Gold Magazine March - April 2013, Issue 24 | Page 8

EDITORIAL
ISSUE 24
MARCH 14 - ApRIl 13, 2013
pRICE €4.95

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ast month’s election of Nicos Anastasiades as the seventh President of
Cyprus was something of a foregone conclusion, given the mess that the
administration of Demetris Christofias had got the country into. Yes,
Cyprus had been affected by the global financial crisis and yes, the haircut of Greece’s debt had undoubtedly led to the collapse of the island’s
oversized banking sector but that is only half of the story. The bailout
that was requested last year was for the economy too, and in June Cyprus needs to pay a
€1.4 billion bond redemption with money that is simply does not have. It is clear that
the previous government delayed reaching an agreement with the Troika in order to
avoid taking responsibility for a situation for which it held a major part, if not all, of the
blame. The Republic of Cyprus turns 53 this year and its voters are sophisticated enough
to understand the issues and to question traditional party allegiances. There was really no
way that AKEL could hold on to power.
So we have a new President and a new government. It is to Anastasiades’ credit that he
was quick to announce his first three key appointments: Michalis Sarris as Minister of
Finance, Ioannis Kasoulides as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Christopher Pissarides,
winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics, as Head of the newly-established National Economic Policy Council. All three are highly respected at home and abroad and
their appointment sent out the immediate and powerful message that since the February
24 poll things have changed in Cyprus. Normally we would say that the new government
now needs to be given time to deal with a crisis for which it cannot be held responsible.
However, time is not on Cyprus’ side and those in power need to act fast to repair the
damage to the island’s reputation caused not only by the bailout request and subsequent
delaying tactics which displeased our European partners considerably, but also by the
accusations of money laundering which refuse to go away despite official reassurances
about the strict enforcement of legislation and regulation in this area.
Nicos Anastasiades appears to mean business and in his interview (page 18) he makes it
clear that, at last, the government is being led by a politician who not only understands
the significance of the professional services sector to the economy but intends to prove it
through action and not just words.
Another key sector to which the President has made a major commitment is shipping
(page 22). Our interviews with officials and members of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber
reveal the importance they all place on the appointment of an Under-Secretary to the
President for Shipping (a Minister for Shipping in all but name) who will have direct
jurisdiction over the Department of Merchant Shipping, draft a long-overdue national
shipping policy and be an internationally recognized head of the island’s important shipping industry.
Elsewhere in this issue we look at Binary Options (or Binary Trading), the latest arrival
on the financial trading scene with an article (page 68) and an interview with the CEO
of Banc De Binary (page 70) and we talk to two people with strong opinions on the state
of the Cy