- Galt inntrykk av Kypros' økonomi
Kypros' ambassade i Sverige reagerer på ABC Nyheters artikkel om det kypriotiske eiendomsmarkedet som kan sende landet ut i en «gresk» krise.
Den kypriotiske ambassaden har bedt om spalteplass i forbindelse med ABC Nyheters artikkel om økonomien på Kypros: Spår storsmell for Kypros
Vi gjengir her innlegget fra ambassaden i sin helhet:
«We would like to comment on a number of issues that were raised by the article published on the 8th of August, 2010, in the Norwegian newspaper ABC Nyheter, regarding the Cyprus economy.
To our opinion, this article has a number of shortcomings and gives a false impression to the readers, regarding the state of the Cyprus economy and its economic outlook.
First of all, we would like to point out that the Cyprus economy has not been directly affected by the financial crisis, due to the negligible degree of exposure of the Cypriot banks, insurance companies and provident funds to toxic products. However, the real economy has inevitably been affected in an indirect manner, due to its small size and open nature. Consequently, the rate of economic growth in 2009 decelerated to around -1.7 %, a percentage which compares favourably to the EU average, which was -4%.
Artikkelen fortsetter under annonsenArtikkelen fortsetter under annonsenThe economy of Cyprus depends strongly on its external sector. In the long-run, its success depends on the ability to maintain competitiveness in the global markets, while in the short-run, Cyprus’ growth depends heavily on economic developments in its trading partners. This explains the fact that the impact of the crisis on the Cyprus real economy is mainly attributed to the deteriorating export demand, which mainly affected the sectors of manufacturing, construction, real estate and tourism.
Artikkelen fortsetter under annonsenArtikkelen fortsetter under annonsenThe significant economic deceleration that the UK faced in 2009 had a major impact in the tourism sector, since roughly half of the total number of tourists visiting Cyprus, come from the UK. Similarly, a slowdown in the construction sector has been evident, as the external demand for housing in Cyprus stems mainly from UK citizens.
Artikkelen fortsetter under annonsenIt is important to note that the crisis affected Cyprus with a time lag, henceforth the year 2010 is expected to be, at least, as challenging as the year 2009. However, some positive economic developments have been observed in the first half of 2010, showing that the Cyprus economy is gradually exiting from the economic crisis but there is still uncertainty.
Regarding the property market, it is true that there has been a slowdown in Cyprus, but this can be rather characterised as a smooth adjustment to more normal levels, than a sign of destruction of this sector.
Moreover, there is now increased confidence that the negative spillover effects from Greece are now being contained, owing to the joint IMF – EU program concluded with Greece. In this sense, the Cypriot banks are not expected to be seriously impacted from the economic crisis in Greece.
Artikkelen fortsetter under annonsenIt is true though, that one of the challenges that the Cyprus economy faces, is its public sector. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has acknowledged this problem and in response, it is in the process of implementing a number of public sector reforms, which will address the growing size of civil service.
To conclude, definitely no big crash is expected for the Cyprus economy and as the recent numbers reveal, Cyprus has slowly entered the path to economic recovery. This belief is also confirmed by major international organisations and rating agencies, that have recently published their assessment on Cyprus economy. Cyprus also exhibits a sound record, showing its resilience on economic shocks and its ability to adjust appropriately. All in all, the analysis provided by the said article is not founded and is already in contrast with reality.»