“Competitive” double tax treaty between Cyprus and Kazakhstan paves the way for greater business co-operation, conference is told
December 04, 2020
Last updated on April 12th, 2021 at 10:54 am
A new EU-ratified double tax treaty between Cyprus and Kazakhstan opens up “significant” investment and business opportunities for the two countries in the wake of the global pandemic, a conference was told.
Speaking during a digital conference hosted by Invest Cyprus, the national investment promotion agency of Cyprus, Satybaldy Burshakov, the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Israel and Cyprus, invited businesses from both countries to make better use of potential investment opportunities in “mutually beneficial” joint projects.
“Kazakhstan and Cyprus are linked by strong bonds of friendship and cooperation. We consider Cyprus to be one of our most important partners in South Europe”, he said.
According to national statistics provided by Kazakhstan, investments from Cyprus totalled at 165 million US dollars in the first half of this year, placing the island into the top 10 investors in the country. Over 70 companies from Cyprus also registered in Kazakhstan this year, and over the past nine months, trade between the countries reached 29. 8 million US dollars, the conference heard.
“The commercial exchange between our two countries has been also developing and at the same time, we need to stimulate new projects, which may contribute to the trade growth”, said Mr Burshakov.
”The great interaction between Invest Cyprus and Kazakh Invest, as well as the two Chambers of Commerce and Industry, will provide us with a better understanding about the existing opportunities and the possibilities of collaboration between the two countries, either in the commercial sphere or the field of investments”, he added.
The online roadshow also highlighted the reasons why Cyprus can function as an EU gateway to global investments.
George Campanellas, Chief Executive of Invest Cyprus, said: “Cyprus is the ideal platform for channelling investments into the European Union, and for international companies that want to relocate and set up headquarters in Europe.”
”The benefits include access to markets, an excellent regulatory structure that is based on common law principle, an attractive tax regime, strong business support services and the low cost of doing business. Last but not least, it is the high quality of life”, he added.
Cyprus’s handling of the pandemic helped reduced the negative impact on the economy, and projections a faster recovery from next year onwards compared to similar competing jurisdictions, Mr Campanellas said. The newly adopted double tax treaty between Cyprus and Kazakhstan, which comes into effect on 1st January 2021, cements relations between the two countries.
Michalis Michael, Chairman of Invest Cyprus said: “The new EU ratified double tax treaty between Cyprus and Kazakhstan is considered very important for both countries, and was well received by the business community as it is expected to open to open up new investment opportunities.” ”The substantially reduced cost of doing business in Cyprus should be a very good indication that Cyprus is very well suited to take up investments from Kazakhstan to Europe, and vice versa”, he added.
Other speakers at the event included Baurzhan Sartbayev, Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Invest,Andreas Yiasemides, President of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association and a number of professionals from KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, EY, Astrobank, Kinanis LLC and Tassos Papadopoulos LLC. The event was chaired by Ms Pavlina Mela, Board Member of Invest Cyprus and was attended by investors, wealth and fund managers, legal experts, accounting firms, investment banks and other experts.