Cyprus’ business-services model, which aimed at attracting “companies with presence in bank deposits was a model that ran its course,” Georgiades told a group of international lawyers, members of the International Jurists network in Limassol recently.

Cyprus is both “attractive and competitive” enough to lure companies with substance, he continued. The business services sector is one of the driving forces of Cyprus’ economy.

The International Jurist network, which consists of 36 law firms and 1,250 law professionals from 35 countries, holds meetings twice a year in countries in which its members operate. The Limassol meeting was attended by the network’s management committee comprised of law professionals from the USA, South Africa, Germany, Czech Republic, Honk Kong, Cyprus, and other jurisdictions.

The finance minister said once more that he expects the Cypriot economy to grow up to 3% this year even as it faces challenges such as the high burden of non-performing loans in the banks’ balance sheets.

What the economy needs most in order to recover is “stability and predictability,” Georgiades said, and repeated his assurances that the government will avoid resorting to tax hikes.

He also said that he is concerned about “some directions” into which European policies are heading. “I would not like to see regulation going to the other end of getting oppressive and suffocating,” he said.

Source: Cyprus Mail