Cyprus Business Now
In addition, the bank’s solid capital position was highlighted by a pro forma CET1 ratio of 26.55 per cent and a pro forma Total Capital ratio of 32.19 per cent, both significantly above the minimum regulatory requirements.
“Hellenic Bank’s performance for the first half of 2024 was solid,” said interim CEO Antonis Rouvas, who noted that the bank’s profitability was primarily driven by higher interest income.
“This performance demonstrates the resilience and robustness of our business model, despite the continuing challenges and uncertainty rising from the geopolitical and economic environment,” he added.
According to the bank’s financial results, Hellenic Bank also made progress in reducing risk, with a non-performing exposure (NPE) ratio of 2.4 per cent, excluding NPEs covered by the APS agreement.
The results showed that the NPE provision coverage, also excluding those covered by the APS agreement, stood at 39 per cent.
Elsewhere, one of the significant developments for Hellenic Bank was the agreement with CNP Assurances on CNP Cyprus Insurance Holdings, which is set to create the largest insurance operator in Cyprus.
“In July 2024 we signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement with CNP Assurances to acquire its subsidiary CNP Cyprus Insurance Holdings Limited, operating in Cyprus and Greece,” the chief executive officer said.
Indicatively, the company highlighted a house in Peyia that fetched an eye-watering €5.35 million.
The company said that the data, sourced from the Cyprus Land Registry, highlights a clear preference for residential properties among the top ten sales, which collectively amounted to €27.2 million.
The Limassol district was particularly active, contributing six out of the top ten transactions and totalling €14.3 million.
This was complemented by significant sales in Paphos, which added three high-value transactions worth €11.5 million, and one in Nicosia, rounding off the list with €1.4 million.
The most expensive properties spanned various types and locations, with the leading sale being a house in the Peyia municipality, valued at €5.35 million.
According to a report released on Friday by the Statistical Service of Cyprus (Cystat), this marks a significant improvement from the €345.90 million surplus (1.2 per cent of GDP) reported during the same period in 2023.
Total revenue for the first seven months of 2024 increased by €953.10 million, a rise of 14.2 per cent, reaching €7.66 billion, up from €6.71 billion in the corresponding period last year.
The service explained that this growth was driven by increases across several revenue streams.
Taxes on production and imports rose by €175.70 million (7.3 per cent) to €2.58 billion, with net VAT revenue contributing €1.72 billion, a 9.5 per cent increase from 2023.
Revenue from taxes on income and wealth also saw a significant rise of €238.50 million (14.6 per cent), amounting to €1.87 billion.
The Industrial Production Index reached 117.3 units, with 2021 acting as the base year set at 100 points, marking an overall rise of 5.5 per cent for the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023.
In particular, the manufacturing sector saw a modest growth of 2.1 per cent compared to June last year.
More substantial increases were observed in the electricity supply sector, which surged by 33.7 per cent, as well as in mining and quarrying and water supply and materials recovery, which increased by 3.3 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively.
Within manufacturing, the most notable gains were in the production of electronic and optical products and electrical equipment, which soared by 15.2 per cent.
Similarly, machinery and equipment, including motor vehicles and other transport equipment, rose by 14.2 per cent, and the sector of furniture and repair and installation of machinery and equipment grew by 13.1 per cent.
The event, titled “Meet EULEP: Innovation in Education and Entrepreneurship,” will take place on September 5, 2024, at the Sky Lounge Café Mercedes in Nicosia, starting at 7:30 pm.
The chamber explained that the EULEP project, co-funded by the European Union, aims to revolutionise vocational education by offering tailor-made programmes in artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and social innovation (SI).
Moreover, according to the announcement, the project is designed “to equip you with the skills to lead in the digital age“, with a particular focus on continuous vocational education and training (CVET).
The employees had been promised similar jobs after the collapse of the Larnaca Marina tender with Kition Ocean Holdings. However, for 15 out of the 87 employees, the transport ministry was unable to find roles within Anetel.
“We tried to find work for all the employees,” Vafeades told CyBC in the morning. He revealed that some of the 15 dismissed employees were earning high wages, with one reportedly earning €11,000 per month.
In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the former employees expressed their dismay at the situation. Vafeades clarified that termination letters were issued because there were no available jobs that matched the roles these individuals previously held.
He added that the Larnaca municipality, which had taken over some of the projects Kition was planning, indicated they might hire personnel from the former project manager’s team.
Vafeades explained that after the transition period, it became clear that no suitable positions were available for some of the workers.
The Finance Ministry reiterated this week that it’s not in a position to evaluate the mooted Cyprus-Greece electricity interconnector project as several parameters remain unknown, while the cost-benefit analysis provided by the project promoter got leaked to the media a day after being shared with parliamentarians.
Giorgos Panteli, permanent secretary at the finance ministry, told the Cyprus News Agency that the ministry’s stance on the matter will depend on the project’s impact on the economy and energy sectors of the country.
Panteli pointed out that these parameters involve regulatory decisions, the project’s financing agreement, the corporate structure of the organisation, and the business plan, all of which are not yet finalised.
“There is this unknown factor, which prevents us from completing our evaluation because it is important to have these elements before us to assess the project’s impact on the economy and specifically on the energy sector,” he said.
The permanent secretary was referring to how the project will affect conventional energy production, the development of renewable energy sources (RES) in the country, and electricity consumption prices.
In any case, he clarified that whether or not the decision is made for Cyprus to participate in the share capital of the Great Sea Interconnector, the evaluation of the economic impacts must be conducted.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Friday, August 30 with profits.
The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 180.87 points at 12:59 during the day, reflecting an increase of 0.95 per cent over the previous day of trading.
The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 110.13 points, representing a rise of 0.95 per cent.
The total value of transactions came up to €456,133, until the aforementioned time during trading.
In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and hotel indexes rose by 1.05 per cent, 0.35 per cent and 1.53 per cent respectively. The investment firm index fell by 0.04 per cent.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (+1.65 per cent), Hellenic Bank (+1.64 per cent), Salamis Tours (-0.58 per cent), Demetra (no change), and Louis PLC (+2.61 per cent).