Elma to merge industries, Windows 95 is out

The owner of Elma Holdings plans to merge four local manufacturers into an industrial powerhouse and to take on international competition, while across the Atlantic, Bill Gates announced that the DOS and Windows 3.1 operating systems would be replaced by Windows 95, according to the Cyprus Financial Mirror issue 124, on August 23, 1995.

Michalakis Ioannides, head of the Elma Holdings Group, said he was about to bring four separate industries under one roof – Silvex, Lemeco Paper, Lemeco Socks & Stockings, Covotsos Enterprises – to be able to compete with imports once

Elma merger:

the GATT and the EUCyprus Customs Treaty come into force. With white collar jobs expected to go, the merged group is expected to report CYP 400,000 in annual profits.

Winter tourism from Britain, the largest market for Cyprus, is expected to be far below 1994 levels, while projections for 1996 are even gloomier. With bookings down about 35%, major tour operators Airtours, First Choice and Thomson were pressing Cyprus hoteliers to bring own their rates.

Win95 debut:

Tourism

down:

Windows 95, Microsoft Corp’s new computer programme will make its global debut this week, including Cyprus, and is expected to revolutionise the personal computer market. The new operating system is a total replacement for both DOS and Windows 3.1 and Microsoft’s goal is to convince the estimated 70 mln users around the world to shift to the new programme, with 20 mln packages already shipped. The upgrade will cost CYP 90, plus VAT.

The government intends to curb public spending in line with EU indicators, as defined by the Maastricht Treaty. Finance Minister Christodoulos Christodoulou said the aim in the 1996 budget was to control public spending. The 1995 budget estimated CYP 1.38 bln in spending and CYP 922 in revenues.

1996 budget:

Larnaca-Gaza:

Cyprus will provide as from January 1996 an air link enabling Palestinians to travel out of the Gaza and the West Bank with small aircraft, but no cargo.