New Kuwaiti interest in investing

THERE are encouraging signs of interest from Kuwaiti investment funds in investing in the island’s tourism and real estate sectors, Commerce and Tourism Minister Antonis Paschalides said yesterday.

“We received information that there are investment funds in Kuwait that are interested, and then our Foreign Ministry also told us there was interest there”, he said.

Paschalides added that in view of this positive news, a trade mission to Kuwait that was programmed for 2011 has been brought forward to October-November this year, “so as not to miss this particular opportunity”.

The Commerce Minister will head up a sizeable delegation of business and government representatives. The plan is to allocate one day for a series of presentations to Kuwaiti officials and businessmen on the investment opportunities to be found in Cyprus, as well as having a number of separate meetings with interested parties.

Paschalides said that specific interest in the island’s tourism and real estate sectors has been indicated.

The Minister declined to give further details, saying “we have two or three things in mind, but we do not want to say any more, as our tactic is to be cautious until we close the deal”.

Paschalides said that there is also interest from China in a number of sectors of the island’s economy.

“Various state organisations and companies have come to take a look at us regarding specific sectors such as tourism, real estate, container shipment, but also energy”, he said.

He added that his Ministry and others are making a real effort to determine which particular organisations are involved, so that a formal visit to Cyprus by their representatives can be arranged.

Paschalides said that he had already invited “various very senior officials” to Cyprus regarding the tourism sector, and in a few weeks he will know exactly when they can be welcomed to our country.

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.