Why Cyprus

When we refer to Cyprus we refer to the Republic of Cyprus. When you buy a property in the south you do so with the EU safeguards in place.

Situated at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, Cyprus is the third largest of all the Mediterranean islands, after Sicily and Sardinia. Its area is 9250 square kilometres, stretching 240 kilometres from west to east and 96 kilometres from north to south.

The population is approximately 752 000 of Greek origin, but almost 2.7 million tourists visit the island each year.

Cyprus is so attractive as an investment option, securing an enviable reputation for nurturing its flourishing economy and encouraging an unrivalled quality of life. Here's why...

With a long track record as a centre of trade, shipping and banking, Cyprus is also reaping the benefits of becoming a member of the EU in 2004.Tourism is continuously increasing, attracting higher spending visitors with golf courses and winter training facilities springing up across the island for professional athletes to complement summer package tourists. Ship management and ownership is also growing with development underway and changes to the Cyprus Registry to differentiate it from open registers elsewhere in the world. Investment in a skilled, technological workforce is also part of its game plan.

By January 2008, Cyprus will be a key player in Europe by adopting the "euro", sealing its place as a major gateway to trade on the continent. Cyprus holds all the cards when it comes to quality of life, which can be seen by recent statistics.

In 2005, GDP growth edged close to four percent and with the help of expenditure cuts and more tax revenues, the fiscal deficit fell to an estimated 2.5 per cent of GDP compared with 4.1 per cent in 2004, thus satisfying the Maastricht rules for the first time since 2001. Cyprus is on track to reduce the fiscal deficit to two percent this year and has a target of 0.5 per cent for 2009. And public debt, which is forecast to fall to 67 per cent of GDP by the end of this year, is also heading in the right direction towards the Maastricht ceiling of 60 per cent. These healthy figures have been achieved alongside a repositioning of the Cyprus economy, which is racing forward as a regional gateway into the EU with a strong focus on the services factor.

Cyprus is an excellent location for companies wanting to penetrate the Middle East market. Cyprus has the lowest corporate tax rate in the EU and signed 40 double taxation treaties with countries in Eastern Europe and across the Middle East. That creates a mechanism for companies to use Cyprus as a base for investment in third-world countries.

Besides the points listed above you will find more in depth useful information on Cyprus on our website but here are our resons:

Most of all Cypriots are well known for their friendliness, generosity, kindness and hospitality. Going out of their way to help you is a way of life for them. We beleive that this has been voted as the number one reason why Cyprus is preferred as the best destination in Europe.

An island of beauty and contrasts, where you can enjoy the nice cool mountain weather during the morning and be at the beautiful golden beaches by mid afternoon.

Traditional villages are in contrast to modern cosmopolitan towns with luxurious hotels and restaurants.

It offers peace of mind where people are friendly and the crime level is very low.

One of the most popular destinations for Europeans looking to move to warmer climate.

There are a large number of expatriates drawn to the Mediterranean island.

Property is the second largest industry following closely on the heels of tourism.

It enjoys a high standard of living at a lot of lower costs than any other European country. Its excellent infrastructure, high quality of life, low cost of living and generous tax incentives attracts people to the island from all over the world.

The sun shines for more than 340 days of the year.

The legal system in Cyprus is based on the British system. Legal fees are much lower than the U.K and other European countries.

People drive on the left side.

If you are a resident of Cyprus your pension is taxed at only 5%.

There is a lot of sport clubs such as tennis, bowling, squash, shooting, sailing etc.

At the moment there are a number of International Standard golf courses in Cyprus. The Cyprus Tourist Organisation has announced recently that there will be 10 new golf courses soon with at least 1 in every major town.

Cyprus has an advanced and inexpensive medical care. Inexpensive Private Medical Insurance is also available.

Britons in Cyprus

The number of overseas properties owned by British households almost trebled in the past decade

There are currently almost 60 000 Britons living in Cyprus - the sixth most popular destination for British expatriates, behind Spain, France, U.S.A, Bulgaria and Turkey.

Cyprus has 6th highest employment rate

Cyprus had the sixth highest employment rate in the European Union with levels above the EU25 average.
Figures released by Eurostat show the employment rate in Cyprus for men and women aged 15 to 64 was 68.5% - above the EU25 average of 63.8%. The highest levels were 75.9% in Denmark and the lowest was Poland with 52.8%.
The employment rate for men in Cyprus was 79.2% - the third highest is the EU25 and only a fraction below first placed Denmark with 79.8%. The EU25 average was 71.3%.
But employment levels among women in Cyprus were not that impressive. At 58.4%, they were the 14th highest, just above the EU25 average of 56.3%. The number of employees on a temporary job in Cyprus was 14%, very close to the EU25 average of 14.5%. Spain leads the 25 member bloc with 33.3%, while Estonia was the last with 3.7%.
But Cyprus had the largest difference among the 25 member states as to the share of men and women with temporary jobs.
More specifically, 9% of men had temporary jobs compared to 19.5% for women.
Cyprus had the third lowest long-term unemployment rate (one year or more) among the 25 with 1.2%. The EU25 average was 4.1%. The UK had the lowest rate with 1% and Slovakia the highest with 11.7%.
Long-term unemployment among women was more than twice that than for men 1.8% compared to 0.8%.

Cyprus high in self-employed league

Cyprus had the third highest rate of self-employment in the European Union, joining fellow southern Member States Greece, Italy and Portugal with rates well above the EU25 average of 16%.
Within the EU25, self-employment accounted for 16% of total employment across the NFBE, with 19% of men self-employed compared with 11% of women.
For Cyprus, the figure was 24% - 30.6% for men and 11.9%for women. SMEs, which employ less than 250 people, are the backbone of the EU's NFBE as they represented 99.8% of EU25 NFBE enterprises in 2003. They employed about two thirds of the workforce - 30% in micro business with less than 10 employees, 21%in small business with workforce of 10 and 49 and 17% in medium sized enterprises between 50 and 259 people.

Among the Member States, the highest rates of self-employment in 2005 were registered in Greece 32%, Italy 29%, Cyprus 24% and Portugal 21%. The lowest rates were recorded in Latvia 7%, Estonia 8%, Denmark, Lithuania and Slovenia 9%.

Construction

In the EU25, the highest rates of self-employment were recorded for the construction industry 25%, business related services 23%, distributive trades 20% and hotels and restaurants 19%, compared to 8% in manufacturing and 11% in transport, storage and communication. In 2003, micro enterprises accounted for 30% of jobs in the NFBE in the EU25 and created one fifth 21% of the value added of the sector. Italy 47%, Poland 41%, Portugal 40% and Spain 39%, had the highest percentage of people employed in these micro businesses, while the smallest shares were found in Slovakia 13%, Lithuania 18%, Denmark and Germany both 20%.

Tourism soars in Cyprus

The tourism industry in Cyprus has again proved lucrative in 2007despite the fact that the number of visitors to the Mediterranean island has fallen.

Revenue from tourism increased by a staggering 20.2 per cent.

Golf course development in Paphos

Cyprus is all out in promoting' the development of golf courses in the Paphos region with foreign investment, offering the local and overseas business community attractive incentives. The new strategy for the development of golf courses allows for up to 14 more golf courses to be developed, which will further enhance Paphos' long-held image as a quality tourist destination and contribute towards the enrichment and diversification of tourism in Cyprus on the whole.
The economy is growing at a satisfactory rate underpinned by long-term macroeconomic stability. The Gross Domestic Product in 2006 reached 13.6 billion euros and prospects for the current year remain positive with a projected growth of about 4 per cent.
The per capita income is one of the highest in the region, and in terms of purchasing power parity it stands at about 84 per cent of EU average. The country also enjoys full employment conditions, with the registered unemployment rate currently at 3.8 per cent while inflation stands at 2 per cent.
That Cyprus offers a number of comparative advantages as an international business centre. These include its strategic geographical location, a high educational level of its workforce, social cohesion and a safe tourist environment, as well as a pleasant climate.
Cyprus has a satisfactory state of infrastructure, a modern and transparent legal, financial and accounting system and to an attractive tax regime with a uniform corporate tax of 10%, one of the lowest corporate taxes in Europe.
Investment policy is completely liberal and allows 100% foreign participation in all sectors of the economy, not only for EU citizens but also for investors from third countries.
All restrictions concerning maximum allowable percentage of foreign participation, as well as minimum level of foreign investment in any enterprise in Cyprus, have been lifted as from January 2000 for EU citizens and from 1st October 2004 for non EU citizens, unless otherwise stated in the legislation.
The government is focused on its main responsibility to ensure economic stability, an attractive business environment, and the creation of the necessary infrastructure, the extension of support services and the provision of appropriate incentives.