Farmers who are members of the Cooperative are afraid that their creation will go to foreign hands.
The government is reassured that it will announce final decisions very soon.
The Government is going to announce final decisions on Cooperation very soon, maybe in the next few weeks, said yesterday the Minister of Finance Haris Georgiadis in statements made on the occasion of the farmers' event outside the Cooperative Central Bank.
The farmers expressed their opposition but also their concern about the decision to share the Cooperation, fearing that eventually the Movement will end up in foreign hands.
SKT Head of Strategy and Communication Giannos Stavrinidis, in his own statements, said that in the coming weeks they will show that, "perhaps, the concerns are excessive", stressing that there will soon be decisions of the Council of Ministers on shareholding.
The Minister of Finance commented on the reactions of the protesters, who said, among other things, that he had given a "wheel" for the Cooperation since last December in his speech in Parliament.
"I made a brief statement," he told state radio, "that co-operation should not be allowed to turn into another semi-governmental organization." This would be a violation of both the rules and the logic. Cooperation, as a Bank, cannot operate outside the supervisory rules, but also outside the pressures imposed by the competition ", he stressed.
Domestic property base
The Minister added that, based on the political decision, an expanded domestic ownership base is ensured, as well as the unhindered access of Cooperation to the purchase of capital to be in place and whenever supervisory requirements allow it to be capitalized in this context.
"These options," Georgiadis added, "are being considered and we will soon be able to announce final decisions," he said, but declined to give details of the options, as such is prohibited by the Capital Market Commission's regulations.
"Representing the major shareholder of the Co-operation, I also comply with the requirements of the Capital Market, since the Co-operation is heading towards the CSE. What I note is that we are committed, as shareholders, as our announcements are made at the right time and at the right time.
Today we are not ready to give this detail and I limit myself to repeating the framework of the movements that are: Ensuring an expanded share base, ensuring flexibility and the possibility of continuous strengthening of the capital base of Cooperation ", added Haris Georgiadis.
Farmers' concerns
Speaking about the concerns of the members of the Cooperation, the general secretary of PEK, Michalis Lytras, raised two issues: That of shareholding and the possibility of privatization of cooperatives.
As he explained, with the shrinking of the cooperating companies, the facilities to the members do not exist, with the result that the rural world is hanging. Regarding the shareholding, Mr. Lytras stated that, at a meeting of the agricultural organizations last February at the Presidential Palace, the Minister of Finance had said that when the Cooperation is introduced in the CSE, shares will be given to its old members, who for the most part, as he said , are farmers or agricultural organizations or cooperatives.
Risk of buying shares from Turkish funds
"It simply came to our notice then. Cooperation has been a creation of the rural world since 1909. No one guarantees that, with the gradual dispersal of the state's share capital to individuals, the shares will remain in Cypriot hands and that Cooperation will remain a Cypriot bank.
There is a risk that foreign funds and even Turkish-owned funds will buy stocks, with the result that the local economy is controlled by foreign interests and not by the Cypriots who created and supported the Co-operation. "
Regarding the cooperating companies, Mr. Lytras said that SKT is a major shareholder in sustainable industries of Cooperation which are related to agricultural production, citing as an example the SEVEGEP which is, as he claimed, a profitable company.
"SKT, he said, is demanding that the industry return its shares, worth € 18 million. We suggest that if there is an inescapable need for SKT to receive this € 18 million, it should be given to it in six installments, because if it receives it within a year, it will financially strangle SEVEGEP, which employs more than 130 employees ".
There are commitments and needs
The Head of Strategy and Communication of the Cooperative, Giannos Stavridis, stated that the Bank is not in conflict with the rural world, emphasizing that there are commitments and needs of the Co-operation that it must comply with.
"So far, he added, there is nothing specific about the ownership structure of the Co-operation and it would be better to wait because developments are going on. The coming weeks will show that the concerns of agricultural organizations may be too great. "
Asked about the companies in which SKT participates and which are viable, Mr. Stavrinidis said that the Bank agrees that they should maintain their cooperative character.
"It is on this line that the Cooperative Central Bank is moving - he noted - and has proposals for the ownership of these companies, so that they remain cooperative. There are five such companies that are all viable and therefore there is no question of closing.
We have made suggestions and are open to dialogue to differentiate them. It is not our goal to make them unsustainable, nor to target private companies outside and away from the Partnership. This issue should be closed soon so that it does not become entangled in the context of the course of shareholding of the Cooperation and its introduction in the CSE ", said Mr. Stavrinidis.
Regarding the shareholding of the Co-operation, Mr. Stavrinidis said that decisions of the Council of Ministers are expected soon and stressed that it is important that there is a policy framework by the state - which holds 99,22% - that 50% plus one will remain. to the Cypriot people.
Finally, he described as meaningless the discussions that the shares of the Co-operation will go to foreign hands.
Source: SigmaLive