Day: January 15, 2023

For many Chelsea fans, the transition from Russian billionaire Roman Abramovic to US tycoon has resembled a train crash rather than a passing of the torch.

The reigning World Club Champions (yes, we still are) are languishing tenth in the Premier League, knocked out of both domestic cup competitions and playing without confidence.

In short, it has been a season of humiliation, embarrassment and horror show defending apart from the imperious Thiago Silva, the oldest and best player at the club.

There is an entire generation of Chelsea fans who have never known such depths of despair and incompetence on and off the pitch.

Older Blues fans among us will remember almost slipping out of the old second division, so this is irritation at best.

But that’s not to say that watching Chelsea right now is a pleasurable experience; anybody visiting Stamford Bridge should be advised of the health risks involved.

It’s an experience where uncertainty, nail-biting and uncontrolled anger may be some of the symptoms triggered by the ‘don’t look now’ displays on the field.

Chelsea has stumbled across a recipe for failure where they can’t defend or score goals.

It’s why they have won two of their last ten competitive matches, only scoring six goals and conceding 14.

New manager Graham Potter was supposed to be the tactically astute English coach who would lead the club into a new era of nurturing young talent and planning long-term.

Out went the trophy-winning Thomas Tuchel, who the American owners didn’t take a fancy to, but the club’s running has been chaotic.

Sherlock Holmes needs to be hired to uncover the logic behind the club’s transfer policy: ‘buy any defender as long as they’re overpriced’.

Agreed, there are mitigating factors, such as Chelsea’s huge injury list with a first XI on the treatment table and more players picking up knocks and niggles.

But then the question has to be asked why Chelsea are picking up so many injuries; some point to the new owners sacking key medical staff who players trusted.

It seems that everything that can go wrong at Chelsea is going pear-shaped, and if the team didn’t have bad luck, they would have no luck.

Joao Felix

A case in point is the arrival on loan of Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid during the game against Fulham; he was the star performer before being sent off for a high tackle.

It summed up our season; Chelsea had got back in the game before going down to 10 men, then lost to Fulham for the first time since 2006.

Felix is on a six-month loan for a pricey £9.7 mln and will miss the next three games.

Fans are becoming disgruntled while also wanting to support the team, although some of the performances have been abject and passion-free affairs.

Some blame the manager and argue he is out of his depth at a huge club where winning trophies is a given, not a bonus.

Ex-Brighton manager Potter admitted that being in charge of Chelsea was the hardest job in football because of the expectation and benchmarks set.

Other argue that the squad is unbalanced with too many of the same type of players when the midfield needs improving, and Chelsea need a world-class goal scorer.

Todd Boehly has spent huge amounts on players, but the investment has produced negative outcomes.

Spending over £350 mln, the American will expect results and patience with the manager will be sorely tested.

I hear people talk about ‘the project’; what does that mean – Chelsea’s DNA is built on success and winning.

It doesn’t need to be rebuilt into something else, just guided through the current storm where it’s raining mistakes.

European football is already looking fanciful.

Chelsea has just 25 points from their opening 18 Premier League games, their fewest at this stage since 2015-16, the only season since 1996-97 when they have failed to qualify for Europe.

Spending their way out of trouble hasn’t worked, as recruitment has missed the target, and how much say does Potter have in the signings?

When Potter took over, Chelsea was sixth; they have dropped to tenth with no sign of improving – something must give.

And at the moment, Chelsea is a long way off from being world beaters, nevermind the Pride of London.

True Blues are hurting, but the Chelsea family will come again.

Speaking of the Chelsea family, nobody epitomised that more than Gianluca Vialli – RIP, legend.

Source: The Financial Mirror

Following a hard-hitting article in Phileleftheros on 5 January calling the project a ‘fiasco’, we had a flurry of announcements from the Ministry of Energy during the last few days.

The good news is that construction of the jetty at Vasilikos is to start on 16 January, following long delays – the contracted project completion date was early October 2022.

But the big question remains unanswered: When will the project be completed, and when will LNG imports commence?

Will the project be delayed well beyond 2023?

Responding to questions earlier in the week, the Minister of Energy avoided giving straight answers.

Instead, she repeated that the contractor issued a revised timetable a year ago indicating completion in July 2023.

Still, she avoided confirming this is achievable or will be adhered to.

Clearly, July 2023 is not achievable even if jetty construction activities commence on 16 January.

EAC does not know the answer either.

Asked on Sigma’s ‘Mesimeri kai kati’ programme on 10 January whether EAC has been advised to start preparing for accepting gas in July after evasive answers, its spokeswoman finally admitted that the answer is no.

She also said that this is the responsibility of DEFA and the Ministry of Energy. The answers are astonishing, given that EAC is a major shareholder in the project.

It sunk €43 million into it.

Surely as a shareholder, EAC is fully advised of progress.

If not, then there is something fundamentally wrong here.

EAC is not just a spectator on the sidelines of this ‘fiasco’.

As a shareholder and the main customer of DEFA for this gas, it should know. So it should make sure it is fully informed.

The Ministry of Energy is not giving us straight answers, even though, as the sole shareholder of DEFA, it surely is fully informed and hides behind the contractual line issued by the contractor a year ago.

A timetable that is no longer achievable.

Instead, we have a lack of transparency about the biggest energy project on the island, with major implications for electricity generation, emissions, prices, etc.

Given its far-reaching implications, there is an obligation to keep energy consumers informed on its progress.

We must know.

We should not be faced with surprises in July when, relying on the contractor’s revised timetable confirmed by the Ministry, the gas should flow to EAC, replacing diesel for good.

With the EU applying an embargo on Russian oil products on 5 February, including diesel, prices will go up again, and electricity produced by burning diesel will become much more expensive.

Any delay in gas deliveries beyond July will cost the Cypriot energy consumer dearly.

And this is additional to the cost of emissions that the use of gas is supposed to reduce.

This project has the makings of a major scandal.

I warned about the problems in 2019 and subsequently.

And not only about the highly questionable and irregular tender evaluation process and the project award based on a single commercial offer but also the lack of LNG experience of the main contractor, China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co Ltd.

The Auditor General’s concerns about this questionable process were articulated in great detail in December 2019 but to no avail.

We are now witnessing its consequences.

Unfortunately, we still lack transparency, clouded in evasion, with nobody taking responsibility for its progress…or lack thereof.

We still need to know the answer: When will the project be completed, and when will LNG imports commence?

Source: The Financial Mirror

The Transport Ministry will extend the first phase of a €3.7 mln scheme for 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations across the country until the end of April 2023.

Approved by the Cabinet in November last year, the scheme will be implemented in two phases, with grants for 500 charging stations being handed out each round.

The first phase was to run until January 31, 2023, with a budget of €1.8m.

The second phase will be announced near the end of 2023, with the remaining almost €2 mln.

It is part of the national recovery and resilience plan titled ‘rapid transition to a green economy – sustainable transport.’

Beneficiaries of the scheme include companies, associations, foundations, NGOs, local government authorities and individuals who would like to set up and run a charging station.

The scheme aims to have 1000 stations up and running by 2026.

According to the scheme, charging stations can be set up at public parking spots, private parking, petrol stations and designated areas for electric vehicle charging stations.

Every beneficiary can receive funding for up to four charging stations per district, at a maximum of 15 across the country.

Local authorities are exempted from the rule and can place eight stations in their district.

As stated in the scheme, the state compensates for half the expenditure, with a maximum amount depending on the charger’s output power.

Charging stations in rural areas will receive up to 55% of the funding.

Grants will start from €1,600 up to a maximum of €30,000 depending on the capacity of the charging station.

Applications and more information can be made at https://ev1000.cea.org.cy.

The plan complements a €30 mln incentive scheme to encourage motorists to go electric that went live earlier in January.

The second phase of the incentive scheme to promote electric vehicles went live with a €10 mln budget to offer 2,518 grants

Interested parties submit their application on March 9, 11 am.

The grants start at €10,000 for new electric vehicles, while the funding for scrapping old cars amounts to €7,500, with a budget of €10.16 mln.

Cyprus has been slow to build public charging points, and there are complaints that an incentive scheme targeted at boosting EV sales is not attractive enough.

It only had 57 charging points as of last year, the lowest in the EU, while the Netherlands has 90,000.

Source: The Financial Mirror

One wonders what is in store regarding real estate in Cyprus in the year ahead.

The past year saw a positive trend, with new sales showing a 35% increase in real estate contracts.

At the same time, it is worth noting the increase in the acquisition of real estate by foreign buyers by approximately 100% from the previous year.

It seems that the Cyprus real estate market has not been affected, notwithstanding the negative elements it is experiencing.

The negative points are the increasing interest rates on loans and the fast-increasing building cost.

Abolition of the Citizenship for Investment plan and the war in Ukraine has not had a noticeable effect on the market, and values seem to hold (save agricultural land in certain areas).

Interest by foreign buyers, although this sector involves only a small percentage of the total in sales, in terms of value, it surpasses 20% of the total.

Foreign demand props up the market, and the interest by shipping companies for locating here is noticeable, whereas other businesses, which include IT firms and more recently the relocation of Kassatly group from Lebanon, but more particularly the heavy interest from Israel (which ranges from the buying out of local hospitals, to large scale residential and office development, including Larnaca port) are positives.

We sometimes feel that the foreign market will buy up Cyprus, which may have a negative effect on Cypriots.

We are not against the sale to foreign demand, but it makes us wonder what the situation will be after, say, five years.

More importantly, what the effects on the local population (especially for affordable housing) will be?

The “misfortune” of other countries seems to have some positive effects on the Cypriot economy.

So, the Ukrainian war, be it that it has affected the tourist market, and the same country (Ukraine) has “exported” numerous businesses to the island (especially in IT).

Either by chance or based on good planning, the Cyprus tax system is a major attraction, as is the stable political situation and our EU membership.

In addition to foreign demand, 2022 was met with millions of redundancy payments to bank employees and others whose compensation funds found their way to the local real estate market (after buying new cars).

The foreign market’s interest will negatively affect the locals, including the high rents for student flats with international students leaving Cyprus due to non-affordability.

This is a stage of uncertainty, how local demand is affected by inflation and high electricity costs, but there is a glimpse of hope if and when Cyprus’ natural gas finds come into being.

Limassol

Since foreign demand is primarily directed at Limassol (approximately 70%), it is evident that it most benefited (market activity and value increases) – but note negative effects on the locals already prevailing.

Whatever the government tries to alleviate the rental problem, it is just not enough.

In contrast, the announcement of the new Archbishop that the Church will develop student halls in Nicosia (after its 250-unit project in Limassol) is of some help.

So, 2023 will continue to sustain its brisk activity, mainly in urban areas.

To conclude, we expect that Limassol will continue its upward direction by approximately 5%, Nicosia an increase of around 3%, Larnaca by around 1-2%, Paphos by approximately 5% and Famagusta area (tourist region) by approximately 5%.

Although the Central Bank of Cyprus housing index records the negative effects on real estate due to increasing building costs and inflation/increasing interest rates, it mentions these are not necessarily reflected in reduced demand or a negative effect on prices.

It seems that the numerous infrastructural projects underway and foreign demand place a hedge against the negative factors.

Source: The Financial Mirror