Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 39
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WE NOW HAVE A
CHANCE TO DEVELOP
A LEANER, FASTER AND
FRIENDLIER ECONOMY
THAT WILL BE MORE
ATTRACTIVE TO FDI
with a reduction in operating and human capital costs. We now have a chance to develop a
leaner, faster and friendlier economy that will
be more attractive to FDI.
Gold: Have you had any indications so far
of any decrease in interest or, on the other
hand, of investors looking at Cyprus as a
place where they will find business opportunities, precisely because of the crisis?
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C.E.A.: We are currently seeing increased interest from new investors looking for business
opportunities in emerging growth areas such
as renewable energy and oil and gas. A crisis
always brings about new opportunities which
visionary investors are able to identify and take
advantage of. The new geopolitical landscape
in the area, as well as the developments in oil
and gas, will bring about new partnerships and
areas of collaboration such as the one we are
currently forging with Israel.
Gold: Even before the agreement with the
Eurogroup, CIPA had made a number of
proposals to the previous government on
simplifying certain processes and cutting
bureaucracy. What kind of response were
they given?
C.E.A.: We have so far seen minimal imple-
mentation. We welcome any changes that will
improve the ease of doing business and result in
prosperity and growth. I think that we are all in
agreement that our governmental processes and
bureaucracy require re-engineering and extreme
streamlining in order to speed up results and be
more customer-oriented. Outdated procedures,
introverted attitude 2