Today more than ever, wealthy families are faced with new risks, challenges, and changing needs both for the business and the family. Family Offices are evolving to meet these needs:

Protect the family wealth through effective asset protection, investment management, and succession planning.

Enhance family cohesion and transition between generations regarding the family’s legacy, strategy, values, and key decisions.

Exercise better control over family holdings/assets through the right governance.

Manage the various risks facing the family (including investment risk, reputation risk, etc.) by proactively preparing for various eventualities.

Manage all aspects of family needs and affairs, by providing the relevant support and alleviating administration burden.

PWC: WHY DO PEOPLE CREATE FAMILY OFFICES?

The rapidly transforming socioeconomic scenery, increasing complexity, scrutiny, and new regulatory requirements are some of the reasons why many wealthy families set up their own Family Office to better control their wealth and handle their private affairs. Since every family has its own unique set of circumstances, there are as many types of family offices as there are families. Some provide administrative support while others oversee the management of investments and coordinate all of the family's financial and personal/lifestyle needs.

K. TREPPIDES & CO: SUCCESSION PLANNING AND NEXT GENERATION – WHAT IS THE DANGER?

The ideal scenario for a family business is to continue to grow for future generations without any difficulties. However, it might be difficult to find the right successor within the family to lead the business into the future.

NEXT GENERATION

The next generation might not be interested in a position within the family office or might not have the capabilities to lead the office after the current generation steps down. However, it might also be the case that some of the youngest family members are willing and capable to take over the family office functions, but at the end there can only be one prevailing chief executive officer.

On the contrary, non-family members might be better qualified to take over the role and therefore to run the business in a more efficient and effective way.

IMPLIED RULE OF 92%

The rule states that the 92% of a family’s wealth is lost by the third generation. The main reason behind this is that families tend to focus merely on ‘hard needs’ (such as business operations, investment strategy, and assets allocations) at the expense of recognising the importance of ‘soft needs’ (such as succession planning, philanthropy, and the responsibilities associated with having access to such vast sums of wealth).

Historically, having a poorly implemented succession plan, or no succession plan, can contribute significantly to families losing almost all their wealth by the third generation. To prevent this, the establishment of a family office has an implacable role to prove that the said rule is wrong.

The submission of data concerning beneficial ownership is due by 12 March 2022 in accordance with the relevant announcement of the Department of Registrar of Companies and Intellectual Property.

LEGAL BACKGROUND

In early 2021, the Cyprus government transposed the 5th EU Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive into Cyprus legislation, amending the Law for the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering Activities.
Consequently, all companies and other legal entities that are incorporated or registered in the Republic of Cyprus are now obliged to identify and record onto the Beneficial Ownership (BO) Register all relevant information about their beneficial ownership.

DEFINITION OF BENEFICIAL OWNER

In accordance with the law, a beneficial owner is defined as any natural person(s) who ultimately owns or controls the Obliged Entity and/or the natural person(s) on whose behalf a transaction or activity is being conducted and includes at least:

a. for corporate entities: the natural person(s) who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity through direct or indirect ownership of a sufficient percentage of the shares or voting rights or ownership interest in that entity, including through bearer shareholdings, or through control via other means. A shareholding of 25% plus one share or an ownership interest of more than 25% in the customer held by a natural person shall be an indication of direct ownership.

b. for trusts: the settlor; the trustee(s); the protector, if any; the beneficiaries, or where the individuals benefitting from the legal arrangement or entity have yet to be determined, the class of persons in whose main interest the legal arrangement or entity is set up or operates and any other natural person exercising ultimate control over the trust by means of direct or indirect ownership or by other means.

c. for legal entities such as foundations and legal arrangements similar to trusts: the natural person(s) holding equivalent or similar positions to those referred to in point (b) above.

OBLIGED ENTITIES

Entities considered as ‘obliged entities’ are the following:
• Companies incorporated or registered under the Companies Law Cap. 113
• European Public Limited Liability Companies Based on a legal opinion recently obtained from the Attorney General’s Office, partnerships are considered to be legal entities and as such they must disclose BO details in the register. This will be implemented with system amendment for which a relevant announcement will be published by the Registrar of Companies in due course.

The Directive does not apply to the following entities:
• Companies listed on a regulated market that is subject to disclosure requirements consistent with EU law
• Companies whose directors submitted an application for strike off pursuant to Article 327 (2A) (a) of the Companies Law, prior to the commencement of the Directive (12 March 2021)
• Companies whose liquidation has been enacted before the commencement of the Directive (12 March 2021)
• Overseas companies (branches).

All entities whose strike off or liquidation has been enacted after 12 March 2021 are obliged to record the details of their beneficial owners in the BO Register.

The law also provides for the creation of a BO Register for trusts. The information to be entered in the register shall include the identity of the settlor, the trustee, the protector, the beneficiaries and any other natural person exercising effective control over the trust. The information will not be accessible to the public, but it can be accessed only by competent regulators or supervising authorities. This register shall be maintained by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC); however, no official guidance has been issued yet.

Full version of this article is available at www.cy.andersen.com

Паромное сообщение с Европой восстановится весной 2022 г. Статистика от Cystat. В кипрских банках растет количество депозитов и снижается доля заемных средств.

28 января 2022 г. закончился срок подачи заявок на создание пассажирского морского сообщения между Кипром и Грецией. 25 ноября 2021 г. был объявлен тендер. К участию в конкурсе проявили интерес нескольких компаний. “Представленные тендерные заявки будут рассматриваться в соответствии с положениями законодательства”, - говорится в сообщении Подминистерства шипинга.

Руководитель ведомства Василис Димитриадис заявил, что “мы пока не празднуем победу, но считаем это важным шагом. Интерес компаний к проекту объясняется пересмотром условий контракта, переработкой тендерной документации и, главное, увеличением субсидии от ЕС для исполнителя контракта. Ожидается, что победитель, выбранный из трех кандидатов, будет объявлен в период с конца февраля по начало марта 2022 г. Паромное сообщение, по предварительным оценкам, начнется в апреле или мае 2022 г. Что касается порта отправления с Кипра, который будет использоваться для паромного сообщения, то это будет зависеть от оператора-победителя”, - сказал В. Димитриадис.

***

Депозиты в кипрских банках на конец 2021 г. составили 51,52 млрд. евро, говорится в отчете ЦБ Кипра, опубликованном 28 января 2022 г. Эти цифры свидетельствуют об увеличении депозитов на 3,31 млрд. евро по сравнению с декабрем 2020 г. Общий объем кредитов на конец декабря 2021 года составил 29,9 млрд. евро, что на 870 млн. евро меньше, чем в декабре 2020 г. Данный факт свидетельствует о сокращении доли заемных средств в кредитных портфелях кипрских банков. Ликвидность в банковской системе Кипра на конец 2021 г. составила 21,6 млрд. евро.

Статистическая служба Кипра (Cystat) объявила в пятницу, что уровень промышленного производства в ноябре 2021 г. достиг самого высокого уровня за 11 лет. Согласно отчету, индекс промышленного производства вырос до 132,6 единиц, зафиксировав рост на 4,4% по сравнению с ноябрем 2020 г. За период с января по ноябрь 2021 г. индекс увеличился на 7,8% в годовом исчислении. По данным Cystat, в ноябре 2021 г. в производственном секторе зафиксирован рост на 5,1%, по сравнению с ноябрем 2020 г. Увеличение наблюдалось в секторе добычи полезных ископаемых (8,3%), а также водоснабжения и утилизации отходов (8,2%).

По материалам cyprus-mail.com

The Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) announced that the investment fund sector enjoyed significant growth during 2021, with the total amount of Assets under Management (AuM) increasing by 48.7% despite the adverse effects of the pandemic.

“The sector is now established as one of the most promising of the Cypriot economy and one of the fastest-growing at a European level,” CIFA said in a statement, adding that it wishes to express its “satisfaction with the sector’s course and believes that its upward but sustainable growth will continue in 2022”.

According to a recent report by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), Assets under Management of Cypriot funds reached €11.6 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 48.7%. Moreover, CySEC added that it currently supervises 298 Management Companies and Undertakings of Collective Investments (UCIs), a 9.1% increase year-on-year.

CIFA explained that the legislative and tax framework that governs Collective Investments in Cyprus is comparable to other European investment destinations, while the cost of establishing and operating these organisations is noticeably lower. “It consists of no coincidence that, according to data from the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), 47% of the Cypriot Investment Funds net assets were related to cross-border investments in 2020,” CIFA said. “This ranks Cyprus fourth in Europe, with Ireland, Luxembourg, and Malta as the only European countries ahead,” the association added.

In terms of how the investment fund sector contributes to the Cypriot economy, CIFA said that roughly 140 collective investment organisations invest in Cyprus, in part or fully, with the full amount reaching €2.3 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2021, explaining that this represents 19.5% of the total amount of Assets under Management.

“During the new year ahead, we will continue our targeted actions to extend the promotion of the sector abroad, in specific markets which present concrete prospects,” CIFA president Andreas Yiasemides said.

“The Cypriot Investment Funds’ assets have already approached €12 billion, under adverse conditions, and this makes us very confident that with correct and stable steps we will achieve the medium-term goal we have set: to raise the assets of the funds in Cyprus to €25 billion,” he added.

M. Target Group was established in 2014 in Cyprus, a perfect location for globally oriented companies and high-net-worth individuals; starting as a medium-size firm offering accounting, tax planning and consulting services, over the years it has built a solid reputation for balancing strategic thinking with a ‘can-do’ approach as well as a loyal base of both local and international customers, while expanding into new fields and new markets with a focus on a proactive approach to addressing challenges of the changing business environment.

KEY BRANDS

At present, M. Target Group is represented by four well-reputed brands that provide a wide range of professional services, from accounting and business consulting to facility management and company incorporation and administration. We assist our clients with corporate structuring, tax optimisation, due diligence, risk assessment tasks, and more. 

M. TARGET BUSINESS CONSULTANTS LTD is the oldest company of the Group, providing high-level professional services in such fields as business consulting, accounting, and international tax structuring.

MITHRIDATES LTD is a facility management company offering serviced offices for local and international clientele in several prime locations across Cyprus and Dubai, UAE.

SIMONUS CONSULTING LTD licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), provides a full range of administrative services, inclusive of nominee services, trustee and company management services.

M. TARGET MANAGEMENT LTD was established to develop and manage local and global highpotential projects drawing on the Group’s diverse expertise and market insights.

We believe that every business, regardless of its size, should be entitled to the best professional advice available in the today’s market; that’s why we invite you to contact us for any queries, personalised proposal, or consultation.

Кипрские банки реструктурировали проблемные кредиты. Количество необслуживаемых кредитов (NPL), по сравнению с 2014 г., сократилось в шесть раз.

Центральный банк Кипра опубликовал данные о токсичных активах кипрских банков.

На конец октября 2021 г. суммарный объем проблемных кредитов составил 4,25 млрд. евро. Это в шесть раз меньше, чем в октябре 2014 г. Таких показателей удалось добиться благодаря инициативам по борьбе с NPL самих банков. В 2021 г. показатель NPL сократился до 15,3%. В 2014 г. этот показатель был на уровне - 47,8%. Тем не менее, это высокий уровень по сравнению со средним показателем по еврозоне - 3%.

Сокращение общего объема NPL на 23,7 млрд. евро за шесть лет произошло благодаря ряду соглашений по продаже проблемных кредитов специализированным компаниям (коллекторам). Покупатели NPL делают ставку на прибыль, которую они получат, когда в их распоряжение перейдет то, что обеспечивает кредит (в большинстве случаев это недвижимость). Поэтому очень часто цены, по которым банки продают токсичные активы, сильно отличаются в зависимости от обеспечения.

По оценкам экспертов, NPL, которые обеспечены недвижимостью, продаются за 25-30% от номинальной стоимости, а необеспеченные кредиты - за 1-5% от номинальной стоимости. Напомним, что существенное сокращение объема проблемных кредитов произошло в 2018 г. после поглощения Co-op Bank банком Hellenic. Также большую роль в снижении NPL сыграл факт продажи коллекторам пакета токсичных кредитов (Helix 2) кредитным учреждением Bank of Cyprus. Важно отметить, что опубликованные ЦБ Кипра данные не подтвердили опасений, что пандемия нивелирует весь прогресс последних лет по сокращению NPL.

Every year Saxo Bank prepares a forecast of underappreciated events which, if they were to occur, could send shockwaves across financial markets. Here are the bank’s predictions for 2022.

1. The plan to end fossil fuels gets a rain check. Realising the threat of inflation and social unrest, policymakers decide to temporarily relax environmental restrictions. They support fossil fuel investment and encourage producers to ensure adequate and reasonably priced supplies.

2. Facebook faceplants on youth exodus. The young generation fails to join Meta’s universe of social media platforms. The struggle of Facebook parent company Meta will lead to spinning off its components as separate entities, shattering Zuckerberg’s monopoly.

3. The U.S. mid-term election brings constitutional crisis. The U.S. Presidential elections of 2020 were quite chaotic. Saxo Bank thinks that a similar situation can be created during elections in 2022. Senate and House races come to the end and one or both sides move against certifying the vote, which makes it impossible for the new Congress to form. This eventually will lead to extreme volatility in U.S. assets.

4. U.S. inflation reaches above 15% on wage-price spiral. The Federal Reserve decides to tighten monetary policy faster in an attempt to fight inflation. As a result, there is extreme volatility in U.S. equity and credit markets.

5. EU Superfund for climate, energy, and defence announced, to be funded by private pensions. This decision is taken after policymakers realise that it will be impossible to finance the Superfund with higher taxes on incomes or other traditional tax revenues.

6. Women’s Reddit Army takes on the corporate patriarchy. A group of women traders take action by shorting stocks of selected companies with weak records on gender equality, leading to huge swings in equity prices for these companies.

7. India joins the Gulf Cooperation Council as a non-voting member. This alliance would see a reduction in India’s energy insecurity. On the other hand, India’s incredibly strong technology platform and deepening capital markets could attract the excess savings generated in the GCC region, through lower friction access.

8. Spotify disrupted due to NFT-based digital rights platform. NFTs or Non-fungible tokens are unique digital assets, the ownership of which can be established and stored on a digital ledger via blockchain tech. By leveraging NFTs, artists could distribute music directly to listeners without centralised intermediaries taking commission.

9. New hypersonic tech drives space race and new cold war. In 2022, a massive hypersonic arms race develops among major militaries. Major financing is provided for companies that build hypersonic tech with space delivery capabilities while companies in the aircraft and ship-building side of the military hardware equation underperform.

10. Medical breakthrough extends average life expectancy 25 years. Imagine that people will live to an average age of 115. What would this mean for private and government pensions, or even the ability or desire to retire?

The full forecast is available on the official website of Saxo Bank.

Metaverse
The metaverse is a network of always-on virtual environments in which many people can interact with one another and digital objects while operating virtual representations – or avatars – of themselves. This is how Facebook sees the future of virtual communication.
In October 2021, the company officially changed its name to Meta. Its focus is “to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses” by “moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology”.

Gulf Cooperation Council
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf is a regional, intergovernmental political and economic union that was established in 1981 and consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Its major objectives – yet to be achieved – are a customs union, a common market, and a common currency.

История каждого подержанного автомобиля будет максимально прозрачной. Бизнес, построенный на реставрации и последующей перепродаже разбитых в результате аварии авто, станет не актуальным.

Глава департамента автомобильного транспорта Яннис Николаидис инициировал открытые общественные консультации с предложением о внесении изменений в “Свидетельство о регистрации транспортного средства”. В частности, Я. Николаидес предложил включить в документ полную историю повреждений, ремонтных работ и замены автозапчастей данного авто. Страховая компания будет обязана сообщать регистратору транспортных средств о любом нанесенном автомобилю ущербе. “Ранее мы уже решили вопрос контроля аукционных автомобилей, ввозимых из-за рубежа, но теперь пришло время урегулировать этот вопрос и внутри страны. Поэтому, если автомобиль попал в аварию на Кипре, страховщик будет обязан сообщить об этом властям”, - сказал Николаидис.

Страховые компании будут сообщать регистратору не только об ущербе от аварий, но и от стихийных бедствий (наводнений, пожаров, града и других инцидентов).

“Предложение было открыто для общественных консультаций, и, в большинстве, реакция была положительной. Безусловно, от принятия нового закона выиграют почти все. За исключением тех, кто извлекал выгоду из-за отсутствия прозрачности в истории транспортного средства. Не секрет, что в настоящее время некоторые автодилеры восстанавливают автомобили после серьезных аварий и продают их доверчивым покупателям. Поправки, которые скоро будут внесены в законодательство, позволят исключить возможность подобного обмана”, - добавил глава департамента.

Switzerland, Norway, UK, Germany, Sweden, and France lead the rankings as best places for private businesses and entrepreneurship to flourish in PwC’s first ever EMEA Private Business Heatmap. It ranks the attractiveness of 34 EMEA countries across categories including macroeconomics, private business landscape, tax and regulatory environment, Environmental, Social, and Governance metrics, public health, education, skills and talent, and technology infrastructure.

Cyprus ranks in the ‘advancing’ category, placing 12th, with an overall score of 54.5, while The Netherlands ranks 11th (54.8) and Luxembourg 10th (54.9). Cyprus achieved a high ranking in the Macroeconomics (5th) and Tax-Regulatory environment (4th) categories. At the same time, however, the Heatmap’s findings highlight a few categories in which Cyprus still has a long way to go. These fields have to do with ESG metrics (31st) and Technology Infrastructure (18th).

The key findings include:
● Five countries rank as the leading jurisdictions this year.
● A further 12 jurisdictions rank in the ‘advancing’ category with an EPB Heatmap overall score of at least 50 out of 100.
● 12 jurisdictions were identified as ‘developing’ with an EPB Heatmap score of between 40 and 50 out of 100.
● Five jurisdictions were identified as ‘emerging’ with an EPB Heatmap score of less than 40 out of 100.
● All four Nordic countries place within the top 10 jurisdictions based on overall EPB Heatmap rankings: Norway (2nd), Sweden (5th), Denmark (7th), and Finland (8th). Sweden ranks top within the ESG and Public Health categories. Norway co-leads the Education, Skills and Talent category.
● The UK also performs strongly, with a 3rd place ranking overall.

«Необходимо идти в ногу со временем!» – так анонсирует компания Q Travel свои услуги, и готова предложить своим клиентам туристические сервисы за криптовалюту.

Основатели Q Travel, Елена Космина и Софья Ефимова, делятся своим взглядом на современные тенденции.

- Какие услуги предоставляет Q Travel?

- Q Travel входит в группу компаний Quonota Investments Ltd и создана для предоставления туристического и корпоративного сервиса высокого уровня с безупречной четкостью и интеллектуальным подходом к каждому запросу клиента. Опыт и знание направлений позволяют обеспечивать быструю и качественную поддержку на всех этапах планирования путешествий – перелет, проживание, визовая и информационная поддержка по актуальным правилам въезда, связанным с COVID-19.

- Что подтолкнуло Вас на работу с криптовалютой в Вашей индустрии?

- Невозможно не заметить изменения в туристических тенденциях за последние 3 года, конечно мощным фактором является пандемия, которая фактически перевернула весь мир, в том числе туристический, с ног на голову.

Куда бы турист не решил отправиться необходимы QR-коды, электронные формы. Таким образом, цифровые технологии стали неотьемлемой частью ежедневной рутины.

Криптовалюта – это динамично растущий способ цифровой оплаты, который уже давно используется в различных индустриях. Наша компания рада предоставить возможность для наших клиентов, предлагая выбор удобных форм оплаты за услуги.

- Насколько удобно и насколько сложно оплачивать свое путешествие криптовалютой?

- Это проще простого! Вы не почувствуете никакой разницы – у вас будет классический счет, по которому вы сможете оплатить как традиционным способом, так и одной из многочисленных криптовалют, которые поддерживает наша платежная система.

- Насколько популярна оплата криптовалютой на туристическом рынке?

- Спрос на оплату туристических услуг криптовалютой безусловно растет! Ряд отдельных цепочек отелей уже принимает подобные платежи от своих клиентов, например S Hotels & Resorts (Мальдивы), The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts (Пхукет), The Chedi Andermatt (Швейцария), The Kessler Collection (CША), а также авиакомпания Air Baltic, платформа онлайн бронирований Expedia и многие другие.

Мы более чем уверены, что вскоре еще больше сервисов будет предлагаться за криптовалюту, и мы надеемся занять лидирующие позиции среди туристических компаний, поддерживающих данный тренд!

В заключение хотелось бы добавить о том, что нас вдохновляют новые возможности и шанс расширить выбор для наших клиентов, как в вопросе выбора направления для путешествий, так и в выборе способа оплаты.

Фото предоставлены компанией Q Travel.