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Goldt h e b u s i n e s s m a g a z i n e o f c y p r u s
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ACCOUNTANCYICPAC at 55
Kyriakos Iordanouon the challenges
INNOVATIONInvesting in theFuture with the
MIC Cyprus
PEOPLEAndrea Antoniou
Michalis PapadopoulosAnastasia Papadopoulou
WHAT’S ONArt, Dance,
Music, Opera,& More
ISSUE 59 FEBRUaRy 21, 2016PRICE €3.00
ENSURINGCOMPLIANCEWhat it means, why it’s needed
Marios SkandalisDirector,
compliance Division, Bank of cyprus
Andrew Demetriou Director, ioannides
Demetriou LLc
Michalis Loizou coMPLiANce
oFFicer, A. Neocleous trust
company LtdEleftherios Philippou
risk & rePutAtioN
LeADer, Deloitte Ltd
Michael M. Antoniades
BoArD MeMBer, kPMG
Eleana Spyris LeGAL ADVisor/
coMPLiANce oFFicer,
euroLife Ltd
Andreas Andreou Vice-chAirMAN, cyprus securities
and exchange commission
Andreas Theodosiou
Director, AMF Global
Pantelis Christofides
PArtNer, L. Papaphilippou
& co LLc
Elias Neocleous PArtNer,
head, corporate and commercial
Department, Andreas Neocleous
& co. LLc
Gabriel Onisiforou
BoArD MeMBer, eY cyprus
Presents
We support you to create the value you are looking for by providing specialised solutions based on quality. Together we build relationships based on trust and we say things as they are, to assist you to deal with issues that tomorrow will prove important. We adapt our expertise and the power of our global network to your specific needs helping you make the difference.
© 2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. All rights reserved
Expertise SolutionsValue
www.pwc.com.cy
Gold
ISSUE 59 | fEbrUary 21, 2016 | en
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34 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
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4 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
T H E B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E O F C Y P R U S
I S S U E 5 9 F E B R U A R Y 2 1 , 2 0 1 6
C O N T E N T S
8 | BUSINESS BRIEFINGEconomic & Business Highlights of the past month. 14 | MY WAY Evangelia Eliadou’s management style.
12 | FIVE MINUTES WITH… Andrea Antoniou
13 | THEY SAID WHAT?A selection of memorable quotes from Cypriots in the public eye.
OPINION76 | Lessons from Greece By Dr. George Theocharides
FEATURES14 | IN Business Awards 2015Four pages of photos from the event.
18 | Investing in the FutureThe Microsoft Innovation Center in Nicosia.
22 | ICPAC at 55Interview with General Manager Kyriakos Iordanou
66 | Command the Horizon ONE: The tallest seafront residential tower in the Mediterranean.
70 | Preserving CapitalInterview with Rashid Mohamed, Investment Specialist Global Credit, BNP Paribas
71 | Economic activity in emerging markets likely to hold investors’ attention in 2016The 2016 Outlook compiled by the K2 team at Franklin Templeton Solutions
74 | Ancoria Pension PlanA new pension plan for
the market.
COVER STORY
30 | Ensuring ComplianceLeading compliance
professionals from a variety of industries explain how they ensure that they and their clients comply with
today’s complex regulatory requirements.
C
7418
100 | IN GOOD COMPANYExchanging views on life as an employee at Windsor Brokers
103 | BOOKSHELFFive of the best new business titles.
104 | MY COLLECTIONChristodoulos Angastiniotis and ‘The Quality of Old’
108 | LUNCH WITH GOLDMichalis Papadopoulos, Head of Corporate Communications at CYTA
111 | BUSINESS CLASSDieter Rohdenburg, CEO of Intership Navigation Co Ltd
112 | WHAT’S ONGold’s guide to the best cultural events of the coming month.
114 | A DAY IN THE LIFEAnastasia Papadopoulou
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL
FEATURE 147 | Compliance
Thirteen leading firms outline what compliance means to them and how they ensure that it plays
a key role in their culture and operations.
SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL
FEATURE 277 | Car+
Eight leading automotive companies present
their products, services and latest models.
55108
122 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus122 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
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6 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
| EDITORIAL |
John Vickers,Chief Editor
john@imhbusiness.com
Rules and Regulations
n 2013, when the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes evaluated Cyprus as ‘non-compliant’, the race was on to amend gaps in the system and restore the island’s reputation. Last October, the island’s supplementary report on the changes made to its legal framework and practices was approved by the Global Forum, which reclassified Cyprus as ‘Largely Compliant’The pressing need for the country’s infrastructure, legal framework, tax system and professional services to be officially recognised as being of the highest standards
forced the tax authorities, accounting and legal firms to take action. They proved, and not for the first time, that when it is considered absolutely essential, they can work together and get things done.
Corporate and regulatory compliance are still seen by many firms around the world as a major headache – and not entirely without reason. But in today’s global financial environment, regulated entities no longer have any choice in the matter: they either comply or face crippling fines and, ultimately, loss of licence. For this month’s cover story (page 26), we spoke to Compliance Officers and other representatives of leading firms in a variety of regulated areas (banking, legal, Forex, accounting, fiduciary, etc.), as well as to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, to find out how much importance they give to the compliance issue. The conclusion? An incredible amount. To quote one of the experts featured (Eleftherios Philippou, Deloitte), “We cannot speak of good corporate governance if there are no strong compliance systems in place.” Another point to emerge from our discussions on the subject is that almost everyone we spoke to recognises that a singular lack of compliance played a major role in the collapse of the island’s banking system and economy three years ago. Once again, being forced to change things brought out the best in both the public sector and the business community but doubts are already being expressed about what the future holds, once the Troika is out of the picture. This is also one of the points taken up by Kyriakos Iordanou, General Manager of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) in a wide-ranging interview (page 22). However, as we try to look forward with optimism, we also feature the ‘futuristic’ Microsoft Innovation Center Cyprus (page 18) and take a look at a new building that will soon claim the impressive title of tallest seafront residential tower in the Mediterranean (page 66). Add to this our regular features that give you insight into the thoughts and ideas of people like lawyer Anastasia Papadopoulou and Cyta’s Head of Corporate Communications, Michalis Papadopoulos, plus a rare view of CIPA Chairman Christodoulos Angastiniotis’ fascinating collection of vintage radios and other equipment, and you’ll find plenty of variety in this month’s issue.
Next month, another milestone: Issue No. 60! Don’t miss it.
MANAGING DIRECTOR George Michail
GENERAL MANAGER Daphne Roditou Tang
MEDIA MANAGERElena Leontiou
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John Vickers
JOURNALISTSEffy Pafitis, Artemis Constantinidou
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Maria Pilidou,
George Theocharides, Peter Vincent
PHOTOGRAPHYJo Michaelides,
Emma Louise Charalambous
ART DIRECTION Anna Theodosiou
SENIOR DESIGNERAlexia Petrou
PHOTOGRAPHY Jo Michaelides, Harris Kyprianou
MARKETING EXECUTIVE Kevi Chishios
SALES MANAGER Irene Georgiou
SALES EXECUTIVE Stavros Epifaniou
OPERATIONS MANAGER Voulla NicolaouSUBSCRIPTIONSMyria Neophytou
PRINTERS Cassoulides Masterprinters
CONTACT5 Aigaleo St., Strovolos 2057, Nicosia, Cyprus
Mailing address: P.O.Box 21185, 1503, Nicosia, Cyprus
Tel: +357 22505555, Fax: +357 22679820e-mail: gold@imhbusiness.com
subscriptions: goldsubscriptions@imhbusiness.comwww.imhbusiness.com
ISSN 1986 - 3543PUBLISHED BY IMH
I
100 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus100 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus100100 || GOLD GOLD | | The Business Magazine of CyprusThe Business Magazine of Cyprus
Who we areEurofast is a regional business advisory organisation oper-
ating in South East Europe and East Mediterranean offering
various professional services including M&A and Transac-
tional Advisory, Business Restructuring & Insolvency, Market
Entry Services, Banking and Financial Services, Outsourced
Payroll and Employment Solutions, Citizenship & Residency
Services, Corporate Services, Transfer Pricing, International
Tax, Tax Planning & Tax Compliance, and Accounting.
We Specialise in M&A & Transactional Advisory
We, take pride in our dedicated team of professionals,
specialising in M&A and transactional work in our offices,
throughout South East Europe and East Mediterranean. Eu-
rofast has over 28 years of experience working with glob-
al businesses and leading institutions. Over the years we
have performed a successfully significant number of local
and international M&A transactions in the region. We have
a unique approach to support M&A transactions at inter-
national level through our professional network, providing
assistance to our clients in all phases of M&A transactions
from planning process to closure and post integration.
Our Network We are uniquely positioned as one stop shop for in-
vestors looking to enter South East Europe and East-
ern Mediterranean. We have 21 fully fledged offices in
Athens, Thessaloniki, Nicosia, Sofia, Bucharest, Belgrade,
Podgorica, Tirana, Skopje, Zagreb, Pristina, Banja Luka, Sa-
rajevo, Cairo, Alexandria, Tbilisi, Beirut, Erbil, Moscow, Kiev
and Tehran.
Our competitive advantage We seek to delight our clients, by being proactive. Our aim is
to create client enthusiasm by giving even more value to
our clients, whether measured by price, performance,
quality or service. Our portfolio includes a number of high
net worth individuals and clients engaged in every sector of
the economy, which proves the range of our abilities.
Our competitive advantage stems from our ability to serve
our clients promptly, efficiently and effectively. Every Eu-
rofast office consists of teams ranging from 15-60
professionals with diverse backgrounds and experience
including tax, legal, M&A, payroll, accounting, audit and
consulting.
Our credentials Our clients, global brands and leading institutions, operat-
ing in the manufacturing, retail, airlines and professional
services sector, are the vivid evidence that Eurofast is your
trusted business advisor in South East Europe and East
Mediterranean.
We have achieved worldwide market recognition for our
exceptional advice, capabilities and innovation. We have
been acknowledged as a leader in Tax in Cyprus for the
past 8 years. We have been ranked top Tax Advisors and
announced “Cyprus Tax firm of the Year” by International Tax
Review which is a true recognition for the valued client work
we deliver every day. In 2014, Eurofast was also recognized
for its expertise in M&A.
For 2015 we were acknowledged by Acquisition Interna-
tional as ‘Leading Corporate Adviser of the Year – South
East Europe’ for our work done in the Region.
For more information on Eurofast, its offices and its service portfolio, please visit www.eurofast.eu.
Eurofast is Taxand Cyprus.
LeadingCorporateAdviser
of the YearSouth East Europe
2015
LeadingCorporateAdviser
of the YearSouth East Europe
2015
Eurofast: Your Regional Business Advisory team
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info@eurofast.eu | www.eurofast.eu
RICS CYPRUS RICS Cyprus has appointed a new Board
of Directors, the Chairman of which is Pavlos Loizou, Partner, Resolute Asset Management for Greece and Cyprus.
CYPRUS UNION OF SHIPOWNERS
The Cyprus Union of Shipowners has reap-pointed Polys L. Haji-Ioannou as Honorary
President. Andreas Hadjiyiannis was named President of the Executive Committee.
IFA UKRAINEChristodoulos Damianou, Executive Director of Eurofast Global Ltd, has been elected as a Member of the Board of IFA Ukraine for
2016-2017.
ECHR The Council of Europe Parliamentary As-sembly has elected Cypriot Family Court
Judge Georgios A. Serghides as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights.
BAKER TILLY SOUTH EAST EUROPE
Neofytos Neofytou has joined Baker Tilly’s South East Europe team as a Senior Tax Consultant for Cyprus, Greece, Romania,
Bulgaria and Moldova.
ICAEW’s graduation event on 28 January celebrated the achievements of 135 ACA graduates with
your exams, you’ve opened up the door to a very exciting career. The ACA is internationally-rec-
-national market for ICAEW. The successful graduates will now go on to complete their practical
call themselves ICAEW Chartered Accountants.
APPOINTMENTS
BUSINESSBRIEFING
HALLOUMI OBJECTIONS The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development & Envi-ronment has received nine objections to Cyprus’ request to patent Halloumi cheese as an exclusive product of the island. The objections are from companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, the UAE and the US. If no compromise is reached, the European Commission will rule on whether Cyprus can patent the cheese as an EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Last year, the Commission published the application for the registra-tion of the name Halloumi /Hellim (in Greek and Turkish) as the protected name for the traditional cheese produced throughout Cyprus.
CTO aims for 2.9 million visitors
T he Cyprus Tourism Organi-sation (CTO) aims to increase tourist arrivals to 2.9 million in 2016, representing a rise from
6% to 7% in both tourist arrivals and revenue over last year. During a discussion of the CTO’s budget, CTO Chairman Angelos Loizou also told the House Fi-nance Committee that the appointment of an Under-Secretary for Tourism would allow the CTO to focus on the promotion of the industry while the appointee would focus on the political aspects.
8 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
TOURISM
Casino shortlist due
T he government will soon have a shortlist of three bids for the creation of a casino resort in Cyprus. The Permanent Secre-
tary of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry & Tourism, Stelios Himonas, told MPs. During the first phase of the process eight bids were submitted. Media reports suggest that the three most likely shortlisted bidders are: Hard Rock, North-field’ Sun International, and Bouygues. The plan is to issue the licence within 2016 and have the casino resort ready in approxi-mately two years’ time.
IN THE NEWS
ICAEW GRADUATION
EDUCATION
www.goldnews.com.cy | GOLD | 9
CYPRUS, ISRAEL, GREECE
TRILATERAL SUMMIT
President Anastasiades and the Prime Ministers of Israel and Greece, Benjamin Netanyahu and Alexis Tsipras, met in Nicosia last month and agreed to strengthen cooperation in
-ogy, environment, water management, combating terrorism, and migration. The main focus is on the energy sector, in particular natural gas, as well as projects such as the EuroAsia Interconnector for electricity and the EastMed Pipeline.
VYTENIS ANDRIUKAITIS
The European Union Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, paid a two-day visit to Cyprus on 11-12
February. After his first meeting with Health Minister George Pamboridis, Andriukaitis said that he was happy to be in Cyprus at what he called “this cru-cial moment” as efforts are being made to establish a National Health Service. “We see Cyprus’ steps as a good exam-ple for other EU countries,” he told the Minister, while acknowledging the diffi-culties involved.
HRH THE PRINCESS ROYAL
The Princess Royal (Prin-cess Anne) visited Brit-ish Forces Cyprus and the United Nations in Nicosia, where she spent time with British troops
serving on the island on 4 February. The Princess inspected a Guard of Honour and toured the ‘Green Line’ which di-vides Nicosia. She also met British Forces personnel based at RAF Akrotiri, who are supporting operations over Iraq and Syria, spending time with members of various Corps and Regiments of which she is Colonel-in-Chief.
KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS
D uring a visit to Nicosia in January, the newly elected leader of Greece’s New Democracy party, Kyria-kos Mitsotakis, praised the performance of the
Cypriot economy, noting that the island is on course to exit the Memorandum signed with the Troika in 2013. Mitsotakis, the son of the former Greek Prime Minister Constantinos Mitsotakis, underlined the need for Turkey to honour its commitments to the European Union on limiting and controlling the influx of immi-grants from its territory to Greece.
VISITORS
€650,000
TWO-YEAR EXTENSION FOR
ENI-KOGAS
C have signed a two-year extension of the initial exploration in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
energy prospects during a period in which the international oil and gas industry is experiencing challenging conditions” a press release notes.The consortium will conclude studies in order to identify prospects necessary to complete its drill-ing obligations.
THE AMOUNT THAT THE GOVERNMENT EXPECTS TO SAVE BY OUTSOURCING PART OF THE SECURITY
OPERATION AT CYPRUS’ TWO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND THUS
REDUCING THE NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS WHO CURRENTLY CARRY OUT CHECKS ON PASSENGERS.
ENERGY
BG GROUP SIGNS BLOCK
12 DEAL
B G Group has taken a 35% holding in Block 12 of Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which includes the Aphrodite gas discovery. An agreement to
based Noble Energy remains the main op-erator of Aphrodite with a 35% share, while
between Delek Drilling and Avner Oil.
10 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus
AIR TRAVEL
BUSINESSBRIEFING
EUROFASTEurofast Global was named
Leading Corporate Adviser of the Year in South East Europe at
this year’s Acquisition International Awards. The awards mark excellence in all areas of corporate business consulting
and are voted for by a global network of expert professionals, advisers,
clients, peers and industry insiders.
AWARDS
Ryanair Ryanair launched its new Larnaca-
Brussels route on January 18. It
Monday and Friday. Hermes Airports’
are delighted to see Ryanair returning to Larnaca Airport and strengthen-ing its presence in Cyprus. Through strategic planning and branding, the
Larnaca-Brussels route could become one of the favourite routes for business and leisure purposes for thousands of travellers, both Cypriots and Central-
Europeans.”
Emirates Emirates launches its new daily
Larnaca-Athens service on 1 March
promotional return fares starting from €129 in Economy Class.
It will depart Larnaca at 11.50am, arriving in Athens at 1.35pm.
at 4.15pm, arriving in Larnaca at 6.00pm.From 27 March 2016, the Larnaca-Athens service will
Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Cobalt Air Cobalt Air, a new Cyprus-
based airline, has secured an
investor, airline chairman Gregory Diacou revealed this
investor base to include both Cypriot and Chinese capital and is a major boost to our plan to launch operations
carrier,” he said in an interview. Cobalt plans to launch budget
operations later this spring.
Tus Airways Tus Airways made its inaugural
February 14. The company aims to connect Cyprus with neigh-bouring countries, including
Greece, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan. The airline’s initial
of 16 destinations. Tus Airways will eventually operate seven
and Tel Aviv and between Lar-naca and Haifa. One-way fares
to Tel Aviv start at €69.
MTN MTN has been awarded with the Silver Accreditation by Investors
In People, the UK’s leading accreditation for business improvement through people
management. The award is for MTN’s excellent people management, its
commitment to realizing the potential of its human resources and its creation
of a work culture conducive to teamwork.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, won
two leading global financial accolades the same week: the 2015 Corporate Rec-ognition Award for Innovation and Excel-
lence from the financial publication Treasury Management International and the Emerging Europe Middle East and
Africa Bond of the Year from the International Financing
Review (IFR). ANDREAS
NEOCLEOUS & CO LLC
Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC was run-ner-up for the Mediterranean Law Firm of the Year award at last month’s 2016
Citywealth International Financial Centre Awards in London. The prominent Cypri-ot law firm competed against firms from across the whole Mediterranean region,
including Gibraltar (from where the overall winner came)
and Malta.
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