Deputy shipping minister marks one year

The shipping industry is experiencing fast growth, and the government plans to take further steps to boost business, Deputy Minister of Shipping Natasa Pilides said on Thursday.

She was speaking at an event in Limassol, where she recapped developments one year after the junior ministry for shipping was established, as well as the ministry’s goals going forward.

More and more shipping companies are choosing Cyprus as their base of operations, Pilides noted.

Since the ministry’s creation the number of companies that are tax-resident in Cyprus has risen from 168 to 203, while many other corporations who are not tax-resident here are doing business.

The minister said that three per cent of the labour force, approximately 9,000 people, are currently employed in the shipping sector.

She said the ministry is operating according to a strategic plan developed by a major consultancy firm.

Addressing shipowners, Pilides said: “We would like to assure you we are doing all we can to upgrade Cyprus as a shipping destination, facilitating entrepreneurship and encouraging current businesses to bring more and more partners to set up shop here.”

On the idea of a shipping link with Greece, Pilides said it has been green-lit by the ministry.

The terms of reference for the tender have been drafted, and soon the ministry would be assessing the offers of interested companies.

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.