Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27

xxxxxxxxxxx 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? �� 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 Outdated procedures, introverted attitude 2

Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 39