The Cyprus Employers & Industrialists Federation (Oev) this week expressed its satisfaction with the approval of the Grants Scheme for Energy Upgrade and Competitiveness Enhancement for Large Enterprises.

The proposal, put forward by the Minister of Energy, Commerce, and Industry, gained approval from the Cabinet, marking a crucial step towards bolstering the country’s major business players.

The decision to adopt a Grants Scheme exclusively for large enterprises, the federation said, including those in the manufacturing sector, was initiated by Oev in 2020, recognising the substantial contribution of large enterprises to the economy.

The federation said that it “believes that supporting these enterprises, especially those in the manufacturing industries competing on the international stage, will contribute to enhancing their competitiveness, yielding reciprocal benefits for the country’s economy”.

According to the Ministry of Energy, financial support involves granting funds for specific eligible expenses related to promoting energy-saving investments in buildings, facilities, or equipment. It also encompasses transitioning the operations of businesses to a circular model.

The total allocated amount for the scheme is €17 million, distributed to satisfy two categories of applications as follows:

  • Up to €7 million for applications from businesses in the manufacturing sector for investments falling under all eligible expense categories.
  • €10 million for applications from businesses in all eligible sectors, including manufacturing, for investments falling under specific expense categories.
  • Large enterprises in the Manufacturing Sector can choose to receive grants under the General Block Exemption Regulation and/or the De Minimis Regulation. The maximum cumulative grant amount that can be awarded to a large enterprise is €750,000.

Interested parties can obtain the Scheme Guide, containing all the details, from the website of the Industrial Development Service.

For further information, interested individuals can contact the responsible officers of the Ministry at the following telephone numbers: 22867149, 22867236, and 22867216.

The Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) this week announced that its Director General, Thomas Kazakos, is the first lobbyist to be registered in the Anti-Corruption Authority’s Lobbyists Registry.

According to the CSC statement, the Chamber promptly responded to the authority’s call in November 2023 for applications for inclusion in the relevant registry.

This move, the announcement continued, reflects the chamber’s commitment to establishing and reinforcing transparency frameworks regarding public decision-making processes through lobbying.

“This distinct recognition reaffirms the ongoing dedication of the Shipping Chamber to high standards of transparency, ethics, and professionalism in the services it has been providing to its member companies and the Cyprus shipping industry for the past 35 years,” the statement said.

Moreover, the CSC expressed sincere gratitude to the Anti-Corruption Authority for approving and institutionalising best practices in the lobbying sector.

These practices will further enhance transparency and integrity, principles that the chamber has advocated since its establishment.

Finally, the chamber encouraged other professional associations and consulting firms active in lobbying to register, facilitating the wide implementation of the recently approved lobbyist law.

This initiative aims to present a positive image of lobbying and Cyprus in terms of transparency and responsibility.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Wednesday, February 7 with profits.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 139.71 points at 12:14 during the day, reflecting an increase of 0.41 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 84.85 points, representing a rise of 0.43 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €175,575.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, investment firm and hotel index grew by 0.29 per cent, 0.92 per cent, 1.23 per cent, and 0.37 per cent respectively.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (-1.23 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (no change), the Cyprus Cement Company (+2.94 per cent), Demetra Holdings (+1.25 per cent), and Petrolina Holdings (-1.83 per cent).