Insufficient exposure one of Cyprus' main problems in attracting foreign companies

Jacqueline Theodoulou 13:39 - 29 March 2023

Real Estate Reporter

One of the main problems Cyprus faces in attracting foreign companies is that it is not well known abroad and so investors don’t even consider it when deciding where to move, according to Yannis Matsis, Managing Director, Head of Cyprus at MUFG Investor Services.

He was speaking during a round-table discussion at the 17th Real Estate & Construction Conference & Exhibition on Wednesday, where he described how MUFG came to choose Cyprus to open its European office.

According to Matsis, when MUFG decided to open an office in Europe, it commissioned a study into potential locations, which included countries such as the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Malta and Greece. He said the fact that Cyprus wasn’t included on the list was because they didn’t even know it exists. “And this is our main problem,” he said. “We don’t have exposure.”

It was MUFG Investor Services’ CEO John Sergides who convinced the company to add Cyprus to the basket of countries. “Whatever they were seeking, we ticked the box,” said Matsis. Whether it was the island’s human capital in the financial industry, its attractive tax framework, the fact that it has the second lowest cost of living after Greece or its top-level supporting services, “whatever they wanted, Cyprus had it”.

Insufficient exposure one of Cyprus' main problems in attracting foreign companies

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