Kassatly Chtaura Group expands business to Cyprus

In tough and hard times, the only way to improve a country's economy is to attract foreign investment that pumps hard currency and contributes to employment; however, the largest domestic companies themselves are looking for alternative markets to invest outside Lebanon in a move that is a strike to Lebanon's economy. 

Kassatly Chtaura Group is one of the beverages giants in Lebanon and one of the companies that expanded its business outside Lebanon, with the announcement of the launch of a vast new factory in Cyprus along with the one in Lebanon, under the name "International Soft Drink Store Limited," which is expected to be operational in Limassol, by the end of 2023.

This factory could have been established in Lebanon and contributed to alleviating unemployment and moving the economic wheel if the business environment was appropriate.

Why is the business environment no longer suitable in Lebanon, and what attracts Lebanese people in the industry to move to Cyprus and other surrounding countries?

In the first place, the electrical grid is no longer suitable in Lebanon for the continuation of work or the launching of new factories, especially in the light of permanent power outages, the absence of alternative plans such as the construction of new power plants, or the development of a comprehensive renewable energy plan, which is available in Cyprus and other countries that have started to embrace Lebanese companies.

Secondly and most importantly, Cyprus has attractive tax incentives that do not exist in Lebanon.

Third, the facilitation of transactions deemed essential to the establishment of any factory is no longer accessible in Lebanon in the light of the paralysis experienced by the official services and institutions, which are offset by the prompt response of the Cypriot authorities with Lebanese companies willing to invest there, as well as by the rapid response of the local, national authority responsible for attracting foreign investments, with the requests of Lebanese companies. 

Fourth, any company's move to Cyprus opens the possibility of marketing to more countries, international markets, and specifically to Saudi Arabia, especially after Lebanon's export crisis.
 
Apart from that, the presence of any company in Cyprus near Europe, Africa, the Gulf States, and the Americas is an attractive factor for Lebanese companies.