South Cyprus economy expands by 3 percent, makes it a strong economy

South Cyprus economy grew by close to 3 percent up to now this year, helping the country achieve a surplus of 4 percent of GDP, and remains a strong economy.

Speaking on the development on Tuesday, Greek Cypriot Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said;

This was not the result of any additional taxes but came out of tax easing and incentives in the productive sectors.

Georgiades told an Economic Conference in Nicosia.

The country’s economy also received a strong endorsement from Klaus Regling, CEO of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the single biggest creditor of Cyprus.

Georgiades said the budgetary surplus generated so far this year was three times that of the Netherlands or Luxembourg and the biggest among European Union (EU) countries.

“It is a security buffer we have generated that will be managed carefully, possibly through an expansionist fiscal policy, but only in case an economic slowdown affects our country,” said the minister.

He also said the deceleration of the Cyprus economy after achieving a growth rate of 4 percent in 2018 is a normal phenomenon.