Cyprus is a perfect place for investment across a wide range of sectors, offering a wide range of advantages!
The real return on investment! Watch the video clip about Cyprus – and why Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Cyprus increased by 9,1 % in 2016!
A video clip of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, CIPA.
Providing a wide range of advantages, Cyprus is a very attractive place for investments, be it investment in business, industrial investments or investment in larger real estate projects.
Cyprus enjoyed an increase of 9,1 % of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2016. When asking investors, these are the top 8 reasons to invest in Cyprus:
Cyprus’ Economic Prospects and Opportunities
The Government of Cyprus is committed to continuously introduce progressive measure for reform and growth, which resulted in impressive recovery of the Cyprus economy since the crises in March 2013, much quicker than expected. Continuous upgrades of its credit ranking by Standard & Poo, Fitch and Moody’s are only one of the facts that makes Cyprus a success story of the EU.
Cyprus’ Advanced Infrastructure
Substantial investments during the last years transformed Cyprus into one of the important telecommunication hubs in the region. Cyprus is connected to other networks of the Mediterranean region and beyond through a high-performance submarine fibre optic cable and through satellite. Telecommunication fees in Cyprus are among the lowest in the EU. Two modern international airports in Larnaca and in Paphos are serving around 10 million passengers per year. Cyprus offers two multi-purpose deep-sea ports in Limassol and Larnaca. The port in Limassol is privately managed by Eurogate (Germany), DP World (Dubai) and P&O (formerly British, now belonging to DP World). Limassol is also a popular stop-over for international cruise ships.
Cyprus – Human Talent and Quality of Professional Services
Cyprus has the highest grade of university graduates in the EU per capita, and is especially strong in ICT and Research & Development. Cyprus long history as an international business hub and the high level of university graduates are the reasons for the high quality of various professional services in Cyprus.
Cyprus – a Strategic Location
Cyprus has been a business and trade hub of the Middle East and the Mediterranean for 3.000 years (read more about Cyprus as a business hub here). Today, Cyprus is an ideal investment gate to the European Union, as well as a portal for investment outside the EU.
Cyprus – EU and Eurozone Member State
Being a member of the European Union since 2004, Cyprus offers market access to more than 500 million EU citizens, benefits from EU legislation, and from the four EU Freedoms of Movement: the free movement of goods, the free movement of persons, the free movement of services and the right of establishment, and the free movement of capital.
Cyprus’ Business-Friendly Tax System
The tax regime of Cyprus is fully compliant with the EU, OECD and international laws and regulations, and yet offers the most attractive tax regime within the EU (read more about the advantages of the Cyprus tax regime here).
High Quality of Life in Cyprus
Cyprus has been ranked by ValuePenguin in 2015 as the safest small country in the world, and as the 5th safest country (without reference to the country size) worldwide. Cyprus enjoys a very low crime rate, an excellent climate, a rich heritage of culture and art, a delicious gastronomy, and a clean and healthy environment.
Cyprus’ Legal and Regulatory Framework
Cyprus legal and regulatory framework is based on English Law principles and is fully compliant with the EU, FATF (Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering), the OECD, FATCA, the Financial Stability Forum laws and regulations, and with the EU AML directives.
Cyprus is particularly interesting for investments in the following sectors:
Cyprus Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
The Government of Cyprus has announced ICT as one of the island’s priority growth sectors, a Digital Strategy and Action Plan has been developed for immediate implementation. The capital Nicosia has been identified as the future centre of Cyprus for ICT and Research & Development. Recently, a tender for the establishment and development of a large-scale Science Technology Park East of Limassol has been closed and is currently under evaluation. The Science Technology Park will host research centres, spin-off innovative enterprises and business incubators, supporting research, development, technology, entrepreneurship and development. Major international companies of the ICT industry are operating regional headquarters in Cyprus since long years, using Cyprus as a hub for software development, system integration, testing services, disaster recovery, research & development activities, project management, and marketing & sales. You may read more about the ICT / R&D sector in Cyprus here.
Cyprus Innovation and Start-Ups
A number of significant incentives for start-ups has been implemented by the Government of Cyprus during 2015 and 2016, such as up to 50 % tax exemption on investment of individuals in start-ups and a special Start-Ups Visa programme for non-EU nationals (expected to be implemented in Q2 of 2017), for example. Cyprus has an expanding start-ups community and a fast-developing crowd-funding scene.
Cyprus Shipping
Cyprus is one of the top 3 ship management centres globally, has the 10th largest merchant fleet worldwide and the 3rd largest one in the EU, and Cyprus is the largest third party ship management centre within the EU. With more than 1.800 ocean-going vessels registered with a total gross tonnage of more than 21 million tons, the shipping sector accounts for more than 7 % of the GDP.
The main advantages of Cyprus as a high quality maritime clusters are:
- The latest EU-approved Tonnage Tax System (TTS) with no direct link to corporate tax
- No crew/officer nationality restrictions
- 28 Merchant Shipping Bilateral Agreements
- Signatory to all international maritime conventions on safety, security and pollution prevention
- Full protection for financiers and mortgagees
- White List of Paris and Tokyo MoUs
- Competitive ship registration costs and fees
You may read more about the shipping sector in Cyprus here.
Cyprus Tourism
Tourism is traditionally one of Cyprus main sectors since decades, accounting for about 40 % of the national GDP. In 2016, Cyprus reached its all-times ever record with 3,1 million tourists. Cyprus is not only globally No. 1 in the EU with its Blue Flag beaches per capita, but absolute No 1 in the EU with its 57 Blue Flag beaches in 2015. Cyprus has a diversified tourism industry, including religious tourism, cultural tourism, sports tourism and health and wellness tourism.
Large-scale investment projects are currently underway, such as investments in marinas, golf course, tourism resorts, luxury resorts and leisure & theme parks.
Cyprus Energy
Recent developments of the gas fields of Cyprus have attracted worldwide interest and substantial investments from leading international energy giants, including Noble Energy, Delek, Total, ENI and KOGAS and ExxonMobil. But Cyprus offers interesting investment opportunities in renewable energy as well, including solar energy, wind energy and biomass. Gifted by more than 320 days with sunshine per year, Cyprus is global No. 1 in household water heating by solar energy. Cyprus committed to produce 13 % of its total consumption as renewable energy by 2020; the current fraction of renewable energy is around 7 % of the total consumption (2016). At the beginning of 2017, six wind parks and four photovoltaic parks are currently operating in Cyprus, generating a total 1.000.000 kWh.
Cyprus Banking, Financial Services & Investment Funds
Since the crises of two banks in March 2013, the financial sector of Cyprus changed dramatically and is today fully in line with all respective provisions of the EU, the OECD, FATF, FATCA and international best practices. As per early 2017, Cyprus is an “early adopter” of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
Many foreign banks, especially from the Middle East, are operating subsidiaries or branches in Cyprus. Cyprus banks offer the entire range of banking, from retail banking, corporate banking, private banking, asset management, investment banking to custodian services, syndicated loan facilities and many more. Cyprus offers an effective and transparent tax system, fully compliant with the aforementioned bodies and organisations, providing a wide array of tax exemptions and incentives for investment and securities. As a result, Cyprus is a preferred lace for investment funds and AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds) as per the respective EU directives. During 2015 and 2016, Cyprus enjoyed a high double-digit increase of influx of funds to fund management companies, especially from German financial companies, counting for about 70 % of the total influx.
You may wish to read more about Cyprus Funds Companies on our special page.
Large Real Estate Projects in Cyprus
In 2016, Cyprus real estate property sales rose by 43%, compare with 2015. The highest rise was registered in Limassol, being 59%, while the rise in Paphos was 40%, and in in Nicosia 38%. The lowest, yet impressive rise was registered in Famagusta (35%) and in Larnaca (27%). Cyprus has available an impressive number of large-scale, prestigious real estate projects for investment.