-reducing budget cuts.

The new PwC “Future of Government” report sets out views on the issues that need to be addressed by public sector organisations, in a rapidly changing environment. In this new environment the options available for the governments are affected by the rapid advances in new technology and the economy while they are equally affected by the changing per-

ceptions of the society.

“The study is released at a time where the reforming of the public sector in Cyprus is a great challenge. We believe that this study can be the basis for a constructive dialogue contributing to the necessary changes in order for the public sector to meet the demands of the society,” Evgenios Evgeniou, CEO of PwC Cyprus.

According to the findings of the study, organisations must view themselves through three different lenses that guide their behaviour: - Citizen-centricity: meeting citizen needs effectively, affordably and in a timely manner; - Getting the right balance between managing internal organisational efficiency/effectiveness, and externally deliver-

ing ‘good growth’; - Sustainable outcomes: strategically building the assets for society by managing the ‘capitals’ needed for long-term prosperity – such as social, environmental, cultural etc.; In addition, there are four key characteristics that the leading public sector body of the future must exhibit: - Agile: ready to anticipate situations, and adapt and react to unforeseen events; - Innovative: capable of incubating ideas; - Connected: collaborating across sectors/borders/organisations; - Transparent: being truly accountable for actions and outcomes of the organisations.

The PwC report is available on www.pwc.com.cy

July 3 - 9, 2013

10 | COMMENT | financialmirror.com

Ireland and the austerity debate Both sides of the austerity debate that is now gripping economists and policymakers cite Ireland’s experience as evidence for their case. And, however much they try to position the country as a poster-child, neither side is able to convince the other. Yet this tug-of-war is important, because it illustrates the complex range of arguments that are in play. It also demonstrates why more conclusive economic policy making is proving so elusive.

Here is a quick reminder of Ireland’s sad recent economic history. Lulled into complacency and excess by ample supplies of artificially cheap financing, Irish banks went on a lending binge. Irresponsible risk-taking and excessive greed outpaced prudential regulation and supervision. The banking system ended up fueling massive speculation, including a huge run-up in real-estate prices, only to be brought to its knees when the bubbles popped.

Unlike the many Irish households that lost jobs and part of their wealth, the banks were deemed to be “too big to fail,” so Ireland’s political elites intervened with state funding. But, by under-estimating both the domestic and international aspects of the problem, the authorities transformed a banking problem into a national tragedy.

Rather than restoring the banks to financial health and ensuring responsible behavior, the Irish economy as a whole was dragged down. Growth collapsed; unemployment spiked.

Lacking opportunities, emigration increased – a vivid reminder of how economic crises have wreaked havoc on the country’s demographics throughout its history.

Investors withdrew in droves from what was once deemed the “Celtic Tiger.” The government had no choice but to request a bailout from the “troika” – the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission – thereby transferring an important component of national economic governance to an ad hoc, fragile, and sometimes feuding group of institutions.

While other struggling eurozone members also turned to the troika, Ireland stands out in at least two notable ways. First, two democratically-elected governments have steadfastly implemented the agreed austerity programs with little need for

waivers and modifications – and thus without the associated political drama. Second, despite enduring considerable pain, Irish society has stuck with the program, staging few of the street protests that have been common in other austerity-hit countries.

All of this puts Ireland in the middle of three important issues raised in the austerity debates: whether orthodox policy, with its heavy emphasis on immediate budget cuts, can restore conditions for growth, employment gains, and financial stability; whether the benefits of eurozone membership still outweigh the costs for countries that must restructure their

By Mohamed A. El-Erian

economies; and how a small, open economy should strategically position itself in today’s world.

Austerity’s supporters point to the fact that Ireland is on the verge of “graduating” from the troika’s program. Growth has resumed, financial-risk premia have fallen sharply, foreign investment is picking up, and exports are booming. All of this, they argue, provides the basis for sustainable growth and declining unemployment. Ireland, they conclude, was right to stay in the eurozone, especially because small, open economies that are unanchored can be easily buffeted by a fluid global economy.

“Not so fast,” says the other side. The critics of austerity point to the fact that Irish GDP has still not returned to its 2007 level.

Unemployment remains far too high, with alarming levels of long-term and youth joblessness. Public debt remains too high as well, and, making matters worse, much more of it is now owed to official rather than private creditors (which would complicate debt restructuring should it become necessary).

The critics reject the argument that small, open economies

are necessarily better off in a monetary union, pointing to how well Switzerland is coping. And they lament that eurozone membership means that Ireland’s “internal devaluations,” which involve significant cuts in real wages, have not yet run their course.

The data on the “Irish experiment” – including the lack of solid counterfactuals – are not conclusive enough for one side to declare a decisive victory. Yet there is some good analytical news. Ireland provides insights that are helpful in understanding how sociopolitical systems, including economically devastated countries like Cyprus and Greece, have coped so far with shocks that were essentially unthinkable just a few years ago.

On my current visit, most of the Irish citizens with whom I have spoken say that the country had no alternative but to follow the path of austerity. While they appreciate the urgent need for growth and jobs, they believe that this can be achieved only after Ireland’s finances are put back on a sound footing.

They also argue that, given the banks’ irresponsibility, there is no quick way to promote sustained expansion. They are still angry at bankers, but have yet to gain proper retribution.

Ireland’s accumulation of wealth during its Celtic Tiger period, when the country surged toward the top of Europe’s economic league table, has also been an effective shock absorber. This, together with fears about being left out in the geopolitical cold (despite the country’s historical links with Britain and America), dampens Irish enthusiasm for economic experiments outside the eurozone.

Indeed, Irish society seems remarkably hesitant to change course. Right or wrong, Ireland will stick with austerity. Efforts to regain national control of the country’s destiny, the Irish seem to believe, must take time. In some of Europe’s other struggling countries, however, citizens may well prove less patient.

Mohamed A. El-Erian is CEO and co-CIO of PIMCO, and the author of When Markets Collide. © Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org

Central bankers on the ground Markets are in turmoil once again, following the US Federal Reserve’s indication that it might reduce its bond purchases toward the end of the year. The intensity of the market reaction was surprising, at least given the received wisdom about how the Fed’s quantitative-easing policy works. After all, the Fed was careful to indicate that it would maintain its near-zero interestrate policy and would not unload its bond holdings.

The dominant theory of how quantitative easing works is the portfolio-balance approach. Essentially, by buying long-term Treasury bonds from private investors’ portfolios, the Fed hopes that these investors will rebalance their portfolios. Because a risky asset has been removed and replaced with safe centralbank reserves, investors’ unmet risk appetite will grow, the price of all risky assets (including remaining privately-held long-term Treasury bonds) will rise, and bond yields will fall.

A central element of the theory is that the stock of bonds that the Fed has removed from private portfolios, not the flow of Fed purchases, will determine investors’ risk appetite. Unless investors thought the Fed was going to buy bonds forever, news about a reduction in Fed purchases should have had only a mild effect on their expectations of the eventual stock of bonds the Fed would hold. So why such a violent reaction in markets worldwide?

One possible answer is that the volume of monthly Fed purchases also matters for global asset prices. Another possibility is that investors around the world read far more into the Fed’s statements than the Fed intended. Either answer is worrisome, because it would suggest that central banks – which are now holding trillions of dollars in assets – have less ability to manage the process of exiting quantitative easing than we would wish.

Perhaps Winston Churchill might have mused about quantitative easing, “Never in the field of economic policy has so much been spent, with so little evidence, by so few.”

Quantitative easing has truly been a step in the dark. Given all the uncertainty – why it works, how to make it most effective, and how to exit – why have central bankers, for whom “innovative” is usually an epithet, departed from their usual conservatism in adopting it?

One possibility is that in the past, crises typically occurred in

countries that lacked the depth of economic training that exists in, say, the United States or Europe. When emerging economies’ policymakers were told that they needed to implement significant austerity, as well as widespread bank closures, to cleanse the economy after a crisis, they did not protest, despite the prospect of years of high unemployment. After all, few had the training and confidence to question the orthodoxy, and those who did were considered misguided cranks.

Multilateral institutions, empowered by their control over funding, dictated policy from the economic scriptures. In sum, those determining policy were distant from the pain.

By Raghuram Rajan

When the crisis hit home, Western economists were much less willing to accept that pain was necessary, or so the explanation goes. Keynesianism, which promises painless answers, was resurgent once again. The Fed, led by perhaps the foremost monetary economist in the world, proposed creative solutions that few in policy circles, including the usually conservative multilateral institutions, questioned.

After all, they no longer had the power of the purse or the advantage in economic training.

But this is not an entirely satisfactory explanation. Nobel laureates like Joe Stiglitz did protest very publicly about the kind of austerity to which Indonesia, for example, was subject. While many more protest austerity today, it was not that smart economists were totally oblivious of the pain emerging economies were going through when they were hit by crisis.

Consider another explanation: Perhaps central bankers’ success in preventing the collapse of the financial system after the 2008 crisis secured for them the public’s trust to go further. Perhaps their successful rescue of the banking sys-

tem also misled some central bankers into believing that they possessed the Midas touch. After all, despite their natural conservatism, it would have been hard for central bankers to do nothing if they believed that there was something, anything, they could do to improve growth and reduce unemployment.

Yet this, too, seems to be only a partial explanation. Few among the public were happy that the big banks were rescued, and many did not understand why the financial system had to be saved when their own employers were laying off workers or closing down.

Indeed, perhaps a better explanation is that instead of creating more room for central bankers, the banking rescues narrowed their political room for maneuver. Perhaps what forced central bankers to act creatively was the political difficulty of doing nothing after having spent billions rescuing private banks. After all, how could one let a technical hitch like the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates stand in the way of rescuing Main Street when innovative financing facilities had been used to save Wall Street? Once central bankers undertook the necessary rescue of banks, perhaps they became irremediably entangled in politics, which made quantitative easing an inevitable outcome.

As with much concerning recent unconventional monetary policies, there is a lot about which we can only guess, including why it has happened. The bottom line is that if there is one myth that recent developments have exploded it is probably the one that sees central bankers as technocrats, hovering independently over the politics and ideologies of their time. Their feet, too, have touched the ground.

Raghuram Rajan, Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the chief economic adviser in India’s finance ministry, is the author of Fault Lines: How Hidden Fractures Still Threaten the World Economy.

The views expressed here are the author’s own. © Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org

EB¢OMA¢IAIA OIKONOMIKH ¶√§π∆π∫∏ EºHMEPI¢A AÚ. 922

www.financialmirror.com

∆∂∆∞ƒ∆∏, 3 π√À§π√À, 2013

BOC: M¤¯ÚÈ €150,000 ÙÔ ÂÊ¿·Í ÂÍfi‰Ô˘ Την καταβολή ενÞσ εφάπαξ ποσού ωσ αποζηµίωση που δεν θα ξεπερνά τισ 150,000 ευρώ και την κατάθεση τουλάχιστον του 50% του ποσού αποζηµίωσησ στισ δανειακέσ υποχρεώσεισ του κάθε εργαζÞµενου προνοεί το σχέδιο εθελούσιασ εξÞδου τησ Τράπεζασ Κύπρου το οποίο αποφασίστηκε απÞ το ∆ιοικητικÞ Συµβούλιο και αφορά το σύνολÞ του προσωπικού του Συγκροτήµατοσ τησ Τράπεζασ στην Κύπρο. Το σύνολο του προσωπικού µαζί µε τουσ υπαλλήλουσ τησ Λαϊκήσ ανέρχεται στουσ 5760 εργαζÞµενουσ και ο αρχικÞσ στÞχοσ που έχει τεθεί για εθελούσια έξοδο ανέρχεται στουσ 1200-1500. Το προσωπικÞ θα µπορεί απÞ τισ 8 Ιουλίου µέχρι και τισ 26 Ιουλίου να αιτηθεί για το πρÞγραµµα εθελούσιασ εξÞδου ενώ η τελευταία ηµεροµηνία αποχώρησησ καθορίζεται η 31η Ιουλίου. Σύµφωνα µε πληροφορίεσ η Κεντρική Τράπεζα, ωσ Αρχή Εξυγίανσησ, δεν έχει ένσταση στο συγκεκριµένο πρÞγραµµα. Το πρÞγραµµα προβλέπει την καταβολή ενÞσ εφάπαξ ποσού. Συγκεκριµένα προνοείται για κάθε 2 χρÞνια υπηρεσίασ, 1 µηνιαίοσ µισθÞσ (µισθÞσ Ιουνίου 2013, βασικÞσ + τιµάριθµοσ) και επιπλέον 5 µηνιαίοι µισθοί (µισθÞσ Ιουνίου 2013, βασικÞσ + τιµάριθµοσ) µε µέγιστο ποσÞ αποζηµίωσησ το 60% των υπολειπÞµενων µισθών µέχρι την κανονική αφυπηρέτηση. Το ποσÞ τησ αποζηµίωσησ που υπολογίζε-

γράµµατοσ Εθελούσιασ ΕξÞδου θα λειτουργεί άµεση γραµµή υποστήριξησ του προσωπικού στην ποία θα µπορούν να αποταθούν για οποιεσδήποτε πληροφορίεσ.

∂∆À∫: ªÔÓÔÌÂÚ‹˜ ·fiÊ·ÛË

ται ωσ πιο πάνω δεν µπορεί να ξεπεράσει το ποσÞ των 150.000 ευρώ. Ùσον αφορά στισ παροχέσ που δικαιούνται τα άτοµα που αποχωρούν, θα παρέχεται ιατροφαρµακευτική κάλυψη και ασφαλιστική κάλυψη σε περίπτωση θανάτου µέχρι το τέλοσ του 2014. Σε σχέση µε τα δάνεια του προσωπικού τουλάχιστον το 50% του ποσού αποζηµίωσησ θα πρέπει να κατατεθεί έναντι των δανειακών υποχρεώσεων του εργαζÞµενου. Το υπÞλοιπο άδειασ αυτών που θα επιλέξουν την εθελούσια έξοδο θα πρέπει να ληφθεί µέχρι την ηµεροµηνία αποχώρησησ,

εάν είναι δυνατÞ. Σε καµία περίπτωση δε θα πληρωθεί ετήσια άδεια που να ξεπερνά µισθÞ (βασικÞσ + τιµάριθµοσ) ενÞσ µηνÞσ, αναφέρεται. Ωσ τελευταία ηµεροµηνία αποχώρησησ καθορίζεται η 31η Ιουλίου. ∆ικαίωµα συµµετοχήσ στο πρÞγραµµα έχει Þλο το µÞνιµο προσωπικÞ τησ Τράπεζασ Κύπρου και Þλων των θυγατρικών εταιριών συµπεριλαµβανοµένων και των υπαλλήλων τησ πρώην Λαϊκήσ Τράπεζασ που µεταφέρθηκαν στην Τράπεζα Κύπρου. Αναφέρεται ακÞµη Þτι απÞ την επÞµενη ∆ευτέρα και κατά τη διάρκεια του Προ-

Eν τω µεταξύ αυθαίρετο και προκλητικÞ χαρακτηρίζει το σχέδιο εθελούσιασ εξÞδου η Ένωση Τραπεζικών Υπαλλήλων. Σε εγκύκλιο τησ που εκδÞθηκε αργά χθεσ το απÞγευµα η ΕΤΥΚ σηµειώνει Þτι η απÞφαση τησ εργοδοτικήσ πλευράσ λήφθηκε µονοµερώσ και το σχέδιο Þπωσ τονίζει «διακρίνεται απÞ προχειρÞτητα και ασάφειεσ». «Προσπαθήσαµε µέχρι αργά το βράδυ τησ ∆ευτέρασ µε κάθε τρÞπο να δώσουµε διεξÞδουσ στο ∆ιοικητικÞ Συµβούλιο τησ Τράπεζασ Κύπρου, µέσα απÞ µια σειρά προτάσεων, και αναµέναµε πωσ η απÞφαση τουσ θα ήταν σήµερα εντελώσ διαφορετική και θα ικανοποιούσε τισ παραµέτρουσ µιασ κοινήσ προσπάθειασ Τράπεζασ και εργαζοµένων. ∆υστυχώσ το ∆ιοικητικÞ Συµβούλιο επέλεξε τον µοναχικÞ και εκβιαστικÞ τρÞπο τησ επιβολήσ των αρχικών του απÞψεων, παραγνωρίζοντασ το αδιαµφισβήτητο γεγονÞσ πωσ ο βασικÞτεροσ παράγοντασ πάνω στον οποίο θα στηριχτεί η ανάκαµψη τησ Τράπεζασ είναι το ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΟ ∆ΥΝΑΜΙΚΟ τησ». ∆εν έχουµε αµφιβολία Þτι η συγκεκριµένη απÞφαση είναι λανθασµένη, συµπληρώνεται.

ªÂ ÙÔÓ ‰ÈÎËÁfiÚÔ ÙÔ˘ ÛÙËÓ ∂ÈÙÚÔ‹ £ÂÛÌÒÓ Ô ¢ËÌËÙÚÈ¿‰Ë˜ Εξηγήσεισ στην Κοινοβουλευτική Επιτροπή Θεσµών έδωσε χθεσ σε κεκλεισµένων των θυρών συνεδρία ο ∆ιοικητήσ τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ Πανίκοσ ∆ηµητριάδησ, σχετικά µε ενδεχÞµενεσ παραβιάσεισ του νÞµου περί καταθέσεωσ στοιχείων και πληροφοριών στη Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων και στισ Κοινοβουλευτικέσ Επιτροπέσ. “Εξετάσαµε το θέµα του ∆ιοικητή”, είπε σε δηλώσεισ του ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ και ΠρÞεδροσ του ΕΥΡΩΚΟ, ∆ηµήτρησ Συλλούρησ, αναφέροντασ Þτι “απÞ τουσ Βουλευτέσ µπήκαν Þλεσ οι ερωτήσεισ αναφορικά µε αυτÞ το θέµα, δÞθηκαν οι διευκρινίσεισ απÞ τον ∆ιοικητή τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ και η Επιτροπή θα συνεδριάσει ξανά στισ 9 του µηνÞσ, την άλλη Τρίτη δηλα-

δή, για να αποφασίσει επί του θέµατοσ”, οπÞταν και θα γίνουν οι τοποθετήσεισ ενÞσ εκάστου των Μελών τησ Επιτροπήσ. Ο ∆ιοικητήσ τησ ΚΤ, Þπωσ ανέφερε ο κ. Συλλούρησ, “έδωσε εξηγήσεισ και γραπτέσ και προφορικέσ, τισ οποίεσ το κάθε κÞµµα και ο κάθε Βουλευτήσ θα εξετάσουν και αναλÞγωσ θα τοποθετηθούν την ερχÞµενη Τρίτη”. ΑπÞ το Βουλευτή του ∆ΗΣΥ, Ανδρέα Κυπριανού, χαρακτηρίσθηκε ωσ “σοβαρÞ” το ζήτηµα που συζητήθηκε για το ∆ιοικητή τησ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ, ενώ συνεχίζοντασ είπε πωσ ο ∆ιοικητήσ παρουσιάσθηκε στην Επιτροπή µε το δικηγÞρο του, κάτι παράξενο για τα κοινοβουλευτικά θέσµια και παρέµεινε στη θέση Þτι δεν κατέθεσε ψευδή στοιχεία. “Ο ∆ιοικητήσ”, Þπωσ ανέφερε ο κ.

Κυπριανού, “έχει ξεκαθαρίσει σήµερα Þτι δεν υπάρχει διαδικασία έρευνασ απÞ την Άλβαρεζ και Μάρσαλ για τη Λαϊκή Τράπεζα” και “έχει πει επίσησ Þτι ο λÞγοσ για τον οποίο περιορίσθηκε η έρευνα απÞ την Άλβαρεζ και Μάρσαλ και ο λÞγοσ, για τον οποίο δÞθηκαν οι οδηγίεσ να ερευνήσει µÞνον την Τράπεζα Κύπρου, ήταν διÞτι πιθανολογείτο ποινική διαδικασία, διαδικασία δικαστική, κατά τησ Λαϊκήσ Τράπεζασ και ήθελε να την προστατεύσει”. Μεγάλη απογοήτευση εξέφρασε και ο Βουλευτήσ του Κινήµατοσ ΟικολÞγων, Γιώργοσ Περδίκησ. “Τα κÞµµατα”, είπε ο κ. Περδίκησ, “ξέχασαν πάρα πολύ ενωρίσ ποιοσ ήταν ο ρÞλοσ του ∆ιοικητή τησ ΚΤ στο να παραπλανηθούν και να εγκρίνουν το 1,8 δισεκατοµµύριο ευρώ στη Λαϊκή, έχουν ξεχάσει

πωσ παραπλανήθηκαν απÞ το ∆ιοικητή και για οκτώ µήνεσ δεν ήξεραν για τον ELA και τα 9 δισεκατοµµύρια ευρώ που ήσαν φορτωµένα στη Λαϊκή και έχουν ξεχάσει το ρÞλο που έπαιξε στο άρον - άρον κλείσιµο τησ Λαϊκήσ και στην κατάρρευση των διαπραγµατεύσεων µε τουσ Ρώσουσ, καθώσ και το ρÞλο που έπαιξε στη µεταφορά του ELA απÞ τη Λαϊκή στην Τράπεζα Κύπρου”.

€21,50 ÁÈ· ¤Ó· ÓÂÚfi Î·È ¤Ó· burger ΑπÞ 1 ευρώ µέχρι 5 ευρώ κυµαίνεται η τιµή για ένα µπουκάλι νερÞ στα τουριστικά καταλύµατα τησ Κύπρου την ώρα που πληρώνουµε 1,40 ευρώ το λίτρο την τιµή τησ Βενζίνησ. Ùσον αφορά το φραπέ οι καταναλωτέσ θα κληθούν να πληρώσουν απÞ 2,00 ευρώ µέχρι 5,50 ευρώ, ενώ για

1 αναψυκτικÞ η χαµηλÞτερη τιµή είναι 1,30 ευρώ και η ψηλÞτερη 4,00 ευρώ. ΑπÞ την άλλη αν κάποιοσ πεινάσει και παραγγείλει burger µε πατάτεσ η χαµηλÞτερη χρέωση είναι 4,15 ευρώ και η ψηλÞτερη 16,50. Και Þλα αυτά συµβαίνουν το καλοκαίρι του 2013, εν µέσω οικονοµικήσ κρίσησ την ώρα που οι αρµÞδιοι φορείσ διαµηνύουν πωσ πρώτη επιλογή για τουσ κύπριουσ φέτοσ πρέπει να είναι οι διακοπέσ στην Κύπρο. Ασ µην ξεχνάµε και τουσ τουρίστεσ που έρχονται εδώ και πληρώνουν ένα σωρÞ για τα βασικά την ώρα που στην Ελλάδα υπάρχει πλαφÞν για το νερÞ και αυτÞ ανέρχεται στα 0,90 σεντ το 1 λίτρο και 0,35 σεντ τα 500 ml.

Oι προαναφερÞµενεσ τιµέσ βασίζονται

στον κατάλογο προϊÞντων ευρείασ κατανάλωσησ σε 163 διαφορετικά υποστατικά παγκύπρια και που κατάρτισε το Τµήµα ∆ιασφάλισησ ΠοιÞτητασ του Κυπριακού Οργανισµού Τουρισµού. Στον κατάλογο περιλαµβάνονται και οι τιµέσ για το νερÞ µισού λίτρου, φρέσκο χυµÞ πορτοκάλι, κυπριακÞ καφέ και εγχώριασ µπύρασ. Ùπωσ ανακοίνωσε ο ΚΟΤ οι επιχειρήσεισ που περιλαµβάνονται στον κατάλογο είναι καταταγµένεσ στον οργανισµÞ και οι τιµέσ που αναφέρονται περιλαµβάνονται στουσ εγκεκριµένουσ απÞ τον ΟργανισµÞ τιµοκαταλÞγουσ. Με βάση τισ πρÞνοιεσ τησ περί Κέντρων Αναψυχήσ Νοµοθεσίασ, οι κατάλογοι αυτοί θα

πρέπει να είναι αναρτηµένοι σε περίοπτο µέροσ για ενηµέρωση των πελατών και για κάθε υπηρεσία που προσφέρεται πρέπει να δίδεται στον καταναλωτή αναλυτικÞσ λογαριασµÞσ. Προτρέπονται οι καταναλωτέσ να αξιοποιούν τισ πληροφορίεσ που τουσ προσφέρει ο κατάλογοσ. Οι καταναλωτέσ µπορούν να ενηµερωθούν λεπτοµερώσ για τισ τιµέσ των βασικών ειδών ευρείασ κατανάλωσησ σε τουριστικά/παραλιακά κέντρα αναψυχήσ απÞ την ιστοσελίδα του Κυπριακού Οργανισµού Τουρισµού www.visitcyprus.biz και www.visitcyprus.com. Για οποιεσδήποτε πληροφορίεσ οι καταναλωτέσ µπορούν να επικοινωνούν µε τον ΚΟΤ στο 22691100.

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

3 ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ, 2013

2 | ΕΙ∆ΗΣΕΙΣ | financialmirror.com

À„ËϤ˜ ÚÔÛ‰Ô˘ ÁÈ· √ÈÎfiÂ‰Ô 12 Αισιοδοξία επικρατεί στουσ κÞλπουσ τησ κυβέρνησησ Þτι η δεύτερη επιβεβαιωτική γεώτρηση που διενεργεί η Noble Energy στο κοίτασµα Αφροδίτη του Οικοπέδου 12 θα καταδείξει Þτι είναι ανάλογο του Ταµάρ στο Ισραήλ, δηλαδή τησ τάξησ των 10 τρισ. κ. ποδών. ΑκÞµη Þµωσ και εν δεν επιβεβαιωθούν οι προσδοκίεσ και το κοίτασµα είναι πιο περιορισµένο τÞτε η Noble θα προχωρήσει µε την εκµετάλλευση άλλου, µικρÞτερου κοιτάσµατοσ στο θαλάσσιο οικÞπεδο 12 το οποίο µε βάση εκτιµήσεισ τησ Κρατικήσ Εταιρείασ Υδρογονανθράκων µπορεί να προσφέρει άλλα δύο µε τρία τρισεκατοµµύρια κυβικά πÞδια. Η Νοble Energy πάντωσ έχει ετοιµαστεί ένα νέο, ειδικά κατασκευασµένο γεωτρύπανο, το οποίο το 2014 θα τρυπήσει βαθύτερα στο Λεβιάθαν, για

πετρέλαιο και αν τα αποτελέσµατα είναι θετικά θα τρυπήσει ακολούθωσ και στην «Αφροδίτη», καθώσ τα πετρώµατα είναι παρÞµοια σε Þλη τη λεκάνη τησ Λεβαντίνησ. Ωσ προσ τον σχεδιασµÞ των υπολοίπων εταιρειών, µετά και την πρÞσφατη επίσκεψη του Προέδρου Αναστασιάδη στο Παρίσι, η Total θα προχωρήσει σε δύο γεωτρήσεισ εντÞσ του 2014, ενώ η ΕΝΙ αναµένεται να αρχίσει το αργÞτερο στισ αρχέσ του 2013. Την ίδια ώρα η τελική επενδυτική απÞφαση για το ΒασιλικÞ θα παρθεί στισ αρχέσ του 2016, και Þχι στα τέλη του 2015, αφού µέχρι τÞτε θα είναι γνωστή η ποσÞτητα των κυπριακών κοιτασµάτων, κάτι που θα διευκολύνει τουσ σχεδιασµούσ για το τερµατικÞ. Βάσει των υπολογισµών, το τερ-

µατικÞ είναι βιώσιµο ακÞµη και µε 6 τρισεκατοµµύρια κυβικά πÞδια απÞ την Αφροδίτη αφού πρÞκειται για µια γραµµή παραγωγήσ υγροποιηµένου φυσικού αερίου δυναµικÞτητασ 5 εκ. τÞνων το χρÞνο. Ùσον αφορά το χρονοδιάγραµµα, η κυβέρνηση ευελπιστεί Þτι θα έχει φυσικÞ αέριο για παραγωγή ηλεκτρισµού το 2019, ενώ οι εξαγωγέσ υγροποιηµένου φυσικού αερίου θα ξεκινήσουν το 2020. Τέλοσ σε Þτι αφορά την ενδιάµεση λύση για έλευση φυσικού αερίου οι αναλύσεισ δείχνουν πωσ οι πρÞταση που υποβλήθηκε απÞ τη ρωσική ΙTERA θα επιφέρει µείωση στην τιµή ηλεκτρισµού Þχι Þµωσ στο επιθυµητÞ βαθµÞ που επιθυµούσε η κυβέρνηση.

∫·˙¿ÓÈ Ô˘ ÎԯϿ˙ÂÈ Ë ∞Ú¯‹ §ÈÌ¤ÓˆÓ Καζάνι που κοχλάζει είναι οι σχέσεισ τησ συντεχνίασ του προσωπικού τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων µε το ∆ιοικητικÞ Συµβούλιο και τη γενική διεύθυνση τησ Αρχήσ. Η σταγÞνα που ξεχείλισε το ποτήρι στισ σχέσεισ των δύο πλευρών είναι η ανάθεση απÞ την Αρχή Λιµένων για περίοδο 28 χρÞνων των υπηρεσιών πλοήγησησ και ρυµούλκησησ των πλοίων που θα εξυπηρετούνται απÞ τισ εγκαταστάσεισ τησ εταιρείασ VTTV στο ΒασιλικÞ στην εταιρεία Vasiliko Terminal Services εξέλιξη που Þπωσ καταγγέλλει η συντεχνία του προσωπικού θα επιφέρει ζηµιέσ 12 εκ. ευρώ ετησίωσ στην Αρχή. Για το θέµα παρενέβη και η ελεγκτική υπηρεσία η οποία σε επιστολή τησ ζήτησε τη διενέργεια ετοιµασίασ µελέτησ απÞ ανεξάρτητουσ εµπειρογνώµονεσ αφού η διαδικασία που ακολουθήθηκε δεν συνάδει µε τισ πρÞνοιεσ του περί συντονισµού των διαδικασιών σύναψησ συµβάσεων έργων. Σε δηλώσεισ του ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ συντεχνίασ του προσωπικού των υπαλλήλων τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων ∆ηµήτρησ Πάτσαλοσ έκανε λÞγο για σκάνδαλο εκατοµµυρίων ευρώ εισ βάροσ τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων ενώ άφησε σκιέσ για συγ-

ŒÚ¯ÂÙ·È Ô ÃÚËÌ·ÙÔÔÈÎÔÓÔÌÈÎfi˜ ∂›ÙÚÔÔ˜ ¢È·ÌÂÛÔÏ¿‚ËÛ˘ Στο τελικÞ στάδιο τησ ετοιµασίασ νοµοσχεδίου Þσον αφορά τισ εξουσίεσ του Χρηµατοοικονοµικού ΕπιτρÞπου ∆ιαµεσολάβησησ για θέµατα χρηµατοοικονοµικών διαφορών βρίσκεται η Νοµική Υπηρεσία µε στÞχο να κατατεθεί για έγκριση στην επÞµενη συνεδρία του Υπουργικού Συµβουλίου και ακολούθωσ στη Βουλή για ψήφιση. Σύµφωνα µε πληροφορίεσ µασ το νοµοσχέδιο θα στοχεύει στο να δώσει µια δεύτερη ευκαιρία στα υπερχρεωµένα νοικοκυριά τα οποία έχουν αποδεδειγµένη µÞνιµη αδυναµία να ξεπληρώσουν τα χρέη τουσ να ρυθµίσουν την εξÞφληση τουσ και να απαλλαγούν απÞ σηµαντικÞ µέροσ των χρεών τουσ. Το σχέδιο διευθέτησησ οφειλών µε βάση παραδείγµατα άλλων χωρών θα λαµβάνει υπÞψη τÞσο τα συµφέροντα των πιστωτών, Þσο και την περιουσία, τα εισοδήµατα και την οικογενειακή κατάσταση του οφειλέτη. Η αποπληρωµή των τραπεζικών οφειλών µέσω του νÞµου ολοκληρώνεται απÞ 4 ωσ 20 έτη ή και περισσÞτερα, ώστε ο υπερχρεωµένοσ πολίτησ να απαλλαγεί απÞ το µεγάλο πρÞβληµα των ληξιπρÞθεσµων οφειλών και τησ υπερχρέωσησ και να επανέλθει στην υγιή συναλλακτική συµπεριφορά µε τισ τράπεζεσ.Τα υπερχρεωµένα νοικοκυριά µε βάση τη διαδικασία θα µπορούν να υποβάλουν αίτηση προσ κάθε τράπεζα στην οποία έχουν ληξιπρÞθεσµεσ οφειλέσ προκειµένου να τουσ χορηγήσει αναλυτική κατάσταση των οφειλών µασ προσ αυτή και στη συνέχεια υποβάλλουν αυτά τα στοιχεία στον Επίτροπο ο οποίοσ µε τη σειρά του θα προσπαθήσει να καταλήξει σε µια συµβιβαστική φÞρµουλα αποπληρωµήσ των χρεών. Οι αποφάσεισ του Χρηµατοοικονοµικού ΕπιτρÞπου ∆ιαµεσολάβησησ δεν θα είναι δεσµευτικέσ αφού θα παρέχεται η δυνατÞτητα τÞσο στα χρηµατοπιστωτικά ιδρύµατα, Þσο και στουσ δανειολήπτεσ να λύσουν τισ διαφορέσ τουσ δικαστικώσ. Την ίδια ώρα αν και έχει λήξει η περίοδοσ χάριτοσ των δύο µηνών που είχε ανακοινώσει η Κεντρική Τράπεζα µε τισ ευλογίεσ τησ ΤρÞικα για την αποπληρωµή των χρεών, εντούτοισ τα χρηµατοπιστωτικά ιδρύµατα συνεχίζουν να προβαίνουν σε συµφωνίεσ µε τουσ πελάτεσ τουσ για αναδιάρθρωση των δανείων τουσ. ΩστÞσο οι ρυθµίσεισ αυτέσ δεν αποκλείουν την αύξηση των µη εξυπηρετούµενων δανείων λÞγω των νέων αυστηρών ρυθµίσεων που συµφώνησε η κυβέρνηση µε την ΤρÞικα.

γενικέσ σχέσεισ του γενικού διευθυντή τησ Αρχήσ Μιχάλη ΚÞκκινου µε το µεγαλοµέτοχο τησ εταιρείασ Vasiliko Terminal Services. «Θεωρούµε Þτι η απÞφαση ήταν λανθασµένη αφού έγινε µε τρÞπο απαράδεκτο Þπωσ το λέει και η επιστολή. Υπάρχουν θέµατα ασφάλειασ, προστασίασ των συµφερÞντων του κράτουσ τα οποία παραβλέφτηκαν. Υπάρχει µεθÞδευση απÞ πλευράσ γενικήσ διεύθυνσησ για να παρθεί η συγκεκριµένη πρÞταση. Έχει σχέση κύριοσ µέτοχοσ µε το διευθυντή τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων οπÞταν τα συµφέροντα τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων δεν εξυπηρετούνταν», είπε. Τισ κατηγορίεσ του ∆ηµήτρη Πάτσαλου αντέκρουσαν τÞσο ο ΠρÞεδροσ του ∆ιοικητικού Συµβουλίου τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων Χρύσησ Πρέντζασ, Þσο και ο γενικÞσ διευθυντήσ τησ Αρχήσ Γιαννάκησ ΚÞκκινοσ οι οποίοι µάλιστα επικαλέστηκαν την ανεξάρτητη µελέτη που διενεργήθηκε µετά απÞ παρέµβαση τησ ελεγκτικήσ υπηρεσίασ απÞ την εταιρεία KPMG. «Έχω στα χέρια µου τη µελέτη, το πÞρισµα τησ µελέτησ το οποίο θα αποστείλω στον ΥπουργÞ Συγκοινωνιών. Εκ πρώτησ

Þψεωσ η µελέτη καταδεικνύει Þτι µια τέτοια παροχή απÞ πλευράσ Αρχήσ Λιµένων θα ήταν ζηµιογÞνοσ. Αρχή Λιµένων θα επωφελείται χωρίσ να κάνει καµία επένδυση γύρω στα 3040 εκατοµµύρια το χρÞνο», δήλωσε ο Χρύσησ Πρέντζασ ΑπÞ την πλευρά του ο γενικÞσ διευθυντήσ τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων Γιαννάκησ ΚÞκκινοσ επισήµανε Þτι η µελέτη καταδεικνύει το µη βιώσιµο τησ επένδυσησ για την Αρχή Λιµένων. «Αν η Αρχή Λιµένων θα αναλάβει αυτή την επένδυση θα απολέσει πέραν των 6 εκ. ευρώ. Το µνηµÞνιο κάνει αναφορά ξεκάθαρη για κάποιασ µορφήσ ιδιωτικοποιήσεισ στην Αρχή Λιµένων ΑυτÞ του περί συγγενικού προσώπου στη συγκεκριµένη εταιρεία το απορρίπτω κατηγορηµατικά. Το συγκεκριµένο άτοµο είναι 8ου βαθµού εξ αγχιστείασ συγγενήσ µου. Μάλιστα είχα πάρει νοµική συµβουλή πριν καν ασχοληθώ µε το συγκεκριµένο θέµα.», είπε Η ανεξάρτητη µελέτη που εκπÞνησε η ΚPMG θα απασχολήσει συνεδρία τησ Αρχήσ Λιµένων που είναι προγραµµατισµένη για αυτή την εβδοµάδα.

10 ÂÙ·ÈÚ›˜ ¿ÏÏ·Í·Ó ¯¤ÚÈ· Ì ‡ÔÙÔ ÙÚfiÔ Ανησυχίεσ εκφράσθηκαν χθεσ στην Κοινοβουλευτική Επιτροπή Θεσµών για τον τρÞπο λειτουργίασ του θεσµού του ΕφÞρου Εταιρειών και Επίσηµου Παραλήπτη και για τον τρÞπο µε τον οποίο αλλάζουν χέρια κάποιεσ εταιρείεσ, κάτι που δηµιουργεί “εύλογεσ υποψίεσ” για ξέπλυµα χρήµατοσ, Þπωσ ανέφερε ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Επιτροπήσ και ΠρÞεδροσ του ΕΥΡΩΚΟ, ∆ηµήτρησ Συλλούρησ. Το θέµα του ΕφÞρου Εταιρειών, που συζητήθηκε χθεσ, ο κ. Συλλούρησ δήλωσε στουσ δηµοσιογράφουσ Þτι θα το ονÞµαζε ωσ θέµα “τησ απαγωγήσ εταιρειών”. “Εξετάσαµε το θέµα”, πρÞσθεσε ο κ. Συλλούρησ, “θα το εξετάσουµε ξανά και έχει ξεκαθαρίσει Þτι τουλάχιστον δέκα εταιρείεσ φαίνεται Þτι έχουν αλλάξει χέρια µε πολύ ύποπτο τρÞπο”.

Ερωτηθείσ εάν είναι εύκολο µε το υφιστάµενο σύστηµα να µεταφερθεί µια εταιρεία απÞ τον ένα ιδιοκτήτη σε άλλον, ο κ. Συλλούρησ δήλωσε Þτι “είναι πανεύκολο, µέχρι ανησυχητικού βαθµού”. “Είναι πολύ πιο εύκολο”, είπε ο κ. Συλλούρησ, “το να µεταφέρεισ µίαν εταιρεία πολλών εκατοµµυρίων απÞ τον έναν στον άλλον παρά να εγγράψεισ µίαν εταιρεία µε τον υιÞ σου Þτι κάνεισ αλουµίνια”. “Εµείσ εξετάζουµε το θέµα και θα δούµε”, δήλωσε ο κ. Συλλούρησ, “τί φταίει και πώσ διορθώνεται”, ενώ “ο ΥπουργÞσ Εµπορίου κάνει µιαν άλλη δουλειά πιο γενική, έβαλε µίαν Επιτροπή, δεν αφορά αυτÞ το θέµα, το οποίο είναι πολύ συγκεκριµένο”.

13 Ì¿ÚÙ˘Ú˜ ÂÓÒÈÔÓ Ù˘ ∂Ú¢ÓËÙÈ΋˜ ∂ÈÙÚÔ‹˜ ÁÈ· ÙËÓ ÔÈÎÔÓÔÌ›· Στην εξέταση τησ κατάστασησ του τραπεζικού τοµέα εισέρχεται απÞ αύριο Πέµπτη η Ερευνητική Επιτροπή για την οικονοµία, η οποία έχει καλέσει 13 µάρτυρεσ για να καταθέσουν. Ùπωσ διευκρίνισε η Επιτροπή η εξέταση θα διεξαχθεί στα πλαίσια τησ ενδιάµεσησ απÞφασησ που εξέδωσε η ίδια, δηλαδή, στα ζητήµατα που δεν βρίσκονται ενώπιον ∆ικαστηρίου. Η Επιτροπή γνωστοποίησε την απÞφασή τησ στο ΥπουργικÞ Συµβούλιο στισ 26 Ιουνίου 2013, ζητώντασ Þπωσ διατυπώσει τη θέση του, κατά πÞσο επιθυµεί τη συνέχιση του έργου τησ Επιτροπήσ στα πλαίσια που διαγράφονται στην απÞφαση, ή την τροποποίηση των Þρων εντολήσ και πάλι υπÞ το φωσ του κειµένου τησ απÞφασησ τησ Ερευνητικήσ Επιτροπήσ,

προσθέτοντασ πωσ “µέχρι σήµερα δεν λήφθηκε απάντηση απÞ το ΥπουργικÞ Συµβούλιο”. “Ο χρÞνοσ για τη διεκπεραίωση του έργου τησ Επιτροπήσ είναι περιορισµένοσ. ∆εν παρέχεται υπÞ τισ συνθήκεσ άλλη επιλογή απÞ το να συνεχίσουµε το έργο µασ εξετάζοντασ µετά τα δηµοσιονοµικά - τον τραπεζικÞ τοµέα, στα πλαίσια πάντοτε που καθορίζονται στην απÞφαση τησ Επιτροπήσ”, αναφέρει, διευκρινίζοντασ πωσ “αυτÞ δεν παρεµβάλει κώλυµα στο ΥπουργικÞ Συµβούλιο εάν επιθυµεί τον τερµατισµÞ των υπηρεσιών τησ Ερευνητικήσ Επιτροπήσ πριν την έκδοση πορίσµατοσ”. Κατά συνέπεια έχουν κληθεί σε πρώτο στάδιο δεκατρείσ (13) µάρτυρεσ να καταθέσουν µεταξύ 4-26 Ιουλίου 2013, καταλήγει η Επιτροπή.

µÏ¤Ô˘Ó ıÂÙÈο ÙËÓ Ì›ˆÛË ÙˆÓ ‰·ÓÂÈÛÙÈÎÒÓ ÂÈÙÔΛˆÓ Θετική ήταν η αντιµετώπιση, κατά τη χθεσινή συνεδρία τησ Κοινοβουλευτικήσ Επιτροπήσ Εµπορίου, στο αίτηµα για να µειωθούν τα δανειστικά επιτÞκια, να επιµηκυνθούν Þλα αυτά τα δάνεια που ευρίσκονται σε δύσκολη καµπή και ταυτÞχρονα να ελαφρυνθούν µε µειωµένεσ δÞσεισ οι δανεισθέντεσ για να ξεπεράσουν τισ δυσκολίεσ που αντιµετωπίζουν. “Θέσαµε για µίαν ακÞµα φορά”, είπε ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ

Επιτροπήσ Εµπορίου και Αναπληρωτήσ ΠρÞεδροσ του ∆ΗΣΥ, Λευτέρησ ΧριστοφÞρου, “επιτακτικά το αίτηµά µασ για να υπάρξουν τρÞποι ελάφρυνσησ των υπερχρεωµένων νοικοκυριών και επιχειρήσεων στην πατρίδα µασ”. “Ο δανεισµÞσ σε αυτούσ τουσ δύο τοµείσ”, είπε ο κ. ΧριστοφÞρου, “υπερβαίνει το 250% του Ακαθάριστου Εθνικού ΠροϊÞντοσ”.

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

3 ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ, 2013

financialmirror.com | ΕΙ∆ΗΣΕΙΣ | 3

¶ÚÔÛÂÏ·ÔÓÙ·˜ ÂÂÓ‰˘Ù¤˜ Îϛ̷η˜ ∞ÓÙÒÓ˘ §Ô˚˙Ô˘ ∞ÓÙÒÓ˘ §Ô›˙Ô˘ F.R.I.C.S. & ™˘ÓÂÚÁ¿Ù˜ §Ù‰, ∂ÎÙÈÌËÙ¤˜ ∞ÎÈÓ‹ÙˆÓ & ¢È·¯ÂÈÚÈÛÙ¤˜ ŒÚÁˆÓ ∞Ó¿Ù˘Í˘

Η κατάσταση στον τοµέα των ακινήτων είναι γνωστή Þπωσ είναι γενικά και η αδυναµία των πωλήσεων. Επιπλέον, τα νέα, Þλο και πιο αυστηρά αυξανÞµενα µέτρα για την αποπληρωµή των χρεών των δανειζÞµενων προκαλούν πρÞσθετουσ προβληµατισµούσ. Αυτά, µαζί µε τουσ αυξηµένουσ φÞρουσ τησ ακίνητησ ιδιοκτησίασ, θα κάνουν την κατάσταση ακÞµα χειρÞτερη. Οι χρηµατοδÞτεσ θα βρεθούν να έχουν στην κατοχή τουσ εκατοντάδεσ ακίνητα που και οι ίδιοι δεν θα ξέρουν τι θα τα κάνουν – πωσ θα τα διαθέσουν και ασφαλώσ σε ποιουσ αγοραστέσ; Εκείνο που µασ παραξενεύει είναι Þτι αυτοί οι χρηµατοδÞτεσ δεν έχουν ετοιµάσει κάποιο ειδικÞ µηχανισµÞ πωσ θα κατατάξουν τα ακίνητα αυτά και πωσ θα τα διαθέσουν. Είναι άξιο απορίασ πωσ τα εκατοντάδεσ «recoveries» ακίνητα παραµένουν στα συρτάρια των χρηµατοδοτών. Υποβάλαµε απÞ το έτοσ 2009 (Þταν ξεκίνησε η κρίση των ακινήτων) σε τρεισ τράπεζεσ (είτε ωσ επιµέρουσ ή ωσ σύνολο) ένα πλάνο διαχείρισησ αυτών των ακινήτων, είτε και εάν αυτά τα είχαν πάρει «µέσα» οι τράπεζεσ και/είτε ήταν υποψήφια για την κατηγορία αυτή.

- Παραθέσαµε ένα πλήρεσ πρÞγραµµα κατάταξησ τουσ και την αξιολÞγηση τουσ προσ διάθεση, θέτοντασ πιο ρεαλιστικέσ πλέον τιµέσ διάθεσησ για προσέλκυση αγοραστών σε τιµή ευκαιρίασ.

- Για εκείνα τα ακίνητα που δεν είχαν τίτλουσ να αναλαµβάνει η διαχείριση αυτή τησ πώλησησ να βοηθήσει στην έκδοση τουσ.

- Εκείνα τα οποία χρειάζονταν επιδιορθώσεισ να επεµβαίνει ο χρηµατοδÞτησ για βασικέσ συντηρήσεισ προ τησ διάθεσησ.

- Την ύπαρξη χρηµατοδοτικού πλάνου για προτιθέµενουσ αγοραστέσ και τρÞπουσ αποπληρωµήσ τουσ.

- Την ετοιµασία ειδικήσ ιστοσελίδασ µε «ευκαιρίεσ» προσ προώθηση τÞσο στην Κύπρο Þσο και στο εξωτερικÞ.

- Την ετοιµασία πλάνου προώθησησ τÞσο σε Κυπριακά ταµεία, αλλά ιδιαίτερα σε ξένουσ επενδυτέσ κλίµακασ.

- Την προώθηση κινήτρων Þπωσ την µη πληρωµή µεταβιβαστικών σε τέτοιεσ περιπτώσεισ για οµαδοποιηµένεσ πωλήσεισ (group sales) αξίασ έστω πέραν των 20 εκ. ευρώ.

- Την µείωση των κεφαλαιουχικών κερδών/φÞρου εισοδήµατοσ σε επίπεδα -50% εάν ο αγοραστήσ των πέραν των 20 εκ. ευρώ τα µεταπωλεί.

- Την συνεχή συντήρηση των µονάδων και την οργάνωση εκθέσεων τÞσο στην Κύπρο Þσο και στο εξωτερικÞ κλπ κλπ. Είµαστε τÞσο σίγουροι για την αναµενÞµενη θετική τουσ ανταπÞκριση, που ενοικιάσαµε 2 οικÞπεδα στην είσοδο τησ Λευκωσίασ µε την κατασκευή ενÞσ κιÞσκι για συνεχή έκθεση. Λάθοσ µασ!! ∆ιερωτώµεθα αγαπητοί µασ αναγνώστεσ γιατί απορρίφθηκε αυτή η πρÞταση µασ το έτοσ 2009 και ξανά το έτοσ 2012. Ίσωσ το πρÞβληµα να είναι Þτι οι τραπεζίτεσ να µην είναι σε θέση να αντιληφθούν Þχι µÞνο το πρÞβληµα, αλλά τισ απαιτήσεισ κάποιου είδουσ βοήθειασ στην επίλυση του προβλήµατοσ που αναφέρονται σε ακίνητα, διαφορετικά δεν µπορούµε να προσφέρουµε άλλη εξήγηση. Ùταν λοιπÞν αναφερÞµαστε σε διάθεση/εκποιήσεισ σε διεθνείσ οίκουσ επενδύσεων σίγουρα δεν έχουν ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον οι µεµονωµένεσ µονάδεσ, αλλά η πώληση πακέτων ακινήτων. Προσεγγίσαµε λοιπÞν ορισµένα Hedge Funds, Investment Funds και Property Funds για να εξακριβώσουµε εάν υπάρχει ενδιαφέρον απÞ αυτά τα ταµεία των πολλών εκατοµµυριούχων επενδυτών. Ακολουθήσαµε τον δρÞµο τησ Ισπανίασ και προσεγγίσαµε παγκÞσµιουσ/ιδιωτικούσ οίκουσ επενδύσεων που έδειξαν το ενδιαφέρον τουσ εκεί. Η διαπίστωση µασ µέχρι τώρα είναι: - “Οι τιµέσ είναι ακÞµη ψηλέσ. Η Ισπανία χρειάστηκε 4 χρÞνια για να φθάσουν οι τιµέσ σε «λογικά» επίπεδα. Η Κύπροσ θα έλθει σε αυτή τη θέση µετά απÞ 3 χρÞνια”.

- “Οι αποδÞσεισ (yield) που ζητούνται είναι (υπÞ µορφή ενοικίου) γύρω στο 6?%-7?%. ΛÞγω ακÞµη ψηλών τιµών δεν υπάρχουν τέτοιεσ αποδÞσεισ”.

- “∆εν υπάρχει αγορά µεταπώλησησ λÞγω µικρού µεγέθουσ. ∆ηλαδή εάν αγοράσουµε αυτÞ το εµπορικÞ κέντρο για 150 εκ. ευρώ, θα µπορέσουµε να το ξανα-πουλήσουµε για 220 εκ. ευρώ σε 4 χρÞνια;”.

- “Είναι σύντοµοσ ο χρÞνοσ (early days) για τέτοιεσ επενδύσεισ µια και δεν γνωρίζουµε εάν η οικονοµία τησ Κύπρου θα καταρρεύσει και χαθεί µαζί τησ και η επένδυση µασ. Επικοινώνησε µαζί µασ ξανά σε 1-1,5 χρÞνο”.

- “Ùπωσ είναι σήµερα η παγκÞσµια οικονοµία ακÞµα µε

∂›ÁÂÈ Ë ˘ÈÔı¤ÙËÛË ÙÚ·Â˙È΋˜ ÔÏÈÙÈ΋˜ Ένα εκτεταµένο πακέτο µέτρων και µεταρρυθµίσεων, για την αποκατάσταση τησ ευρωστίασ του τραπεζικού συστήµατοσ στην Κύπρο, προτείνει η Ανεξάρτητη Επιτροπή για το Μέλλον του Κυπριακού Τραπεζικού Τοµέα στην Κύπρο (ICFCBS) έδωσε στη δηµοσιÞτητα την Ενδιάµεση Έκθεσή τησ.

H Ανεξάρτητη Επιτροπή για το Μέλλον του Κυπριακού Τραπεζικού Τοµέα στην Κύπρο συστάθηκε απÞ την Κεντρική Τράπεζα τησ Κύπρου τον Νοέµβριο του 2012 και αποτελείται απÞ τον David Lascelles, ΠρÞεδρο, Γιώργο Χαραλάµπουσ, David Green, και Pierre de Weck. Η Ενδιάµεση Έκθεση περιλαµβάνει προτεινÞµενεσ συστάσεισ για τον κυπριακÞ τραπεζικÞ τοµέα και θα δηµοσιοποιηθεί, επιδιώκοντασ τη συλλογή παρατηρήσεων απÞ τα ενδιαφερÞµενα µέρη µε στÞχο την οριστικοποίηση τησ Τελικήσ Έκθεσησ τησ Επιτροπήσ, προσ τα τέλη του τρέχοντοσ έτουσ. Επανεξετάζοντασ τα γεγονÞτα των τελευταίων ετών, πέραν απÞ ορισµένουσ εξωτερικούσ παράγοντεσ, η Επιτροπή αναφέρει Þτι οι σοβαρέσ ελλείψεισ στη διακυβέρνηση και τη διαχείριση των τραπεζών, καθώσ και το εποπτικÞ σύστηµα σε Þλα τα επίπεδα οδήγησαν στην κρίση και θα πρέπει να διορθωθούν, ώστε να αποκατασταθεί η εµπιστοσύνη και η αξιοπιστία του συστήµατοσ. Η έκθεση περιλαµβάνει περίπου 40 συστάσεισ για τη µακροπρÞθεσµη ανάκαµψη του τραπεζικού κλάδου τησ Κύπρου. Στα σηµαντικÞτερα σηµεία, η έκθεση αναφέρει Þτι η Κύπροσ υπέστη τραπεζική κρίση, διÞτι δεν είχε καµία συνεκτική εθνική πολιτική για τη διαχείριση του ραγδαία αναπτυσσÞµενου τραπεζικού τησ τοµέα, και απέτυχε να συγκρατήσει τισ τράπεζεσ, καθώσ φαινÞταν Þτι «έκαναν καλή δουλειά». Μία απÞ τισ κύριεσ συστάσεισ τησ Ενδιάµεσησ Έκθεσησ είναι Þτι η Κύπροσ πρέπει να αναπτύξει µια ολοκληρωµένη τραπεζική πολιτική που θα λαµβάνει υπÞψη τουσ κινδύνουσ, καθώσ και τα οφέλη τησ λειτουργίασ ενÞσ µεγάλου τραπεζικού τοµέα

και να εξασφαλίσει Þτι η χώρα έχει αποτελεσµατικούσ µηχανισµούσ για την αντιµετώπισή τουσ. ΑκÞµη και αν οι κυπριακέσ τράπεζεσ τώρα συρρικνώνονται, η Κύπροσ θα συνεχίσει να έχει µεγάλη εξάρτηση απÞ τισ τράπεζεσ, επειδή υπάρχουν λίγεσ εναλλακτικέσ λύσεισ χρηµατοδÞτησησ. Η έκθεση επισηµαίνει επίσησ Þτι η Κύπροσ θα πρέπει να «ανοίξει» το τραπεζικÞ τησ σύστηµα σε νέα άτοµα και ιδέεσ, έτσι ώστε να απαλλαγεί απÞ το στίγµα τησ πολιτικήσ και τησ ευνοιοκρατίασ. Σηµειώνει, για παράδειγµα, Þτι στα συµβούλια των τραπεζών είναι διορισµένοσ ένασ πολύ µικρÞσ αριθµÞσ µη Κύπριων, ενώ αλλοδαποί εξαιρούνται ρητά απÞ το διοικητικÞ συµβούλιο τησ ΚΤΚ. Η έκθεση απευθύνει έκκληση για καλλιέργεια τησ ανεξαρτησίασ και τησ διαφάνειασ, λέγοντασ Þτι «οι αλλαγέσ αυτού του είδουσ θα µετατρέψουν ολοκληρωτικά τον τραπεζικÞ κλάδο, παρέχοντασ καλύτερη διακυβέρνηση, καλύτερεσ τράπεζεσ, καλύτερη εποπτεία και µεγαλύτερη εµπιστοσύνη σε διεθνέσ επίπεδο».

έλλειψη χρηµατοδÞτησησ, δεν είναι λογικÞ να αναµένουµε µια απÞδοση επί του κεφαλαίου έστω 20% τον χρÞνο!!”.

- “Ναι µεν αγοράσαµε το Χ κτίριο στην Βαρκελώνη για 180 εκ. ευρώ, αλλά αυτÞ είναι ενοικιασµένο στην Barclays για 15 χρÞνια. Αυτή είναι επένδυση µε απÞδοση 7%. Εσείσ στην Κύπρο έχετε κάτι παρÞµοιο;”. ΕπενδυτικÞσ οίκοσ απÞ την Βραζιλία.

- Κλπ κλπ Τα αναφέρουµε αυτά για να µην νοµίζουµε Þτι είµαστε και οι µÞνοι στον κÞσµο. Υπάρχει η Ισπανία, η Πορτογαλία, η Ελλάδα, ενώ και οι µη προβληµατικέσ ακÞµη χώρεσ προσφέρουν αποδÞσεισ πολύ πιο ελκυστικέσ σε σχέση µε την σταθερÞτητα του κεφαλαίου (ίδε Βρετανία και Γερµανία). Έχουµε λοιπÞν πρÞβληµα νοοτροπίασ και ίσωσ κακήσ διαχείρισησ αγαπητοί µασ αναγνώστεσ, διÞτι σε σύντοµο χρονικÞ διάστηµα µε την µειωµένη τουσ ζήτηση (η οποία θα συνεχίσει µε την αυξανÞµενη ανεργία, αβεβαιÞτητα κλπ), τουσ πολύ «θυµωµένουσ» Ρώσουσ που έχασαν εκατοµµύρια των καταθέσεων τουσ και τώρα του «εξαπατηθέντεσ» Κινέζουσ που µείωσαν κάθετα την ζήτηση τουσ (ίδε προειδοποιητικÞ µασ άρθρο προ 4 µηνών), δεν ξέρουµε τι άλλο να προτείνουµε. Ωσ και Þλα αυτά να µην µασ έφθαναν, είπε η Βουλή και το ΗρωικÞ ΟΧΙ στην µείωση του 6%-9% επί των καταθέσεων. Βιάστηκε ο τάδε αρχηγÞσ κÞµµατοσ να µασ δηλώσει Þτι θα «πρέπει να ανυψώσουµε το ανάστηµα µασ» και η τάδε ευρωβουλευτήσ να µασ λέει το ίδιο και στο τέλοσ βιώσαµε την καταστροφή. Ο ίδιοσ λοιπÞν αρχηγÞσ του κÞµµατοσ του ΟΧΙ συνεχίζει να είναι εκεί Þπωσ είναι και η ευρωβουλευτήσ (χωρίσ µείωση µισθού). Έχουµε λοιπÞν ελπίδα;

™‡ÛÎÂ„Ë ÛÙËÓ ∂ÈÛ·ÁÁÂÏ›· ÁÈ· ÔÈÓÈΤ˜ ¢ı‡Ó˜ Σύσκεψη θα πραγµατοποιηθεί αύριο Πέµπτη, µε συµµετοχή του Γενικού Εισαγγελέα Πέτρου Κληρίδη, του Αρχηγού Αστυνοµίασ Μιχάλη Παπαγεωργίου και άλλουσ εµπλεκÞµενουσ φορείσ, προκειµένου να συζητηθεί ο τρÞποσ µε τον οποίο θα γίνει η αστυνοµική έρευνα για ενδεχÞµενεσ ποινικέσ ευθύνεσ σχετικά µε την οικονοµική κατάσταση στην οποία έχει περιέλθει η Κυπριακή ∆ηµοκρατία. Σύµφωνα µε τον ΕκπρÞσωπο Τύπου τησ Αστυνοµίασ, Ανδρέα Αγγελίδη, υπάρχει επιστολή απÞ τον ΓενικÞ Εισαγγελέα τησ ∆ηµοκρατίασ προσ τον ΑρχηγÞ Αστυνοµίασ, για να γίνει έρευνα σχετικά µε την πιθανή διάπραξη ποινικών αδικηµάτων για θέµατα οικονοµίασ. “Είναι κατανοητÞ και αντιληπτÞ”, δήλωσε ο ΕκπρÞσωποσ τησ Αστυνοµίασ, “Þτι ίσωσ να υπάρχουν αρκετά ερωτήµατα απÞ πλευράσ των µέσων ενηµέρωσησ, Þσον αφορά την έρευνα, Þµωσ το µÞνο που θα µπορούσα να πω, σε αυτÞ το στάδιο, είναι Þτι στη σύσκεψη θα συζητηθούν αρκετέσ λεπτοµέρειεσ, το φάσµα των ερευνών, η σύσταση τησ ανακριτικήσ οµάδασ που θα διενεργήσει αυτή την έρευνα και κατά πÞσον θα χρειασθούν και οι εξειδικευµένεσ γνώσεισ και υπηρεσίεσ άλλων προσώπων ή φορέων”. Κληθείσ να παράσχει περισσÞτερεσ πληροφορίεσ για το θέµα των εµπειρογνωµÞνων και εάν θα αγορασθούν υπηρεσίεσ απÞ τον ιδιωτικÞ τοµέα ή εάν η Αστυνοµία διαθέτει εξειδικευµένα µέλη για τη διενέργεια αυτήσ τησ έρευνασ.

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

3 ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ, 2013

4 | ΕΙ∆ΗΣΕΙΣ | financialmirror.com

¢ËÌÈÔ˘ÚÁ›· ¡·˘ÙÈÏÈ·ÎÔ‡ ∂ȯÂÈÚËÌ·ÙÈÎÔ‡ ∫¤ÓÙÚÔ˘ ·fi ÙËÓ ∂ÏÏËÓÈ΋ Συνολικά 4 εξειδικευµένα Κέντρα ∆ιεθνών Επιχειρήσεων, δύο στην Λευκωσία, ένα στην ΛεµεσÞ, και ένα στην Λάρνακα, διατηρεί η Ελληνική Τράπεζα, η οποία έχει προχωρήσει στην δηµιουργία Ναυτιλιακού Επιχειρηµατικού Κέντρου στην ΛεµεσÞ. Το ΝαυτιλιακÞ ΕπιχειρηµατικÞ Κέντρο (ΝΕΚ) τησ Ελληνικήσ Τράπεζασ, είναι το πρώτο Κέντρο στην Κύπρο που εξειδικεύεται στην αποκλειστική εξυπηρέτηση εταιρειών που δραστηριοποιούνται στον τοµέα τησ Ναυτιλίασ. Είναι στελεχωµένο µε άρτια καταρτισµένο προσωπικÞ και στεγάζεται σε ένα νέο κτήριο το οποίο αποτελεί σύγχρονο επαγγελµατικÞ χώρο στο κέντρο τησ Λεµεσού και ξεχωρίζει για το υψηλÞ επίπεδο αισθητικήσ, άνεσησ, τεχνολογίασ και λειτουργικÞτητασ. Σύµφωνα µε τον κ. Μαρίνο Αθανασιάδη, ΓενικÞ ∆ιευθυντή ∆ιεθνών Αγορών και ∆ιεθνούσ Τραπεζικήσ Οµίλου, στρατηγικά ο Τοµέασ ∆ιεθνούσ Τραπεζικήσ είναι στισ προτεραιÞτητεσ τησ Ελληνικήσ Τράπεζασ. Ο κ. Αντώνησ Χαρίτου, ∆ιευθυντήσ Τοµέα ∆ιεθνούσ Τραπεζικήσ κατά την φιλοξενία δηµοσιογράφων στο ΝαυτιλιακÞ Κέντρο, ανέφερε Þτι ο τοµέασ τησ Ναυτιλίασ εξυπηρετείτο απÞ την Τράπεζα πολύ πριν την δηµιουργία των Κέντρων ∆ιεθνών Επιχειρήσεων που πρωτοεµφανίσθηκαν το 1990. « Ùπωσ είναι γνωστÞ», πρÞσθεσε ο κ. Χαρίτου, «ο τοµέασ την Ναυτιλίασ είναι ένασ απÞ τουσ βασικούσ πυλώνεσ τησ κυπριακήσ οικονοµίασ µε παράδοση πολλών χρÞνων. Η Κύπροσ έχει τον τρίτο µεγαλύτερο εµπορικÞ στÞλο στην Ευρώπη και ένα απÞ τουσ δέκα πιο µεγάλουσ στον κÞσµο. Παράλληλα η ΛεµεσÞσ είναι το µεγαλύτερο ναυτιλιακÞ κέντρο στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση και το δεύτερο µεγαλύτερο

στο κÞσµο. Πάνω απÞ 1.000 πλοία φέρουν την κυπριακή σηµαία ενώ περισσÞτερεσ απÞ 140 εταιρείεσ πλοιοκτητών και πλοίο-διαχειριστών έχουν την έδρα τουσ εδώ. «θεωρούµε την δηµιουργία αυτού του Κέντρου ωσ µία φυσιολογική εξέλιξη στην µακρÞχρονη µασ παράδοση στην εξυπηρέτηση του τοµέα τησ ναυτιλίασ και ευελπιστούµε Þτι η λειτουργία του ΝΕΚ θα έχει θετική αναγνώριση απÞ την ναυτιλιακή κοινÞτητα. Ο κ. Άγγελοσ Κώστα, ∆ιευθυντήσ του Ναυτιλιακού Επιχειρηµατικού Κέντρου τησ Ελληνικήσ Τράπεζασ επεσήµανε Þτι στο πελατολÞγιο του Κέντρου, το οποίο είναι αρκετά µεγάλο, βρίσκονται οι περισσÞτερεσ απÞ τισ πιο σηµαντικέσ εταιρείεσ του τοµέα τησ Ναυτιλίασ στην Κύπρο. Μέσω του ΝΕΚ προσφέρονται εξειδικευµένεσ υπηρεσίεσ οι οποίεσ εστιάζονται σε πλοιοκτήτεσ, πλοίο-διαχειριστέσ, ναυλωτέσ πλοίων, τροφοδÞτεσ πλοίων, ναυτιλιακέσ ασφαλιστικέσ υπηρεσίεσ και άλλεσ υπηρεσίεσ του τοµέα. Ο κ. Κώστα πρÞσθεσε επίσησ Þτι Þλη η τεχνογνωσία και εµπειρογνωµοσύνη που υπάρχει στην Ελληνική Τράπεζα σε ναυτιλιακά θέµατα βρίσκεται κάτω απÞ την σκέπη του ΝΕΚ δίνοντασ την δυνατÞτητα παροχήσ υπηρεσιών υψηλήσ ποιÞτητασ. «ΒρισκÞµενοι τÞσο κοντά στον πελάτη µπορούµε να αφουγκραστούµε καλύτερα τισ ανάγκεσ του. ∆ιατηρώντασ αυστηρά χρονοδιαγράµµατα στην παροχή των διαφÞρων υπηρεσιών, χρησιµοποιώντασ συστήµατα πληροφορικήσ τα οποία έχουν βελτιστοποιηθεί µε κύριο γνώµονα τισ ανάγκεσ του τοµέα τησ ναυτιλίασ και µε τουσ Λειτουργούσ Εξυπηρέτησησ Πελατών να συνιστούν τον κύριο δίαυλο επικοινωνίασ µε τον κάθε πελάτη µασ στοχεύουµε να παρέχουµε µια ακÞµη καλύτερη επαγγελµατική εµπειρία σε αυτούσ.» Τελειώνοντασ, ο κ. Κώστα ανακοίνωσε Þτι το ΝαυτιλιακÞ ΕπιχειρηµατικÞ Κέντρο τησ Ελληνικήσ Τράπεζασ είναι πλέον µέλοσ του Κυπριακού Ναυτιλιακού Επιµελητηρίου, καταδεικνύοντασ την έµπρακτη προσήλωση τησ Ελληνικήσ Τράπεζασ στον τοµέα αυτÞ.

ºı¿Û·Ì ÙÔ˘˜ 73.000 ¿ÓÂÚÁÔ˘˜ Στο 16,3% του ενεργού πληθυσµού, και σε απÞλυτουσ αριθµούσ τα 73.000 άτοµα, ανήλθε η ανεργία στην Κύπρο το Μάιο έναντι 15,8% ή 71.000 άνεργουσ που ήταν τον Απρίλιο, σύµφωνα µε τα στοιχεία που έδωσε σήµερα στη δηµοσιÞτητα η Eurostat. Στην Κύπρο σηµειώθηκε η µεγαλύτερη ετήσια ποσοστιαία αύξηση τησ ανεργίασ µεταξύ των χωρών τησ Ευρωζώνησ. Ùπωσ προκύπτει απÞ τα εποχικά προσαρµοσµένα στοιχεία τησ Eurostat, η µέση ανεργία στην ευρωζώνη αυξήθηκε το Μάιο στο 12,1% (12,0% τον Απρίλιο) του ενεργού πληθυσµού, ενώ στο σύνολο τησ ΕΕ κυµάνθηκε στο 10,9% παραµένοντασ αµετάβλητη. Αναφορικά µε τισ επιµέρουσ επιδÞσεισ τησ Κύπρου, το Μάιο το ποσοστÞ ανεργίασ στουσ άνδρεσ ήταν 16,6%, στισ γυναίκεσ 15,9% και στουσ νέουσ κάτω των 25 ετών 34,8% ή 14.000 άτοµα (στοιχεία Μαρτίου). Ο µέσοσ Þροσ ανεργίασ στην Ευρωζώνη στουσ άνδρεσ ήταν 12,0%, στισ γυναίκεσ 12,2% και στουσ νέουσ κάτω των 25 ετών στο 23,8%. Για την Ελλάδα τα στοιχεία τησ Eurostat αφορούν το Μάρτιο, Þπου η συνολική ανεργία ανήλθε στο 26,8% ή 1,3 εκατ. άνεργοι, ποσοστÞ που ήταν το δεύτερο ψηλÞτερο στην ΕΕ. Στισ επιµέρουσ κατηγορίεσ στην Ελλάδα, το ποσοστÞ ανεργίασ στουσ άνδρεσ ήταν 24,1%, στισ γυναίκεσ 30,4% και στουσ νέουσ κάτω των 25 ετών 59,2%. Στισ γυναίκεσ και τουσ νέουσ η Ελλάδα είχε τη ψηλÞτερη ανεργία στην ΕΕ.

Ryanair: 11 ¯ÂÈÌÂÚÈÓ¿ ‰ÚÔÌÔÏfiÁÈ· ·fi ¶¿ÊÔ Το χειµερινÞ τησ πρÞγραµµα 2013/2014 ανακοίνωσε η αεροπορική εταιρεία Ryanair. Το πρÞγραµµα περιλαµβάνει 11 δροµολÞγια, επτά νέα σε σχέση µε το 2012, µε δροµολÞγια απÞ Brusseles Charleroi, Kaunas, Manchester, Rome Ciampino, Dusseldorf Weeze, Oslo Rygge and Stockholm Skavsta, που αρχίζουν τον Οκτώβριο µε 24 συνολικά εισερχÞµενεσ πτήσεισ την εβδοµάδα. Οι πτήσεισ είναι άµεσα διαθέσιµεσ στα συστήµατα τησ αερογραµµήσ. Η χειµερινή περίοδοσ, αφορά την περίοδο απÞ 31 Οκτωβρίου µέχρι τέλη Μαρτίου. Το πρÞγραµµα περιλαµβάνει τρεισ πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - Chania, δύο πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - Brussels Charleroi, µία πτήση εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - Kaunas (Λιθουανία), τέσσερεισ πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - London Stansted, δύο πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - Manchester, δύο πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos Milan Bergamo, µία πτήση εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos Dusseldorf Weeze, µία πτήση εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - Oslo Rygge, δύο πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - Rome Ciampino, µία πτήση εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos - Stockholm Skavsra, και πέντε πτήσεισ εβδοµαδιαίωσ Paphos Thessaloniki.

Το Μάιο η ΕΕ είχε 26,405 εκατ. άνεργουσ, εκ των οποίων 19,222 αφορούσαν την Ευρωζώνη. Μέσα σε ένα µήνα η ανεργία αυξήθηκε στην Ευρωζώνη κατά 67.000 άτοµα. Σε ένα έτοσ, δηλαδή το Μάιο 2013 σε σχέση µε τον ίδιο µήνα του 2012 η ανεργία αυξήθηκε κατά 1,344 εκατ. άτοµα στην Ευρωζώνη. Οι χώρεσ στισ οποίεσ καταγράφηκε η µεγαλύτερη αύξηση τησ ανεργίασ σε ένα έτοσ (Μάιοσ 2013-Μάιοσ 2012 ) ήταν η Κύπροσ (απÞ 11,4% σε 16,3%), η Ελλάδα (απÞ 22,2% σε 26,8%), και η Σλοβενία (απÞ 8,6% σε 11,2%). Το Μάιο 2013 ο αριθµÞσ των ανέργων ηλικίασ κάτω των 25 ετών έφτασε στο σύνολο τησ ΕΕ τα 5,501 εκατ. άτοµα, εκ των οποίων 3,531 εκατοµµύρια αφορούσαν τισ χώρεσ τησ Ευρωζώνησ. Μέσα σε ένα έτοσ οι άνεργοι αυτήσ τησ κατηγορίασ αυξήθηκαν κατά 60.000 στην Ευρωζώνη. Τα ψηλÞτερα ποσοστά ανεργίασ στουσ νέουσ κατέγραψαν η Ελλάδα (59,2%), η Ισπανία (56,5%) και η Πορτογαλία (42,1%). Τα χαµηλÞτερα η Γερµανία (7,6%), η Αυστρία (8,7%) και η Ολλανδία (10,6%). Το συνολικÞ ποσοστÞ ανεργίασ επί του ενεργού πληθυσµού, που καταγράφηκε στα κράτη µέλη τησ Ευρωζώνησ το Μάιο ήταν το εξήσ: Ισπανία 26,9%, Ελλάδα 26,8% (Μάρτιοσ), Πορτογαλία 17,5%, Κύπροσ 16,3%, Σλοβακία 14,2%, Ιρλανδία 13,6%, Ιταλία 12,2%, Σλοβενία 11,2%, Γαλλία 10,4%, Βέλγιο 8,6%, Φινλανδία 8,4%, Εσθονία 8,3% (Απρίλιοσ), Ολλανδία 6,6%, Μάλτα 6,2%, Λουξεµβούργο 5,7%, Γερµανία 5,3%, Αυστρία 4,7%.

ÕÓÂÚÁÔÈ Ù˘¯ÈÔ‡¯ÔÈ Αξίζει να σηµειωθεί Þτι την περασµένη εβδοµάδα πέραν των 1.300 αποφοίτων έλαβαν τα πτυχία τουσ απÞ το Πανεπιστήµιο Κύπρου. Συνολικά πονεµήθηκαν 493 πτυχία σε φοιτητέσ και φοιτήτριεσ τησ Σχολήσ Ανθρωπιστικών Επιστηµών, τησ Σχολήσ Θετικών και Εφαρµοσµένων Επιστηµών και τησ Σχολήσ Οικονοµικών Επιστηµών και ∆ιοίκησησ, 540 πτυχία σε φοιτήτριεσ και φοιτητέσ τησ Σχολήσ Κοινωνικών Επιστηµών και Επιστηµών τησ Αγωγήσ, τησ Πολυτεχνικήσ και τησ Φιλοσοφικήσ Σχολήσ, 29 ∆ιδακτορικοί Τίτλοι και 268 Μεταπτυχιακά ∆ιπλώµατα Μάστερ σε συνολικά 297µεταπτυχιακούσ φοιτητέσ και φοιτήτριεσ.

√Ãπ ÛÙ· ÌÂÙÚËÙ¿, ¡∞π ÛÙȘ οÚÙ˜ Νέα έρευνα τησ MasterCard αποκαλύπτει πωσ οι Ευρωπαίοι θέλουν να απολαµβάνουν τισ διακοπέσ απελευθερωµένοι απÞ το άγχοσ των µετρητών. Σύµφωνα µε την έρευνα, οι Ευρωπαίοι επιθυµούν πολύ περισσÞτερο να έχουν την κάρτα µαζί τουσ στισ διακοπέσ σε σχέση µε τον υπÞλοιπο χρÞνο: 91% των ερωτηθέντων κρατούν τισ κάρτεσ τουσ ενώ βρίσκονται σε διακοπέσ, σε σύγκριση µε ένα 60% οι οποίοι έχουν τισ κάρτεσ τουσ ενÞσω βρίσκονται στην πατρίδα τουσ και πάνω απÞ τουσ µισούσ ή το 53% των συµµετεχÞντων θα ήθελαν να µπορούν πληρώνουν περισσÞτερο µε την κάρτα τουσ Þταν βρίσκονται σε διακοπέσ. Οι βασικοί λÞγοι για τουσ οποίουσ οι Ευρωπαίοι προτιµούν να πληρώνουν µε κάρτα στισ διακοπέσ είναι η ευκολία (65%), ο φÞβοσ κλοπήσ των µετρητών (41%), η ασφάλεια (38%), η δυνατÞτητα να µην κρατάνε µετρητά στα χέρια τουσ (37%), η ταχύτητα (34%) και ο καλύτεροσ έλεγχοσ των εξÞδων (30%). Επιπλέον, το 44% Þλων των Ευρωπαίων είναι πεπεισµένοι πωσ τα µετρητά θα ανήκουν σύντοµα στο παρελθÞν, χάρη στον ταχύτατο ρυθµÞ µε τον οποίο αναπτύσσονται οι νέεσ καινοτοµίεσ. Ενδιαφέρον παρουσιάζει το γεγονÞσ πωσ το 50% των ευρωπαίων καταναλωτών θεωρεί Þτι τα µετρητά είναι ο φθηνÞτεροσ τρÞποσ πληρωµήσ, ενώ στην πραγµατικÞτητα κάθε

άτοµο πληρώνει - συνήθωσ χωρίσ να το γνωρίζει - το κÞστοσ επεξεργασίασ, κυκλοφορίασ και προστασίασ του νοµίσµατοσ. Για τουσ Ευρωπαίουσ, ο χρÞνοσ είναι πολύτιµοσ Þταν βρίσκονται σε διακοπέσ: 51% των ερωτηθέντων εκτιµά Þτι το να ψάχνει για µηχάνηµα ανάληψησ µετρητών στισ διακοπέσ είναι χάσιµο χρÞνου, τη στιγµή που θα µπορούσαν να απολαµβάνουν την παραλία ή µια βÞλτα στην πÞλη. 29% των ερωτηθέντων αισθάνονται συχνά “χαµένοι” Þταν δεν µπορούν να πληρώσουν µε κάρτα. Υπάρχουν ωστÞσο, κάποιεσ µικρέσ πληρωµέσ, για τισ οποίεσ οι Ευρωπαίοι δεν αισθάνονται ακÞµη άνετα να χρησιµοποιήσουν την κάρτα τουσ, ιδιαίτερα για τισ µικρέσ αγορέσ, οι οποίεσ τισ περισσÞτερεσ φορέσ πραγµατοποιούνται µε τη χρήση µετρητών: για παράδειγµα, οι Ευρωπαίοι θα πληρώσουν κυρίωσ µε µετρητά για καρτ-ποστάλ (85%), παγωτά και σνακ (84%), φιλοδώρηµα (83%), ταξί (77%) ακÞµα και αναµνηστικά (61%). Η έκθεση παρουσιάζει τα αποτελέσµατα µιασ online έρευνασ. Τα ερωτήµατα τέθηκαν σε 3.310 ερωτηθέντεσ (ηλικίασ 18+) στισ ακÞλουθεσ χώρεσ: Ισπανία, Ιταλία, Γερµανία, Σουηδία, Ηνωµένο Βασίλειο, Γαλλία, Πολωνία και Ουκρανία. Ùλοι έχουν κάνει διακοπέσ για τουλάχιστον δύο συνεχÞµενεσ ηµέρεσ στο παρελθÞν.

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

3 ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ, 2013

financialmirror.com | ΕΙ∆ΗΣΕΙΣ | 5

Moody’s: ∏ ·ÓÙ·ÏÏ·Á‹ ÙˆÓ ÔÌÔÏfiÁˆÓ ¯ÚÂÔÎfiËÛ ÙËÓ ∫‡ÚÔ Ο Οίκοσ πιστοληπτικήσ αξιολÞγησησ Moody’ θεωρεί Þτι, µε βάση τα κριτήρια του, η Κύπροσ έχει χρεοκοπήσει, µετά την ολοκλήρωση τησ ανταλλαγήσ εγχώριων κρατικών οµολÞγων, ύψουσ ενÞσ δισεκατοµµυρίου ευρώ. ΩστÞσο, σε αντίθεση µε τουσ άλλουσ δύο Οίκουσ, Fitch και Standard & Poor’s, που υποβάθµισαν στισ 28 Ιουνίου την Κύπρο σε καθεστώσ «περιορισµένησ χρεοκοπίασ» και «επιλεκτικήσ χρεοκοπίασ», αντίστοιχα, ο Moody’s διατηρεί την αξιολÞγηση τησ Κύπρου στο caa3, µε αρνητικέσ προοπτικέσ, βαθµίδα στην οποία την είχε υποβαθµίσει στισ 10 Ιανουαρίου του τρέχοντοσ έτουσ. Ο διεθνήσ Οίκοσ αναφέρει Þτι θα επανεξετάσει την αξιολÞγηση τησ Κύπρου στο µέλλον

ώστε να αξιολογήσει την επίπτωση τησ ανταλλαγήσ των οµολÞγων στη βιωσιµÞτητα του κυπριακού χρέουσ µαζί µε άλλουσ σχετικούσ παράγοντεσ, συµπεριλαµβανοµένων τÞσο τησ προβλεποµένησ συµµÞρφωσησ τησ Κύπρου µε τα µέτρα του µνηµονίου που αποτελούν προϋπÞθεση για παραχώρηση εξωτερικήσ οικονοµικήσ στήριξησ Þσο και των προοπτικών ανάπτυξήσ. Αναφέρει Þτι η ανταλλαγή του χρέουσ έγινε σύµφωνα µε τισ δεσµεύσεισ που ανέλαβε η Κύπρο στο πλαίσιο του προγράµµατοσ που συµφωνήθηκε µε την ΤρÞικα, ενώ σηµειώνει Þτι δεν χρησιµοποιεί την αξιολÞγηση «χρεοκοπία» ή «επιλεκτική χρεοκοπία», αλλά διατηρεί τισ αξιολογήσεισ των οµολÞγων σε

καθεστώσ χρεοκοπίασ το οποίο καταδεικνύει το µέγεθοσ των ζηµιών για τουσ επενδυτέσ. Ο Moody’s κατανοεί Þτι, εκτÞσ απÞ τα επιλεγµένα οµÞλογα, 67% του συνÞλου των υπολοίπων οµολÞγων ήταν αντικείµενο τησ ανταλλαγήσ, σηµειώνοντασ Þτι η ανταλλαγή αφορούσε µια επιµήκυνση τησ περιÞδου λήξησ των υφιστάµενων οµολÞγων τα οποία λήγουν µεταξύ των ετών 2013 και 2016 µε οµÞλογα µεγαλύτερησ διάρκειασ, χωρίσ καµία αλλαγή στο κουπÞνι των οµολÞγων. Αναφέρει Þτι σύµφωνα µε τον ορισµÞ του, η συγκεκριµένη ανταλλαγή αποτελεί µια προβληµατική ανταλλαγή και ωσ εκ τούτου αποτελεί χρεοκοπία. ΑυτÞ οφείλεται, σύµφωνα µε τον Οίκο, στο

γεγονÞσ Þτι η ανταλλαγή συνεπάγεται περιορισµένη οικονοµική υποχρέωση σε σχέση µε την αρχική υποχρέωση και Þτι η ανταλλαγή έχει ωσ αποτέλεσµα να επιτραπεί στην Κύπρο να αποφύγει µια στάση πληρωµών στο µέλλον. Ο Moody`s σηµειώνει Þτι υποβάθµισε την Κύπρο στην βαθµίδα caa3, απÞ B3, στισ 10 Ιανουαρίου του 2013, θεωρώντασ τÞτε Þτι ήταν µεγάλοσ ο κίνδυνοσ στάσησ πληρωµών.

™Ù· 0,24 ÛÂÓÙ ÙÔ ÏÂÙfi ÔÈ ÎÏ‹ÛÂȘ ÂÚÈ·ÁˆÁ‹˜ Νέεσ µειώσεισ στισ τιµέσ περιαγωγήσ για τουσ ταξιδιώτεσ που χρησιµοποιούν τα κινητά τουσ τηλέφωνα σε χώρα διαφορετική εκείνησ του παρÞχου, ισχύουν απÞ την 1η Ιουλίου µε βάση τη συµφωνία για σταδιακή αποκλιµάκωση των τιµών, που επιτεύχθηκε το 2012 στο Συµβούλιο Υπουργών τησ ΕΕ. ΕιδικÞτερα, στην τηλεφÞρτωση δεδοµένων ή περιÞδευση στο ∆ιαδίκτυο η ανώτατη τιµή καθορίζεται σε 0,45 ευρώ ανά MegaByte (η χρέωση γίνεται ανά kilobyte που χρησιµοποιείται) + ΦΠΑ. ΠρÞκειται για µια µείωση τησ τάξησ του 36% σε σχέση µε τισ µέχρι ισχύουσεσ ανώτατεσ τιµέσ. Στην πραγµατοποίηση

κλήσησ µέσω κινητού απÞ χώρα διαφορετικήσ εκείνησ του παρÞχου, η ανώτατη χρέωση καθορίζεται σε 0,24 ευρω/λεπτÞ + ΦΠΑ. Σε σχέση µε τισ µέχρι τώρα ισχύουσεσ τιµέσ,

πρÞκειται για µείωση τησ τάξησ του 17%. Στη λήψη κλήσησ σε χώρα µέλοσ διαφορετική εκείνησ του παρÞχου η ανώτατη χρέωση είναι 0,07 ευρώ/λεπτÞ + ΦΠΑ, ενώ η µείωση τησ τιµήσ είναι τησ τάξησ του 12,5%. Τέλοσ, στην αποστολή γραπτού µηνύµατοσ η χρέωση είναι 0,08 λεπτά ανά µήνυµα + ΦΠΑ και η µείωση σε σχέση µε τισ ισχύουσεσ µέχρι χθεσ ανώτατεσ τιµέσ είναι 11%. Οι εταιρείεσ τηλεφωνίασ είναι ελεύθερεσ να προσφέρουν φθηνÞτερεσ τιµέσ και ορισµένεσ έχουν ήδη αρχίσει να καταργούν συνολικά τα πριµ περιαγωγήσ για φωνητικέσ υπηρεσίεσ και SMS, ή να προσφέρουν περιο-

χέσ ελεύθερησ περιαγωγήσ σε διάφορα τµήµατα τησ Ευρώπησ. Η περιαγωγή δεδοµένων θα είναι πλέον το 2013 έωσ 91 % φθηνÞτερη σε σύγκριση µε το 2007. Κατά την περίοδο αυτή, ο Þγκοσ τησ αγοράσ περιαγωγήσ δεδοµένων αυξήθηκε κατά 630 %. Οι δύο αυτέσ τάσεισ σηµαίνουν Þτι τÞσο οι καταναλωτέσ Þσο και οι εταιρείεσ κινητήσ τηλεφωνίασ έχουν σηµαντικέσ νέεσ ευκαιρίεσ χάρη στισ προσπάθειεσ τησ ΕΕ. Η ΕΕ έχει επιτύχει µειώσεισ των τιµών λιανικήσ πώλησησ µεταξύ κλήσεων, σύντοµων µηνυµάτων (SMS) και δεδοµένων σε ποσοστÞ άνω του 80 % απÞ το 2007.

¡¤Â˜ ÚÔÔÙÈΤ˜ Û˘ÓÂÚÁ·Û›·˜ ∫‡ÚÔ˘ - ∫ÚÔ·Ù›·˜ Νέα δεδοµένα και προοπτικέσ για επιχειρηµατική συνεργασία µεταξύ Κύπρου και Κροατίασ, προκύπτουν απÞ την ένταξη τησ Κροατίασ την 1 Ιουλίου στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση (Ε.Ε). Σε συνέδριο που πραγµατοποιήθηκε τον Ιούνιο στην Κροατία, µε θέµα «Η Κροατία στην Ε.Ε», εκπρÞσωποι επιχειρηµατικών φορέων και Οργανισµών απÞ Þλεσ τισ χώρεσ µέλη τησ Ε.Ε. είχαν την ευκαιρία να κάνουν επαφέσ και να ενηµερωθούν για τισ νέεσ επιχειρηµατικέσ και εµπορικέσ προοπτικέσ. Την Κύπρο εκπροσώπησε ο Συντονιστήσ Επιχειρηµατικών Συνδέσµων τησ ΟΕΒ, κ. Κυριάκοσ Αγγελίδησ ενώ την διοργάνωση τησ αποστολήσ οργάνωσε η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή. Κατά τη διάρκεια τησ διήµερησ επίσκεψησ, έγιναν ξενα-

γήσεισ σε υποδοµέσ τησ κροατικήσ οικονοµίασ, πραγµατοποιήθηκαν επαφέσ µε Κροάτεσ τεχνοκράτεσ που επιθυµούν εµπορική συνεργασία µε χώρεσ µέλη τησ Ε.Ε. και τροχοδροµήθηκαν συναντήσεισ µε εµπορικούσ συµβούλουσ άλλων χωρών τησ Ε.Ε. στην Κροατία µε στÞχο την πληροφÞρηση για τισ παραµέτρουσ τησ οικονοµίασ στην εν λÞγω χώρα. Σε δηλώσεισ του Συντονιστήσ Επιχειρηµατικών Συνδέσµων τησ ΟΕΒ, κ. Κυριάκοσ Αγγελίδησ ανέφερε «Þτι µε την ένταξη τησ Κροατίασ στην Ε.Ε. την 1η Ιουλίου, οι επιχειρηµατικέσ κοινÞτητεσ Κύπρου-Κροατίασ θα έρθουν πιο κοντά, αφού θα καταργηθούν πολλά νοµικά, φορολογικά και γραφειοκρατικά εµπÞδια που υπήρχαν µέχρι σήµερα για επιχειρηµατική συνεργασία».

™Ù›ÏÙ sms ÛÙÔ 99 778833 Î·È ÂÓËÌÂÚˆı›Ù ÁÈ· ÙËÓ Ù‹ÛË Û·˜ Την έναρξη λειτουργίασ τησ νέασ υπηρεσίασ µηνυµάτων (sms) που αφορά στην παροχή πληροφοριών για πτήσεισ και στα δύο διεθνή αεροδρÞµια τησ Κυπριακήσ ∆ηµοκρατίασ, ανακοίνωσε η Hermes Airports. Το κοινÞ έχει πλέον τη δυνατÞτητα να αποστέλλει µέσω κινητού τηλεφώνου, γραπτÞ µήνυµα (sms) στον αριθµÞ 99 778833 και να λαµβάνει άµεση ενηµέρωση σχετικά µε την πτήση για την οποία ενδιαφέρεται. Για να εξασφαλίσει τη σχετική πληροφÞρηση, το κοινÞ χρειάζεται να γνωρίζει απλώσ τον κωδικÞ τησ πτήσησ. Για παράδειγµα, πληκτρολογώντασ σε µήνυµα (sms) µε λατινικούσ χαρακτήρεσ, τον κωδικÞ τησ πτήσησ ΑΑ323 και αποστέλλοντασ το στο 99 778833, η εν λÞγω υπηρεσία θα αποστείλει αυτοµατοποιηµένη απάντηση παρέχοντασ άµεση ενηµέρωση σχετικά µε το στάδιο/κατάσταση στην οποία βρίσκεται η εν λÞγω πτήση, τη στιγµή που πραγµατοποιείται η επικοινωνία. Ο συνδροµητήσ έχει επίσησ τη δυνατÞτητα να λαµβάνει πληροφορίεσ για Þλα τα στάδια τησ πτήσησ που τον ενδιαφέρει µέχρι τη διαγραφή τησ απÞ το πτητικÞ πρÞγραµµα των ∆ιεθνών Αερολιµένων Κύπρου. Συγκεκριµένα,

προσθέτοντασ ένα ερωτηµατικÞ µετά τον κωδικÞ τησ πτήσησ (π.χ. AA323?), ο συνδροµητήσ, αυτÞµατα, θα συνεχίσει να λαµβάνει πληροφορίεσ για Þλα τα πιθανά στάδια τησ πτήσησ που τον ενδιαφέρει, Þπωσ: - Έναρξη διαδικασίασ ζύγισησ αποσκευών (Check-in), - Έναρξη επιβίβασησ (Boarding), - Καθυστερήσεισ - Αναχώρηση ή άφιξη πτήσησ Το κοινÞ πληροφορείται ακÞµη Þτι η επικοινωνία µε την εν λÞγω υπηρεσία είναι πλήρωσ αυτοµατοποιηµένη και κατά συνέπεια είναι εφικτή µÞνο µέσω τησ αποστολήσ µηνυµάτων (sms) και Þχι µέσω συνδιαλέξεων µε λειτουργούσ εξυπηρέτησησ. Σε περίπτωση που το κοινÞ επιθυµεί να µιλήσει µε λειτουργÞ εξυπηρέτησησ µπορεί να επικοινωνεί µε το ΤηλεφωνικÞ Κέντρο των ∆ιεθνών Αεροδροµίων Κύπρου, καλώντασ τον παγκύπριο αριθµÞ 77778833. Η υπηρεσία «Ενηµέρωσησ Πτήσεων» προσφέρεται εντελώσ δωρεάν, εξαιρούµενησ τησ χρέωσησ αποστολήσ µηνυµάτων που επιβάλει η εταιρεία τηλεπικοινωνιών µε την οποίαν ο κάθε συνδροµητήσ είναι συµβεβληµένοσ.

∂Ó›Û¯˘ÛË ÎÂÊ·Ï·›ˆÓ ÁÈ· ÙËÓ cdbbank Σε σηµαντικέσ αναδιαρθρώσεισ προχώρησε η cdbbank, µε σκοπÞ να ενισχύσει τη θέση τησ στην αγορά για να αντιµετωπίσει αποτελεσµατικά τισ νέεσ προκλήσεισ στην Κυπριακή οικονοµία.

H cdbbank προβαίνει στην ενίσχυση των κεφαλαίων τησ, ενώ ταυτÞχρονα, έχει προχωρήσει σε αποφασιστικά µέτρα για συγκράτηση του λειτουργικού κÞστουσ του οργανισµού ώστε να µπορέσει να αντιµετωπίσει ακÞµα πιο αποτελεσµατικά τισ προκλήσεισ τησ εποχήσ. Στα πλαίσια αυτά, η Τράπεζα έχει ήδη

προωθήσει Σχέδιο Εθελούσιασ Αποχώρησησ το οποίο αξιοποίησε σεβαστÞσ αριθµÞσ υπαλλήλων τησ, µειώνοντασ έτσι σηµαντικά το κÞστοσ προσωπικού. Η Τράπεζα προτίθεται επίσησ να µειώσει περαιτέρω το λειτουργικÞ κÞστοσ τησ και µε άλλεσ εξοικονοµήσεισ πÞρων, περιλαµβανοµένησ και τησ συγκράτησησ του µισθολογίου. Οι πρωτοβουλίεσ αυτέσ, που πραγµατοποιούνται απÞ τη cdbbank στο πλαίσιο τησ στρατηγικήσ τησ κατεύθυνσησ για ουσιαστική αναδÞµηση και αναδιάρθρωση.

Cyta: ¡¤Ô ηӿÏÈ ÁÈ· online ÂÈÎÔÈÓˆÓ›· Η Cyta, µε την πρÞσφατη αναβάθµιση τησ ιστοσελίδασ τησ, την έντονη παρουσία και στήριξη στα κοινωνικά δίκτυα, µέσω των λογαριασµών @cytacyprus, @cytasupport στο Twitter και τη σελίδα τησ CytamobileVodafone στο Facebook, δίνει νέα ώθηση στην on line εξυπηρέτηση µε το Cyta Forum και γίνεται η πρώτη εταιρεία στην Κύπρο µε

φÞρουµ πελατών. ΣτÞχοσ του Cyta Forum, εκτÞσ απÞ το να επιλύσει τυχÞν προβλήµατα και απορίεσ, είναι να προσφέρει άµεση και ολοκληρωµένη εξυπηρέτηση, αξιÞπιστα, απλά, έξυπνα και ασφαλισµένα. Λειτουργεί απÞ τισ 08:00 το πρωί µέχρι τισ 12:00 το βράδυ, καθηµερινά, ακÞµη και τα σαββατοκύριακα.

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

3 IOYΛΙΟΥ, 2013

6 | EI∆ΗΣΕΙΣ | financialmirror.com

™ÙÔ ÌÈÎÚÔÛÎfiÈÔ Ù˘ ∫ÔÌÈÛÈfiÓ 13 ÌÂÁ¿Ï˜ ÙÚ¿Â˙˜ ∫·ÙËÁÔÚÔ‡ÓÙ·È fiÙÈ ¤‰Ú·Û·Ó ˆ˜ ηÚÙ¤Ï Στο µικροσκÞπιο των ρυθµιστικών αρχών τησ Ε.Ε. µπαίνουν 13 µεγάλεσ τράπεζεσ, οι οποίεσ κατηγορούνται Þτι έδρασαν ωσ καρτέλ παραβιάζοντασ τουσ αντιµονοπωλιακούσ κανÞνεσ στην αγορά των CDS, σύµφωνα µε δηµοσίευµα τησ Ηµερισίασ. Οι τράπεζεσ που θα ερευνηθούν είναι οι Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Bear Stearns, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan, RBS και UBS. Σύµφωνα µε Þσα αναφέρει επιστολή τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Επιτροπήσ εκτÞσ απÞ τισ τράπεζεσ θα ελεγχθούν επίσησ η ISDA (η αρµÞδια επιτροπή για τα swaps και τα παράγωγα) και η Markit (εταιρεία συλλογήσ οικονοµικών στοιχείων) για το αν επέτρεπαν σε άλλεσ πηγέσ να συλλέξουν στοιχεία για την εν λÞγω αγορά των CDS. Εάν διαπιστωθεί Þτι αυτοί οι φορείσ απέκλειαν µε κάποιο τρÞπο άλλουσ φορείσ, τÞτε εντοπίζονται µονοπωλιακέσ πρακτικέσ οι οποίεσ πρέπει να τιµωρηθούν. ∆ιεθνείσ αναλυτέσ προειδοποιούν πάντωσ Þτι υπάρχουν έντονεσ µονοπωλιακέσ τάσεισ, οι οποίεσ µάλιστα έχουν

αυξηθεί δραµατικά το τελευταίο διάστηµα. Η αγορά των CDS είναι πολύ µεγάλησ αξίασ, καθώσ πρÞκειται για µία πιο ρευστή αγορά απÞ τα οµÞλογα, αλλά δεν έχουν γίνει αυτά που θα έπρεπε να έχουν γίνει απÞ το 2008 Þταν οι τράπεζεσ δεν είχαν και πολλά να διαπραγµατευτούν στη συγκεκριµένη αγορά. Ùπωσ επισηµαίνουν αναλυτέσ, η αγορά των ασφαλίστρων κινδύνου είναι η πιο ρευστή αγορά ασφαλειών στον κÞσµο και χρησιµοποιείται απÞ εξεζητηµένουσ επενδυτέσ. Παραµένει δε εξαιρετικά συγκεντρωµένη, γεγονÞσ που καθίσταται σαφέσ απÞ το γεγονÞσ και µÞνο Þτι οι τρεισ Þµιλοι JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America και Citibank, κατέχουν περισσÞτερο απÞ το 19% τησ παγκÞσµιασ αγοράσ η καθεµία χωρίσ να υπάρχει καµία τάση µείωσησ. Οι κινήσεισ τησ ΚοµισιÞν γίνονται µετά απÞ διετή έρευνα στισ τράπεζεσ που ενεργούν ωσ dealers στην αγορά CDS για το αν έδιναν τισ περισσÞτερεσ πληροφορίεσ για τισ τιµέσ, τουσ δείκτεσ και άλλα σχετικά στοιχεία µÞνο στη Markit. ΕιδικÞτερα, οι ρυθµιστικέσ αρχέσ άρχισαν τισ έρευνεσ

τουσ τον Απρίλιο του 2011 για να εξετάσουν εάν ένασ αριθµÞσ επενδυτικών τραπεζών χρησιµοποίησαν την εταιρεία παροχήσ δεδοµένων για την αγορά των CDS, Markit, για να αποκτήσουν τον έλεγχο τησ εξέλιξησ συγκεκριµένων πλατφορµών διαπραγµάτευσησ CDS. Σύµφωνα µε την ΚοµισιÞν, οι τράπεζεσ ίσωσ το έκαναν µέσω συνοµωσίασ ή κατάχρησησ µίασ πιθανήσ συλλογικήσ κυριαρχίασ. Σηµειώνεται τέλοσ πωσ η ΚοµισιÞν επίσησ εξετάζει εάν οι τράπεζεσ έχουν δράσει συντονισµένα στη διαµÞρφωση των επιτοκίων αναφοράσ Libor και Euribor, αν και η έρευνα για τα CDS βρίσκεται σε πιο προχωρηµένο στάδιο.

PwC: Facelift ÛÙËÓ ‰ËÌfiÛÈ· ‰ÈÔ›ÎËÛË Να αλλάξουν γραµµή πλεύσησ για να ξανακερδίσουν την εµπιστοσύνη των πολιτών καλούνται τα στελέχη τησ δηµÞσιασ διοίκησησ, διεθνώσ, σύµφωνα µε τα αποτελέσµατα µελέτησ τησ PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) µε τίτλο “Το µέλλον τησ ∆ηµÞσιασ ∆ιοίκησησ (Future of Government)”. Σύµφωνα µε τη µελέτη τησ PwC, διεθνώσ οι δηµÞσιεσ υπηρεσίεσ και οργανισµοί καλούνται να ανταποκριθούν σε µια σαφή πρÞκληση: να παρέχουν περισσÞτερεσ υπηρεσίεσ µε λιγÞτερο κÞστοσ (doing more for less). Να ανταποκριθούν

√√™∞: ªÔÓfi‰ÚÔÌÔ˜ Ë ·‡ÍËÛË ÙˆÓ ÊfiÚˆÓ Οι περικοπέσ δαπανών και τα µέτρα λιτÞτητασ, που σήµερα αντιστοιχούν στα τρία τέταρτα τησ δηµοσιονοµικήσ προσαρµογήσ στισ χώρεσ του ΟΟΣΑ, δεν επαρκούν για να επιτευχθεί ο στÞχοσ µείωσησ του δηµÞσιου χρέουσ στο 60% του ΑΕΠ ωσ το 2060, λένε οι οικονοµολÞγοι του Οργανισµού, προσθέτοντασ Þτι η αύξηση τησ φορολογίασ είναι µονÞδροµοσ ΑπÞ τισ χώρεσ που επιβάλλεται να περιορίσουν το δηµÞσιο χρέοσ τουσ, η Ιαπωνία, οι ΗΠΑ και η Βρετανία θα αντιµετωπίσουν τισ µεγαλύτερεσ δυσκολίεσ στην προσπάθεια να µην υπάρξει πλήγµα στισ µακροπρÞθεσµεσ αναπτυξιακέσ τουσ προοπτικέσ και να µην αυξηθούν οι ανισÞτητεσ στην οικονοµία τουσ, εκτιµά ο ΟΟΟΣΑ, σύµφωνα µε µελέτη οικονοµολÞγων του. Ο ΟργανισµÞσ εκτιµά Þτι απÞ τα 34 µέλη του οι τρεισ αυτέσ οικονοµίεσ θα πρέπει να εφαρµÞσουν τον µεγαλύτερο συνδυασµÞ περικοπών στισ δαπάνεσ και µειώσεων στη φορολογία, εαν θέλουν να περιοριστεί το δηµÞσιο χρέοσ τουσ στο 60% του ΑΕΠ τουσ ωσ το 2060. Παράλληλα, θα αναγκαστούν να εφαρµÞσουν, περισσÞτερο απÞ άλλεσ χώρεσ µέλη, µέτρα είτε αντιαναπτυξιακά είτε που αυξάνουν την ανισÞτητα στα εισοδήµατα, προκειµένου να επιτύχουν το συγκεκριµένο στÞχο. Η ανάλυση του ΟΟΣΑ καταλήγει Þτι οι αυξήσεισ στη φορολογία θα παίξουν κρίσιµο ρÞλο στην µείωση των ελλειµµάτων των προϋπολογισµών, παρά την προτίµηση των πολιτικών στα µέτρα λιτÞτητασ, που αποτελούν σήµερα περίπου το 75% των συνολικών προσπαθειών δηµοσιονοµικήσ προσαρµογήσ.

στισ ανάγκεσ τησ κοινωνίασ των πολιτών ξεπερνώντασ τουσ περιορισµούσ που υπάρχουν στο εξωτερικÞ περιβάλλον και τισ δυσκαµψίεσ τησ δοµήσ και λειτουργίασ τουσ στο εσωτερικÞ. Επίσησ, καλούνται να τα καταφέρουν, µέσα σε µια περίοδο Þπου πραγµατοποιούνται ραγδαίεσ αλλαγέσ σε Þλο τον κÞσµο. Η νέα εποχή απαιτεί απÞ τισ κυβερνήσεισ και τουσ δηµÞσιουσ οργανισµούσ να αντιµετωπίσουν την αβεβαιÞτητα

παρέχοντασ υπηρεσίεσ που µπορούν να χωρέσουν σε µικρÞτερουσ προϋπολογισµούσ, ακολουθώντασ το γενικÞτερο πνεύµα των περικοπών, στο πλαίσιο τησ µείωσησ των δηµοσίων ελλειµµάτων. Σύµφωνα µε την PwC για να γίνει η αρχή, οι οργανισµοί πρέπει να επανεξετάσουν τη λειτουργία τουσ µέσα απÞ τρία διαφορετικά πρίσµατα: - Στο επίκεντρο ο πολίτησ: ικανοποίηση των αναγκών των πολιτών αποτελεσµατικά, οικονοµικά και στο σωστÞ χρÞνο.

H ‚ÂÏÙ›ˆÛË ÙÔ˘ ÂÂÓ‰˘ÙÈÎÔ‡ Îϛ̷ÙÔ˜ ¢ÓÔ› ÙÔ Â˘ÚÒ ¢ÔÍԇϷ ¶·Û¯·Ï›‰Ô˘ Treasury Division, Alpha Bank (Cyprus) Ltd Ήπια άνοδο παρουσίασε το ευρωπαϊκÞ νÞµισµα έναντι του δολαρίου στισ αρχέσ τησ βδοµάδασ επηρεαζÞµενο θετικά απÞ τη βελτίωση του επενδυτικού κλίµατοσ και την ενίσχυση τησ διάθεσησ για ανάληψη κινδύνου. Σηµειώνεται Þτι χθεσ Τρίτη (2/7) το ευρώ βρισκÞταν στα 1,3060 σε σχέση µε 1,2985 (χαµηλÞ τεσσάρων εβδοµάδων) που έτυχε διαπραγµάτευσησ στισ 26 Ιουνίου. Θετικά επηρέασαν το επενδυτικÞ κλίµα τα ευνοϊκÞτερα του αναµενÞµενου στοιχεία που ανακοινώθηκαν στισ Ηνωµένεσ Πολιτείεσ. Συγκεκριµένα, ο δείκτησ µεταποίησησ ISM κατέδειξε τον Ιούνιο ανάπτυξη του τοµέα για 10ο µήνα το τελευταίο έτοσ ενώ ενισχύθηκαν τÞσο ο δείκτησ ISM νέων παραγγελιών Þσο και ο δείκτησ παραγωγήσ για το µήνα Ιούνιο. Παράλληλα, τα στοιχεία για την αγορά εργασίασ κατέδειξαν διατήρηση τησ τάσησ αποκλιµάκωσησ του ποσοστού ανεργίασ. Τον Μάιο παρουσιάστηκε επί-

σησ αύξηση τησ προσωπικήσ κατανάλωσησ και των επικείµενων πωλήσεων κατοικιών και ενίσχυση των προσωπικών εισοδηµάτων σε µηνιαία βάση για 4ο συνεχή µήνα. Τα πιο πάνω στοιχεία ενδυνάµωσαν την εκτίµηση τησ αγοράσ Þτι η Οµοσπονδιακή Κεντρική Τράπεζα των ΗΠΑ πιθανÞν να προβεί σε µείωση του ύψουσ του προγράµµατοσ αγοράσ τίτλων. Σε µια άλλη εξέλιξη, ο ΥπουργÞσ Οικονοµικών των ΗΠΑ ανέφερε Þτι η οικονοµία τησ χώρασ θα διατηρήσει την αναπτυξιακή τησ δυναµική παρά τισ αρνητικέσ επιπτώσεισ των δηµοσιονοµικών περικοπών. Παράλληλα, µέλη τησ Fed ανέφεραν Þτι η Οµοσπονδιακή Τράπεζα των ΗΠΑ ενδεχοµένωσ προβεί σε µείωση του ύψουσ του προγράµµατοσ αγοράσ τίτλων στη σύσκεψη του Σεπτεµβρίου. Το ενδιαφέρον τησ αγοράσ εστιάζεται την τρέχουσα εβδοµάδα στισ συσκέψεισ τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Κεντρικήσ Τράπεζασ και τησ Τραπέζησ τησ Αγγλίασ καθώσ και στα στοιχεία που θα ανακοινωθούν για την αγορά εργασίασ στισ ΗΠΑ. Ενδιαφέρον παρουσιάζει και η σύσκεψη τησ Τράπεζασ τησ Ιαπωνίασ στισ 10-11 Ιουνίου Þπου κύκλοι τησ αγοράσ αναµένουν ανοδική αναθεώρηση τησ εκτίµησησ τησ για την προοπτική τησ οικονοµίασ και διατήρηση του στÞχου για πληθωρισµÞ στο 2%.

™Ù· 4,75 ÂηÙ. ÔÈ ¿ÓÂÚÁÔÈ ÛÙËÓ πÛ·Ó›· Ο αριθµÞσ των ανέργων στην Ισπανία µειώθηκε τον Ιούνιο για 4ο συνεχή µήνα, παραµένει ωστÞσο σε υψηλά επίπεδα, στα 4,75 εκατοµµύρια, ανακοίνωσε το υπουργείο Εργασίασ, καθώσ η χώρα βρίσκεται σε ύφεση για περίπου δυο χρÞνια. Οι άνεργοι τον Ιούνιο στην τέταρτη οικονοµία τησ ευρωζώνησ ήσαν 127.248 λιγÞτεροι σε σχέση µε τον Μάιο (-2,60%), παρÞλο που η κατάσταση παραµένει δύσκολη: σύµφωνα µε το ΕθνικÞ Ινστιτούτο Στατιστικήσ (Ιne), το ποσοστÞ ανεργίασ στην Ισπανία σηµείωσε τον Μάρτιο ένα νέο ιστορικÞ ρεκÞρ, φθάνοντασ στο 27,16%. Ο Ιούνιοσ είναι γενικά ένασ µήνασ που ευνοεί την απασχÞληση στην Ισπανία, χάρη στισ εποχικέσ θέσεισ εργασίασ στη χώρα αυτή, η οποία αποτελεί τον τέταρτο δηµοφιλή τουριστικÞ προορι-

σµÞ στον κÞσµο. “‘Οµωσ, ποτέ δεν είχαµε µια τÞσο σηµαντική µείωση του αριθµού των ανέργων αυτÞν τον µήνα”, τονίζει στην ανακοίνωσή του το υπουργείο Εργασίασ, διαβεβαιώνοντασ Þτι “πρÞκειται για την πιο µεγάλη µείωση του ποσοστού τησ ανεργίασ που έχει σηµειωθεί ποτέ τον µήνα αυτÞν”. Σε σχέση µε τον Μάιο, το ποσοστÞ ανεργίασ µειώθηκε σε Þλουσ τουσ τοµείσ µε εξαίρεση τον αγροτικÞ τοµέα (+0,75%): στισ υπηρεσίεσ (-2,96%), στον κατασκευαστικÞ τοµέα (-2,56%) και στη βιοµηχανία (-2,48%). Στουσ νέουσ ηλικίασ κάτω των 25 ετών, κατηγορία που έχει πληγεί περισσÞτερο απÞ την ανεργία, σε ποσοστÞ 57,22% σύµφωνα µε το Ine, ο αριθµÞσ των ανέργων µειώθηκε κατά 7,41% σε ένα µήνα, δηλαδή κατά 33.961 άτοµα.

3 ΙΟΥΛΙΟΥ, 2013

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1 ÂηÙÔÌ̇ÚÈÔ ÙÔ˘Ú›ÛÙ˜ ÛÙËÓ ª‡ÎÔÓÔ l Guardian: ∏ ÎÚ›ÛË ¿ÏÏ·Í ÙË ÓÔÔÙÚÔ›· ÙˆÓ ∂ÏÏ‹ÓˆÓ ÁÈ· ÙÔÓ ÙÔ˘ÚÈÛÌfi l K‡Ì· ÙÔ˘ÚÈÛÙÒÓ ·fi ÙËÓ ∫›Ó·, ÙËÓ ∆Ô˘ÚΛ· Î·È ÙË ƒˆÛ›· l H ∂ÏÏ¿‰· ‰ÂÓ Â›Ó·È ÌfiÓÔ ÙÔ ÛÔ˘‚Ï¿ÎÈ Î·È Ô ∑ÔÚÌ¿˜ Αφιέρωµα στη Μύκονο, «το νησί που έκανε διάσηµο η Τζάκι Ωνάση» κάνει η βρετανική εφηµερίδα Guardian, επισηµαίνοντασ πωσ η οικονοµική κρίση έκανε τουσ Έλληνεσ µαγαζάτορεσ να αλλάξουν νοοτροπία. Το δηµοσίευµα, αρχίζει µε µια πολύ θετική περιγραφή τησ φυσικήσ οµορφιάσ του κοσµικού νησιού, ενώ στη συνέχεια φιλοξενεί δηλώσεισ απÞ επιχειρηµατίεσ τησ ΜυκÞνου οι οποίοι αναφέρουν το πωσ έχει αλλάξει η οικονοµική κρίση τον τουρισµÞ και τισ διαφορέσ που εντοπίζουν. Ο Guardian, υποστηρίζει πωσ µπορεί «η οικονοµία του νησιού να βρίσκεται σε ‘ελεύθερη πτώση’ λÞγω του αυστηρÞτατου προγράµµατοσ λιτÞτητασ, ωστÞσο η Ελλάδα έπιασε πάλι δουλειά. Μετά απÞ τρία χρÞνια τα οποία σηµαδεύτηκαν απÞ διαδηλώσεισ, κοινωνικέσ αναταραχέσ και πολιτική αστάθεια, 17 εκατοµµύρια τουρίστεσ -αριθµÞσ ρεκÞρ και 1,5 φορά ο πληθυσµÞσ τησ χώρασ-

θα επισκεφθούν την Ελλάδα, εκτιµούν αξιωµατούχοι». ΜÞνο στο κυκλαδίτικο νησί οι αφίξεισ αναµένεται να φτάσουν το ένα εκατοµµύριο. «Ποτέ άλλοτε οι αφίξεισ δεν είχαν τÞσο µεγάλη σηµασία. Με τουσ χτυπηµένουσ απÞ τουσ ύφεση και την ανεργία Έλληνεσ, τα κέρδη απÞ τον τουρισµÞ µπορεί να είναι το µοναδικÞ εισÞδηµα για πολλούσ φέτοσ». Στη συνέχεια επιχειρηµατίεσ του νησιού µιλώντασ στον Guardian, υποστηρίζουν πωσ «η κρίση µασ έµαθε πωσ δεν µπορούµε να κοροϊδέψουµε τουσ πελάτεσ µασ και µασ έκανε πιο προσεκτικούσ. Ο κÞσµοσ καταλαβαίνει πÞσο σηµαντικÞσ είναι για την οικονοµία µασ», ενώ συνεχίζοντασ τονίζει πωσ «τα τελευταία χρÞνια προσπαθούµε να πείσουµε τον κÞσµο πωσ η Ελλάδα δεν είναι µÞνο το σουβλάκι και ο Ζορµπάσ». Το δηµοσίευµα φιλοξενεί δηλώσεισ και του προέδρου του Συνδέσµου Τουριστικών

ΠρακτÞρων, Ανδρέα Ανδρεάδη, ο οποίοσ αναφέρει Þτι φέτοσ αναµένεται κύµα τουριστών απÞ την Κίνα, την Τουρκία και τη Ρωσία. Ειδικά οι αφίξεισ Ρώσων τουριστών στα αεροδρÞµια τησ χώρασ έχουν αυξηθεί φέτοσ κατά 230%, αναφέρει ο κ. Ανδρεάδησ, συµπληρώνοντασ Þτι περίπου 1,2 εκατοµµύρια Ρώσοι αναµένεται να επισκεφτούν τη χώρα µασ.

Το δηµοσίευµα κλείνει µε τισ δηλώσεισ ενÞσ ιδιοκτήτη ταβέρνασ, ο οποίοσ επισηµαίνει πωσ «αυτή την χρονιά έπρεπε να κάνουµε εµείσ τα πάντα, ακÞµη και να καθαρίσουµε την παραλία επειδή το κράτοσ δεν µπορούσε να βοηθήσει. Αλλά στη ζωή τα πάντα αλλάζουν. Η κρίση έπαιξε έναν µεγάλο και καθοριστικÞ ρÞλο. Οι τουρίστεσ µασ άλλαξαν και αλλάξαµε και εµείσ».

€114 ÂÎ. ÁÈ· ÙËÓ Â¤ÎÙ·ÛË ÙÔ˘ ÏÈ̤ӷ ¶ÂÈÚ·ÈÒ˜ Η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή απεφάνθη Þτι η ελληνική ενίσχυση ύψουσ 113,9 εκ. ευρώ ενÞσ έργου υποδοµήσ 120 εκ. ευρώ στο λιµάνι του Πειραιά συνάδει µε τη νοµοθεσία τησ ΕΕ σχετικά µε τισ κρατικέσ ενισχύσεισ. ΕιδικÞτερα, Þπωσ αναφέρεται στην ανακοίνωση τησ Ε.Ε., το έργο θα προωθήσει περαιτέρω τουσ στÞχουσ τησ πολιτικήσ µεταφορών και τη συνοχή τησ ΕΕ, χωρίσ αθέµιτη στρέβλωση του ανταγωνισµού στην εσωτερική αγορά. Τον Σεπτέµβριο του 2012, η Ελλάδα κοινοποίησε σχέδια για στήριξη επενδυτικού έργου απÞ τον ΟΛΠ, τον ΟργανισµÞ Λιµένοσ Πειραιώσ, µε σκοπÞ να επεκταθεί η υφιστάµενη υποδοµή για κρουαζιερÞπλοια στο λιµάνι του Πειραιά κατά δύο σταθµούσ υποδοχήσ. Το έργο συγχρηµατοδοτείται απÞ τα διαρθρωτικά ταµεία τησ ΕΕ µε ποσÞ ύψουσ 96,9 εκ. ευρώ. Το έργο θα βελτιώσει την εκµετάλλευση των υπηρεσιών κρουαζιέρασ στο λιµάνι του Πειραιά και θα στηρίξει την περιφερειακή ανάπτυξη µε τη δηµιουργία θέσεων απασχÞλησησ και την ενίσχυση τησ οικονοµικήσ δραστηριÞτητασ µέσω των επιβατών, των πληρωµάτων και των εταιρειών που θα προσελκύσει. Η Ελλάδα διεξήγαγε ενδελεχή ανάλυση κÞστουσωφέλουσ απÞ την οποία φαίνεται Þτι τα έσοδα που θα προκύ-

Spiegel: ∞Ó·fiÊ¢ÎÙÔ ¤Ó· Ó¤Ô ÎÔ‡ÚÂÌ· Ρεπορτάζ µε τον τίτλο «Σπιράλ προσ τα κάτω», δηµοσιεύει το γερµανικÞ Spiegel, το οποίο επισηµαίνει Þτι «η ευρωδιάσωση δεν προχωράει» και Þτι ένα νέο κούρεµα του ελληνικού χρέουσ µοιάζει αναπÞφευκτο. Το δηµοσίευµα του Spiegel αναφέρεται στισ χώρεσ τησ νÞτιασ Ευρώπησ, που πλήττονται βαρύτατα απÞ την κρίση, επισηµαίνοντασ Þτι Þχι µÞνο στην Ισπανία και την Ελλάδα, αλλά και στην Ιταλία και την Πορτογαλία το δηµÞσιο χρέοσ αυξάνεται µε γρήγορο ρυθµÞ παρά την πολιτική λιτÞτητασ και τισ µεταρρυθµιστικέσ προσπάθειεσ. Την ίδια ώρα µειώνονται τα κρατικά έσοδα και οι χώρεσ βυθίζονται στην ύφεση, που συνεπάγεται υψηλÞτατα ποσοστά ανεργίασ, η οποία οδηγεί µε τη σειρά τησ σε πρÞσθετεσ κρατικέσ δαπάνεσ. Το δηµοσίευµα αναφέρεται µεταξύ άλλων και στην πρÞσφατη απÞφαση για αναστολή λειτουργίασ τησ ΕΡΤ, επισηµαίνοντασ Þτι «η αυθαίρετη πράξη του πρωθυπουργού προκάλεσε κύµα αγανάκτησησ, το οποίο παραλίγο να διαλύσει την κυβέρνηση».

ψουν για την Λιµενική Αρχή απÞ τη χρήση υποδοµήσ κατά τα επÞµενα 20 χρÞνια θα είναι ανεπαρκή για την κάλυψη των επενδυτικών δαπανών. Συνεπώσ, το έργο δεν θα κατασκευαζÞταν αν δεν υπήρχε δηµÞσια χρηµατοδÞτηση. Η Επιτροπή διαπίστωσε Þτι η δηµÞσια χρηµατοδÞτηση

ύψουσ 113,9 εκ. ευρώ για το έργο περιορίζεται στο έλλειµµα χρηµατοδÞτησησ που εντοπίστηκε στην µελέτη. Η χρηµατοδÞτηση είναι συνεπώσ αναγκαία για να υπάρξει το έργο και παραµένει περιορισµένη στο ποσÞ που είναι αυστηρώσ αναγκαίο για την υλοποίηση των στÞχων του. Τέλοσ, οι πιθανέσ στρεβλώσεισ του ανταγωνισµού και του εµπορίου µεταξύ των κρατών µελών απÞ τη δηµιουργία πρÞσθετων δυνατοτήτων στο λιµάνι του Πειραιά είναι σχετικά περιορισµένεσ, λÞγω του Þτι το λιµάνι του Πειραιά θα εξακολουθήσει να έχει σχετικά χαµηλÞ µερίδιο στην κίνηση κρουαζιερÞπλοιων στη ΜεσÞγειο. Τα θετικά αποτελέσµατα του έργου για την αγορά κρουαζιέρασ τησ Μεσογείου και στον τοµέα τησ περιφερειακήσ ανάπτυξησ υπερτερούν σαφώσ έναντι πιθανών στρεβλώσεων του ανταγωνισµού που προκαλούνται απÞ την ενίσχυση. Ωσ εκ τούτου, η Επιτροπή κατέληξε στο συµπέρασµα Þτι το έργο είναι σύµφωνο µε το άρθρο 107 παράγραφοσ 3 στοιχείο γ) τησ Συνθήκησ για τη λειτουργία τησ Ευρωπαϊκήσ Ένωσησ (ΣΛΕΕ) που επιτρέπει τη χορήγηση ενισχύσεων για την ανάπτυξη ορισµένων οικονοµικών δραστηριοτήτων, υπÞ την προϋπÞθεση Þτι αυτÞ δεν επηρεάζει τισ συναλλαγέσ και τον ανταγωνισµÞ.

¶¿ÁηÏÔ˜: √ «·Ó‡·ÚÎÙÔ˜» ∫·Ú·Ì·ÓÏ‹˜ η٤ÛÙÚ„ ÙËÓ ∂ÏÏ¿‰· Θερµά λÞγια για τουσ χειρισµούσ του Αντώνη Σαµαρά στην πρÞσφατη κρίση τησ ΕΡΤ επεφύλαξε ο ΘÞδωροσ Πάγκαλοσ, ο οποίοσ, υπεραπίστηκε τον Ανδρέα Παπανδρέου και επιτέθηκε µε σφοδρÞτητα στον πρώην πρωθυπουργÞ Κώστα Καραµανλή εκτιµώντασ Þτι δεν υπάρχει άνθρωποσ στην Ελλάδα που να αµφισβητεί Þτι εκείνοσ την κατέστρεψε.

O ΘεÞδωροσ Πάγκαλοσ εκφράστηκε και πάλι θερµά για τον Αντώνη Σαµαρά καθώσ Þπωσ είπε «επικράτησε στην κυβερνητική κρίση» που προκλήθηκε εξαιτίασ τησ ΕΡΤ και έδειξε «καλή συµπεριφορά ηγέτη». Εµµέσωσ πλην σαφώσ ο κ. Πάγκαλοσ επικρÞτησε την αποφασιστική στάση στο θέµα τησ δηµÞσιασ ραδιοτηλεÞρασησ λέγοντασ «∆έχθηκε την κυβερνητική κρίση, επικράτησε στην κυβερνητική κρίση και τώρα δεν δέχεται ξανά τη διεφθαρµένη και επιζήµια ΕΡΤ για να υπακούσει στισ πιέσεισ. ΑυτÞ είναι πολύ καλή συµπεριφορά ηγέτη και είµαι εναντίον τησ αντίθετησ συµπεριφοράσ – που ευτυχώσ κανείσ δεν την προσέχει, γιατί είναι ασήµαντη” σηµείωσε. Σύµφωνα µε Þσα ανέφερε ο κ. Πάγκαλοσ “αν είναι κάποιοσ που κατέστρεψε την Ελλάδα, είναι ο Κωνσταντίνοσ Καραµανλήσ ο Β’. ΑυτÞσ ο ανύπαρκτοσ πρωθυπουργÞσ…”

∆εν παρέλειψε να επισηµάνει αιχµηρά πωσ την ώρα που η χώρα κινδύνευε ο Κ. Καραµανλήσ” έτρωγε µπριζÞλεσ και έπαιζε βίντεο.

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8 | ΑΓΟΡΑ | financialmirror.com

µÚ·‚Â›Ô ·ÓÒÙÂÚ˘ Á‡Û˘ ÁÈ· ÙËÓ Ì‡Ú· §∂ø¡ Η Κυπριακή Μπύρα ΛΕΩΝ βρίσκεται πλέον ανάµεσα στα υψηλήσ ποιÞτητασ προϊÞντα του 2013 σε Þλο τον κÞσµο, µετά την κατάκτηση του ∆ιεθνούσ Βραβείου Ανώτερησ Γεύσησ Superior Taste Award στο διαγωνισµÞ του διεθνώσ αναγνωρισµένου οργανισµού International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi). Μετά απÞ τυφλή δοκιµή ανάµεσα σε 1329 προϊÞντα διαφÞρων κατηγοριών, η κριτική επιτροπή των 120 φηµισµένων σεφ, ειδικών οινολÞγων και γευσιγνωστών του iTQi, απένειµε στην ΛΕΩΝ το Βραβείο Ανώτερησ Γεύσησ, επιβραβεύοντασ την για τη γεύση, τη φρεσκάδα και το φρουτώδεσ άρωµά τησ, το λαµπερÞ κεχριµπαρένιο χρώµα αλλά και την αξιοθαύµαστη καθαρÞτητά τησ. Επιβεβαιώθηκε έτσι η υψηλή ποιÞτητα, η µοναδική γεύση και η αγνÞτητα των συστατικών που χρησιµοποιούνται για την παραγώγη τησ πρώτησ Κυπριακήσ Μπύρασ. Μια κληρονοµιά που η ΛΕΩΝ µεταφέρει µαζί τησ απÞ το 1937, Þταν και παρουσιάστηκε για πρώτη φορά στον Κύπριο καταναλωτή.

KÔÚ˘Ê·›·˜ ÔÈfiÙËÙ·˜ ‰›ÎÙ˘Ô ÚÔÛʤÚÂÈ Ë ª∆¡ Kορυφαίασ ποιÞτητασ δίκτυο προσφέρει η ΜΤΝ σύµφωνα µε µέτρηση που πραγµατοποιήθηκε απÞ ανεξάρτητο φορέα µε µεθοδολογία πιστοποιηµένη απÞ το Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήµιο Θεσσαλονίκησ. Σύµφωνα µε ανεξάρτητουσ εµπειρογνώµονεσ που διεξήγαγαν τη µέτρηση, η ΜΤΝ διαθέτει δίκτυο κορυφαίασ ποιÞτητασ σε Þλη την Κύπρο, µε τεχνολογία 3G+, εγγυάται πολύ υψηλέσ ταχύτητεσ δεδοµένων στην αγορά και αδιάλειπτη σύνδεση στο διαδίκτυο. Η µέτρηση Network Benchmark 2013 µε δείγµα 4.700 κλήσεων πραγµατοποιήθηκε απÞ την Fasmetrics σύµφωνα µε µεθοδολογία πιστοποιηµένη απÞ το Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήµιο Θεσσαλονίκησ και ακολουθώντασ τα πρÞτυπα GSM. Βασίστηκε σε διεθνή κριτήρια αξιολÞγησησ του κλάδου και επικεντρώθηκε στον πληθυσµÞ και τη γεωγραφική εµβέλεια, την ποιÞτητα των κλήσεων και την ταχύτητα των δεδοµένων. ΚÞντρα στο ρεύµα, η ΜΤΝ συνεχίζει να αναπτύσσεται. Για το 2013 και το 2014 σχεδιάζει να επεκτείνει το δίκτυο 3G+ σε 24 προάστια και 60 θέσεισ στα αστικά κέντρα καλύπτοντασ έτσι το 90% του πληθυσµού.

«™˘ÌÌ·¯›· ∑ˆ‹˜» ÁÈ· ÙÔ ∫·Ú·˚ÛοÎÂÈÔ Î·È ÙÔÓ √¶∞¶ Ένα σηµαντικÞ, καινοτÞµο πρÞγραµµα δηµιούργησαν απÞ κοινού το Καραϊσκάκειο Ίδρυµα και η ΟΠΑΠ Κύπρου. Η “Συµµαχία Ζωήσ” ουσιαστικά βασίζεται στην ιδέα τησ δηµιουργίασ ενÞσ δικτύου ανθρώπων που στÞχο θα έχει να προάγει τουσ σκοπούσ του ιδρύµατοσ και να ενισχύσει ακÞµη περισσÞτερο το τεράστιο κοινωνικÞ του έργο στον τοµέα τησ Υγείασ. Η ΟΠΑΠ Κύπρου ανταποκρίθηκε άµεσα στην πρÞσφατη έκκληση του Ιδρύµατοσ για ταυτοποίηση 8.000 νέων δειγµάτων µυελού των οστών που µπορούν δώσουν ζωή σε ισάριθµουσ συνανθρώπουσ µασ. Γι’ αυτÞ τον πολύ σηµαντικÞ σκοπÞ, χορήγησε στο Καραϊσκάκειο Ίδρυµα το ποσÞ των 300.000 ευρώ. Το Καραϊσκάκειο Ίδρυµα διαθέτει τη µεγαλύτερη κατά κεφαλήν τράπεζα µυελού των οστών στον κÞσµο, µε περισσÞτερουσ απÞ 100.000 εγγεγραµµένουσ δÞτεσ. Απώτεροσ στÞχοσ αυτήσ τησ ενέργειασ είναι η αύξηση του αριθµού των δοτών στην κυπριακή κοινωνία καθώσ και η ευρύτερη ενηµέρωση, για το σηµαντικÞ έργο του Καραϊσκάκειου Ιδρύµατοσ.

6,5 ÂÎ. ÂÈÛΤÙ˜ ÛÙÔ ∂ÌÔÚÈÎfi ¶¿ÚÎÔ ™È·ÎfiÏ· Πραγµατοποιήθηκαν πρÞσφατα οι ετήσιεσ Γενικέσ Συνελεύσεισ των δηµÞσιων εταιρειών ITTL Trade Tourist & Leisure Park Plc και Cyprus Limni Resorts and GolfCourses Plc. Για την ITTL Trade Tourist & Leisure Park Plc, ιδιοκτήτρια του Εµπορικού Πάρκου ΣιακÞλα, που περιλαµβάνει το The Mall of Cyprus, το IKEA και άλλα παρεµφερή κτήρια και γραφεία, το 2012 ήταν µια ακÞµα ικανοποιητική και κερδοφÞρα χρονιά, παρά την οικονοµική ύφεση στην οποία βρίσκεται η Κύπροσ. Η επισκεψιµÞτητα στο ΕµπορικÞ Πάρκο ΣιακÞλα διατηρήθηκε και το 2012 σε πολύ ψηλά επίπεδα, ξεπερνώντασ τα 6,5 εκ. Ùπωσ τÞνισε στην οµιλία του ο ΠρÞεδροσ τησ Εταιρείασ κ. Μάριοσ Παναγίδησ, σύντοµα θα υποβληθεί πολεοδοµική αίτηση για επέκταση του The Mall of Cyprus κατά περίπου 4.000 τετραγωνικά µέτρα µε επιπρÞσθετουσ χώρουσ στάθµευσησ, για τη δηµιουργία νέων εµπορικών χώρων. Ùπωσ αναφέρθηκε, παρά το γεγονÞσ Þτι δύσκολα µπορεί να προβλέψει κανείσ τισ επιπτώσεισ τησ οικονοµικήσ κρίσησ, τα αποτελέσµατα το 2013 αν και ελαφρώσ µειωµένα, θα εξακολουθήσουν να είναι κερδοφÞρα.

Orthodoxou: KÔÓÙ¿ ÛÙÔÓ ÂȯÂÈÚËÌ·Ù›· Η εταιρεία Orthodoxou Travel & Tours Ltd, διαθέτοντασ ειδικÞ τµήµα οργάνωσησ εταιρικών ταξιδιών, προσφέρει εξειδικευµένεσ υπηρεσίεσ, µοναδικέσ για την Κυπριακή αγορά. Γνωρίζοντασ σε βάθοσ τισ ιδιαιτερÞτητεσ του εταιρικού ταξιδιού, η Οrthodoxou Travel & Tours Ltd προσφέρει ένα ευρύ φάσµα προϊÞντων και υπηρεσιών, προσαρµοσµένα στισ ξεχωριστέσ ανάγκεσ των πελατών τησ οι οποίεσ περιλαµβάνουν ΠροσωπικÞ λειτουργÞ εξυπηρέτησησ, 24ωρη εξυπηρέτηση, Βοήθεια στο αεροδρÞµιο Λάρνακασ, Εποπτεία λογαριασµού και επιβράβευσησ σχεδίων αεροπορικών εταιρειών, ∆ιευθετήσεισ στον προορισµÞ του ταξιδιού σασ και Εποπτεία του ταξιδιού σασ απÞ την αρχή µέχρι το τέλοσ. Για περισσÞτερεσ πληροφορίεσ σχετικά µε τισ υπηρεσίεσ επαγγελµατικών ταξιδιών µπορείτε να τηλεφωνήσετε στο 77 77 17 67 ή στο 97 88 72 26. Επίσησ πληροφορίεσ µπορείτε να βρείτε στην ιστοσελίδα τησ εταιρείασ www.orthodoxoutravel.com

«Secret Bites» ·fi ÙÔ Pralina Έξι καλοκαιρινέσ βραδιέσ, έξι ζωντανά µαθήµατα µαγειρικήσ και έξι διαφορετικά µενού συνθέτουν το παζλ του καλοκαιριου που ετοιµάζει το Pralina για την καλοκαιρινή σεζÞν στη Λευκωσία, αποκλειστικά για Þσουσ αρκούνται µÞνο µε την ποιÞτητα των πιάτων και τησ εξυπηρέτησησ του φηµισµένου καφέεστιατορίου. Έτσι λοιπÞν για κάθε Τετάρτη που ακολουθεί µέχρι τέλη Ιουλίου, µε τον διακεκριµένο σεφ Χρίστο Χατζηλύρα το κοινÞ δεν θα έχει άλλη επιλογή απÞ το διαδραστικÞ, γαστρονοµικÞ show του Pralina. Οι συνδαιτιµÞνεσ θα πρέπει να βρίσκονται στο τραπέζι τουσ στο Pralina µέχρι τισ 8:15 το βράδυ. Τονίζεται Þτι ο αριθµÞσ θέσεων στισ βραδιέσ Pralina «Secret Bites» είναι περιορισµένοσ και το κοινÞ καλείται έγκαιρα να κάνει τισ κρατήσεισ του στο τηλέφωνο: 22660491.

«√ÈÎÔÓÔÌÒ-Ôχ» ÛÙȘ ÀÂÚ·ÁÔÚ¤˜ ∞§º∞ª∂°∞ Οι Υπεραγορέσ ΑΛΦΑΜΕΓΑ έχοντασ πάντοτε ωσ επίκεντρο τον καταναλωτή και ωσ κύριο µέληµά τουσ την παροχή ποιοτικών και επώνυµων προϊÞντων σε εξαιρετικά ανταγωνιστικέσ τιµέσ, ξεκίνησαν τη νέα τουσ καµπάνια µε τίτλο «Οικονοµώ-Πολύ». Με γνώµονα το συµφέρον των κυπριακών νοικοκυριών , οι Υπεραγορέσ ΑΛΦΑΜΕΓΑ έχουν ερευνήσει ποια προϊÞντα είναι πιο δηµοφιλή και έχουν µεριµνήσει να τα προσφέρουν στισ πιο χαµηλέσ τιµέσ τησ αγοράσ. Κάθε δεκαπενθήµερο θα ανακοινώνονται προσφορέσ διάρκειασ µιασ βδοµάδασ, για 12 επώνυµα, αγαπηµένα προϊÞντα. ΣτÞχοσ τησ καµπάνιασ είναι ο καταναλωτήσ να µπορεί να αγοράζει τα αγαπηµένα του προϊÞντα και να επωφελείται οικονοµικά.

3 IOYΛΙΟΥ, 2013

ΧΡΗΜΑ&ΑΓΟΡΑ

financialmirror.com | ΕΝΕΡΓΕΙΑ | 9

¡È΋ÙÚÈ· Ë ∆¯ÓÈ΋ ™¯ÔÏ‹ ∞˘ÁfiÚÔ˘ ÛÙÔÓ ·ÁÒÓ· ËÏÈ·ÎÒÓ Ô¯ËÌ¿ÙˆÓ Η Τεχνική Σχολή ΑυγÞρου στέφθηκε νικήτρια στον Αγώνα Ηλιακών Οχηµάτων που διοργάνωσε για τέταρτη συνεχή χρονιά την Κυριακή 30 Ιουνίου, το Ινστιτούτο Κύπρου, σε συνεργασία µε το Πανεπιστήµιο Νεάπολισ, τουσ ∆ήµουσ Πάφου και Γεροσκήπου. Στη δεύτερη θέση τερµάτισε η διεθνήσ απÞ το Πανεπιστήµιο αποστολή Φιλαδέλφειασ τησ Ιορδανίασ, η οποία κέρδισε και το βραβείο καλύτερου σχεδιασµού. Την τρίτη θέση κατέλαβε η Τεχνική Σχολή Αγίου Λαζάρου, ενώ στον πρωτοποριακÞ αγώνα συµµετείχαν επίσησ, η Ελληνική Σχολή PASCAL Λευκωσίασ και η οµάδα ιδιωτών Sun-der. ∆εκάδεσ ντÞπιοι και ξένοι παρακολούθησαν το συναρπαστικÞ αγώνα που διήρκησε τρεισ ώρεσ και διεξήχθη σε ανοικτÞ δρÞµο τησ Πάφου και τησ Γεροσκήπου. Η πανηγυρική απονοµή των βραβείων στουσ νικητέσ πραγµατοποιήθηκε στο ΜεσαιωνικÞ Κάστρο τησ Πάφου. Ο Άρησ Μπονάνοσ Επίκουροσ Καθηγητήσ του Ινστιτούτου Κύπρου σε θέµατα Ενέργειασ, Περιβάλλοντοσ και Υδάτινων ΠÞρων, δήλωσε Þτι στÞχοσ του αγώνα, είναι η ευαισθητοποίηση του κοινού και ιδιαίτερα των νέων, αναφορικά µε τη χρήση ανανεώσιµων πηγών ενέργειασ και η ενθάρρυνση

τουσ για ενασχÞληση µε την έρευνα, την τεχνολογία και την επιστήµη. Ο κ. Μπονάνοσ επεσήµανε επίσησ, Þτι τα ηλιακά αυτοκίνητα µπορούν να αναπτύξουν ταχύτητεσ πάνω απÞ 100 χιλιÞµετρα και είναι µια εναλλακτική,

πρακτική, οικονοµική και εφικτή πηγή µετακίνησησ για Þλουσ. Με την καθιέρωση του αγώνα, το Ινστιτούτο Κύπρου στέλλει το µήνυµα Þτι τα ηλιακά αυτοκίνητα, αντιπροσωπεύουν το

πράσινο µέλλον, καθώσ η ιπποδύναµη τουσ προέρχεται απÞ τουσ ηλιακούσ συλλέκτεσ και Þχι απÞ συµβατικά καύσιµα, δεν προκαλούν οχληρία και δεν ρυπαίνουν την ατµÞσφαιρα, αφού είναι αθÞρυβα και δεν εκπέµπουν καυσαέρια απÞ τισ εξατµίσεισ των µηχανών. Ο Σπύροσ Βλιάµοσ Καθηγητήσ Πολιτικήσ Οικονοµίασ στο Πανεπιστήµιο Νεάπολισ σηµείωσε Þτι αυτÞ που πρέπει Þλοι να συνειδητοποιήσουµε είναι Þτι για περιβαλλοντικούσ και εκπαιδευτικούσ λÞγουσ, πρέπει να συµπαραταχθούµε και να στηρίζουµε τέτοιου είδουσ δραστηριÞτητεσ.

∫ÂÚ‰›˙ÂÈ ¤‰·ÊÔ˜ ÙÔ net metering Σηµαντική ανάπτυξη αναµένεται να παρουσιάσουν τα φωτοβολταϊκά στην Κύπρο τα επÞµενα χρÞνια µε τον ενεργειακÞ συµψηφισµÞ στα οικιακά και Þχι µÞνο συστήµατα να προβάλει ωσ ένα απÞ τα σηµαντικÞτερα εργαλεία. Στισ αρχέσ Ιουνίου, το αρµÞδιο υπουργείο Εµπορίου, Βιοµηχανίασ και Τουρισµού ανακοίνωση τη χρηµατοδÞτηση 2000 οικιακών φωτοβολταϊκών συστηµάτων µέσω net metering. Κάθε νοικοκυριÞ θα εγκαταστήσει πάνελ ισχύοσ µέχρι 3 Κιλοβάτ, µε το κράτοσ να επιδοτεί 900 ευρώ ανά Κιλοβάτ, Þπωσ γνωστο-

ποίησε ο ΥπουργÞσ Εµπορίου Γιώργοσ Λακκοτρύπησ. Το πρÞγραµµα έχει ισχύ µέχρι τα τέλη του τρέχοντοσ έτουσ προσθέτοντασ 6 Μεγαβάτ νέασ ισχύοσ. ΩστÞσο, Þπωσ πρÞσθεσε ο υπουργÞσ, το πρÞγραµµα net metering αναµένεται να επεκταθεί σε ακÞµα 3000 νοικοκυριά τα οποία αντιστοιχούν σε 9 επιπλέον Μεγαβάτ. Τα 3000 αυτά νοικοκυριά θα επιλεγούν µε εισοδηµατικά κριτήρια και δεν θα λάβουν επιπλέον κρατική χρηµατοδÞτηση. Τέλοσ, το πρÞγραµµα net metering θα διευρυνθεί και σε εµπορικά και βιοµηχανικά κτήρια µε το υπουργείο να ανοίγει διαδικα-

σία λήψησ αιτήσεων ισχύοσ έωσ 10 Μεγαβάτ. Κάθε εγκατάσταση θα έχει ισχύ έωσ 1 Μεγαβάτ και τη διαδικασία κατάθεσησ αιτήσεων θα παρακολουθήσει η Ρυθµιστική Αρχή Ενέργειασ τησ Κύπρου (ΡΑΕΚ). ΣτÞχοσ τησ Κύπρου είναι να διασφαλίσει την ευστάθεια του δικτύου ηλεκτρικήσ ενέργειασ µε παράλληλη διείσδυση των ΑΠΕ, χωρίσ τισ στρεβλώσεισ και τα ελλείµµατα που διογκώθηκαν στη χώρα µασ και άλλεσ ευρωπαϊκέσ χώρεσ. Σε αυτÞ το πλαίσιο, Þπωσ γνωστοποίησε ο Γιώργοσ Σιαµµάσ, πρÞεδροσ τησ ΡΑΕΚ, η Κύπροσ έχει αποταν-

θεί σε εξωτερικούσ συµβούλουσ για τη χάραξη τησ ενεργειακήσ τησ στρατηγικήσ. Αξίζει να σηµειωθεί Þτι η ζήτηση ηλεκτρικήσ ενέργειασ στην Κύπρο έχει µειωθεί κατά 20% λÞγω οικονοµικήσ κρίσησ, την ώρα που τα φωτοβολταϊκά καταγράφουν ταχύτατη διείσδυση µε τη δηµοπράτηση 23 πάρκων τον Ιανουάριο. Το προηγούµενο Σαββατοκύριακο “ηλεκτρίστηκαν” δέκα νέα φωτοβολταϊκά πάρκα ισχύοσ ενÞσ Μεγαβάτ. Η συνολική εγκατεστηµένη ισχύσ έφτασε τα 25 Μεγαβάτ, ενώ αναµένονται ακÞµα 100 Μεγαβάτ την επÞµενη διετία.

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∂ÚÁÔÛÙ¿ÛÈ· ·Ú·ÁˆÁ‹˜ ÛÙËÓ ∂ÏÏ¿‰· ۯ‰ȿ˙Ô˘Ó ÔÈ ∫ÈÓ¤˙ÔÈ Τρείσ κινεζικέσ εταιρείεσ ψάχνουν τρÞπουσ για παραγωγή φωτοβολταϊκών πάνελ στην Ελλάδα, σε µια προσπάθεια να αποφύγουν τουσ δασµούσ που επέβαλε πρÞσφατα η ΕΕ, στο πλαίσιο τησ λήψησ αντισταθµιστικών µέτρων για αθέµιτο ανταγωνισµÞ. Σύµφωνα µε πληροφορίεσ που είδαν το φωσ τησ δηµοσιÞτητασ, πρÞκειται για τισ εταιρείεσ Canadian solar, Yingli Solar και Huawei. Μάλιστα εκπρÞσωποι των τριών εταιρειών βρέθηκαν το προηγούµενο διάστηµα στην Αθήνα και συζήτησαν µε τισ ελληνικέσ βιοµηχανίεσ παραγωγήσ φωτοβολταϊκών πάνελ εξετάζοντασ το ενδεχÞµενο συνεργασίασ. ΕιδικÞτερα, οι Κινέζοι εξετάζουν τη δηµιουργία στην

Ελλάδα νέων εργοστασίων που θα κατασκευάζουν φωτοβολταϊκά πάνελσ µε πρώτεσ ύλεσ απÞ την Κίνα. Βάσει του σχεδίου θα φτάνουν στον Πειραιά τα βασικά εξαρτήµατα (δηλαδή οι φωτοβολταϊκέσ κυψέλεσ και τα ηλεκτρονικά) και στη συνέχεια θα γίνεται συναρµολÞγηση σε εργοστάσια που θα εγκατασταθούν σε συνεργασία µε ελληνικέσ επιχειρήσεισ, είτε στο Θριάσιο είτε και στην ευρύτερη περιοχή τησ Στερεάσ ή τησ Πελοποννήσου. Η µεταφορά τησ συγκεκριµένησ δραστηριÞτητασ απÞ την Κίνα στην Ελλάδα δεν θα επιβαρύνει καθοριστικά το κÞστοσ παραγωγήσ, αφού δεν χρειάζονται πολλοί εργάτεσ, ενώ τα πάνελσ που θα παράγονται επί ελληνικού εδάφουσ δεν θα υπÞκεινται σε δασµούσ στην ΕΕ.

∞‰˘Ó·Ì›· Ì·˜ ÂÛ›˜ Î·È ÙÔ ÂÚÈ‚¿ÏÏÔÓ! ΑΣ ΧΟΡΗΓΟΣ ΣΕΛΙ∆ ΣΕΛΙ∆ΑΣ

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July 3 - 9, 2013

20 | WORLD MARKETS | financialmirror.com

Africa: an eye-opener experience

By Oren Laurent President, Banc De Binary

The minds of far too many investors have been tarnished by Africa’s reputation for extreme poverty and political instability. So in honor of U.S. President Barack Obama’s current three-nation African tour to promote investment in, and trade with, the region, I want to tell you, my friends, why it’s time to revise your misconceptions.

My own first time in Africa was a business trip to Tanzania, where Obama spent July 1 with local business leaders. It was an eye-opening experience, both in a personal and professional sense. I realized that despite all the problems we associate with Africa, many of which are valid, the fact nevertheless remains that certain cities and hubs in the continent are driving economic development, and encouraging initiatives which will both benefit themselves and have a positive ripple effect over a wider region. Not only does this present an abundance of opportunities for trade and investment, but by engaging in the region, we can be a part of its success story.

Still skeptical? According to the International Monetary Fund, Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, will experience an economic surge of 7% in 2014, closing in on South Africa which to date is the continent’s largest econo-

my. Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest cocoa producer, and Mozambique, home to the world’s biggest gas discovery in the past decade, are both expected to enjoy growth of 8%. Contrast these figures to the global average of 4% estimated growth.

Concerned about corruption and instability? Did you know that in the past two years, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya have all completed peaceful transitions of power? That is not to say that the whole African continent meets Western democratic standards, but it is not as dangerous for investors as many perceive. For David Cote, CEO of Honeywell International, the African markets are “of increasing interest… but corruption is the thing I always worry about the most.” Cote seems to echo U.S. investor sentiment. However, note however that Honeywell has offices in South Africa, Angola and Nigeria. It would appear that the risks, and the inevitable need for stringent checks and balances, pay dividends.

Investors should of course not nose-dive without caution or expect Africa’s problems to disappear overnight. Economic growth is no guarantee of poverty alleviation; it is important to account for great diversity and an uneven spread of wealth across the region. The World Bank has advocated for better administration of wealth, development of agriculture and managing of urbanization in order that the continent’s prosperity is as far-reaching as possible. It will be interesting to see if and how their recommendations are implemented successfully.

What is certain is that if the continent does

enjoy an economic boom, countries with higher investments and better existing trade links will be a stronger position to promote their goods to the growing middle class, a fact which the U.S.’ first African-American President must be very conscious of. At present, U.S. companies are lagging behind European and Chinese enterprises in the continent. According to Xinhua news, in 2011, Chinese trade with the continent was valued at $160 billion. The U.S. total was $95 billion, while the European Union did $286 billion worth of business with African companies.

For Obama, “One of the main things that we want American companies to see is that Africa is ready to do business and that there’s huge potential there.” Let’s see who’s listening.

www.bbinary.com

Dollar at four-week high vs. yen The dollar was at a four-week high against the yen and a basket of currencies as risk sentiment improved on stronger manufacturing data from major global economies, outweighing fears of a reduction in U.S. monetary stimulus.

The dollar index stood at 83.056, at a four-week peak of 83.344 reached earlier, with support seen at 82.915, the bottom of the daily Ichimoku charts. The euro held firm at $1.3053 after a 0.4 percent gain on Monday, keeping some distance from last week’s trough of $1.29845, its lowest since early June. Nevertheless, it stayed below chart resistance at $1.3106, the 100-day moving average, and the 200-day average at $1.3074. The euro, also firmed against the yen to reach a three-week high of 130.26, but it likewise faced resistance around 130.45,

the 61.8 percent retracement of its May 22 June 13 decline.

Monday’s manufacturing reports out of the euro zone, Japan, and Britain all showed

might start scaling back on asset buying.

Which is why the market is likely to become thinner and thinner into the monthly payrolls report on Friday. A strong reading

FOREX COMMENTARY & TECHNICAL ANALYSIS improvement, including encouraging signs out of debt-burdened peripheral euro zone countries such as Spain and Italy, helping risk currencies.

The U.S. ISM report rebounded from an unexpected contraction in May, but hiring was the weakest in nearly four years. The latter was important as the Fed has made unemployment a key barometer for when it

would boost the dollar by fanning speculation about an early paring back of the Fed’s $85-billion-a-month bond-buying.

In contrast, the European Central Bank is likely to emphasize at its monthly meeting on Thursday that the euro zone economy still needs help.

The dollar held almost unchanged at

99.55 yen, near a four-week high of 99.87 hit on Monday, though it has been unable to break strong offers in the 99.90/100.00 area.

Although the yen is seen under pressure from the Bank of Japan’s aggressive monetary easing, traders say the market may need a fresh impetus to sell the Japanese currency after its steep decline in the past half year.

Concerns over a slowdown in China and other emerging markets could sour investors’ risk sentiment and spark another rally in the yen, as it did in May, Takako Masai, forex manager at Shinsei Bank told Reuters.

“I do not expect the yen to sharply weaken beyond 100 per dollar,” she said, noting that two-year yield gap between the two currencies remained small by historical standards, despite recent rise in U.S. bond yields.

Disclaimer: The commentary appearing on this page is for indication purposes only and Eurivex does not take any responsibility for investment action taken. Nothing in this report should be considered to constitute investment advice. It is not intended, and should not be considered, as an offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any of the financial instruments described herein. Trading on leverage is very risky and may lead to losses.

July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | MARKETS | 21

Japan: Nuclear decision nears reopening. Should the LDP be confirmed as having majority control of both the lower and upper houses, the push for speedier reviews will likely be a smoother political process.

At the earliest, nuclear power plants could start to come back online during 4Q13. This does not mean Japan will cease fossil fuel imports but as a large marginal buyer of LNG, coal and oil, any moderation in demand will quickly impact prices. Fuel imports have increased nearly 40% since the shutdown, so assuming that restarts allow energy import costs to reduce by 10%, Japan should be able to trim its trade deficit by about 5%.

Cheaper power will boost competitiveness, helping exporters that have already received a fillip from a cheaper yen. In particular, energy intensive sectors should be immediate beneficiaries—the likes of metals and chemical makers have underperformed the benchmark TSE index since early 2012 by about 15%. These sectors will likely continue to see some catchup performance as cost pressures ease. Perhaps more importantly, by making Japan far less reliant on imported fuel, one more constraint holding back the stimulative program of “Abenomics’ will have been removed.

Marcuard’s Market update

by GaveKal Research We have argued that Japan was persuaded to join the currency devaluation race less by any innate desire to pursue structural reform than a fear of becoming dependent upon foreigners. Japan runs the biggest fiscal deficit among rich nations and when its current account fell decisively into deficit last year, alarm bells went off in Tokyo. Concern morphed into paranoia as it became clear that regional rival China was one of biggest incremental buyers of its government bonds. Since that cathartic moment, the yen has been devalued by 20% and economic growth indicators have perked up. The problem is that Japan’s trade deficit continues to widen. And that brings us to the subject of today’s missive: energy.

Japan is especially prone to so called J-curve effects, whereby a deficit gets worse before it gets better, because it currently relies on imported fuels for 86% its total energy usage.

Moreover, since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, Japan has been the world’s largest importer of liquefied natural gas, driving import prices to a record high. The effect has been to drive up Japan’s already high cost of electricity.

And for this reason, we believe the government is close to making a decision to switch back on the country’s nuclear power stations— out of 50 viable reactors, 48 are presently idled.

Quite simply, it is impossible to see how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe can spur an industrial recovery, and manage an improving trade bal-

ance without tackling the energy deficit issue head-on. Nuclear accounted for about 30% of Japan’s energy mix and its absence has resulted in commercial power users this year suffering rate hikes of 12-18% and households 812%. Adding to the urgency, power producers are calling for yet more tariff increases.

The political calculus seems to be moving in favor of the pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party which is intently focused on July 21 elections for the upper house of parliament.

Despite widespread popular opposition to

nuclear power, it seems that economics has the upper hand with the urban electorate. Last month, the LDP-led coalition won a landslide in Tokyo’s local election, scooping 82 of 127 seats—this despite a major anti-nuclear protest having been held in the capital city only weeks earlier.

Moreover, the energy bureaucrats seem to be preparing the ground for a restart—the newly formed Nuclear Regulation Authority recently finalized new safety regulations, opening the way for formal testing and eventual

WORLD CURRENCIES PER US DOLLAR CURRENCY

Belarussian Ruble British Pound * Bulgarian Lev Czech Koruna Danish Krone Estonian Kroon Euro * Georgian Lari Hungarian Forint Latvian Lats Lithuanian Litas Maltese Pound * Moldavan Leu Norwegian Krone Polish Zloty Romanian Leu Russian Rouble Swedish Krona Swiss Franc Ukrainian Hryvnia

A new global growth story Stronger US factory activity as shown by the ISM index moving back into expansionary territory helped offset concerns about a slowing China, which yesterday saw the release of another soft purchasing managers index.

Improved business conditions elsewhere are highlighted by the G7 (ex-US) composite PMI reading swinging back above 50 in June. A cyclical trough was registered late last year, and slow improvement has been registered through 2013.

The interesting thing about this recovery is that leadership is coming from Japan and Europe which certainly makes for a changed story on growth. To be sure the world economy is far from “escape velocity,” and yet it should be noted that the latest survey shows heightened Japanese animal spirits, while Europe’s improved financial conditions and

reduced fiscal drag is allowing for normalization on the periphery. Britain seems to be on the cusp of a new property bubble with the Conservative-Liberal coalition seeking to subsidize ownership with state backed finance.

But look a little closer and it is perhaps not surprising that all boats in the G7 economies seem to be rising together. We seem to be moving into a phase where US consumption is again the motor force of global demand.

This improvement stems from gradually improving labor markets and positive wealth effects, in particular the housing recovery. The production that satisfies this demand growth will probably be spread more evenly around the world. Moreover, we noticed not so much to a deterioration in the US manufacturing outlook as a catching up by the other G7 economies. Seen in this light, US metal bash-

www.marcuardheritage.com

Date

Country

Detail

JUL 3 EUR Final Services PMI due 11.00am JUL 3 GBP Services PMI due 11.30am JUL 3 EUR Retail Sales M/M due 12.00noon JUL 3 US Challenger Job Cuts Y/Y due 2.30pm JUL 3 US ADP Non-Farm Employment Change due 3.15pm JUL 3 CAD Trade Balance due 3.30pm JUL 3 US Trade Balance due 3.30pm JUL 3 US Weekly Unemployment Claims due 3.30pm JUL 3 US ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI due 5.00pm JUL 3 US Treasury Sec Lew speaks from 5.00pm JUL 4 EUR Final GDP Q/Q due 12.00noon JUL 4 GBP BoE Asset Purchase Facility due 2.00pm in GBP JUL 4 GBP BoE MPC Rate Statement due 2.00pm JUL 4 EUR ECB Rate Decision due 2.45pm JUL 4 EUR ECB President Mario Draghi Press Conf starts 3.30pm JUL 4 US US Bank Holiday JUL 5 EUR German Factory Orders M/M due 1.00pm JUL 5 CAD Canada Employment Change due 3.3pm JUL 5 CAD Unemployment Rate in Canada due 3.30pm JUL 5 US Non-Farm Employment Change due 3.30pm JUL 5 US Unemployment Rate due 3.30pm JUL 5 US Average Hourly Earnings M/M due 3.30pm Indicated times are Cyprus time

Forecast 48.6 54.6 0.40%

ers have held up pretty well over the last two years considering that most of the G7 was flat on its back—new export orders have been by far the weakest component of the ISM survey since mid-2011.

Hence, there are good reasons to expect US manufacturing activity to at the very least consolidate around current levels.

For this reason, one can argue that the G7 economies are on a slow, but predicable recovery path. Any disruption to this relatively benign outlook is likely to come not from Europe or the US bond market, but China, which faces a difficult unwind from its post2009 credit splurge. Hence, investors should bet on improving cyclical dynamics in the G7, but keep an eye on the slowing Chinese juggernaut and its supplier economies for outlier risks.

Previous

161k -0.7B -$40.3B 345k 54.3

48.6 54.9 -0.50% -41.20% 135k -0.6B -$40.3B 346k 53.7

375B 0.50% 0.50%

-0.20% 375B 0.50% 0.50%

BYR GBP BGN CZK DKK EEK EUR GEL HUF LVL LTL MTL MDL NOK PLN RON RUB SEK CHF UAH

8800 1.5234 1.497 19.9267 5.7112 11.9787 1.3061 1.649 224.76 0.53695 2.6433 0.3287 12.366 6.0837 3.3109 3.3946 32.9565 6.6623 0.9457 8.115

Australian Dollar * Canadian Dollar Hong Kong Dollar Indian Rupee Japanese Yen Korean Won New Zeland Dollar * Singapore Dollar

AUD CAD HKD INR JPY KRW NZD SGD

0.9193 1.051 7.7551 59.4 99.75 1133.8 1.2816 1.265

BHD EGP IRR ILS JOD KWD LBP OMR QAR SAR ZAR AED

0.3770 7.0195 12063.90 3.6243 0.7077 0.2853 1509.00 0.3850 3.6408 3.7504 9.8921 3.6728

AZN KZT TRY

0.7834 151.86 1.9180

MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA Bahrain Dinar Egyptian Pound Iranian Rial Israeli Shekel Jordanian Dinar Kuwait Dinar Lebanese Pound Omani Rial Qatar Rial Saudi Arabian Riyal South African Rand U.A.E. Dirham ASIA Azerbaijanian Manat Kazakhstan Tenge Turkish Lira Note:

* USD per National Currency

The Financial Markets Interest Rates Base Rates

LIBOR rates

CCY USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0-0,25% 0.50% 0.50% 0-0,1% 0-0,25%

Swap Rates

CCY/Period

1mth

2mth

3mth

6mth

1yr

CCY/Period

2yr

3yr

4yr

5yr

7yr

10yr

USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0.20 0.49 0.07 0.12 0.00

0.24 0.50 0.11 0.14 0.01

0.28 0.51 0.14 0.16 0.02

0.43 0.60 0.26 0.23 0.08

0.70 0.92 0.48 0.41 0.25

USD GBP EUR JPY CHF

0.54 0.84 0.63 0.25 0.20

0.84 1.08 0.83 0.31 0.38

1.23 1.37 1.06 0.39 0.57

1.60 1.63 1.28 0.49 0.77

2.17 2.09 1.63 0.71 1.12

2.71 2.58 2.03 1.00 1.52

Exchange Rates Major Cross Rates

1.30% -2.30% -12.3k 95.0k 7.10% 7.10% 162k 175k 7.50% 7.60% 0.20% 0.00% Source: Eurivex

RATE

AMERICAS & PACIFIC

Disclaimer: This information may not be construed as advice and in particular not as investment, legal or tax advice. Depending on your particular circumstances you must obtain advice from your respective professional advisors. Investment involves risk. The value of investments may go down as well as up. Past performance is no guarantee for future performance. Investments in foreign currencies are subject to exchange rate fluctuations. Marcuard Cyprus Ltd is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) under License no. 131/11.

Weekly Economic Calendar

CODE

EUROPEAN

CCY1\CCY2 USD EUR GBP CHF JPY

Opening Rates

100 1 USD 1 EUR 1 GBP 1 CHF JPY 1.3133 0.7614

1.5433

1.0722

1.0291

1.1751

0.8164

0.7836

0.6947

0.6668

0.6480

0.8510

0.9327

1.2249

1.4394

97.17

127.61

149.96

0.9599 104.18

Weekly movement of USD

CCY\Date

28.05

04.06

11.06

18.06

25.06

CCY

Today

USD GBP JPY CHF

1.2869

1.3012

1.3220

1.3297

1.3061

0.8520

0.8491

0.8483

0.8469

0.8461

130.94

129.50

129.48

125.85

127.16

1.2414

1.2316

1.2297

1.2251

1.2171

GBP EUR JPY CHF

1.5433 1.3133 97.17 0.9327

Last Week %Change 1.5694 1.3353 94.83 0.9233

+1.66 +1.65 +2.47 +1.02

July 3 - 9, 2013

22 | WORLD MARKETS | financialmirror.com

Gold starts Q3 with short covering rally lU.S.

data points to continued growth; Investors focus on ECB, U.S. payrolls, but demand still weak

Gold started the third quarter on a strong footing to jump over 2% on Monday as technical buying and speculative short covering offset concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve will rein in its stimulus programme.

Prices surged 2.2% to a session peak of $1,260.61 per ounce as speculative investors raced to cover shorts and some investors snapped up bullion at what they considered bargain prices. The market hit a near three-year low of $1,180.71 on Friday.

A weaker dollar and fresh flow of institutional money on the first day of the quarter also provided support.

“Considering the past sessions, a little short covering is to be expected,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at Vision Financial Markets.

Speculators increased bearish bets in bullion to their highest in three years in the week to June 25.

Spot gold were up $19.92, or 1.62%, at $1,253.0 an ounce by early afternoon on Monday. Comex gold futures for August delivery settled at $1,255.7 per ounce, up $32 or 2.6%.

Technically, bullion had moved out of oversold conditions.

Its relative strength index reading was 35, up from 30 on Friday and as low as 20 a week ago. A reading under 30 indicates the market is oversold.

A slew of data from the euro zone, Japan and United States signalled a continued tentative global recovery, boosting equities, copper and oil prices.

U.S. manufacturing expanded in June, while Japanese and European data pointed to stabilizing economies. The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity rose to 50.9 in June from 49.0 in May. That was a touch above the expected 50.5 level.

Even so, it will reinforce expectations that the Fed will cut its bond buying. After its worst quarterly performance in 45 years, gold was still firmly in a bear market - down 26% so far this year - and traders said gains were fragile.

Many major investors are nursing big losses from the historic sell-off since mid-April too.

Greenlight Capital Management’s offshore gold fund, run by David Einhorn, one of the most widely followed hedge fund managers, was down 11.8% in June, bringing year-to-date losses to 20%.

Investor confidence in gold - which fell a record 23% in the second quarter - has been eroded by rising talk of an end to the Fed’s ultra-loose monetary policy, which would support a rise in interest rates, making the shiny metal less attractive.

Traders and investors are awaiting U.S. payrolls report for June, due on Friday, for a better indication of how gold and other assets would perform.

A strong payrolls reading would likely signal more pressure on the Fed to reduce its stimulus, lifting Treasury yields and the dollar, and depressing gold.

Markets are also watching the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday, which is likely to emphasize that the euro zone economy is in a different stage of recovery than the United States.

ETF HOLDINGS DROP

The amount of bullion held by exchange-traded funds

(ETFs) in gold have fallen this year, with outflows exacerbated by the recent price tumble. Divestment from the largest gold ETF, SPDR Gold Trust, stand at nearly 13 mln ounces this year.

Hedge funds and money managers have also slashed their bullish bets in gold futures and options to their lowest levels in six years, a report by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.

The low prices of the past few weeks have subdued physical demand for gold in Asia, traditionally the largest buyer of the commodity.

Asian consumption of gold had helped limit some of bullion’s losses when prices fell the most in 30 years in April.

“While the physical market was able to suspend the downward trajectory of gold in April following hefty disinvestment, this time, preliminary data suggest a much weaker physical market footing,” Barclays analysts said in a note.

The bank cut its 2013 price forecast to $1,393 an ounce from $1,483.

Sales of American Eagle gold bullion coins plunged to 57,000 ounces in June, the lowest since August last year, as physical demand from retail investors and collectors sank.

The spot price of silver was down 0.1% at $19.59 an ounce. It reached a near three-year low at $18.19 in the previous session.

Platinum rose 2.25% to $1,368.74 an ounce and palladium jumped 3.92% to $681.47 an ounce.

Abe reforms take aim at Japan’s $1 trln pension fund Visitors to Japan’s public pension fund can’t miss signs of the low-cost, low-return culture that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seems determined to change with a review of its operations that kicked off on Monday.

There is no receptionist at the dimly lit, 40-year-old Tokyo building where the headquarters of the Government Pension Investment Fund, the world’s largest pension, occupies the second floor.

The waiting area consists of two mismatched couches.

Behind a single closed door, over $1 trln - equivalent to the annual economic output of South Korea - is run almost on autopilot and invested largely in government bonds issued across the street by Japan’s Finance Ministry.

Equally worrying for critics, including members of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the fund has no independent board for oversight, no ability to hire in-house fund managers and no record of success during a period of economic growth of the kind Abe has pledged to deliver to voters and markets.

Officials led by chairman Takahiro Mitani say the fund, known as GPIF and which employs less than 80 people, has performed according to the mandate set by its supervisor, the Ministry of Health and Welfare: keep costs down and risks in check.

What happens next, they say, will depend on the reforms the Abe administration enacts in the coming months as it looks to mobilise public savings to help drive Japan out of two decades of deflation and sluggish growth.

“We are the target of a review,” Tokihiko Shimizu, the director-general of GPIF’s research department told a hedge fund seminar last week, explaining crucial decisions would now be made by others. “We are like the carp on the chopping block.”

On Monday, an advisory panel to Abe met for the first time to consider wide-ranging reforms that could see GPIF shift more money into stocks, foreign assets and less conventional investments such as infrastructure funds, as well as emerge as

a more independent fund with deeper expertise.

“All we can do right now is calmly wait for the outcome of the panel,” Mitani told Reuters in an interview late last month.

“We’ll obey the government’s decision if it decides to change the law or the framework for us to be more aggressive.”

“LOW PROFILE, LOW COST, LOW RISKS”

In 2010, a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said GPIF was being run as a “low profile, low cost and seemingly low risk institution”.

The Paris-based think tank recommended a shake-up that would give GPIF full independence from the Health and Welfare Ministry, which was given oversight of the fund in 2001.

Until then, funds had been entrusted to the Finance Ministry. But in the wake of criticism that money was being used to bankroll public sector entities and local government projects, control shifted.

“Almost all the fund management is outsourced and just left up to others. That is no good,” said Yasuhisa Shiozaki, an LDP lawmaker and a former official at the Bank of Japan. “It’s also crazy that at the top of the structure is the health minister, who has no expertise in fund management.”

A prime example of GPIF’s conservative approach is asset allocation - changes last month to its portfolio strategy were the first since 2006.

Under those changes, GPIF cut its target allocation of Japanese government bonds to 60% from 67% and raised its allocation of Japanese stocks to 12% from 11%. The changes reflected where its portfolio stood and kept it from having to sell stocks and buy more bonds to stay within mandated ranges.

Allocation shifts can be made with the approval of the GPIF chairman and the health minister.

REFORMS NOTHING NEW

GPIF has been the target of reform efforts before.

Two government-led panels, one in 2008 and the other in 2009-2010, recommended changes including splitting the massive pool of money into smaller funds.

The earlier calls for change went nowhere, but officials involved in the effort say this time is more serious because of Abe’s determination to see through a popular economic agenda.

A more aggressive investment portfolio weighted toward stocks — including foreign assets — could help bolster sentiment in Japan. It could also weaken the yen, which would help exports.

“It’s one of the few levers Abe has,” said Itay Tuchman, head of foreign exchange at Citigroup in Tokyo.

GPIF has a target of returning just over 1 percentage point above average wage increases.

Wages have dropped by almost 1% per year over the past nine years. GPIF’s return over the same period averaged 2.4% a year.

If the fund’s returns falter, the cost of supporting public pensions could rise for taxpayers, payouts could fall or it could be a combination of both as Japan’s working population ages and retires, analysts have said.

By one projection, 20% of Japan’s population will be pensioners over 75 years old by 2030. The share over 65 could be as high as one third of the population.

An economist from the University of Tokyo, Takatoshi Ito, headed the 2008 panel and will lead the latest one. The review would focus on both the fund’s investment policy and governance, Ito told Reuters.

“I’m open minded about the types of issues we should discuss,” he said on Friday.

The panel has a deadline of the third quarter to reach its conclusions so changes to GPIF and other public pensions that control another $1 trln can be put in place by April 2015, in line with the government’s growth strategy plan.

July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | WORLD MARKETS | 23

Top banker takes on City watchdog to clear name l

Hannam begins appeal against £450,000 fine over market abuse

One of London’s most prominent bankers begins a battle this week to overturn a 2012 fine for market abuse, in a high-profile case likely to test Britain’s newly beefed-up regulator.

Ian Hannam was famous in financial circles as a so-called rainmaker at JP Morgan - his presence alone enough to bring in clients, money and respect. But the former soldier, known for his bulging contacts book and knack for a new idea, fell foul of the City watchdog last year and was hit by a fine of 450,000 pounds.

With the appeal process that begins this week, Hannam will seek to overturn that fine one of the biggest ever levied against an individual in Britain - and more importantly restore his reputation in what is a major test for him, JP Morgan and for Britain’s financial regulator, recently reformed and given more teeth as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Hannam was accused in 2012 by the then Financial Services Authority of sending two emails in 2008 on behalf of a client, Heritage Oil, which included what the regulator considered “inside” or market-moving information.

His appeal will test the regulator’s tactic of targeting high-profile individuals to fight market abuse, following the strategy of U.S. watchdogs. It will also fuel debate over what should - and can - count as inside information.

“The (FCA) put a serious marker down and if it is overturned on appeal to the tribunal, where does that leave them in terms of their ability to put such a marker down and influence senior manager behaviour?” said Harvey Knight, partner at Withers Worldwide, a former lawyer at the FSA. No one traded on the information in Hannam’s emails and his honesty and integrity were not questioned by the regulator, who also, critically, did not remove his “fit and proper” status.

Yet Hannam resigned from JP Morgan in April last year to clear his name, leaving his position as global chairman of equity capital markets (ECM) after two decades at the firm.

The appeal is still likely to be uncomfortable

for the bank, raising questions over compliance at the institution for whom Hannam and his team generated significant revenues.

EMAILS “SOUGHT LEVERAGE”

Hannam, expected to take the stand on Wednesday and Thursday, is a colourful character in the City. He played a major role in the tie-up of British blueblood bank Cazenove, known for its aristocratic clients, with U.S. rival JP Morgan, and has been a determined adviser for the latter - bringing an international flavour to the London market along the way.

Hannam and his team floated six companies in the FTSE 100 index, bringing to London resources groups from Kazakh copper miner Kazakhmys to India’s Vedanta and Essar . He was banker to Swiss miner Xstrata from its creation to its takeover by commodities trader Glencore in a record-breaking deal that closed in May. The case against him rests on two messages he sent while acting on behalf of Jerseybased oil and gas exploration company Heritage Oil, which hired JP Morgan in 2007 in order to secure a “substantial” deal. Seeking a slice of the growing market in Iraqi Kurdistan, Heritage began talks in 2008 with another oil

RBS branch sale decision this month Royal Bank of Scotland will make a decision on how to offload hundreds of branches it has been ordered to sell by European regulators this month.

RBS is preparing the business, code named Rainbow, for a stock market flotation but is open to the idea of first selling substantial stakes to strategic investors prior to an initial public offering. The investor would then stay on as a dominant force in the floated company after the IPO. The bank must sell 315 branches as a condition of receiving a 45.5 bln pound government rescue in 2008 which left it 82% stateowned.

Industry sources said RBS is considering proposals from three sets of investors who could serve as the strategic partner.

One consortium is led by private equity firms Centerbridge and Corsair and has backing from the Church of England’s investment fund, while another comprises several of Britain’s biggest investment firms and is led by former Tesco finance director, Andy Higginson.

A third proposal has been submitted by pri-

vate equity firm Anacap Financial Partners, in conjunction with U.S. private equity group, Blackstone. RBS could also pursue a stock market flotation of the branches on its own without having additional investors on board, the sources said.

The government is also planning to start selling its shares in Lloyds Banking Group soon while Lloyds is looking to spin off 630 branches via a stock market flotation.

The deal adds to an increasingly busy block of UK bank assets seeking investment or new capital over the next year, raising questions of whether the market will be swallow everything.

Spain’s Santander and Virgin Money, the financial group that is part of Richard Branson’s empire, are both planning to float their UK businesses.

The sale of the RBS branches was halted in October when Santander pulled out of a deal to buy the whole portfolio for 1.65 bln pounds. RBS has said a sale this year is now unlikely, meaning it will have to ask European regulators to extend a December 2013 deadline.

firm, Genel Energy, that was based there.

Hannam, working with Heritage chief executive Tony Buckingham, sent two emails in September and October 2008 to the Kurdish oil minister Ashti Hawrami. The first did not mention Genel by name but referred to a

potential offer for Heritage and a price. The second email mentioned an oil find. Both, said the FSA, were potentially market moving.

Hannam’s defence is that he was acting in his client’s interests: Kurdistan had been considering its own deal with Buckingham, and Hannam had hoped to leverage a better deal.

Hannam said the September email was too general to constitute inside information. The second, though again too general and information on the oil find too preliminary, was a mistake, he said.

Rebuilding his reputation and clearing his name is critical for Hannam, who is building up a gold venture in Afghanistan and an advisory firm Strand Partners, which includes some of the JP Morgan team that were among the most influential in the sector.

Not all Hannam’s deals have been successes. Among the most problematic was Bumi Plc, the company that emerged from the merger of financier Nat Rothschild’s Vallar vehicle and Indonesian coal assets controlled by the Bakrie family. It has struggled to overcome bitter boardroom battles, a probe into financial irregularities and the tumbling price of coal.

July 3 - 9, 2013

24 | WORLD MARKETS | financialmirror.com

Carrefour wants to sell China, Taiwan businesses

Watchdog wants action to revive Europe’s shrinking equity markets

Carrefour SA the world’s second largest retailer, is exploring a sale of its businesses in China and Taiwan, including a possible initial public offering in Hong Kong or a combination of some of those assets with another company, The Wall Street Journal reported.

An IPO route could represent around $1 bln in funds, the Journal said, citing a source, adding that Carrefour’s plans were still at a preliminary stage.

Carrefour has not hired bankers yet, The Wall Street Journal said, citing sources.

The French group, which is Europe’s largest retailer, has been struggling for years in Europe, partly due to a reliance on hypermarkets, which have been losing out as time-pressed shoppers buy more goods locally and online and prefer to buy general merchandise from specialists.

Carrefour has been exiting non-strategic markets to raise cash and to cut its debt. However, investors are concerned that the company is retreating from too many high-growth markets.

Europe’s equity markets have a vital role to play in the region’s economic recovery and policymakers need to ensure they are regulated in a way that promotes the long-term investment companies need, the head of Britain’s corporate governance watchdog said.

“Equity markets are shrinking before our eyes,” Sarah Hogg, chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, said. “But risk capital is essential to business, fuelling investment and economic growth, generating jobs and wealth for future generations,” she said in a speech to the annual conference of the Federation of European Stock Markets (FESE) in Berlin.

The number of firms listing on stock exchanges globally has fallen since the financial crisis due to economic and political uncertainty.

The FRC pointed to data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which showed that the number of new listings in OECD markets was 650 over the past decade, a 44% drop

from 1,170 in the decade before.

London Stock Exchange figures showed the number of listed companies fell more than 20% between 2008 and 2012, the FRC said.

The European Commission has already considered how to develop pools of long-term capital to invest in stock markets and asked for submissions on the subject during a consultation period. It is expected to publish the results of the consultation shortly.

In its submission, the FRC said the Commission should look at why investors such as insurers and pension funds are moving away from equity markets, the costs of investing in stock and whether there is any legislation that places an unfair burden on listed companies.

Hogg also said equity markets needed to be regulated to ensure investors could trust their integrity, but also to ensure listed companies could attract finance for investment.

She said businesses in other fast growing regions were seeking a greater share of funds, potentially making it more difficult for European businesses to access capital.

After selloff, some dip in emerging markets The threat of less central bank stimulus and higher interest rates has crushed emerging markets more than most assets in the past two months, in some cases slashing the value of stocks and bonds in developing countries to levels not seen since the last financial crisis.

The slump after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled in May that the Fed expects to curb and then end its bond-buying program in the next year if the economy improves has pushed prices to levels that would have looked very appealing only a few weeks ago. And some emerging market investors are buying, even with the understanding that there is a big risk markets have further to drop.

“We’re starting to selectively increase our exposure to emerging markets,” said Andres Calderon, portfolio manager and vice president for research at Hansberger Global Investors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “But the key word is selective. We’re not rushing in.”

There is every reason to be cautious: Many fund managers expect lower growth in emerging markets. Some markets have suffered recently from steep capital outflows, and the slowdown in China has affected other emerging economies, particularly commodity producers. Still, emerging markets are expected to continue to grow faster than developed countries.

Northern Trust Asset Management, for one, has remained overweight in emerging market stocks through the slide. The Chicago-based firm manages $810 bln in assets.

“If you’re worried about performance in the next one or two quarters, then it’s hard to make a case about a visible catalyst for emerging markets,” said Jim McDonald, Northern Trust’s chief investment strategist. “But if you have a 12- to 18-month outlook, then this group will work.”

He said emerging market stocks are trading at around ten times this year’s earnings, or a 32% discount relative to the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. The asset class’s historic low is about eight times earnings.

Emerging markets have typically traded at a 20% discount to the S&P 500 since 2005.

The price-to-book ratio of emerging market stocks on the MSCI stock index is also showing sharp undervaluation at 1.45, not far from the low of 1.36 hit during the depths of the financial crisis, according to Morgan Stanley data. That is still far higher than the 0.93 reached during the Asian crisis of 1997-98. The price-to-book multiple measures the company’s value if it goes bankrupt.

“I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if EM stocks come down further because there would still be continued outflows from the sector,” said Calderon of Hansberger, which is a longterm investor in emerging market equities, with assets of around $6.2 bln.

There is plenty of wreckage to survey for possible bargains.

The benchmark MSCI emerging market stock index is down about 11.3% this year, with much of the decline coming in the past six weeks. By contrast, the MSCI’s all-country world equity index is still up 4.8% this year, while the S&P 500 sports a sizable 12.8% gain for 2013.

ANALYSIS In the debt market, the emerging market bond yield spread on dollar-denominated bonds, a gauge of perceived risk over safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, was at 342 basis points on Thursday on the benchmark JP Morgan Emerging Markets USD Bond Index (EMBI+). Last Tuesday, the spread was its widest in more than a year.

This index has fallen about 6% in June and is down more than 10.7% this year, after gains of more than 18% in 2012.

SLOWER EMERGING MARKET GROWTH

Emerging markets are experiencing a slowdown in demand for exports because of the weakness of the world’s major economies. China’s downturn has had a severe impact on many developing economies.

“China is likely to be far less effective as an engine for global recovery than in previous episodes such as 2009,” said Bhanu Baweja, an investment strategist at UBS in London.

J.P. Morgan, in its June 28 research note, has reduced its growth forecast for emerging markets as a group in 2013 to 4.6% from its previous estimate in March of 5.1%. The U.S. investment bank has also lowered emerging market growth in 2014 to 5.1% from its initial forecast of 5.4%.

Still. those growth numbers are way above estimates in developed markets, which are forecast to grow just 1% this year and 1.8% in 2014, J.P. Morgan data show.

VALUE IN BONDS

Brazilian government bond yields maturing in 2021 have risen by 245 basis points since May, while Mexican bond yields have increased by 144 basis points, according to

Morgan Stanley. The firm’s latest emerging market bond models suggest those markets are now undervalued.

“The selloff in Mexico is not justified,” said Nicolas Jaquier, emerging market debt economist at Standard Life Investments in London, which manages assets of $272.6 bln.

“Growth in Mexico has come down a little bit and it’s going through a soft patch, but that is good for bond investors because that means the central bank could cut rates again this year if growth continues to soften.”

Standish Asset Management, a $170 bln fixed-income investment firm in Boston, has bought local Mexican and Brazilian bonds as yields have fallen since the May selloff. The average yield on emerging market local bonds is about 6.2%, Standish said, or about 100 basis points higher before the selloff in May. “Many investors are comfortable with the currency volatility attached to these local bonds, and the expectation is that in the medium term, emerging market currencies will appreciate,” said Alexander Kozhemiakin, managing director and emerging markets debt team leader at Standish.

Near-term risks in emerging market currencies have declined, since many of the aggressive bets in favour of these assets have been reduced. For instance, net longs - bets a currency will rise - in the Mexican peso, the most liquid emerging market currency, tumbled to around $812 mln, the latest data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. That is down sharply from roughly $6 bln in April.

Long positions in the Brazilian real and Chilean peso have also substantially fallen, according to Morgan Stanley data.

There is still a risk of further outflows from the local currency debt sector, fund managers say. Morgan Stanley data shows emerging market institutional investors are still overweight on local debt relative to their benchmark, suggesting more room to pare positions should markets remain scary.

“When you see that exposure indicator going down, that’s a sign that the market is starting to clear their positions and therefore there would be a sense of calm,” said Rashique Rahman, global head of emerging market strategy at Morgan Stanley in New York.

Analysts at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch said in a note that institutions they surveyed are raising cash in expectation of outflows, as investors respond to the volatility. Once that is alleviated, the case for long-term bets becomes clearer, fund managers said.

July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | GREECE | 25

EU: You have 3 days to deliver or face consequences l Troika might suspend review until September; Portugal, Italy also emerging

as potential euro crisis flashpoints Greece has three days to reassure Europe and the IMF it can deliver on conditions attached to its international bailout in order to receive the next tranche of aid, four euro zone officials said on Tuesday.

The lenders are unhappy with progress Greece has made towards reforming its public sector, a senior euro zone official involved in the negotiations said, while another said they might suspend an inspection visit they resumed on Monday.

Athens, which has about 2.2 bln euros of bonds to redeem in August, needs the talks to conclude successfully. If they fail, the IMF might have to withdraw from the 240-bln-euro bailout to avoid violating its own rules, which require a borrower to be financed a year ahead.

That would heighten the risk that concerted efforts by policymakers over the past nine months to keep a lid on the euro

zone crisis could unravel, at a time when tensions are rising in other countries on the region’s periphery.

Athens and its creditors resumed talks on Monday to unlock 8.1 bln euros of rescue loans, after a two-week break during which the government almost collapsed over redundancies at state broadcaster ERT. “All agreed that Greece has to deliver (pledges) before the Eurogroup on Monday. That’s why they must present again on Friday,” a source told Reuters.

Euro zone finance ministers are scheduled to meet on July 8 and discuss the situation in Greece, which is in its sixth year of recession and has seen unemployment surge to record highs.

But Greece’s financial overseers - the IMF, the euro zone and the European Central Bank - were unlikely to be able to conclude their review in July and might need to suspend the

visit and resume it in September, a senior euro zone official said.

If talks are not concluded by the middle of month, Athens risked missing the instalment.

Athens has already missed a June deadline to place 12,500 state workers into a “mobility scheme”, under which they are transferred or dismissed within a year.

A shortfall of more than 1 bln euros has emerged at staterun health insurer EOPYY, meaning automatic spending cuts may have to be agreed to bring it back on an even keel.

Athens and the troika are also at odds over an unpopular property tax and a sales tax for restaurants.

The government plans to ask its creditors to lower this year’s privatisation target of 2.6 bln euros after failing to find a buyer for natural gas company DEPA.

Intralot: OPAP contract jeopardises debt refinancing The Investment Bank of Greece has cut its target price for Intralot from EUR 2.40/share to 1.50 to reflect the company’s failure to access capital markets on the back of the political turmoil in Greece and the elevated uncertainties over OPAP-related assets.

Accordingly, IBG downgraded the rating on the stock to ‘Sell’ from ‘Accumulate’.

“If Intralot fails to secure the financing of its debt maturities, it could: a) sell some of its operations, b) halt its investment plans to preserve cash, or, c) proceed to a share capital increase,” the investment house said. “In any case, the successful outcome of company’s efforts to address its debt maturities and the ratification of the new contracts in Greece are evaluated as the key short-term catalysts for the stock.”

On June 16, Intralot initiated efforts to raise EUR 300 mln from 5-year senior notes to refinance its 2013 and 2014 debt maturities that total nearly EUR 220 mln.

“Unfortunately, the management’s crusade coincided with the outburst of a severe political crisis in Greece that increased the cost of debt for Greek equities, obliging the company to postpone the issue of the new bond loan, waiting for the correct timing,” IBG said in an investor’s note.

It added that “Intralot’s failure to secure the necessary financing is also related to the strong opposition of OPAP’s new majority shareholders who threaten to withdraw from the privatisation process should the current management sign the new IT contract with Intralot and the concession agreement relating to the 12-year exclusive state lottery license.”

“OPAP’s contract is of paramount importance for the exe-

cution of the group’s international strategy, being a highly profitable business with limited execution risks. We estimate that the current contract with OPAP (annual fee of EUR 57 mln plus 8% commission on monitor games turnover) accounted for 5% of group sales but 13% of group gross profits and 37% of ‘clean’ net earnings last year. According to the new agreement, Intralot will receive EUR 29.5 mln in 2013 for the upgrade of the OPAP contract and a recurring fixed fee of EUR 38 mln in 2014-2015, which points to a 43% discount vs. the current contract.

Even under these terms, the OPAP contract will represent 7%

Emma Delta committed to OPAP, despite reservations Emma Delta confirmed on Friday its commitment to purchase the government’s 33% stake in OPAP, adding that it would invest in Greece’s betting monopoly once it would be convinced that “proper corporate governance and full arm’s-length terms” are in place and respected by all parties involved.

Emma Delta is prepared to put aside its objections to the two contracts relating to the state lotteries and the technology supplier to enable the acquisition of a controlling stake in OPAP. However, its opposition against the terms and conditions of the new contracts will remain

TAP confirmed, a boost for Greece The Shah Deniz Consortium has confirmed in Baku, Azerbaijan, that the Trans Adriatic Pipeline had been selected to transport Shah Deniz II gas to Europe.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that the decision to choose TAP constituted a “vote of confidence” in the country and would now put a definitive end to “disaster scenarios” about a possible Greek exit from the euro zone.

TAP, designed to expand the capacity from 10 to 20 bcm per year, will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan, via Greece and Albania, and across the Adriatic Sea to Southern Italy, and further to Western Europe. TAP’s shareholders are Axpo (42.5%), Statoil (42.5%) and E.ON (15%).

Shah Deniz Consortium members BP, SOCAR and Total each have options to purchase shares in TAP which if exercised in full would give them a total

of gross earnings and 15% of net earnings by 2015. On top of that, the economic benefits from Intralot’s involvement in the operation of Hellenic State Lotteries (shareholder and gaming supplier) are not negligible.”

“Sooner or later, Intralot will secure the necessary financing of its debt maturities, even if the company would be forced to accept changes in the agreements with OPAP relating to state lotteries and the technology support of the latter.

“In a worst-case scenario (failure to raise new debt), Intralot would be insolvent by the end of the year, assuming EUR 100 mln capex for the implementation of the current contracts, which implies that the company would be obliged to halt its business plan. Ironically, the potential cancellation of OPAP’s privatisation would benefit Intralot under current circumstances.”

ownership of 50% of TAP. It is expected that the options will be exercised following selection of TAP as the gas transportation route to Europe.

“The project will enable Greece to become an energy hub in South East Europe, while at the same time it will create new jobs during and after the construction,” explained, Vassilis Roumantzis, analyst at the Investment Bank of Greece.

“The pipeline is estimated to translate to foreign direct investments of EUR 1.5 bln and the creation of 2,000 permanent jobs, while another 10,000 would be created during the construction phase. In addition, the pipeline will help Greece to enhance its geopolitical position and diversify the supply sources of natural gas. Finally, the selection of TAP paves the way for the completion of the the acquisition of a 66% stake in gas transmission system operator DESFA by Socar for about EUR 400 mln.”

intact and Emma Delta would most probably try to renegotiate them with OPAP’s vendors after the conclusion of the sale process.

“The potential failure of OPAP’s privatisation would harm all sides (TAIPED, Emma Delta, OPAP’s minority shareholders), so we expect and hope that the parties involved would reach a mutual agreement in the next few days. For the time being, we prefer to adopt a wait-and-see stance and remain on the sidelines, maintaining our positive opinion for the stock in the mid-term,” said Dimitris Birbos, analyst at the Investment Bank of Greece.

2nd Iraqi deal for Metka METKA has signed a contract with the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq to develop a 1,642 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in the western province of al-Anbar for a total amount of USD 1.05 bln and a completion period of 32 months.

The project will be developed in collaboration with the Chinese company SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation (SEPCOIII).

This is the second project awarded in Iraq; the first was a 1,250 MW power plant in Shat-Al-Basra for a budget of USD 349 mln which is still in the early stage of construction. “As Metka has repeatedly said that they are careful to bid for those projects that can guarantee a good margin, we expect the new project’s margin to be similar to that of previous projects. In addition, given the difficult operating environment in Iraq, METKA opts to minimise execution risk through its collaboration with SEPCOIII,” said Vassilis Roumantzis, analyst at the Investment Bank of Greece. “This is a positive development in a period of low demand for power plant projects globally and we reiterate our ‘buy’ rating on the stock,” Roumantzis added.

July 3 - 9, 2013

26 | CSE PRICES | financialmirror.com CSE CODE

ΟΑΣΗΣ

OASIS

Kωδ.

Index performance CSE General Index FTSE/CySE 20 FTSE/XA & XAK Banking MAIN MARKET MAIN MARKET INDEX BOCY ΤΡΚΥ BANK OF CYPRUS CYPRUS POPULAR BANK CPB ΛΑΙΚ HB ΕΛΗΤ HELLENIC BANK LOG ΛΟΤΖ LOGICOM A. TSOKKOS HOTELS TSH ΤΣΟΚ LUI ΛΟΥΗ LOUIS LTD SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO PARALLEL MARKET PARALLEL MARKET INDEX WOOLWORTH (CYPRUS) PROP FWW ΓΟΥΛ VASSILIKO CEMENT VCW ΤΣΙΒ APE ΑΝΠΑ A&P (ANDREOU&PARASKEV.) ERME ΕΡΜΕ ERMES DEPARTMENT STORES G.A.P VASSILOPOULOS GAP ΒΑΣΙ MIT ΜΙΤΣ MITSIDES LIB ΛΙΠΕ LIBERTY LIFE INSURANCE LORDOS HOTELS HOLDINGS LHH ΛΟΞΕ LPL ΛΟΡ∆ LORDOS UNITED PLASTIC SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO ALTERNATIVE MARKET ALTERNATIVE INDEX ALKIS HADJ. (FROU-FROU) FBI ΦΡΟΥ AMATHUS PUBLIC LTD ANC ΑΜΑΘ ATLANTIC INSURANCE ATL ΑΤΑΣ BLUE ΜΠΛΕ BLUE ISLAND FISH FARMING CCC TOURIST ENT. CCCT ΣΙΤΟ CHRIS JOANNOU LTD CJ ΙΟΑΝ CLA ΚΛΑΡ CLARIDGE INVESTMENTS C.T.O. PUBLIC CO CTO ΣΤΟ CCC ΚΕΤΣ CYPRUS CEMENT CYPRUS FOREST IND. CFI ∆ΒΚ∆ CYPRUS TRADING CORP. CTC ΣΤΣ∆ EXE ΒΕΝΤ CYVENTURE CAPITAL DIMCO PLC DES ΝΤΙΜ DISPLAY ART LTD DISP ΝΤΙΑ ELF ΕΛΛΗ ELLINAS FINANCE KG ΚΚΟΜ K & G COMPLEX K A R A OLI S G ROU P KARA KEO ΚΕΟ KEO LTD KOSMOS INSURANCE COS ΚΟΣΑ KRONOS PRESS DIST. KRO ΚΡΟΝ LCH ΛΕΠΤ LEPTOS CALYPSO HOTELS MALLOUPAS & PAPACOSTAS MPT ΜΑΠΑ MINE ΜΙΝΕ MINERVA INSURANCE MODESTOU SOUND & VISION MSV ΜΟ∆Ε PND ΠΑΝ∆ PANDORA INVESTMENTS PHL ΛΙΝΑ PETROLINA HOLDINGS PIERIDES HOLDINGS PGE ΠΙΕΡ AGRO ΑΓΡΟ PROODOS AGROS ROYAL HIGHGATE LTD ROY ΡΟΧΑ SALAMIS TOURS SAL ΣΑΛΑ SFS GROUP PUBLIC CO. SFS ΕΣΕΦ STADEMOS HOTELS SHL ΣΤΑ∆ TOP ΤΟΚΙ TOP KINISIS TRAVEL TOXOTIS INVESTMENTS COV ΤΟΕΠ UNIFAST FIN. & INV. UFI ΦΑΣΤ VIP ΒΙΖΝ VISION INTL PEOPLE GROUP SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO APPROVED INVESTMENTS / EΠEN∆YTIKOI OPΓAN. INVESTMENT INDEX ACT ΑΚΕΠ ACTIBOND GROWTH FUND APOLLO INVESTMENT FUND APOL ΑΠΕΠ CYTRUSTEES INV. PUBLIC CO CYTR ΣΑΕΠ DEMETRA INV. PUBLIC CO. DEM ∆ΗΕΠ DOD ∆ΩΕΠ DODONI PORTFOLIO HCM ΧΑΕΠ HARVEST CAPITAL INTERFUND INVESTMENTS INF ΙΝΕΠ ISCHIS INVESTMENT ISXI ΙΣΕΠ KARYES INVESTMENTS KAR ΚΑΕΠ TINC ΤΕΕΠ TRIENA INV. INCOME TRIENA INV. CAPITAL TCAP ΤΚΕΠ TRIENA INTERNATIONAL TINT Τ∆ΕΠ SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO SHIPPING COMPANIES SECTOR SPECIAL CATEGORY / AIANTAS INVESTMENTS AD SHOPPING GALLERIES A. PANAYIDES CONTRACTING A.L. PROCHOICE FIN. SERV. ASTARTI DEVELOPMENT CEILFLOOR CHARILAOS APOSTOLIDES CLR INVESTMENT FUND CPI ENTER. DEVELOPMENT CONSTANTINOU BROS. CYPRINT LTD. CYPRUS AIRWAYS D.H. CYPROTELS D&M TELEMARKETING DOME INVESTMENTS EFREMICO HOLDINGS ELMA HOLDINGS EMPIRE CAPITAL INV. EUROPROFIT CAPITAL EXELIXIS INVESTMENT FILOKTIMATIKI FINIKAS AMMOCHOSTOU FIRSTDELOS GROUP JUPITER PORTFOLIO INV. K. ATHIENITIS CONTR. - DEV. KANIKA HOTELS KARKOTIS MANUFACTURING KNOSSOS INV. K. KYTHREOTIS HOLDINGS LAIKI CAPITAL PUBLIC CO LASER INVESTMENT GROUP LIBRA GROUP L.P. TRANSBETON NEMESIS CONSTRUCTIONS O.C. OPTIONS CHOICE ORPHANIDES PHIL. ANDREOU PIPIS FARM PRIMETEL PLC RENOS HADJIOANNOU FARMS REGALLIA HOLD. & INV. ROLANDOS ENTERPRISES SAFS HOLDINGS SEA STAR CAPITAL STARIO INVESTMENTS SUPHIRE HOLDINGS UNIGROWTH INVESTMENTS USB BANK SECTOR TOTAL / OΛIKO MARKET TOTAL / OΛIKO AΓOPAΣ

AIAS AD APC PROP AST CFL CHAP CLL CPIH CBH CYP CAIR DHH TLM DOME EFR ELMA EMP ERP EXIN PES CONF ACS ARI ACD KAN KARK KNO KYTH LI LAS LHG TRB NEM OPT ORF PHIL PIPF PTL FRH REG ROL SAFS SEAS STAR SUP UNI USB

ΑΙΕΠ ΑΘΩΣ ΑΠΑΝ ΠΡΟΠ ΑΣΤΑ ΣΙΦΛ ΧΑΡΙ ΣΛΕΠ ΚΕΑΕ ΚΩΝΣ ΣΑΙΠ ΚΑΕΡ ∆ΡΟΥ ΤΕΛΕ ΝΤΟ∆ ΕΦΡΕ ΕΛΕΠ ΕΜ ΓΙΟΥ ΕΞΕΠ ΦΙΛΟ ΚΟΕΠ ΑΒΑΚ ΤΖΕΠ ΑΘΗΕ ΚΑΝΙ ΚΑΡΚ ΚΝΕΠ ΚΥΘΡ ΛΕΠΕ ΛΕΕΠ ΛΙΠΡ ΤΡΑΝ ΝΕΜΕ ΟΚΑΣ ΟΡΦΑ ΦΙΛΑ ΠΙΠΗ ΠΤΕΛ ΡΕΝΟ ΡΕΕΠ ΡΟΛΑ ΣΑΦΣ ΣΕΑΣ ΣΤΕΠ ΣΑΠΦ ΓΙΕΠ ΤΡΑΓ

Number

Nominal

Market

Book Value

Price to

Profit/(Loss)

Shares ('000) Aριθµός µετοχών

Value euro Aξία EUR

Cap. ('000) Kεφαλ.

EUR

Per Share euro Λογιστική αξία

Book Value Times Tιµή προς λογιστ. αξ.

2011 EUR ('000) Κέρδη µετά φορολ.

2011

8 063 2 400 -3 103 -20 414 -13 054

-31 685 456 -1 102 -22 286 -54 617

2011

2012 Q1

2013 Q1

2012

6 700 -2 312 4 059 197 -1 647 -1 046 -3 657 702 -1 273 1 723

805 -796

86 -2 591

-4 411

-4 966

-4 402

-7 471

6 005 -1 354 -1 880 -492 -49 -1 767 -6 497 1 006 -3 284 -8 312

2012 Q1

2013 Q1

1.24 0.25 0.73 0.74 0.48 0.17 0.60

0.15 0.34 0.08 0.08 0.11

-1 371 000 -3 650 380 -100 658 3 585 -6 894 -82 674 -5 208 021

114 252 71 936 182 725 175 000 38 750 8 200 122 804 35 000 48 006

0.34 0.43 0.17 0.34 0.17 1.03 0.10 0.35 0.35

114 320 25 393 29 236 13 650 5 038 4 100 3 930 3 850 2 688 202 205

1.78 3.17 0.25 0.43 0.31 3.00 0.02 1.96 0.48 1.27

0.12 0.11 0.65 0.18 0.42 0.17 1.60 0.06 0.12 0.38

14 335 5 518 22 683 2 239 5 526 242 4 759 6 887 16 100 4 130 25 782 2 096 4 050 743 6 160 11 000 335 11 152 1 547 11 934 5 593 9 290 706 164 33 955 74 375 1 658 5 421 1 650 2 557 2 461 6 500 3 175 207 196 75 000 380 125

0.49 0.45 0.76 0.79 0.33 0.40 0.27 0.09 2.08 5.70 1.86 0.43 0.29 0.30 0.67 0.92 -0.10 3.40 0.38 0.59 0.75 0.63 0.09 -0.0075 0.18 1.31 0.38 3.40 0.12 0.43 1.33 2.44 0.34 0.04 0.11 0.19 0.88 NAV

0.30 0.11 0.76 0.18 0.12 0.06 0.16 0.38 0.06 0.24 0.15 0.33 0.18 0.19 0.57 0.12 -0.15 0.11 0.22 0.99 0.07 0.34 0.10 -1.47 0.44 0.65 0.20 0.44 0.43 0.16 0.03 0.08 0.76 0.25 0.18 5.38 0.36 Disc/Prem

1 932 -2 123 2 311 571 -3 532 -375 -3 913 -2 998 -4 639 -4 127 6 152 658 1 600 -529 -257 5 126 -2 268 -3 948 -802 108 -10 021 1 324 -3 328 -337 -20 039 10 783 -868 75 480 973 -19 200 1 577 -891 13 -56 2 739 -47 829

993 5 278 3 649 44 000 565 1 260 4 184 473 418 2 183 5 458 709 69 170

0.0369 0.1914 0.2682 0.7174 0.0012 0.0660 0.1709 0.0589 0.2229 1.0430 2.1427 0.6125

-53.93 -50.89 -69.43 -69.33 66.67 36.36 -56.70 -26.99 0.94 -23.30 -6.66 -15.10

-737 -4 301 -10 771 -14 853 -6 892 -255 -9 493 -86 -180 331 -136 -36 -47 409

162 13 023 3 657 1 587 5 296 207 1 600 576 7 314 12 375 1 249 4 303 471 23 15 000 285 2 787 35 890 752 4 692 2 306 148 6 893 5 183 7 513 7 833 948 218 1 910 14 393 8 582 189 1 971 10 843 510 1 619 4 275 773 15 298 298 405 2 925 140 1 889 77 1 240 3 704 63 831 277 164

0.1728 0.06 0.88 0.014 0.02 -1.21 0.12 0.03 0.65 0.57 0.27 -0.12 -0.20 -0.08 1.30 0.086 0.04 0.05 0.13 0.15 2.73 0.0100 0.29 0.36 4.69 0.67 0.09 0.11 0.38 0.05 0.06 -0.38 0.30 0.43 0.004 1.49 0.15 -0.0002 0.004 0.04 0.0265 0.28 0.000 -0.08 0.05 -0.12 0.2000 0.52

2011

2011

81 202 128 936 36 572 158 660 99 925 5 055 50 000 288 141 24 379 160 714 5 140 391 155 157 138 7 700 25 000 11 385 348 333 47 853 31 344 34 000 4 805 49 385 72 562 62 446 13 416 60 250 7 967 21 827 42 450 282 213 61 739 189 377 8 571 67 770 46 355 80 966 45 000 9 660 382 440 297 915 20 247 54 166 70 220 629 785 38 581 124 009 13 468 99 271

0.17 0.27 0.30 0.87 0.02 0.17 0.51 0.51 0.43 0.85 0.85 0.85

0.21 0.17 0.35 0.09 0.35 0.03 0.35 0.08 0.17 0.35 0.43 0.086 0.17 0.12 0.43 0.43 0.09 0.87 0.09 0.29 0.87 0.10 0.34 0.20 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.17 0.17 0.27 0.06 0.01 0.35 0.17 0.17 0.35 0.17 0.35 0.17 0.03 0.09 0.17 0.17 0.04 0.17 0.09 0.17 0.57

1 028 461

-98.84 1.68 0.11 0.74 2.41 -0.03 0.27 0.08 0.46 0.13 0.90 -0.09 -0.02 -0.04 0.46 0.29 0.21 15.00 0.19 0.89 0.18 -70.00 0.32 0.23 0.12 0.19 1.27 0.09 0.12 1.02 2.46 0.00 0.78 0.37 2.75 0.01 0.63 0.00 10.26 0.03 -24.53 0.20 6.67 -0.04 -0.08 37.50 1.24

2012 EUR ('000) Κέρδη µετά φορολ.

0 0 -23 440 2 040 -13 281 -40 189 -74 870

65 687 18 520 9 602 5 987 99 796

58 430 56 147 44 494 200 000 282 483 14 000 56 545 11 000 2 000 2 729 2 729 1 364

Profit/(Loss)

2012

1.00 0.10 0.43 0.35 0.35 0.17

0.26 0.35 0.35 0.17 0.43 0.35 0.35 0.87 0.43 1.73 0.85 0.43 0.09 0.35 0.62 0.17 0.34 0.43 0.31 0.43 0.35 0.35 0.17 0.14 0.17 0.35 0.34 1.73 0.17 0.43 1.00 0.69 0.34 0.03 0.05 $ 0.10

Q1 2013 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2013

2013 Q1

1 795 141 4 065 482 619 689 74 080 246 214 460 547

98 861 110 358 39 109 15 438 141 692 10 070 108 163 208 700 137 611 3 059 92 079 14 973 80 999 13 506 16 000 100 000 22 343 30 978 17 985 20 400 101 683 43 211 78 415 14 900 424 435 87 500 22 100 3 590 33 000 36 529 66 520 32 500 12 212 20 700 9 788 75 000

Q1 2012 EUR ('000) Kέρδη 2012

2012 Q1

-3 350

3 353

2012 Q1

2013 Q1

2012

-258

-258

3 353

-1 596

-1 596

4 139 -2 774 -3 423 -2 559 -22 -443 -251 -57 155 -1 921 12 -11 140

2011

2012

-69 -12 265 399 -2 776 -6 400 -2 974 -5 512 -7 733 -104 -3 755 -652 -23 885 -9 100 -243 -701 35 -6 807 -4 283 -219 -15 527 1 608 -1 465 -24 581 -1 263 3 250 -77 -112 87 621 -1 734 -10 339 -11 700 -545 2 145 -1 484 -8 648 -2 224 -1 879 -6 356 151 -150 -328 -1 953 -15 879 -3 735 -60 -403 -8 961 -198 585 -5 500 121

11

-27 883

-1 011 -12 265 -350 -1 033 -6 400 -217 -11 266 -14 283 -95 -10 859 -366 -55 832 -9 100 -391 -70 35 -8 999 6 553 -2 111 -6 859 673 -1 465 -220 -2 408 3 181 -77 -203 87 -3 654 -34 500 -713 -11 700 -605 31 494 -8 648 -2 567 -1 997 -5 473 -1 463 -182 -410 -450 -24 032 921 -60 -782 -825 -231 966

-21 053

-88 214

-428 776

11

-27 883

Earnings Per

Dividend Per

Dividend Yield

Share 2012 Cents

Share 2011/12 Cents

%

Results

n/a n/a n/a 9.08 n/a n/a 1.68

4.09 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3.83 n/a 4.76

2012 -3 731 -1 284 1 532 403 -7 040 -376 -16 998 -1 275 -9 917 -2 868 4 381 -226 664 -666 -1 404 -3 404 -2 602 -8 013 -670 -2 852 -9 471 -1 006 -1 399 -318 -14 396 5 428 -719 -148 -1 593 -3 323 -21 450 2 218 -852 -192 -74 1 153 -102 488

-3 350

P/E ratio 2012

Cents -76.37 -89.79 -3.78 2.75 -5.39 -8.73

Cents

%

1.50

6.00

Cents 5.26 -1.88 -1.03 -0.28 -0.13 -21.55 -5.29 2.87 -6.84

Cents 2.31 1.50

% 10.74 4.25

2.10

26.92

Cents -3.77 -1.16 3.92 2.61 -4.97 -3.73 -15.72 -0.61 -7.21 -93.76 4.76 -1.51 0.82 -4.93 -8.78 -3.40 -11.65 -25.87 -3.73 -13.98 -9.31 -2.33 -1.78 -2.13 -3.39 6.20 -3.25 -4.12 -4.83 -9.10 -32.25 6.82 -6.98 -0.93 -0.76 1.54

Cents 0.93

% 6.41

7.00 1.20

12.07 8.28

3.20

11.43

0.45

4.09

1.70

2.00

2.00

10.00

Cents 0.01 0.25 -6.23 -1.71 -0.91 -0.16 -0.78 -2.28 -2.85 5.68 -70.39 0.88

Cents

%

11.00

13.75

2012 Low High EUR EUR Aνώτατο Kατώτατο

Last Close EUR Kλείσιµο

Price 31/12/2012 EUR Tιµή 31/12/12

31/12/2012 Ποσ. Μετ.

31/12/2012

since

124.29 47.75 188.86

92.66 36.75 81.63

96.56 37.32 95.25

114.86 44.40 168.87

-15.93 -15.95 -43.60

113.87 0.278 0.047 0.177 0.300 0.048 0.019

83.34 0.185 0.040 0.100 0.226 0.036 0.011

88.03

104.69 0.251 0.044 0.175 0.263 0.045 0.018

-15.91 -39.43 -4.94 -13.33 -27.78

637.17 0.260 0.460 0.195 0.124 0.130 0.500 0.032 0.110 0.059

510.26 0.212 0.353 0.160 0.078 0.130 0.500 0.032 0.100 0.056

511.56 0.215 0.353 0.160 0.078 0.130 0.500 0.032 0.110 0.056

627.38 0.250 0.439 0.183 0.115 0.130 0.500 0.032 0.100 0.058

-18.46 -14.00 -19.59 -12.57 -32.17 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 -3.45

657.64

622.16

631.69 0.145 0.050 0.580 0.145 0.039 0.024 0.044 0.033 0.117 1.350 0.280 0.140 0.050 0.055 0.385 0.110 0.015 0.360 0.086 0.585 0.055 0.215 0.009 0.011 0.080 0.850 0.075 1.510 0.050 0.070 0.037 0.200 0.260 0.010 0.020 1.000

636.57 0.153 0.045 0.650 0.180 0.041 0.024 0.042 0.037 0.153 1.490 0.346 0.140 0.073 0.055 0.385 0.108 0.015 0.385 0.089 0.585 0.053 0.184 0.013 0.011 0.075 0.733 0.075 1.510 0.050 0.066 0.046 0.230 0.260 0.010 0.020 1.000

-0.77 -5.23 11.11 -10.77 -19.44 -4.88 0.00 4.76 -10.81 -23.53 -9.40 -19.08 0.00 -31.51 0.00 0.00 1.85 0.00 -6.49 -3.37 0.00 3.77 16.85 -30.77 0.00 6.67 15.96 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.06 -19.57 -13.04 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

572.39

450.90

482.98 0.017 0.094 0.082 0.220 0.002 0.090 0.074 0.043 0.209 0.800 2.000 0.520

546.03 0.017 0.115 0.119 0.250 0.004 0.078 0.048 0.043

-11.55 0.00 -18.26 -31.09 -12.00 -50.00 15.38 54.49 0.00 -0.48 0.00 0.00 0.00

0.002 0.101 0.100 0.010 0.053 0.041 0.032 0.002 0.300 0.077 0.243 0.011 0.003 0.003 0.600 0.025 0.008 0.750 0.024 0.138 0.480 0.003 0.095 0.083 0.560 0.130 0.119 0.010 0.045 0.051 0.139 0.001 0.230 0.160 0.011 0.020 0.095 0.080 0.040 0.001 0.020 0.054 0.002 0.003 0.002 0.010 0.275 0.643

0.002 0.101

0.106 0.250 0.039 0.013

0.210 0.800 2.000 0.520

0.00

2.36 n/a

n/a

n/a n/a

-1.25 -9.51 -0.96 -0.65 -6.40 -4.29 -22.53 -4.96 -0.39 -6.76 -7.12 -14.27 -5.79 -5.08 -0.28 0.31 -2.58 13.69 -6.73 -20.17 14.01 -2.97 -0.30 -3.86 23.71 -0.13 -2.55 0.40 -8.61 -12.22 -1.15 -6.18 -7.06 0.05 1.07 -10.68 -5.70 -20.67 -1.43 -0.49 -0.90 -0.76 -0.64 -3.82 2.39 -0.05 -5.81 -0.83

1.12

1.87

1.050 0.14

0.061

4.00

0.590 0.10

0.051

25.00 0.120 0.095

0.045 0.095

0.128 0.012

0.055 0.041 0.060 0.004 0.290

0.070 0.270

0.020 0.002 0.003 0.650 0.020 0.009

0.600 0.024 0.140 0.480

0.009 0.100 0.069 1.050

0.130 0.119

0.005 0.045 0.058

0.139 0.001 0.230 0.210 0.009 0.017 0.095

0.080 0.052 0.001 0.020

0.054 0.001 0.014 0.002 0.010 0.250

0.660

source: Eurivex Ltd. PAT:Profit After Tax

NAV: Net Asset Value

Bold: Final results

EPS: Earnings per Share based on existing number of shares.

P/E: Price to Earnings ratio. Weighted P/E ratio: Calculated based on market cap weighting of profit reporting companies, Book Value: According to our estimates. N/A Indicates Not Applicable, Price 31/12/2009 is the closing price or in case of New Listings the opening price.

% Change

Ignores weighted number of shares in circulation Forecasted profits are liable to change without notice and responsibility

-

July 3 - 9, 2013

financialmirror.com | MARKETS | 27

Shacolas Group shows 2012 profits, despite crisis l “It’s a matter of time for the economy to recover,” says chairman Last year was a difficult period for the economy because of the ongoing crisis and 2013 will see an even tougher year for the Cyprus economy, but the Shacolas Group of companies reported profits having diversified into all sectors with a significant reduction of labour and operational costs.

Group chairman Nicos Shacolas delivered an optimistic speech at the Group AGMs held last week saying that, “We believe in our country. It’s just a matter of time before it can stand on its feet again.”

Shacolas told the shareholders’ meeting of Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties Plc, Ermes Department Stores Plc and Cyprus Trading Corporation Plc that foreign investors are still keen on Cyprus and that the President was on the right track with incentives and plans to boost development.

Group Chairman Shacolas made five simple suggestions to change existing laws which he said will help overcome obstacles and boost development: suspension of the provision that obliges profit-making companies to pay out a dividend within two years; privateers to be allowed to appeal to the Council of Ministers for a rejection from the Environmental Authority; in the case of relaxation rejection by the minister, to be able to appeal to the Council of Ministers; co-owners of a property not to be able to block the separation of the plot if 80% already agree; and, the tourist schedule to be extended for the whole year, to boost tourism in winter as well.

CTC: EBITDA up in 2012 Cyprus Trading Corporation Plc, the core public company of the NK Shacolas Group, saw turnover drop from 443 mln euros in 2011 to 407.4 mln last year, mainly due to a decrease in retail sales, the distribution of tobacco products and heavy vehicles, due to the ongoing economic crisis.

However, Managing Director Marios Loucaides said in his annual report to shareholders, that earnings before interest, taxation and depreciation (EBITDA) increased from 46.9 mln in 2011 to 48.3 mln in 2012, while after tax profits dropped from 9.5 mln euros to 7.1 mln last year.

However, there was also a goodwill writeoff of 12.4 mln euros which is not included in the cash inflows and will enhance the company’s liquidity position.

Group chairman Nicos Shacolas said CTC is expanding its activities and cooperation with local and international part-

EMERGING MARKET (N.E.A.) CONSTANTINOU BROS PROPERTIES CYPRUS LIMNI RESORTS & GOLF ITTL TRADE TOURIST & LEISURE INT'L LIFE GENERAL INSURANCE SA ORCA INVESTMENT PLC P.C. SPLASH WATER PUBLIC CO. WARGAMING PUBLIC CO. ECHMI S.A. INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS EPILEKTOS ENERGY S.A. KERVERUS IT (CYPRUS) LTD C.O. CYPRUS OPPORTUNITY ENERGY BROZOS IVY PUBLIC INTERLIFE GENERAL INSURANCE SA GLOBAL DIGITAL SERVICES TOTAL

CSE Code ΚΩΑΜ/CBAM ΛΙΜΝΗ/LIMNI ΙΤΤΛ/ITTL INLE ΟΡΚΑ/ORCA ΠΚΣΓ/PCSW ΓΚ/WG EXMI/ΕΗΜΙ ΕΠΙΕΝ/EPIEN ΚΕΡΒ/KERV ΓΚΑΖ/GAS ΜΠΡΟ/BRO ΙΝΛΙ/INLI STC/ΣΤΣΙ

No. of Shares (000) 1 950 300 000 100 000 8 057 1 200 35 052 3 400 321 10 906 1 810 8 440 13 000 18 568 25 000

ners and that the sale of the 50% stake in MTN Cyprus boosted profits and liquidity.

The board decided not to make a dividend payment. All three Shacolas Group public companies paid out a total dividend of 9.25 mln euros to shareholders last year.

Ermes: profit margin narrows Ermes Department Stores plc, the retail division of the NK Shacolas Group, saw turnover drop to 242.9 mln euros in 2012, from 259.6 mln a year earlier, with after-tax profits reduced to 260,400, euros, compared to 1.4 mln in 2011.

Executive chairman Yiorgos Aniliades said that operating costs were reduced by 6.4% in 2012 but turnover also dropped and profit margins were reduced, due mainly to the economic crisis.

He added that the Eurogroup decision in March this year have created unprecedented troubles and challenges.

“We reacted with emergency measures and a further reduction in costs that has affected all stakeholders.

However, our diversified portfolio also allows us the advantage of not depending on only one sector of the economy.”

Market Cap EUR (000) 36 855 297 000 75 000 21 834 14 280 42 062 3 400 1 541 43 624 2 552 12 660 10 010 9 841 250 570 910

Latest price EUR 18.90 0.99 0.75 2.71 11.90 1.20 1.00 4.80 4.00 1.41 1.50 0.77 0.53 0.01

Nominal Value EUR 0.01 0.10 0.50 1.00 0.01 0.25 0.10 1.00 0.32 1.00 0.01 0.20 0.59 0.01

Listing Date 29/3/10 29/3/10 06/8/10 21/7/11 10/9/10 10/10/11 2/11/11 10/04/12 28/06/12 29/06/12 17/07/12 11/09/12 17/10/12 30/04/13

WARRANTS ALKIS HADJ. FROU-FROU (WAR. 2015) AMATHUS NAVIGATION (WAR.07-2013) TOTAL

Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties Plc, the property management and developer arm of the NK Shacolas Group, saw a small rise in operating profits from 17.99 mln euros in 2011 to 19 mln last year, with rent incomes from commercial properties dropping slightly from 21.1 mln euros to 20.6 mln in 2012. After tax profits were marginally dwon from 6.7 mln euros in 2011 to 6 mln last year. Announcing the results to shareholders, Chairman Demetris Demetriou said visits to the Shacolas Commercial Park were unchanged in 2012 at 6.5 mln and that the Mall of Cyprus will see an extension of 4,000 sq.m. with more shopping space and parking.

Demetriou also said that in February of this year, Cyprus Limni Resorts & GolfCourses Plc, in which Woolworth has a significant stake, secured its initial permits for two golf courses in accordance with the plans set out for the creation of the Limni Bay resort near Polis Chrysochous. Further permits are expected “within the next few days,” he said. The company is proceeding with various infrastructure projects and investor roadshows, while Limni has already invested some 40 mln euros in environmental projects in the area.

No. of warrants (000) 24831 17606

EMERGING MARKET (N.E.A.)

Woolworth: Mall visits steady at 6.5 mln

G r e e n Te a S A Pr o t e a n G l o ba l F u tur e s ( Pe r p e tu a l N o te s )

Mkt Cap (00) 25 176 224

Exercise Period

Exercise Price euro cents

Expiry Date

20-30 Jun 2001-2015 1-15 May & 1-15 Nov 07-13

173 20c or EUR 35c

30-06-2005 15-11-2013

CSE Code No. of Bonds G R TE A P GFL

1 0 40 650

Latest Close 0.001 0.010

Market Cap

Latest price

Listing

Latest

EUR

EUR

Date

NAV

1 0 4 00 0 0 0 0 65 0 0 0 0 00

100 000 100 000

8 N o v 2 01 1 1 D e c 2 0 12

N/A N/A

Disclaimer: The commentary appearing on this page is for indication purposes only and Eurivex does not take any responsibility for investment action taken. Nothing in this report should be considered to constitute investment advice. It is not intended, and should not be considered, as an offer, invitation, solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell any of the financial instruments described herein. Trading on leverage is very risky and may lead to losses.

July 3 - 9, 2013

28 | BACK PAGE | financialmirror.com

Fed fears may be gone but brace for volatility WALL ST WEEKAHEAD

Panic selling on fears of an early exit of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s stimulus efforts may be over, but the stock market may still face wild intraday swings as investors scramble to position themselves for Friday’s payrolls report.

Trading volume is likely to be thin, with a half-day session on Wednesday and markets closed for the Independence Day holiday on Thursday.

Both the Labor Department’s weekly jobless claims and employment report for June will be released at 8:30 a.m.

“Non-farm payrolls generally cause more volatility in the market, but how many times do you see weekly claims and pay-

rolls coming out the same day on a shortened trading week?

That will certainly cause a lot of volatility,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab & Co Austin, Texas.

In the options market, traders were active in the put weekly options on the S&P 500. These short-term options have a week-long life span and expire on July 5. Put options are generally viewed as bearish bets against the market.

“We’ve seen some buying pop up in the weeklies for next week. The most active ones are the 1,600 puts on the SPX,” said JJ Kinahan, chief strategist at online brokerage firm TD Ameritrade in Chicago.

“We will probably see more hedging activity early next week and perhaps higher intraday swings as people try to figure out their option positions going into the holiday with the employment report due the next day.”

June’s employment report could offer clues on the timing of the Fed’s eventual tapering of its bond purchases. Nonfarm payrolls are expected at 170,000, below the 194,000 sixmonth moving average. The unemployment rate is seen dipping to 7.5% from 7.6%.

Manufacturing will also be in the spotlight next week. The Institute for Supply Management is expected to report on Monday that factory activity expanded in June after a surprise contraction in May. While U.S. markets are closed on Thursday, the Bank of England monetary policy meets for the first time under the chairmanship Governor Mark Carney.

The European Central Bank, which also holds its monetary meeting on Thursday, is not expected to change rates, but President Mario Draghi may discuss just how much longer the ECB will stick with extraordinary policy settings.

SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

The S&P 500 on Friday posted the best first half of the year since 1998, rising more than 13% in the first six months of 2013, fueled by U.S. monetary stimulus.

“I think that the market’s pretty fairly valued, so we would be surprised if you saw the same kind of rally like you saw in the first half of the year, but it doesn’t seem to be a catastrophic environment, like you’re going off the cliff either,” said Steven Baffico, chief executive officer at Four Wood Capital Partners in New York.

For the quarter, the S&P 500 was up 2.3% but for the month, the S&P 500 fell 1.5% on concerns of an early exit by the Fed’s supportive measures.

A Reuters survey of 53 investors across the United States, Europe and Japan released on Friday found that funds had already cut their average equity holdings in June to a ninemonth low due to the recent volatility and had held more cash.

The equities market took a hit last week after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled the central bank would begin to slow the pace of its bond buying later this year if the economy improves as forecast. Since then, a number of Fed speakers have sought to calm markets, giving assurances the stimulus efforts are going to be in place for awhile.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley, who said markets are “quite out of sync” with the Fed, will speak on economic conditions on Tuesday.

“I think the panic selling from the Fed is pretty much over. Now they (Fed officials) are coming out and saying unanimously that ‘we haven’t changed at all, and we are possibly tapering in the fall depending on the data,’” Frederick said.

“I think the market is believing that now, and I don’t expect anything surprisingly different from the Fed speaker next week.”