Cyta independence, shares edge lower

A CDB report has suggested that Cyta change its structure and become independent, maintain government ownership, while shares edged lower on the OTC market, according to the Cyprus Financial Mirror issue 118, on June 28, 1995.

The Cyprus Development Bank drafted a report suggesting that Cyta change from a semi-government organisation to a fullindependent utility, fully-owned by the government.

By taking

Cyta change:

this course, and eventually seeking a partial flotation on the stock exchange, the profit-making telco will no longer need House approval for its spending and development budget and management will be responsible for its future course. The purpose for the report wad to make Cyta selfsufficient by 1998 when the EU directives on telecom fares and subsidies come into effect. As expected, trade unions SEK and PEO were “totally against” liberalisation or privatisation.

Stocks

lower:

Share prices lost their upmomentum on the KEVE OTC stock market with a down-correction of share prices continuing for a few days. Volume was satisfactory with dailies reaching an average CYP 333,000. Bank of Cyprus accounted for 12% of all trades so far in the year, with a +5.5% price change, followed by Laiki Popular (7% of trades, +10.1%), Paneuropean Insurance (6% of trades, +64%) and CTC (6% of trades, +86%).

Cyprus should concentrate where it enjoys a competitive advantage, said Commerce Ministry DG Kyriacos Christophi, adding that the recent trend of liberalisation in world commerce as a result of the enforcement of the Uruguay Round of trade talks, as well as the Cyprus-EU customs union, show that Cyprus should focus in areas such as services, software, R&D and insurance.

Competitive: