Gold Magazine June - July 2013, Issue 27 | Page 68

CYPRUS SHIPPING DIRECTORY

KPMG LIMITED
the importance of this sector to Cyprus’
economy further as, together with the oil &
gas sector, it is one of the major prospects
for the island and an area where we currently
maintain a competitive advantage. If we take
a long-term view as a country and form a
robust strategy, the industry will continue to
attract significant foreign investment to the
island and help the economy return to positive growth.

Sylvia Loizides Board Member

The local shipping industry has always
maintained a perhaps surprisingly low
profile. Do you think that it needs to
adopt a new, more proactive stance? Do
you have any suggestions how it should
go about this?
I don’t necessarily agree that our shipping
industry has maintained a low profile.
However, definitely more can and should be
done, given the current economic situation,
to further promote Cyprus as a maritime
hub. Our new tonnage tax regime is the cornerstone of our shipping industry and this
needs to be the centre of all promotions. I
believe we should also be targeting maritime
countries that have not traditionally been
associated with Cyprus, such as Japan, Korea
and now China, and actively promoting our
regime. Ours is the only EU-approved regime and it is critical that we make the most
of this competitive advantage. Also, it is up
to us as professionals servicing the shipping
industry to go out and ‘sell’ the Cyprus regime as much as possible.

T

he importance of the shipping industry to
Cyprus has been acknowledged for several
decades now. How much more significant is it
to the economy during these difficult present
times?
The shipping industry has been a central part of
the country’s economy for many years now. It
is a large contributor to our GDP, it employs
thousands of people and enhances our status as a
financial centre. The economic crisis has elevated

66 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

Are there steps that the Government
could take in order to make Cyprus an
even more attractive maritime centre for
shipping companies of all kinds to set up
their headquarters?
Firstly, I believe the authorities should actively benchmark our tonnage tax regime
vis-à-vis competitor regimes both within
and outside the EU and seek to improve it
where we lack competitiveness but always
within the EU guidelines on state aid to
maritime transport. This is important to