In 2022, Cyprus achieved its goal of becoming a business centre.

According to the most recent data from the Business Facilitation Unit (BFU), which is overseen by the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry, over 1,200 foreign businesses as well as 9,800 specialized employees have relocated to Cyprus in 2022.

Cyprus' GDP has increased as a result of the influx of new businesses and workers, which has also increased domestic consumption and investment.

Additionally, it is estimated that the information and communications technology (ICT) industry alone made a contribution to the Cypriot economy of about €3 billion, which helped it become more resilient and more diversified by reducing its reliance on traditional industries like shipping and tourism.

The European Commission increased Cyprus' growth rate for 2022 by 2.4%, for a revised prediction of 5.6%, in recognition of the rapidly growing technology industry and its contribution to the Cypriot economy.

In its most recent post-memorandum audit report, the European Commission stated that "this is due to the better-than-expected performance of the tourism sector and the impact of the growing technology sector."

Evgenios Evgeniou, president of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, often known as Invest Cyprus, underlined the significance of the technology sector's growth for Cyprus in remarks to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

He clarified that in addition to its impact on the economy, it has a significant impact on diversifying Cyprus' economic model and lowering the country's trade deficit.

Based on the statistics currently available, it is predicted that the ICT sector's contribution to the economy reached over €3 billion in 2022, representing a growth of 58% year-on-year after contributing €1.9 billion in 2021.

Telecommunications companies are also included in this sector, although the gain of more than €1 billion, particularly in the midst of the crisis brought on by the war in Ukraine, can be substantially attributable to the migration of foreign businesses and the entry of specialized personnel to Cyprus.

The main city receiving foreign businesses and talent is Limassol.

Additionally, the strategy for drawing in highly specialized businesses and foreign talent combines incentives recommended by the Ministry of Finance, approved by the House of Parliament, and put into practice thanks to Invest Cyprus' cooperation with the Ministries of Energy, Interior, and Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy.

Evgeniou stated, "These achievements are nothing more than the fruit of the collective effort and action of the government, House of Parliament, as well as the public and private sector. This proves, therefore, that when we want, we can work collectively and bring positive results."

The president of Invest Cyprus continued, "Despite the fact that in 2023 the economic challenges will continue to be particularly intense, we are optimistic that the interest of highly specialised international companies to relocate to Cyprus will remain undiminished."

According to written communication received by Invest Cyprus, based on the most recent data, more than 35 major foreign corporations have shown interest in setting up or moving their headquarters to Cyprus.

The bulk of letters of intent for investments in Cyprus were from multinational corporations, many of whom are active in the technology industry and have already made investments in Cyprus.

Other economic sectors like energy, start-ups and entrepreneurship, education, health care, the hospitality industry, investment funds and asset management, and real estate have also benefited from these investments.

Additionally, the Ministry of Commerce's Business Facilitation Unit provided services to more than 1,200 businesses, all of which meet the necessary qualifications.

Additionally, the Civil Registry and Migration Department's statistics shows that in 2022, 9,800 work permits for specialized individuals and 8,100 family members who also relocated to Cyprus were awarded.

It should be highlighted that this is closely related to the fact that Cyprus is among the top ten countries for investment recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Greenfield FDI Performance Index.

Cyprus was able to raise its performance in this particular category by 150 percent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same time in 2019.

A whopping 600% surge in technological investment was also seen in Cyprus during this period compared to 2019.

By fLEXI tEAM