Each country, due to its economic downturn in many countries is seeking foreign and local investors to help it rebuild and generate employment.
Cyprus is one country with many attractive schemes to large-scale investors. What type of investment could a potential investor make in Cyprus to maximize his return?
Real estate is currently out of favor due to the obvious reasons. Investors with access to buyers who are willing and able participate in marina or golf projects will be able. Even these projects (the last in particular), are difficult to sustain. Pafos already has a golf project that is growing. It includes another 18-hole offering, along with the first unsold golf project of 300 units. Another 400 units will be added for expansion/new phase. There are four other golf projects that have permits. The Limassol marina has been doing very well but it’s the only one in Limassol. Its results can not be compared to those of the two other marinas or the one that is pending (in Pafos).
We were unable to find any suitable investments opportunities in Cyprus. The only options we could come up with was tourismic base projects, health care/ spots, and education.
The tourism industry is growing, and future prospects for top-quality hotels at the beach are promising. These new hotels should be joined with entertainment, spa and large-scale conference halls that can hold around 1.000 persons. Because conference attendees combine entertainment with a conference, these hotels work better in Limassol or Pafos than other locations. Even hotels with some sort of golf facilities/connections are not doing as well as one would expect with the golf connection.
Another option is water parks or theme parks. However, if you look at the two parks that have survived, there are three with poor financial records. Two other parks were closed after a time. These parks require a large amount of land, which can’t be easily found in tourist areas.
For those with top-of-the-line medical expertise and the latest equipment, health private hospitals may be an option. One way to attract parts of the more than 200 million is to establish a connection with an Israeli hospital. Arabs also live in the country. However, it is important to determine the cost of comparable care. One example is that a highly successful local heart hospital charges less than a German specialized hospital. This raises the question: Is this a viable option (not to mention free government hospitals, which have many failings).?
Higher education can also be an option. Usually, a European branch is to be used to provide support for Middle East countries as well. In order to be competitive, all degrees should be equal and charges must be lower.
You can also take advantage the beautiful weather by setting up sports centers. An all-year sports facility that will offer football, swimming, tennis and gymnastics could be set up to work with local authorities. The dams are already in place for canoeing, sailing and other watersports. This would attract international teams. A Russian company recently established a sailing school at Pafos. This is in addition to the anticipated Scuba diving investment all across the island.
You could also use the Larnaca Airport or the Pafos airport to train/pilot light aircrafts, but this depends on the local cost.
Other options exist, however, financing is an issue. Insufficient local financing is available, and foreign investors will need their own funding. The bureaucracy is another problem. It takes far too long. Even though the government has established a “fast-track”Procedure, time is still the problem. See Qatar deal, Larnaca Shopping Mall or Russian Conference Hall in Alamanos. People have an innate fearful attitude that is somewhat difficult to accept. The most recent example of this is the Limassol port, which is currently being converted into an airport. “fishing/entertainment”Port, however, because some of the buildings are blocking the view to sea (from which?). They are being discussed extensively and the project is in question. It is our hope that this will be the end of all that. “poor”If we have some common sense, then we might forget our odd behaviors.
This Government’s term is ending, which will hopefully open up the doors to other investments and more liberal approaches to these matters. We are not afraid of the future. Other countries with similar economic situations are also watching to see if they can talk to any international investors who have fled.