Dear Colleagues,
In the present newsletter we would like to inform you about three recent announcements that you may find interesting and useful.
Extension For The Payment Of Companies Annual Levy For 2015
Following a request by a large number of professionals and general public who encounter difficulties to pay the annual fee of three hundred and fifty euro (€ 350) for the year 2015 for various reasons, it was decided by The Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver that this can be paid by 31 July 2015 instead of 30 June 2015.
We recommend you to ensure that your company has duly settled this obligation before 31 July 2015, so that to avoid charging of penalties.
Cyprus may benefit from Chinese investments flow
According to the recent report produced by the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), China is intended to triple its overseas investments by 2020. Such growth is closely connected with the recent developments in the Chinese policies concerning liberalization of abroad investments.
The period from 2000 to 2014 showed that China has invested around 46 billion Euros in the economy of member-states of European Union. The MERICS report also states that Cyprus may become one of the leading countries to receive an influential cash-flow from Chinese sources in the upcoming years. The analysts emphasize that Cyprus property sector is the most attractive for the Chinese investors providing them with the opportunity to receive EU passport by means of purchasing real estate and/or devoting money directly into local businesses, provided that the conditions of governmental investment programs are fully satisfied and covered.
The Chinese foreign direct investment type named as Outbound Foreign Direct Investment is expected to grow globally from 744 billion USD to approximately 2 trillion USD by 2020.
Legislation prohibiting loan securitization is extended until 10 July 2015
The extension of the law prohibiting loan securitization and the sale of loans to third parties has been approved by the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus. Previously the said ban had to be terminated on 26 June, but the Parliament decided to extend it for another 2 weeks.
The sale of loans is one of the crucial methods that shall decrease the level of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) in Cyprus. The laws regulating sale of loans, drafted by the Central Bank of Cyprus, are currently awaiting approval and remarks from the side of EU, EC and IMF (so called Troika). The said framework shall adopt limitations or specific criteria in relation to the participants of the loan sales market. One of the proposed most important conditions shall be the requirement to receive a license from the Central Bank of Cyprus for a bank intending to purchase such NPL, while the private equity funds shall receive approval in the form of special license from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. Another imperative rule states that the organisations willing to purchase NPLs shall be based in Cyprus.
