x

Society

Economy Accelerating Near Bailout End

NICOSIA — Cyprus expects its economy to gather pace in coming years as the country looks to emerge from its international bailout program in 2016.

The finance ministers said Monday the economy could grow by more than 1.8 percent in 2016 and above 2 percent the following year if authorities can keep the politics and finances even-keeled.

Presenting next year’s budget to a parliamentary committee, Harris Georgiades said growth this year would reach 1.5 percent, beating creditors’ projections.

Georgiades said growth drivers include the maritime, tourism, services and real estate sectors. He said public debt will drop below 100 percent of annual economic output in the next few years.

Cyprus is expected next year to end a 10 billion euro ($11.36 billion) rescue deal it got from creditors in March, 2013 that forced a grab of uninsured deposits in its two largest banks and shuttered the second largest lender.

Georgiades said the country won’t need any additional support from creditors as it wraps up its rescue program and ruled out any new tax increases or spending cuts.

He said that high unemployment and the huge number of bad loans that still burden banks are the main challenges. The best way to deal with them, he said, is sustaining a steady growth rate in the economy.

RELATED

Despite constant efforts to show it’s not a haven for the rich and criminals to hide their cash, Cyprus was once again rebuked for money laundering and financial interests, this time by the European Commission.

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

A Palestinian Baby in Gaza is Born an Orphan in an Urgent Cesarean Section after an Israeli Strike

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Sabreen Jouda came into the world seconds after her mother left it.

ATHENS - S&P credit rating agency upgraded Greece’s outlook to 'positive' from 'stable' on Friday, April 19, 2024 while maintaining the investment-grade rating of BBB-.

ATHENS - The Ministry of National Economy and Finance is pressing ahead with a legislative regulation, which it will submit to Parliament within the week or at the latest the following day, to slash the fees for POS transactions.

ATHENS - Throughout 2023, Intrakat Group executed its strategic plan with remarkable success, witnessing robust performance across all business segments.

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.