Doing business in Cyprus, the EY way

OPINION:

American multinational companies (MNCs) view Cyprus as a safe and well-located destination to set-up their Eastern Mediterranean bases, an upward trend mostly seen after the large natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

“There is no doubt that Cyprus is one of the most attractive countries for regional headquartering” said Mr. Petros Krasaris, Partner and Head of International Tax and Transaction Services at EY Cyprus. “As an EU member, Cyprus brings an added stability, business transparency and robustness due to the application of EU law and has one of the most attractive, efficient and easy to apply tax systems in the EU” he added.

Following the financial crisis and the subsequent systemic reforms, Cyprus is now fully aligned with the EU Code of Conduct on Business Taxation and “EY Cyprus’ role has been instrumental in shaping new legislation by providing its know-how and experience to the government and policymakers” Krasaris highlighted.

As part of its global strategy to expand its’ service offering to innovative legal services, EY Cyprus has established a cooperation with one of the country’s leading law firms, Prountzos & Prountzos LLC, and is now the only large multidisciplinary organisation providing expertise in key aspects of law. This cooperation “has given EY Cyprus access to full-range legal services, including corporate & digital, commercial and energy, regulated financial services and funds, and contested litigation enabling the cohesive support of existing and new EY clients” explained Mr. Charalambos Prountzos, Partner and Law and Funds Leader of EY Cyprus.

EY Law is dealing mostly with international clients, including many American, carrying out their enterprise or making an investment in or through Cyprus, protecting their private wealth or utilizing Cyprus as a regional headquartering hub. “Our firm has been advising such clients on Cyprus law and practice and has been actively contributing to achieving their business goals of protecting their rights, ring-fencing their assets and maximizing their profits” Prountzos said.

EY Cyprus, being part of a global network with over 280.000 employees in more than 150 countries, is uniquely placed to assist U.S. multinationals structure their operations in Cyprus covering all phases: designing, implementation and ongoing assistance. “We have already assisted a number of U.S. MNCs to establish presence in Cyprus advising them on corporate, legal, tax, reporting and people advisory matters” said Krasaris. “Our EY Law professionals can advise American clients on suitable structures for investments, project financing, headquartering and employment-related matters, licensing of specialized ventures in regulated sectors, and in all types of FDI or outbound investments”, Prountzos added.

• Charlambos Prountzos is a Partner and Law and Funds Leader of EY Cyprus.

• Petros Krasaris is a Partner and Head of International Tax and Transaction Services at EY Cyprus. (https://www.ey.com/en_cy)