Issue 63 pages 1 11 June issue

5 291295 000577

0 0 0 0 1 >

INVESTMENTNaguib Sawiris“I’m an investor

with a heart”

BANKINGInterview withCBC Governor

Chrystalla Georghadji

PEOPLEElena Donets

William JanssenMartin Manuzi

PLUSBusiness Briefing,What’s On, Books,

Opinion & More

presents

CIPA International Investment

Awards

June 2016 | Presidential Palace, Nicosia

© 2016 PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. All rig hts reserved

www.pwc.com.cy

Gold

ISSUE 63 | JUNE 19, 2016 | A

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ISSUE 63 JUNE 19, 2016PRICE €3.00

34 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus

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hat’s the connection between Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, apart from the fact that they are among the world’s richest business-men? One answer is that all three are self-made entrepreneurs – men who started their professional career with little more than an idea, some savings and a great deal of self-belief and de-termination. They were once unknowns and yet, if it were not for them, we would never have heard of Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon. And without others like them, there would be no Google or Apple, no Zara or Nike, no Oracle, no Virgin Atlantic, no IKEA, no McDonald’s...The list is endless. All these global brands were conceived and built by people with no or little money (Sir Richard Branson famously started Virgin with a start-up capital of £300) but whereas it might be the first thing that some of us would think about, the lack of funds did not stop them.

Much of today’s talk is about start-ups but there is nothing new about creating a business from scratch. Indeed, virtually every great invention throughout history has originated in one person’s visionary idea.

Business success ultimately brings wealth of varying degrees but it is the creation of wealth from nothing that inspires us all. The picture of the en-trepreneur or inventor spending every working mo-ment on realising that vision is the stuff of dreams and movies but, in many cases, it is a very real one.

Where do the Cypriots fit into this exciting world? In most instances, those who have made their fortune have done it beyond the island’s shores: people like multi-million-aire Theo Paphitis, for example, who owns the stationery chain Ryman and the lingerie retailer Boux Avenue and

became a household name in the UK through the TV pro-gramme Dragons’ Den. Or Loucas Haji-Ioannou, the eldest of 12 children, who left school at 17 and worked as salesman. Some 45 years later, in 1990, he was the world’s largest inde-pendent shipowner.

On any list of the most successful and wealthy Cypriots, Loucas Haji-Ioannou’s billionaire son Stelios is near the top. But does the founder of easyJet deserve to be described as a self-made businessman? We think not because, despite his undoubted acumen, vision and ability, he was given consid-erable help by his father – most reports cite the amount of £30 million – to start his own enterprise. All eight of the en-trepreneurs that you will meet on the following pages would love to have received a fraction of that sum when they were trying to get their companies off the ground.

For our cover story, we chose to speak to people who are still very much involved with the com-

panies that they set up on their own initiative and they cover a wide range of sectors from real estate to

technology, from recycling to travel & tourism, from toys to professional

services. As you will see from their interviews, they are all from what Symeon Kassianides (Chairman and CEO, Hyperion Group) describes as the “Never Give Up” school, although several of them admit that

they came close. Their collective ad-vice to anyone wishing to emulate them

would seem to be that they need to dedicate themselves 100% to their idea and vision.

As Miltos Kambourides (Managing Partner & co-founder, Dolphin Capital Partners) puts it, “There are no successful part-time start-up entrepreneurs”.

On the following pages, you can read about how Panikos Akritas (NetU Group), Nicos Apostolides (Datatech I.T. Solutions Ltd), Mil-tos Kambourides (Dolphin Capital

Partners), Symeon Kassianides (Hyperion Group), Marios Klitou (Baker Tilly), Antonis Orthodoxou (Orthodoxou Group), Costas Sisamos (En-gino) and Andreas Tsouloftas

( Tsouloftas Group) began with a vision, worked on it, real-

ised it and earned a reputation for excellence way beyond the borders of Cyprus.

| COVER STORY |

By John Vickers & Artemis Constantinidou | Photos by Andreas Loucaides

Eight Self-Made Cypriot Businessmen

&

The World’s Wealthiest Self-Made

Entrepreneurs

1.BILL

GATES ($75 BILLION)

2.AMANCIOORTEGA ($67 BILLION)

5.JEFF

BEZOS($45.2 BILLION)

($67

3.WARREN BUFFETT($60.8 BILLION)

($45.2 B

6.MARK

ZUCKERBERG($44.6 BILLION)

(

4.CARLOS

SLIM HELU ($50 BILLION)

GGGGG 7.LARRY

ELLISON($43.6 BILLION)

8.MICHAEL

BLOOMBERG ($40 BILLION)

9.LARRY PAGE

($35.2 BILLION)

10.SERGEY

BRIN($34.4 BILLION)

Source: Forbes

22 | GOLD | The Business Magazine of Cyprus www.goldnews.com.cy | GOLD | 23

hat’s the connection between Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, apart from the fact that they are among the world’s richest business-men? One answer is that all three are self-made entrepreneurs – men who started their professional career with little more than an idea, some savings and a great deal of self-belief and de-termination. They were once unknowns

became a househgramme Dragonsof 12 children, wSome 45 years latpendent shipown

On any list of tLoucas Haji-IoanBut does the founself-made businesundoubted acumerable help by his£30 million – to trepreneurs that ylove to have receitrying to get their

For our cover s

The World’sWealthiest Self-Ma

Entrepreneurs

1.BILL

GATES2.

T H E B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E O F C Y P R U S

I S S U E 6 3 J U N E 1 9 , 2 0 1 6

C O N T E N T S6 | EDITORIAL

8 | BUSINESS BRIEFINGEconomic & Business Highlights of the past month.

12 | MY WAY Andri Georgiou’s management style.

14 | FIVE MINUTES WITH… Helena Naaman

16 | THEY SAID WHAT?A selection of notable utterances by Cypriots in the public eye.

OPINION40 | NOT THE END OF THE ROADBy George Theocharides

FEATURES18 | CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUEInterview with Chrystalla Georghadji, Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus.

42 | DREAMERS, CRAZY, CREATIVE AND DARING!Elena Donets, CEO of the Tel Aviv University Entrepreneurship Centre (StarTAU) on how students are going to change the world with technology.

46 | INVESTOR WITH A HEARTEgyptian Billionaire Naguib Sawiris reveals how his investment decisions are as emotional as much as they are business-based.

76 | NICOSIA ECONOMIC CONGRESS Photos from the event.

78 | JUST ADD SUNWilliam Janssen, CEO of the award-winning start-up Desolenator, on how his idea can help combat the global water shortage.

80 | HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE MCLOBy Gregory Dellas.

82 | BREXIT: THE GHOST OF TWO SUMMERS FUTUREBy Dr. Savvas Savouri.

84 | BREXIT: THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’How the ICAEW is dealing with the UK referendum issues. Interview with Martin Manuzi, Regional Director for Europe.

COVER STORY

23 | All My Own Work Interviews with eight self-made Cypriot businessmen about the

challenges they faced at the start of their careers, their inspiration,

their advice to young entrepreneurs and more.

14

87 | SHIPPING INDUSTRY CONFERENCE GALAPhotos from the event.

92| CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF SUCCESSInterview with Costas Christoforou, CEO of CPM, a leading provider

administration services.

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

49 | Accounting, Audit & Tax Advisory Firms

in CyprusEleven companies present their

products and services, while a senior representative answers the question

What can Cyprus do to ensure that it remains a competitive jurisdiction and

continues to attract foreign companies and investors

to the island?

42

100

104 | WHAT’S ONGold’s guide to the best cultural events of the coming month.

106 | A DAY IN THE LIFEElena Constantinou

96 | IN GOOD COMPANYHow PwC Cyprus achieves success through people.

99 | BOOKSHELFFive of the best new business titles.

100 | LUNCH WITH GOLDThomas Kazakos, Director-General of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber.

80

winninhis idewater

106

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| EDITORIAL |

John Vickers,Chief Editor

[email protected]

In Praise of the Entrepreneur

ne of the most famous remarks attributed to former US President George W. Bush’s is the one that he supposedly made to the then British Prime Minister, Tony Blair: “The trouble with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.”While making a fool of himself over his linguistic failings, Mr. Bush was presumably expressing the view that France was not a country that one immediately associated with entrepreneurship. He certainly could not have said that about the Greek Cypriots, who have shown, following

two major crises in the past 40 years, that when the going gets tough, they know how to buckle down to some creative hard work (and they have a word for it).

On the other hand, it is a fact that Cyprus, too, is not a country that one immediately associates with entrepreneurship but this may not be a fair reflection of the island’s business scene. When we decided to focus on a number of self-made businessmen for this month’s cover story, we had far more examples than we could possibly present, from as far back as the 1950s to today’s era of start-ups, from those who made their names and fortunes in other countries to those who took the decision to remain in their homeland. In the end, we narrowed a very long list down to eight entrepreneurs operating in a broad range of sectors, all of whom are still active today and deserve recognition for their achievements.

Still on the entrepreneurship, you will find several more impressive examples of it else-where in this issue. We have an exclusive interview with one of the world’s richest men, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, who is behind a huge investment in the planned Mak-ronisos Marina & Resort at Ayia Napa and who reveals how he refused to join his father’s company until he had made it on his own (page 46). You can also read about William Janssen’s invention, the Desolenator, a portable device that desalinates water for drinking purposes, which won a UK start-up award (page 78), and see what Elena Donets, CEO of the Tel Aviv University Entrepreneurship Centre (StarTAU) and a leading figure on the Israeli entrepreneurship scene, has to say about how she sees the future, thanks to tech-sav-vy student communities around the world (page 42).

In addition to this, we have interviews with Central Bank Governor Chrystalla Georghadji (page 18) and ICAEW Regional Director for Europe Martin Manuzi (page 84), who clarifies the Institute’s official stance on this month’s British referendum on EU membership, while economist Savvas Savouri explains why he is for Brexit. I think you’ll agree that these and all our usual features make for another varied read. Enjoy!

MANAGING DIRECTOR George Michail

GENERAL MANAGER Daphne Roditou Tang

MEDIA MANAGERElena Leontiou

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF John Vickers

JOURNALISTSArtemis Constantinidou, Voula Loizou

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE Gregory Dellas, Savvas Savouri,

George Theocharides

PHOTOGRAPHYEmma Louise Charalambous,

Jo Michaelides, Andreas Loucaides

ART DIRECTION Anna Theodosiou

SENIOR DESIGNERAlexia Petrou

ASSISTANT DESIGNERStephanie AndreouPHOTOGRAPHY

Jo Michaelides, Harris Kyprianou MARKETING EXECUTIVE

Kevi ChishiosSALES MANAGER

Irene GeorgiouSALES EXECUTIVE Stavros Epifaniou

OPERATIONS MANAGER Voulla NicolaouSUBSCRIPTIONSMyria Neophytou

PRINTERS Cassoulides Masterprinters

CONTACT5 Aigaleo St., Strovolos 2057, Nicosia, Cyprus

Mailing address: P.O.Box 21185, 1503, Nicosia, Cyprus

Tel: +357 22505555, Fax: +357 22679820e-mail: [email protected]

subscriptions: [email protected]

ISSN 1986 - 3543PUBLISHED BY IMH

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GOLDT H E B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E O F C Y P R U S

ISSUE 63 JUNE 19, 2016PRICE €3.00

5 291295 000577

0 0 0 0 1 >

INVESTMENTNaguib Sawiris“I’m an investor

with a heart”

BANKINGInterview withCBC Governor

Chrystalla Georghadji

PEOPLEElena Donets

William JanssenMartin Manuzi

PLUS

Opinion & More


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ASCENDIS HEALTH ACQUIRES REMEDICA

Cypriot pharmaceutical manufacturer Re-medica has announced its takeover by South

African Ascendis Health, which acquired 100% of the company. The price of the

acquisition was the equivalent of €260m. Remedica CEO Charalambos Pattihis said, “Our goal was, is and remains the sustain-able development of Remedica. Under the

new umbrella we will thrive and achieve even more impressive results”. Pattihis and his team of Remedica executives will retain their positions. Remedica supplies over 300

generic pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases such as malaria, or an-tibiotics, to some 100 countries, primarily in emerging markets including the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America, and to the World Health Organisation, Médecins Sans

Frontières and the Red Cross.

TUNISIE TELECOM ACQUIRES GO PLCGO plc, which owns a 51% stake in Cablen-

et, has been acquires by Tunisie Telecom. Nizar Bouguila, Chairman and Chief Execu-

committed to becoming a long-term partner for GO, supporting continued investments in the Maltese ICT sector as well as in Cyprus

through Cablenet. GO is the leading provider of telecommunications services in Malta with

will provide each of Tunisie Telecom and GO

and 4G network developments as well as to expand our data center and cloud services

rontières and the Red Cross.

E TELECOM ACQUIRES

18th Cyprus Amateur Golf Classic TournamentThe Cyprus Tourism Organisation welcomed 70 golfers who participated in the 18th Cyprus Amateur Golf Classic Tournament 2016, organised by Exclusive Golf Tours from the UK. The tournament took place at the Minthis Hills, Secret Valley and Aphrodite Hills Golf Courses. The 18th Cyprus Golf Classic 2016 was honoured by the presence of the distinguished sports and TV personality, Olympic Gold Medallist Kriss Akabusi MBE, who participated in the tournament and expressed positive comments

-

hospitality”. The Awards Ceremony and gala dinner took place at the Almyra Hotel in Paphos.

M & A

BUSINESSBRIEFING

SPORT

ARTSOPERA IN PAPHOSOpera lovers will be delighted to know that the rumours about the end of the annual Paphos Aph-rodite Festival have proved to be unfounded. Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart will be performed by the Centro Formazione Alta Cultura of Parma, Italy on September 2, 3 & 4 at Paphos Harbour with the Me-diaeval Castle as a backdrop. The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra will provide the accompaniment. Don Giovanni is considered to be one of the greatest works of the operatic repertoire and one of the leading lyric masterpieces of all time. As always, there will be Greek and English surtitles.

ElectionsElections for a new House of Representatives were held on May 22, resulting in an 8-party parliament for the first time as four smaller groupings won enough votes to secure a place in the 56-seat legislature. The big winner was Voter Apathy as a record 33.26% of the elec-torate did not bother to go to the polling station. Later, Demetris Syllouris, formerly leader of the European Par-ty (EVROKO) who stood for Solidarity, was elected Speaker of the House. The final allocation of seats was as follows:Democratic Rally (DISY) 18; Communist Party (AKEL) 16; Democratic Party (DIKO) 9; Socialist Party (EDEK) 3; Solidar-ity 3; Citizens’ Alliance 3; Greens 2; National Popular Front (ELAM) 2

ASCENDIS HEALTH

M & A

NUKKLEUS ACQUIRES 9.9% OF IRONFX GLOBAL.

has acquired select assets in technology provider Forexware and a 9.9% shareholder

stake in IronFX Global. Both brands under Nukkleus will keep their own separate

identities and operational autonomy. The CEO of IronFX, Markos A. Kashiouris, said,

“Our core strategy always involved the introduction of an industry leading con-

solidation platform, driven by outstanding localized service and product development,

as well as, cutting edge technological backbone and multi- locational regulatory

coverage. By building strong on the existing operations of Nukkleus, as well as the future

contemplated transactions, we create un-paralleled and long overdue global synergies that place us at the forefront of value crea-

tion within the sector”.

IN THE NEWS

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MATTHEW KIDD

Matthew Kidd is to return to the

post of British High Commissioner in Cyprus, after the departure of Ric Todd from the position for personal reasons.

The process has begun to appoint a new High Commissioner but, in the meantime Todd’s

predecessor, Matthew Kidd who was High

Commissioner from May 2010 to August 2014,

will undertake the duties.

ALEXIS TSIELEPIS

Leading Cypriot VAT expert, Alexis Tsielepis,

has authored the Cyprus chapter of the European

VAT Handbook 2016, one of Europe’s most credible

and comprehensive guides on Value Added Tax. Tsielepis, Managing

Director of Chelco VAT Ltd, the only VAT-dedicated

was a privilege to work with such high-calibre

VAT professionals on the Handbook.

GEORGE PAMBORIDIS Cyprus Health Minister

George Pamboridis is the new Commonwealth Health Ministers President for the

next 12 months, following a decision taken in Geneva last month. PamboridIs met with Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, to discuss current health

challenges and Commonwealth support towards future

Presidency initiatives. He also addressed the 69th General

Assembly of the WHO in Geneva, on May 24

PEOPLE

€2.2 MILLION HELP TO CYPRUS POST

POSTAL

SERVICES

The Cyprus Post is to receive an estimated €2.2 million in order to automate its services. Automated systems will be installed in all post offices throughout the island

in an effort to alleviate ongoing problems, improve the quality of the work environment and to make the Post competitive. The central post offices in all towns are also due to start pro-viding non-postal services that, until now, have been provided through the successful Citizens Service Centres.

APPLICATIONS NOW OPENFOR STELIOS AWARDS 2016

The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation has announced that, for the eighth consecutive year, Sir Stelios Ha-ji-Ioannou will be rewarding cooperation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and applications can be

made via Facebook.

teams that can win €10,000 each. It will bring the total amount granted since 2009 to of €2 million.All forms of cooperation between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots are eligible to apply, in-cluding business, sciences, arts, sport, NGO work and... life! The winners will be announced at an Awards Ceremony in October 2016 in Nicosia. The deadline for application submission through Facebook is 15 July, 2016. In order to promote more regular contact and cooperation between the two communities, with the ultimate objective of promoting lasting peace on the island, applications will only be accepted via the “Stelios Philanthropic Foundation” Facebook page. All applicants are expected to like the page Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, join the group Stelios Cyprus Bi-Communal Awards 2016 which now counts over 1,000 members and make “Facebook friends” with members of the other com-munity on the island. Past winners are always welcome to reapply. Multiple applications of each team member are also

www.stelios.org.

BICOMMUNALBUSINESS


BUSINESSBRIEFING

IMMOVABLE PROPERTY TAX REDUCED BY 50%

On June 1, the Council of Ministers approved the reduction of the immovable property tax rate by 50% and abolished the immovable property tax collected by municipalities and communities. “Today we made another important step towards tax reform and reducing the tax burden for households and corporations,” Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said following the meeting.

He said the Government had approved a reduction of the immovable property tax by 50%, offset-ting the EU obligation to charge 19% VAT on transactions of property in the context of commercial transactions of buildable land.The move will reduce immovable tax revenue from €103 million to €45 million.Georgiades added that the Government had decided to maintain the 20% discount to those who pay their immovable tax bill online or via a bank and the 17.5% discount for those paying their tax on time at Tax Department counters.The Government has also reduced transfer fees on all immovable property sales by 50%.

ARISTO DEVELOPERS IN BEIRUT REAL ESTATE EXPO

Aristo Developers continued to make its presence felt on the international property stage through its recent participation in the Beirut International Property Fair in Lebanon. As a leading and prominent developer in Cyprus, Aristo Developers was once again able to present its dynamic property portfolio to a plethora of international investors who attended the exhibition. Representatives of Aristo Developers had the opportunity

to showcase 50 new islandwide developments currently in the market and to present Cyprus’ com-petitive advantages as a property destination, its favourable incentives and unique investment pro-grammes. Aristo Developers’ flagship development, Venus Rock Golf Resort – the largest beachfront golf-integrated resort in the south-eastern Mediterranean – was one of the highlights at the event, including Bellevue Residences and Mersinia Hills Sea View Villas, all located in prime, sought-after locations across Cyprus. Visitors and potential buyers who attended the fair, expressed a keen interest in Cyprus’ simple and efficient EU Citizenship and Permanent Residency programmes available through property investment.

NEW TO CYPRUS

Cyprus Pils Beer Artisan beer company Prime Microbrewery has released

a new beer to pubs and other locations throughout the island. Cyprus Pils has already been awarded a silver medal at this year’s Meiningers International

Craft Beer Awards in Ger-many. The beer will also be

exported to Greece and France, thanks to increased

demand.

EBRD: CYPRUS GDP TO REACH 2.5% IN 2017

Cyprus can expect GDP growth of 2.5% next year, according to the

European Bank for Recon-struction and Development (EBRD), which said that, after five years of continuous con-traction, it expects moderate growth ranging from 1.4% in 2016 to 2.5% in 2017. Refer-ring to the EBRD report, DISY Chairman Averof Neophytou said that he expects the Cy-priot economy to surpass the EBRD’s projections and for the unemployment rate to fall to single digits.

REAL ESTATE

ECONOMY

EmiratesBoeing 777 Service Emirates, which operates

and Cyprus, has boosted capacity on its twice-weekly service to Larnaca and on-ward to Malta with the intro-

duction of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft

on June 1. Travellers from Cyprus on this route have

the option of either going to Dubai or to Malta.

A.H.S.Playplanet

A.H.S. Playplanet, located in the basement of My Mall in Limassol, is a unique space

of activities and it is specially designed to create a friendly

and comfortable environ-ment for its young visitors. Children’s birthday parties

are held in the Kid’s Land or Alien

Bowling areas.

www.goldnews.com.cy | GOLD | 11

tel: +30 210 4294 404 [email protected]

www.register-iri.com

IRI Hellas Ltd.

JURISDICTIONOF CHOICE

THE MARSHALL ISLANDSCorporate Registry

BANK DEPOSITS RISE BY €145M

Deposits in the Cyprus banking system rose by €144.9 million in April, while loans fell by €86.7 million, continuing the deleverag-ing process for the fourth consec-

released by the Central Bank of Cyprus, total deposits in April amounted to €45.9 billion in April, whereas total loans declined to €57.0 billion. On an annual basis deposits rose by 2.4% in April compared with a 2.0% in March.

BANKING

US Congressional Delegation

A US Congressio-nal Delegation, comprising Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

(Republican, Florida), Car-olyn Maloney (Democrat, New York), Gus Bilirakis (Republican, Florida) and Randy Weber (Republican, Texas), visited Cyprus on May 28-29. President Nicos Anastasiades received the delegation on the first day of their two-day visit. During the meeting, the President and the members of the US Congress discussed the latest developments in Cyprus, bi-lateral and economic rela-tions between Cyprus and the United States, notably issues related to the Double Tax Treaty, the arms embar-go, energy issues and wider developments in the region. The delegation, accompanied by US Ambassador to Cy-prus Kathleen A. Doherty, also met with Foreign Minis-ter Ioannis Kasoulides.

BOC NET PROFIT OF €50M IN Q1

Bank of Cyprus recorded a net

quarter of 2016, thanks in part to the momentum in non-per-forming loan restructuring which exceeded €1 billion in the quar-ter than ended on March 31

2016. The bank said it had provided new lending amounting to €223 million. Total loans on March 31 2016 amounted to €21.85 billion compared with €22.59 billion on December 31 2015.

FOREIGNAFFAIRS

CYPRUS-UAE TALKS IN NICOSIA

Tand the United Arab Emirates took place in Nicosia last month. It was a follow-up to the visit of President Nicos Anastasiades to the

UAE in April 2014. The Permanent Secretary of the -

andros N. Zenon, and the Assistant Minister for Political -

man Al Jarman, discussed bilateral relations and ways in which these can be enhanced. The two men also discussed,” the announcement said matters relating to energy, multilateral; cooperation, counter-terrorism and the latest developments in the Middle East region. The prospects for investments in Cyprus and trade and business opportunities in the UAE were also discussed.

VISITORS

Documents

Issue 63 pages 1 11 June issue