Sapienta Cyprus Selection, 11 Nov 2022
Regular Cyprus-relevant links
A regular selection of links to articles of medium- to long-term relevance to people living and doing business in Cyprus. Topics marked with * will be analyzed in our next monthly issue of Sapienta Country Analysis Cyprus.
Natural gas*. Energean, the company trying to persuade the government that it can supply Cyprus with gas from Israel, announced another discovery offshore Israel this week. Article from Globes: https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-energean-finds-gas-in-zeus-well-west-of-karish-1001429023#utm_source=RSS
Banks*. The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised capital requirements for a small number of (unnamed) banks to meet climate and environmental risks (C&E). In our November issue we shall revisit our analysis of the vulnerability of Cypriot banks to emissions-heavy sectors. Article from Responsible Investor: https://www.responsible-investor.com/ecb-raises-bank-capital-requirements-over-climate-risks/
Crypto crash for dummies. In June global media announced that Cyprus was planning to position itself as a global hub for crypto currencies. It is a new sector with many growing pains and this week crypto currencies had their second major crash this year. Most explainers about why it happened are an ‘AlphabetiSpaghetti’ of abbreviations. This is the simplest and most comprehensive that I have found. Article from Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-behind-ftxs-fall-battling-billionaires-failed-bid-save-crypto-2022-11-10/. This Twitter thread also gives a general idea.
Tourism. If you are renting accommodation on a short-term basis and are not already registered with the Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) it is going to be increasingly difficult to rent your place on standard online platforms as EU rules tighten. European Commission press release: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_6493
Egypt. Relations between Qatar (friend of Turkey) and Egypt are warming up. Buyers from Qatar agreed to buy 25% of Vodafone Egypt this week. Article from Madr Masr: https://www.madamasr.com/en/2022/11/07/news/economy/qatar-secures-first-government-shares-acquisition-in-egypt/
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