Daily Press Review - 26/11/2019

Deal for AstroBank to acquire NBG finalised

The deal for AstroBank to acquire National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) has been finalised and is expectred to be announced in the coming days. The deal is subject to approval by the supervisory authorities. An agreement in principle was reached between Astrobank and NBG last September, but some aspects were still open and had to be completed before the deal is officially sealed. A leading factor in reaching an agreement seems to be the decision by the NBG to free its balance sheet from almost all non-performing loans in Cyprus estimated at €400 million. This includes secured business and retail loans. The Czech group APS, which also manages Hellenic Bank’s red loans, is the one that took over the red loan portfolio. The process of selling NBG Cyprus follows the acquisition of USB Bank, about a year ago, and the absorption of its banking operations – including its staff.

 

The ECB's negative interest rates and the banks' reaction

The European Central Bank is pushing banks, not excluding Cypriot banks, to apply negative interest rates on large deposits. It seems that it is not too late for the Cypriot banks or some of them to start applying a negative interest rate on large deposits. As it is known, the ECB is charging banks a negative rate of 0.6% due to low inflation and weak growth in the region. By imposing a negative interest rate on bank deposits, the ECB aims to lend them more loans, thereby encouraging the growth of the economy. Government sources predict that the ECB's key interest rates will remain at or below current levels until inflation prospects recover to near satisfactory levels, but below 2%. So with this information, Banks have no choice but to start imposing interest rates for big depositors, big companies and institutional investors. The major European banks have already begun applying a negative interest rate, and the rest of the local banks will adopt similar practice.

 

Open conference on “Skills of the Future”

The European Commission Representation in Cyprus is organising a daylong conference entitled “Skills of the Future”, during which modern trends and challenges of the labour market will be discussed. The conference will take place on Friday, 29 November 2019, from 9am until 5pm at the Hellenic Bank headquarters in Nicosia.

 

Commitments and Foreclosures

The two bills on foreclosures passed by the House last summer contrast the commitments of the Cyprus government to the European Commission for the latter’s approval of €3.5 billion in state aid to the Co-op for the facilitation of the sale of the Co-op to Hellenic Bank. In fact the Republic assumed a series of specific commitments for efficient management of NPLs. These commitments became a law in the summer of 2018, and were partly reversed a year later with the approval of two bills that have not yet been implemented, because the government referred them to the Supreme Court. The European Commission has asked for - and in practice imposed - a faster process for the compulsory enforcement of claims and in particular for loan mortgages. In the case that the Supreme Court doesn’t decide in favour of the Government and the legislation is implemented, there will be a problem with the European Commission’s services, since Cyprus will violate its commitments. Both proposals delay the completion of foreclosures. On the contrary, the European Commission requires that the postponement of legal proceedings for the foreclosures must not exceed 12 months.

 

doValue to manage Alpha Bank’s €3.3b NPL portfolio and 150 employees

Alpha Bank Cyprus has managed to reach an agreement with doValue, assigning all of its NPEs and repossessed real estate assets to the company. The deal between Alpha Bank Cyprus, AGI-Cypre Ermis and doValue foresees assigning the management of the former’s NPE portfolio with a gross book value of €3.2b and repossessed assets to the latter, for four years with a possibility to extend the deal for another year, according to Euro2day. DoValue has established a specialised liability management company, that will take up the management and at the first stage accept 150 staff from Alpha Bank Cyprus and AGI-Cypre Ermis. In the second stage, another 30 people will be transferred. The company will be controlled by doValue by 100%. The agreement is contingent on the approval of the regulatory authorities. With the completion of the transaction, Alpha Bank will receive an up-front fee.

 

Demetra to change name from Investment to Holding                                                       

Demetra Investment’s Board is looking into a proposal to rename the company to Demetra Holdings Pic. According to the company’s announcement at the Extraordinary General Meeting of the 19 December the Board of Directors will look into whether the company must be renamed to Demetra Holdings Pic. Changing the company’s name is appropriate in order to modernise the company and harmonise it with the operations of the company and the corresponding review of the Company’s purpose. At the same time, the company’s shareholders will review a proposal to change the company’s statute so that it corresponds to the current work as well as investments that the company has completed. It is not expected that the specific change will follow other bigger changes such as a share capital increase. With the new statute, the company’s goal will be to operate as a parent company, as a real estate development company and a company for the development of infrastructure and development projects.

 

Harris is leaving

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades announces that the budget will be presented by his successor at the House on 6 December. Constantinos Petrides is being prepared to succeed Harris Georgiades while Constantinos Petrides will be succeeded by Nicos Nouris. President Anastasiades appears to have left for Berlin without announcing government restructurings although the restructurings are expected to go beyond the Ministry of Finance. For those who know how the President works, it appears as if the results of the tripartite meetings on the Cyprus issue will have an impact on the presence of the ruling party leadership and this is the reason the President is holding off.

Deputy Ministry of Innovation to open in 2020

The Deputy Ministry of Innovation and Digital Policy is expected to open in 2020 and will be promoting policies related to research, innovation and digital policy. The Deputy Ministry will be the connecting ling between the productive powers of the country, while it will participate in actions in the European Union that will contribute to expanding the productive base of the Cypriot economy and create job positions that will focus on research and technology. The Deputy Ministry of Innovation is based on the model of the Deputy Ministries of Shipping and Tourism. The Department of IT of the Finance Ministry and the Department of Digital Communications of the Deputy Ministry of Transport will be incorporated in the Ministry. The Ministry will be comprised of 220 employees from the two services, while in the future a mobility practice will be implemented. The 2020 budget has included a relevant budget line, while when the needs are assessed and new structures are defined, a complementary budget will also be submitted.

 

Limassol port football tournament

In the context of its efforts to strengthen the relations between the companies operating in Limassol port, DP World Limassol organises the first charity corporate football tournament entitled “Limassol port soccer tournament 5x5”. This is the first corporate tournament held for the companies of Limassol port and beyond strengthening their relations, the main goal is to raise funds to support the work of the local community organisations. The tournament will take place “HARAKI NOVASPORTS CENTER” between 12 November 2019 and 22 February 2020. There will be 8 companies-teams divided in two groups; the first group is comprised of DP World Limassol, Eurogate, Medserve and Gulf Agency Cyprus, while the second group is comprised of ATLAS, United Stevedoring Company, LAVAR shipping and HULL BLYTH Araouzos. The games will take place every Tuesday and Wednesday between 7-8p.m. and 8-9p.m. Doros Aresti, DP World Limassol’s Communications and Sustainability Officer, commented “We wanted to create something that would be fun, memorable and also raise money for extremely worthy local causes. We are looking forward to an exciting and entertaining competition and the opportunity to raise as much money as possible. Mr. Aresti continued “We are really pleased that this initiative has had such a positive response and we hope that it is a growth platform for the future and to be established as an annual event”. It’s worth noting that proceeds from participation in the tournament will be donated to a charitable foundation, the name of which will be announced at a later date.

 

Cypriot flag on its entire fleet

British shipping group P&O Ferries intend to have the Cypriot flag on its entire fleet. It appears that the British Shipping company is exploring new destinations in view of Brexit. The company’s spokesperson stated that it aims to re-register their entire fleet in Cyprus for both operational and taxation purposes.

 

Israeli tourist operators to visit Cyprus

Israeli tour operators are expected to visit Cyprus in the upcoming period, in order to reach a deal with their Cypriot counterparts for the promotion of joint tourist packages. The Deputy Ministry of Tourism is organising the schedule of their Cyprus trip, while it will bring Cypriot tour operators together with their foreign partners, in order to develop joint programmes. This is the second step that is being carried out before the conclusion of agreements, as Savvas Perdios’ visit in Israel had already prepared the ground. Israel is the country with the most advanced negotiations, for the joint promotion of thematic packages. They will communicate with foreign partners before the end of the year, and depending on the results, the joint tourist packages will be promoted in upcoming expos, ACTA’s president, Vasilis Stamataris told Phileleftheros. As he noted the contacts that the two sides will have, will show what kind of tourist packages will be promoted, depending on demand. The Deputy Minister of Tourism had already paved the way in the framework of a meeting with an Israeli delegation, confirming that the matter of gastronomy is very important for both destinations, as it is a pillar for a joint thematic journey that will attract visitors with a single travel package to both countries. They also discussed the potential for a second joint package, on the basis of which travellers could visit Cyprus for golf tourism and Israel for health and wellness tourism. They also agreed that the two parties intensify their cooperation in the cruise tourism sector and took the decision to participate in cruise tourism expos with joint booths.

 

Kapnos Airport Shuttles suffers blow before award of tenders

The eight buses of the company Kapnos Airport Shuttle Ltd, which were completely destroyed after an arson attack in the early hours of the morning today, were destined to be used in the new contracts for public transportation, in the case where the company was successful in winning the bid. This leads the investigators of the CID Larnaca to turn their attention to think that the motive behind the arson has to do with professional competition. The investigators have claimed footage from the CCTV that monitored the space where the vehicles were parked and they hope that they will lead them to the perpetrators.

 

One delay after the other for the casino in Hellinikon

The competition that will grant a casino permit in Hellinikon is facing serious delays, despite the government’s intention to complete it within the set timeframe, so as to pave the way for the implementation of the Integrated Resort Casino (IRC) and the €8b-investment in the old airport area. In fact, the Tenders Committee of the competition gave a new deadline to the two candidate investors to submit their clarifications on the memoranda of the documents that they submitted two months ago. More time will be needed to prepare the report, send it to the contracting authority and the Gaming Commission, then the Commission’s Board will have to convene, complete the evaluation of the suggestion of the Tenders Committee and issue the decision, which will likely be appealed against (especially if one of the two candidates is eliminated). As such, it is rather certain that the competition’s timetable has been derailed.

 

Stoiximan supports the work of Despina foundation

Stoiximan, the biggest betting company in Cyprus supports the work of the charitable organisation, Despina, the only foundation in Cyprus for children with diabetes. In the framework of the 3rd Radisson Blue International Larnaka Marathon, the company organised its first joint action with the foundation’s officials, at Stoximan’s booth in Finikoudes. There, Stoiximan presented the foundation’s officials with a cheque that will go towards the future activities of the foundation.

 

 

13 bills pending in view of the GHS’ second phase

The HIO needs to draft 13 new bills for the second phase of the GHS within the next couple months. The countdown has already started and considering the timeframe, there’s no room for further delays. Meanwhile, over the last couple of days, the HIO has been working tirelessly to draft a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) for the association of private hospitals (PASIN), so that the discussion between HIO-PASIN about the hospitals’ integration in the GHS can proceed. According to Phileleftheros, representatives of HIO, CyMA and PASIN are making efforts to establish a preliminary MoC because they want a quick and easy approval. For some of those bills the HIO has completed preliminary drafts, which won’t be finalised until discussions conclude. One of the pending regulations concerns control methods over the pharmaceuticals that will be integrated in the second phase of the GHS, as well as medical consumables. Other pending regulations include medical board procedures and general regulations for other health professionals (such as dentists, physiotherapists, clinical dieticians, clinical psychologists etc).

 

New medicines join GHS’ catalogue

Politis reports that 230 additional pharmaceuticals have been approved and will be gradually incorporated in the GHS catalogue, which already includes around 1050 medicines. Reportedly, these products are being widely used, such as medicines against cholesterol, thyroid etc. The latest addition to the GHS catalogue is the medicine ‘ezetrol’ which is prescribed to persons with high cholesterol. Meanwhile, ad-hoc committees and pharmaceutical suppliers are processing 250 medicines to join the GHS, of which 52 are unique in the market and don’t have exchangeables. Most of these are prescribed to a small number of patients as they are destined for rare diseases, but until this issue has been settled, patients get these medicines from the Ministry of Health.

 

Minister of Health: Problems are being solved

The Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou expressed the Ministry and the HIO’s readiness to solve all of the GHS’ problems and work even more tirelessly to improve the system and maintain its smooth operation. He said that many of the problems that emerged during the GHS’ introduction relating to GPs (waiting times, availability of GPs, familiarisation with the software) have been largely solved. Addressing GPs, he said that the system can only be upgraded and improved according the doctors’ feedback.

 

Aiming to avoid abuses

The Cyprus Patients’ Organisation (OSAK) will carry out an awareness campaign to help patients better understand the GHS. It has come to OSAK’s attention that some patients have failed to understand the importance of the GP within the GHS, and this campaign aims to correct this, as well as help patients learn how the system operates and the proper use of the system so as to avoid any abuses.

 

Doctor registrations with two specialties is prohibited

The HIO has made new recommendations to facilitate the smooth operation of the GHS. Specifically, the HIO has decided that, to ensure the quality of health services by GPs, doctors who choose to work in the GHS as GPs for adults are not allowed to also be registered as paediatricians for children. Additionally, doctors who register as paediatricians can’t also register as GPs for adults.