Sapienta Cyprus Selection, 2 Dec 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.
Hellenic Bank*. In the space of a week Hellenic Bank reported a net profit, completed its voluntary exit programme and found itself a major new shareholder. Some of the subscribers to Sapienta Country Analysis Cyprus are also significant shareholders in the bank, so we shall certainly be digging into what it all means in our December issue. Announcement from Hellenic Bank: https://www.hellenicbank.com/portalserver/hb-en-portal/en/about-us/news--insights/latest-news/shareholder-major-holding.
Tourism/Waste. Hotels will not be able to offer mini shampoos or other packaging and cafés will not be able to serve coffees in plastic cups under a long list of proposed new rules on packaging and waste management. From the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7155.
China supplies. It is probably wise to assume that anything imported from China is going to continue to take much longer than usual. Article via Agence France Presse on NDTV: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/over-6-million-in-covid-lockdown-in-chinas-iphone-city-zhengzhou-after-clashes-3549672.
Spyware. In case you missed it, the latest spyware revelations by Greek and Israeli investigative journalists. Article from Lighthouse Reports: https://www.lighthousereports.nl/investigation/flight-of-the-predator/ .
Crypto 3.0*. Institutional investing in crypto will be about as attractive as doing business with a sanctioned oligarch for the next few years, therefore it might be a while before Cyprus can be a hub for crypto, as was initially desired. Article from @EpsilonTheory on Twitter: https://www.epsilontheory.com/the-macguffin-part-2-the-story-arc-of-sbf-and-ftx/.