The report was presented recently by the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), in the presence of Undersecretary to the President Constantinos Petrides and significant personalities of the business community.

The World Bank evaluated a total of 189 economies on the basis of ten different indicators covering the entire life cycle of a company. This is the seventh consecutive year that Cyprus has been included in the Report, at the initiative of CIPA.

According to this year’s survey, Cyprus climbed 13 placesin the world rankings as regards the ease of doing business compared to last year (from 60th to 47th) and was ranked in the 10 economies with the most notable improvement in upgrading the business environment. A significant change to last year was the breadth of participation in the survey, since thanks to the significant contribution of the Undersecretary to the President, Constantinos Petrides, there were more participants from the Public Service.

In his address, CIPA chairman Christodoulos Angastiniotis thanked Petrides for his contribution to efforts to boost the participation of the Public Service in the survey.  He said this made it possible for the Public Service to identify possible weaknesses and give a clearer direction to the more general reform effort underway, based also on the recommendations and conclusions of the World Bank.

As Angastiniotis noted, these positive results should not lead to complacency. “In the ceaseless effort to stabilise and adapt the Cyprus economy to the new state of affairs, CIPA continues to contribute with the same dedication and determination.”

Referring to the importance of attracting investments, Angastiniotis stressed: “We have no other choice but to press ahead with strategic reforms and improvements.” We need simplification of procedures, transparency and speed, he said.

Addressing the event, Undersecretary to the President Constantinos Petrides said the conclusions of this year’s survey testify to the encouraging improvements in the investment environment in Cyprus. The government’s priority, he noted, is to continue concerted efforts to upgrade the investment environment through the close cooperation of the public and private sector, under the coordination of CIPA.

Source: InCyprus