Share prices soar, with banks leading the way

By Hamza Hendawi

SHARE prices on the Cyprus Stock Exchange soared to new heights yesterday, with bourse supremos Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank leading a fresh charge on the record books.

The official all-share index rose 2.2 per cent to close at 99.90, just off the 100-point mark which ushered in the stock exchange’s formal life in March 1996 after years of operating under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce.

The value of trade stood at an all-time high of £6.35 million, thanks to heavy dealings in the shares of the two banks. “It was crazy on the floor today,” said Neofytos Neofytou of AAA United Stockbrokers Ltd. “It was the busiest day ever on the Cyprus Stock Exchange.”

All seven of the bourse’s sub-indices finished in positive territory, with tourism companies recording the highest rise, 3.94 per cent, followed by manufacturing, 2.52 per cent.

Banks came third with a rise of 2.42 per cent in their sub-index, but the sector’s stocks accounted for an impressive 42 per cent of volume with a value of £2.66 million, of which £1.61 million belonged to the Bank of Cyprus, almost twice the value of trade in Popular Bank stocks.

Shares of the Bank of Cyprus and the Popular Bank rose by an identical 11 cents to close at £4.33 and £4.14 respectively. Between them, the two titles accounted for 39.1 per cent of yesterday’s trade.

Both shares, traditionally the dominant force in the bourse, have been steadily gaining in strength this month. Popular Bank’s acquisition of Nicos Shacolas’ insurance business in a £47 million deal announced earlier this month gave the bank more than a 30 per cent share of the island’s insurance market.

The Bank of Cyprus on Friday announced a package to shareholders which included bonus shares at the ratio of 1 to 10, a new rights issue in September of 1.6 million shares at £2.5 each and new warrants with an exercise price of £3 in 2003. The package marked the bank’s centenary and went beyond market expectations.

The Hellenic Bank, something of a poor relative of the two heavyweights, had a slow day in comparison. Its stock ended unchanged at £2.74, with trade accounting for just 2.6 per cent of dealings.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.