There has been an ongoing debate among the industry leaders of Cyprus since the country’s finance ministry launched a public consultation on the privatisation of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE), reports CyprusMail. The proposal aims to align Cyprus with the EU in anticipation of further implementation of the EU Listing Act in June 2026, and includes draft laws focused on central securities depositories (CSDs).
Experts have highlighted risks and possible improvements to the proposal. CyprusMail quotes Nikos Porfyris, COO of Athens Exchange Group, who recommended that the CSD should obtain full licensing before the new CSE starts operating. Porfyris also suggested including rules for registering and recognising financial instruments on DLT in line with the EU’s DLT Pilot Regime and setting up stricter deadlines for publishing financial statements of listed companies to improve transparency.
Comments from Athos Chandriotis, CEO of holding company Demetra focused more on the draft law on CSDs. A proposal for a fast-track process for transferring digital securities to heirs for smaller estates below €2,000 requires written consent from all beneficiaries and a 15-day publication in a daily newspaper if heirs cannot be found. Chandriotis cautioned that this could create “risks for listed companies, including easy document forgery, disputes over shareholder votes near record dates, and potential legal claims if the registry’s actions affect dividends or corporate decisions”.
He is also concerned about the risk of inconsistent identification of foreign heirs due to issues with authenticating documents. He suggested that cross-border documents be properly legalised and translated. Algorithms for name matching and secondary identifiers should also be used.
