Cyprus Quarterly Economic Outlook
Authors: G. Hardouvelis, I. Gkionis
Publication: March 2018, Year 3, Issue 1
Key points
- The re-election of President Anastasiades ensures policy continuity for the next five years, yet new challenges appear driven by rising public expectations
- In Q4-2017 the economy expanded by 3.9% on an annual basis, bringing the full year performance to 3.9% – the highest during the post-Lehman decade – up from 3.4% in 2016 and 2% in 2015
- Most forecasters believe the Cypriot economy is at its cyclical peak to be followed by a slightly lower GDP growth in 2018, yet we think risks to the upside are also present thanks to an investment boom
- Rating agencies began a new round of sovereign reviews: S&P maintained unchanged its long-term sovereign rating of BB+ with a positive outlook
- Sustainable medium-term growth requires tackling head on the legacy issues of the previous crisis:
o Stabilize the cooperative banks and speed up the reduction of non-performing loans
o Generate political consensus in order to implement the remaining structural reforms in the MoU
o Maintain solid fiscal performance also with an eye to further bring down public debt