Gold May by Kevi Chishios

ISSUE 26 MAy 14 - June 13, 2013 PRICE €4.95

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Diamonds are for… Cyprus? With a Diamond Exchange the island could rival Dubai, say experts

BANKING

Five Lessons for Europe

INTERVIEWS

Plus:

MONEY / BUSINESS ECONOMY TAX & LEGAL LIFESTYLE / OPINION

Jose Barrionuevo Morten Fon Guillermo Nielsen

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

How Foreigners view Cyprus today

6 EDITORIAL 8 up front 14 FIVE MINUTES WITH…

issue 26 may 14 - june 13 2013

A Diamond Exchange could raise state revenues, boost the economy, encourage tourism and make the most of the country’s strategic location.

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THE VIEW FROM BUSINESS

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Diamonds Are For… RICHARD BUITEMAN

T, THE EMEN ERE. H T AGRE BANK FOREIGNERS’ V IEW OF HE CYPRUS BAILOU GOES FROM ING RE D STRICTIONS ANDTW HERE THE ISLAN

22 T

here has been a great deal of talk about how the deal struck with the Troika to bailout the Cyprus economy and restructure its banking sector will affect foreign investors and companies on the island. Most of the talk has been by Cypriots – lawyers, accountants, advisors. In this issue we present the views of the foreigners themselves and while they partly echo local optimism about

the future, they are also quite critical of the Troika’s approach to the island’s problems and to how previous governments have ignored them. The Russian view comes direct from Moscow from accountant Igor Makarov but also from closer to home: Natalia Kardash, Editor-in-Chief of several Russian-language publications in Cyprus, is Vice-President of the Association of Russianspeaking residents and she has

We have a holding company for our online gaming business and we have been here for two years. The things that attracted me and my fellowdirectors to Cyprus are still in place: the high standard of living, the climate, a more relaxed lifestyle and laid-back way of doing business. I love Cyprus and I am not considering moving my business anywhere else but what has happened will certainly have made some people reconsider their plans to come to Cyprus and take advantage of what the country has to offer as an international business centre. They may start looking at

Malta or Honduras instead. The Government now needs to do two very important things: It must make sure that there will be no further change to the corporate tax rate – 12.5% is still attractive but any further increase will make companies start looking elsewhere – and it must take steps to revive the banking sector and give investors a reason to regain their confidence in Cyprus. I think a key issue on which it should work is transparency. This is incredibly important and if the country wants to regain investor confidence, it needs to make

everyone realize that the present measures have been taken out of necessity, they will soon be lifted and they won’t happen again. We all know that Iceland imposed similar restrictions on the movement of capital and they are still in place five years later. The restrictions in Cyprus are being described as ‘temporary’ but no-one knows how long they will stay in place. The Government and the Central Bank need to take the risk and lift them, otherwise the uncertainty surrounding the issue will have a negative impact on the country’s efforts to regain its reputation.

What has happened will certainly have made some people reconsider their plans to come to Cyprus

ANIL KUMAR CHAIRMAN, RANSAT GROUP, UK

By John Vickers

her finger on the pulse of the Russian community here. She proposes some simple steps that will make her compatriots feel more comfortable about the idea of staying. We also hear from a variety of foreign businessmen and international media, and we recall what Members of the European Parliament had to say last month when they debated the Eurogroup’s treatment of Cyprus.

RESTORING CONFIDENCE IS THE KEY

The local and international media have made a disaster out of the situation and right now the island has a very bad name. People think that it’s an offshore tax haven, etc., forgetting that it’s an EU country and held the Presidency less than 12 months ago. The ﬁrst thing that the Government needs to do

is regain people’s trust and restore confidence. This is the key. I met the President briefly he told me that he is already working very hard to restore confidence. If he manages this, the country will be fine. Cyprus hasn’t lost as much as other countries. Both Ireland and Greece were much worse off. Here,

the shipping model is good and tourism is on the rise again. Of course, if you depend entirely on tourism and outside money you cannot consider your economy to be sustainable. The Government has to take initiatives but the private sector should also take responsibility too. To this end it needs to bring in

a new model. The business community needs to come together and create a new structure to help the country get back on its feet. I fail to understand why Cyprus wants to depend on Russia. The Russians need Cyprus more than Cyprus needs them. This is the only country in Europe that

“SHIPPING REMAINS IN CYPRUS AND SUPPORTS THE ECONOMY” At the 24th Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber last month, the President of the Chamber, Capt. Eugen Adami, emphasised that, irrespective of the effects of the recent banking problem on a number of shipping companies, the shipping industry remains faithful to Cyprus and its Registry and continues to support the island’s economy. He also stated

that “Only through the restoration of its economy, image and credibility will Cyprus be able to restore its position as a reliable investment centre.” He appealed to all the country’s political parties to join forces with the Government and support all efforts in this direction, including the immediate approval of the Financial Assistance Package by the House of Representatives.

JOHAN LUNDREN

The Russians need Cyprus more than Cyprus needs them is a friend of Russia so you should be equal partners, not a subor-

dinate and a superior. They have nowhere else to go.

WORSTALL | CONTRIBUTING WRITER TO FORBES ON BUSINESS ISSUES or more, of grinding austerity. When faced with that, the Iceland alternative seems a much better one: Default, leave the currency, bring back the Cypriot pound and take the hit

on the exchange rate rather than the real economy. In the book “This Time Is Different” by Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, the authors list the sovereign defaults

over the centuries – all 800 of them. The real takeaway point from the book is that defaulting can be painful, yes, but it’s almost always less painful than not defaulting.”

THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

Gold 23

22 | Outside Looking In The foreigners’ view of the Cyprus bailout agreement, banking restrictions and where the island goes from here.

30 | 5 Lessons For Europe

Memorandum Of (Mis) understanding By Costas Markides 57 A victim of its own success By Peter Economides 82

48 | Do You Speak Sustainablish? Can we make not only our lifestyles but our businesses more sustainable by taking all three pillars of sustainability into account?

50 | “Nismo Cyprus!” Slovenia’s severe financial and banking problems might look solvable at the moment, but they may not be for long.

58 | Positive and Motivated Interview with Emilios Ayiomamitis, newly-appointed member of the Board of Directors of Horwath DSP Ltd.

FEATURES

62 | Don’t Cry For Me, Nicosia A decade ago, Guillermo Nielsen and Jose M. Barrionuevo were on opposite sides of the negotiations to restructure Argentina’s $104bn sovereign debt.

38 | A iming to Become the Insurer of Choice 2012 was another year of achievement for Trust International Insurance Company (Cyprus) Ltd.

The Eurogroup’s decision on Cyprus has changed the rules of the banking game in Europe.

40 | Insupportable

34 | Restart and Rebrand!

44 | Learning from Qatar

The bailout should be seen as an opportunity to change Cyprus for the better, says Cypriot business consultant Markos Shiapanis.

Qatar, which boasts the highest per capita income in the world, can teach Cyprus a great deal.

A Cypriot exit from the eurozone would be “catastrophic”, says George J. Prokopakis.

4 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

Kyriakos Onisiforou believes that now is the time to make an even greater effort to keep ourselves healthy.

54 54

Problem Solved? By George Mountis

54 | Healthy Body + Healthy Mind = Healthy Economy

DEPUTY CHIEF EXECUTIVE,TUI TRAVEL

Our message is that TUI Travel will continue to support Cyprus in its reform process and we look forward to continuing our investments on the island. Our relationship with Cyprus, which we consider a very important destination, goes back almost 50 years. We will need the support and assistance of various stakeholders – the Government, the authorities for tourism and our partners here – to seize the opportunity that we believe exists and ensure we can continue our development plan in Cyprus, but also expand this activity within the European markets.

TH E VIEW FROM THE MEDIA TH TIM “Cyprus is going to go through a great deal of pain economically. If Cyprus stays in the euro then there’s no easy way out of that pain. Just years, possibly a decade

CAPT. EUGEN ADAMI PRESIDENT, CYPRUS SHIPPING CHAMBER

CEO OF THE MYMOBIBET GROUP

LIFT BANKING RESTRICTIONS We were banking with Hellenic Bank so we have not been affected by the haircut. The only problems have been caused by the banking restrictions which are quite frustrating but we have other accounts outside Cyprus so the difficulties are manageable. The overall situation has affected us but far less than it might have done if we had been focused entirely on Cyprus. That said, we are not taking any risks right now until the situation returns to normal. I can understand why the Government and the Central Bank imposed restrictions but while they wanted to prevent a serious flight of capital, they have simultaneously halted money that was coming into Cyprus.

Cyprus?

+ opinion

68 72 74 76 78

{money} {business} {economy} {tax& legal} {lifestyle}

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EDITORIAL ISSUE 26 MAY 14 - JUNE 13, 2013 PRICE €4.95

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Change We Must

DIAMONDS ARE FOR… CYPRUS? With a Diamond Exchange the island could rival Dubai, say experts

ow that the anti-bailout voices have had their say and the Troika-Cyprus agreement on a financial assistance package has nonetheless been approved by local and EU parliamentarians, it is finally time to move ahead with measures that will counteract the negative effects of many of the deal’s painful provisions. In this issue of Gold, we take a look at what has happened to the island through a variety of lenses and come up with some interesting proposals on how to “restart and rebrand” Cyprus, as Moscowbased Cypriot business consultant Markos Shiapanis aptly describes the process (page 34). One of the most fascinating ideas is the subject of this month’s cover story: the setting up of a Diamond Exchange/Bourse which, according to the CEO of one of the world’s biggest diamond companies, could make perfect use of the country’s location to attract Israeli and Arab dealers as well as Russian, Chinese and Indian traders in both rough and cut gems (page 16). The idea of a Diamond Exchange to rival that of Dubai is not a new one but it is certainly one that deserves the attention of the new government, which has promised to look into new areas of economic activity. One only needs to consider the annual turnover of $56 billion for the Antwerp Diamond Exchange to realise that this is seriously big business. This fact was mentioned by Greek-American jewellery designer Yianni Melas at the recent Global Russia Business Meeting in Limassol which was also the venue for some constructive ideas – and criticism – concerning the professional services sector in Cyprus. One of the moderators at the meeting was Natalia Kardash, Vice-President of the Association of Russian-speaking residents, who spoke to Gold about how many Russian business people feel after the Laiki Bank/Bank of Cyprus resolution/restructuring (page 25). In our broader “Outside Looking In” feature (page 22), we also hear the views of Russian and non-Russian businessmen and consider how the foreign media and Members of the European Parliament see the agreement reached between Cyprus and its eurozone partners. There is no doubt that the country and its leaders now need to take a much closer look at what others are doing in terms of attracting investment and becoming more competitive and to learn from their experience. Qatar, for example, boasts one of the fastest-growing economies and highest per capita incomes in the world and, says Abdul Rahman al Attiya, Chargé d’Affaires of Qatar in Cyprus, it can teach Cyprus a great deal (page 44). And if all of this is new to people in Cyprus, Argentina has seen it all before, and much worse. Two of the key figures in the restructuring of the South American country’s sovereign debt, Jose Barrionuevo and Guillermo Nielsen, gave exclusive interviews to Gold this month (page 62) in which they discuss how Argentina succeeded and how they view the Troika’s way of resolving debt problems in Europe. After what has happened in Cyprus, the country is now being seen as a model for what may follow in other countries such as Slovenia (page 50) and in the eurozone’s banking system (page 30), while throughout this issue people in various sectors express their views on how they and others should deal with the new post-bailout situation. Add to the mix an intriguing piece on investing in vintage and antique timepieces (page 78) and our usual collection of more specialist articles on money, business, economic, tax and legal issues, and I believe that this issue of Gold will keep you interested, fascinated and busy for some time. Please keep sending us your feedback and ideas for future articles that you want to see in your magazine.

John Vickers, Chief Editor john@imhbusiness.com

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BANKING

Five Lessons for Europe

INTERVIEWS

Jose Barrionuevo Morten Fon Guillermo Nielsen

PLUS:

MONEY / BUSINESS ECONOMY TAX & LEGAL LIFESTYLE / OPINION

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN How Foreigners view Cyprus today

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Kyproula Papachristodoulou Contributors to this issue:

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up front

ForexTime Tax Law launches Amendments new currency approved pairs and CFDs by Parliament

orexTime Ltd (FXTM) has announced the launch of 7 new currency pairs and 13 new CFD instruments for trading, thereby giving traders more options and variety. The new currency pairs include crosses with the Swiss Franc and the Australian Dollar, a major commodity currency. Olga Rybalkina, CEO of ForexTime, said: “The new currency pairs include exotic currencies such as the Turkish Lira, the Danish Krone, Norwegian Krone and Swedish Krone. These currencies tend to make quicker and larger movements than major currency pairs and it is this volatility that makes these pairs popular with experienced traders.”

The new currency pairs are: ✶ USD/TRY (US dollar vs Turkish Lira) ✶ EUR/TRY (Euro vs Turkish Lira) ✶ AUD/DKK (Australian Dollar vs Danish Krone) ✶ AUD/NOK (Australian Dollar vs Norwegian Krone)

✶ AUD/SEK (Australian Dollar vs Swedish Krone) ✶ AUD/SGD (Australian Dollar vs Singapore Dollar) ✶ CHF/SGD (Swiss Franc vs Singapore Dollar) ForexTime CFD Shares, Commodity Futures and Index Fund Future instruments now include: ✶ #AIG - American International Group, Inc. ✶ #AAPL- Apple Inc. ✶ #AMZN- Amazon.com, Inc. ✶ #EBAY- eBay Inc. ✶ #FCX- Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. ✶ #FDX- FedEx Corp. ✶ #GOOG- Google Inc. ✶ #HAL- Halliburton Company ✶ #GS- The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. All of these currency pairs and CFDs are available for trading via Standard MT4 accounts. Additionally, the USD/TRY and EUR/TRY currency pairs are available for trading with ForexTime’s unique Shariah compliant Amanah accounts. ForexTime gives its clients access to the global currency market and offers trading in forex, precious metals, commodities, shares and indices.

Austria and Luxembourg to disclose tax details

ustria and Luxembourg are preparing to ease longstanding and controversial bank secrecy rules, amid mounting pressure to crack down on tax evasion in Europe. Austrian chancellor Werner Faymann said, “We are prepared to negotiate about automatic data-exchange concerning the accounts of foreigners in Austria that has been requested by the EU.” Meanwhile, Luc Frieden, Luxembourg’s finance minister, said “Luxembourg does not rely on clients who want to save tax.” Austria and Luxembourg are the only countries among the 27 member states to have refused automatic exchange of information about depositors.

8 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

In accordance with the provisions of the agreement on a financial assistance package to Cyprus, the House of Representatives has approved the following amendments to various tax laws:

Income Tax Law

From 1 January 2013, the corporate income tax rate is increased from

10% to 12.5%. Excise Duty Law

The rates of excise duty will be revised on a frequent basis so as to meet the real economic value. The reviewed rates will require approval from the Council of Ministers and a subsequent law will be passed by the House of Representatives.

Special Levy on Credit Institution Law

From 1 January 2013, the special levy rate for institutions operating in Cyprus is increased from

0.11% to 0.15%.

Special Contribution for Defence Law

The Special Defence Contribution rate applicable on interest income received by or deemed to be received by or credited to Cyprus Tax Residents increases from 15% to 30%. This amendment will come into effect upon publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic.

Unaffected provisions of the Laws mentioned above: ➲ In the case that the total annual income of an individual including interest income does not exceed the amount of €12,000 per annum, it is subject to a refund of any withholding tax suffered on interest income in excess of 3%. ➲ The reduced Special Defence Contribution rate of 3% which is applicable to income from deposits certificates issued by the Government of Cyprus and Cyprus Government Bonds and on the interest received by or credited on provident funds and Social Insurance Fund.

1st D woman elected to CFC Board

espina Panayiotou Theodosiou, Founder and President of WISTA Cyprus (the local branch of the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association) has just become the first woman to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CFC). Despina is the Chief Financial and Operations Officer of Tototheo Group of Companies. Despina’s election took place during the CFC’s AGM last month.

Jean Gachassin, President of the French Tennis Federation (left) and Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, signing the agreement for Emirates’ five year sponsorship of Roland Garros Tournament in Paris.

The Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands TheCorporate Marshall Islands Registry Registry The Marshall Islands TheCorporate Marshall Islands Corporate Registry Corporate Corporate Registry Registry

mirates Airline has been appointed an Official Partner of the Roland Garros Tennis Tournament for five years, starting with this year’s which runs from 21 May to 9 June. “Appropriately named after the famed French aviation pioneer and tennis supporter, Roland Garros, this tournament is a natural extension of our existing tennis sponsorship portfolio. Watched by millions around the globe this acclaimed clay court championship is the perfect platform with which to align our brand,” said Tim

Clark, President of Emirates Airline. “The global following for tennis is extensive. You don’t have to play tennis to be a fan of and appreciate the dedication needed to be one of the world’s best players,” he added. “We are particularly delighted and also proud to welcome an international brand such as Emirates amongst our official partners,” said Jean Gachassin, President of the Fédération Française de Tennis. “The arrival of Emirates fits in perfectly with our development and partnership strategy of aiming to expand our global reach.” As part of the partnership,

new members for CIPA Board

Elias Neo

cleou George Demetri

Michael Pi lik

Emirates will benefit from significant branding of the Philippe Chatrier Centre Court, as well as panels on competition courts. The sponsorship of Roland Garros is the airline’s third tennis sponsorship in Europe after the Italian Open announced last year and the Barcelona Open revealed in March 2013. Other major tennis competitions sponsored by Emirates around the world include the US Open, the Rogers Cup, BNP Paribas Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. Emirates is also the Official Airline of the ATP World Tour and sponsor of Emirates ATP rankings..

he Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) has three new members, following the resignation of Andreas Sophocleous, Nikos Rotos and Michalis Avraam. The first two had been appointed during the final hours of the Christofias government in February. President Anastasiades has replaced them with lawyer Elias Neocleous, Michael Pilikos, Director-General of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation, and Energy Consultant George Demetriou. Christodoulos Angastiniotis remains as Chairman. The other members are Christos Mavrellis, Marios Klitou, Charis Papacharalambous (Director-General of CIPA), Charis Anastasiou, Christis Christoforou, Evegnios Evgeniou, Angelos Grigoriades, Kyriakos Kakouris, Thomas Kazakos, Kyriakos Kokkinos, Nelly Koulia and Nicholas Theocharides.

Emirates sponsors Roland Garros

The The leading leading jurisdiction jurisdiction for for The leading jurisdiction for leading jurisdiction •The Management, The leading jurisdiction for for • Asset Asset Management, • Asset Management, Asset ••• Vessel Ownership Asset Management, VesselManagement, Ownership • Vessel Ownership Vessel Ownership ••• Real/Intellectual Vessel Ownership Real/Intellectual • Property Real/Intellectual Holdings Property Holdings •• Property Real/Intellectual Real/Intellectual Holdings Property Holdings •• Initial Offerings/ Property Holdings Initial Public Public Offerings/ • Publicly Initial Public Offerings/ Traded Companies Publicly Traded Companies •• Initial Offerings/ Initial Public Public Offerings/ Publicly Traded Companies Publicly Traded Publicly Traded Companies Companies

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Maritime & Corporate Administrators affiliation the Marshall Islands tel: 4294 404 piraeus@register-iri.com tel: +30 +30 210 210in 4294 404&||with piraeus@register-iri.com Maritime Corporate Administrators tel: +30 210 4294 404 | piraeus@register-iri.com Maritime & Corporate Administrators www.register-iri.com www.register-iri.com tel: tel: +30 +30 210 210 4294 4294 404 404 | | piraeus@register-iri.com piraeus@register-iri.com www.register-iri.com www.register-iri.com www.register-iri.com

up front

24th AGM of the Cyprus Shipping Council

More EU expansion by Banc De Binary

President Nicos Anastasiades

CSC President Capt. Eugen Adami.

Nicos Nicolaides, MP

he 24th Annual General Meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) attended by government officials, MPs, diplomats and representatives of political parties and various professional organisations was held in Limassol on Friday, 26 April 2013. The meeting was addressed by President Anastasiades, by Nicos Nicolaides, on behalf of Yiannakis Omirou, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and

CSC President Capt. Eugen Adami. In his address, the President of the Republic praised and congratulated the CSC for its continuous contribution to and active involvement in the further development of Cyprus shipping, describing the shipping sector as the “backbone” of the Cyprus economy, upon which it will depend on the road to recovery. He also recalled his pre-election promise to create the post of Under-Secretary for Shipping which, he said, will provide the necessary impetus to be in a position to contribute practically to the recovery of the

economy through the faster and more accurate development of government policy on shipping. On behalf of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nicos Nicolaides said that MPs are ready to support measures that aim to maintain and further strengthen Cyprus shipping, such as the Bill for the creation of the post of UnderSecretary for shipping and the promotion of the Tonnage Tax system abroad. CSC President Capt. Eugen Adami emphasised that, irrespective of the effects of the recent banking problem on a number of shipping companies, the ship-

10 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

ping Industry remains faithful to Cyprus and its Registry and continues to support the Cyprus economy. He also stated that only through the restoration of its economy, image and credibility will Cyprus be able to restore its position as a reliable investment centre. He therefore appealed to all the political parties to join forces with the government and support efforts in this direction, including the immediate approval of the Financial Assistance Package by the House of Representatives. Elections were also held for a new Board of Directors of the Chamber for the period 20132015.

anc De Binary, one of the world’s fastest-growing online binary options trading brokerages with over 200,000 client accounts and trading activity in over 80 countries, is in the process of opening bank accounts in the UK, Germany and eight other EU countries. As the first EU-regulated standalone binary options company, Banc De Binary is growing rapidly on a global basis, despite the current economic crisis in the EU. “The EU may be suffering a downturn now, the crisis has impacted Cyprus, Slovenia, Italy, France, Spain, the UK. But if I’ve learned anything from business, it is that a downturn is always followed by an upturn, and we are ready for this when it happens,“ said company CEO Oren Laurent. Banc De Binary plans to increase the numbers of its employees “when the time is right” and is aware of the opportunity offered by new banking and compliance talent on the market, following the financial crisis in Cyprus’ banking system. “We are always on the lookout for talented professionals in the financial services sector, who are interested in entering the Binary Options industry, which we expect to see challenging the Forex industry within the next three to four years,” said Laurent. “While we sincerely hope that the banking sector in Cyprus and the rest of the EU recovers quickly, we believe that Binary Options offers an incredible alternative opportunity for proactive, experienced financial services professionals,” he said. Banc de Binary was established in 2009 in the United States and it is the first EU-licensed binary options brokerage in the world. It was the first company in this booming industry to meet the strict regulatory requirements of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), which follows Markets in Financial Instrument Directive (MIFID) laws in the European Union.

www.pwc.com.cy

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