Foreign exchange boosts island's rapid recovery

Following its financial crisis in 2012-13, which led to years of economic reforms and austerity measures, Cyprus successfully exited its 10 billion euros ($10.62 billion) bailout program in March 2016 and has entered a new phase of economic stability.

As Harris Georgiades, the finance minister who led the island's transformation, put it: "Cyprus has come out of the crisis stronger, wiser and better prepared for future economic instability."

The country is one of the European Union's best examples of how an economy can be rapidly revived and modernized.

"Cyprus (is a) safe and stable location connecting Europe with the Middle East and Asia and this is one of the major reasons why many foreign companies are moving their bases to the island," said Georgiades.

The island country' economy is mainly based on financial and other services, tourism and shipping.

Foreign exchange companies in particular have found that the country is the ideal place to base their operations and benefit from the European market and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, which is a law that harmonizes investment regulations for all EU member states.

On top of this, Cyprus has strict regulations with strong customer protections and its corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent is one of the lowest in the EU.

(China Daily 03/13/2017 page16)