(CIPA). Indeed, Cyprus has much to recommend it to
foreign investors.
‘There are three main reasons why Cyprus is an
attractive financial centre,’ says Harneys’ Aristodemou.
‘We have a solid and friendly tax system with a good
network of double tax treaties, the island’s succession to
the EU has given it credibility, and its geographical posi-
tion at the crossroads between Europe, Asia, the Middle
East and Africa is extremely beneficial, both strategical-
ly and culturally, allowing inbound and outbound
European investments via Cyprus.’
Notably, Cyprus was added to the white list of the
OECD and the G20 in 2009, which has given the mar-
ket further international kudos. It is no surprise there-
fore, that new markets are starting to look at the island
with ill-concealed interest.
‘We have lines of investment open with Central and
Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East,’ says Elias
Neocleous, head of corporate and commercial at
Limassol-headquarted firm, Andreas Neocleous & Co.
‘India, for example, has established an income tax office
in Cyprus. It wants to show that the country is encour-
aging the growing relationship. Germany is also a
strong market for us, particularly for shipping and ship-
ping finance.’ The firm has wisely chosen to branch out
to keep up with the internationalisation of the market,
growing to become one of the largest firms in south-
east Europe, with offices throughout Cyprus as well as
overseas in Moscow, Budapest, Kiev, Sevastopol, Prague
and Brussels, with a Beijing office due to open later this
year. ‘ 98 – 99% of our clients are non-Cypriot and these
are clients with interests around the world,’ adds
Neocleous. ‘Many offshore firms are looking for part-
ners here but we want to stay independent.’
ONSHORE
It is no secret that there several offshore firms have been
involving themselves more in the onshore space as
clients starts hedging their bets between tax-favourable
onshore and offshore jurisdictions; understandably a
trend that Cyprus firms are keen to exploit, while at the
same time making it clear that Cyprus boasts a transparent financial regime.
‘We are no longer an offshore jurisdiction,’ says
Michalis Kyriakides, corporate head at Harris Kyriakides
LLC. ‘We do not have zero taxation but we do have sig-
