CHINESE investors have shown an interest to invest in Paphos and are particularly keen to look at the potential of the town hosting a casino resort, the head of the Paphos Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday.

A delegation from the Chamber and Paphos Municipality recently visited China, where they hosted presentations about the investment potential of the region.

“Paphos is drawing attention from the Chinese, particularly as far as house purchases are concerned, permanent residency and the acquisition of a passport,” said Andreas Demetriades, chairman of the Paphos Chamber.

There was also interest from Chinese businesses in registering companies on the island, based in Paphos and using the island as a location to promote their business elsewhere within the European Union, Demetriades told the Cyprus News Agency.

But, he added, the fact that the EU had quota restrictions on Chinese imports, along with high tariffs, was a problem for Chinese investors.

The possibility of getting around those restrictions by importing dismantled Chinese products which would then be re-assembled in Cyprus, and re-exported and sold within the EU as Cypriot products was also discussed, he said.

Chinese investors were interested in the possibility of creating a free trade zone close to Limassol port or close to Paphos where their goods could be displayed.

A similar venture went sour in 2011 when Chinese investors pulled their interest in developing the old Larnaca airport terminal into a showcase for Chinese goods.

Demetriades said the Chamber had given presentations to two companies which appeared keen on the potential of Paphos developing a casino resort. “We presented the relative advantage Paphos would have in this area… it would be a particularly large project worth between 400 and 500 million euros.”

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