Tax treaty with India, CB gaffe, CSE starts

A new double-tax treaty with India could attract more companies to Cyprus as the island competes with Mauritius for offshore business, while the Central Bank has come under fire for creating more bureaucracy that would hamper the arrival of offshore executives to live on the island, and the CSE officially started trading, according to the issue 156, on April 3, 1996.

A new double-taxation treaty came April 1 that could open the door to

India treaty:

into

effect on Indian investments in Cyprus, as the island will become equally if not more competitive to tax haven Mauritius, the preferred jurisdiction for Indian companies. Mauritius charges $1,500 in registration fees, higher than in Cyprus, prompting the Indian authorities to deny tax concessions to Mauritius.

A week after the Cyprus Offshore Enterprises Association called on the authorities to set up a one-stop-shop in order to cut down on red-tape and other government delays, the Bar Association and the Certified Public Accountants attacked the Central Bank for creating more red tape and regulations for

CB under fire:

the issue of work permits to offshore personnel and executives. The Central Bank said it will now reconsider and come back with better proposals.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange, successor to the over-thecounter market, commenced operations on Friday, March 28, with trading in shares and bonds of 36 public companies. The first session saw trades of CYP 555,000, substantially lower than the daily volumes of the OTC market which ranged upwards of CYP 2 mln from the start of the year. The drop was mainly attributed to stricter rules for settlement of deals.

And finalised a deal for the takeover of in a deal worth CYP 8.5 mln.

CSE

official: Hellenic Bank

Barclays,