Cyprus Business Now

The Cyprus Statistical Service has released a report showing that the first six months of the year saw a total of 3,990 building permits being issued by the relevant municipal authorities, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 25.5 per cent.

The same period during 2020 saw a total of 3,153 building permits being authorised.

In terms of their value and total area, there was a year-on-year increase of 20.5 per cent and a year-on-year increase of 31 per cent respectively.

The total number of dwelling units increased by 29.8 per cent year-on-year.

Regarding the month of June 2021, the total number of building permits being issued reached 833 overall, with a total value of €270,4 million and a total area of 263,7 thousand square metres.

The aforementioned number of permits issued during June will lead to the creation of 998 dwelling units.

AstroBank has announced that it will be assisting children in rural, fire-stricken areas by donating necessary school equipment.

The bank, alongside the Pancyprian Volunteerism Coordinative Council (PVCC), will provide various items to 113 students residing in the aforementioned areas in both the Larnaca and Limassol districts.

A report by the European Central Bank has shown that the cost of short-term borrowing fell to 2.67 per cent by the end of May 2021.

Although the fall came after a small rise in the preceding months, this follows a wider downward trend that began in earnest in 2015.

Moreover, the report also shows that the cost of borrowing for businesses for the same period also fell, reaching 2.98 per cent at the end of May of this year.

Regarding the cost of housing loans for the same period, this fell to 2.79 per cent, again following a long-term downwards trend.