Cyprus Business Now

The Bank of Cyprus has become the first bank in Cyprus to set up a dedicated management unit for technology companies that relocate to the island.

The new technology hub service will be under the bank’s International Business Unit (IBU) and will manage technology, telecommunications and ICT companies.

This initiative aims to facilitate the effective and deep understanding of their [technology companies] business needs as well as offering them better service and support,” the bank said in a statement.

“An important reason as to why the Bank of Cyprus set up this service unit is because international technology companies have already moved to Cyprus, with their important executives and staff, which seems to be reinforced by the incentives announced last October by the Cypriot government, thus allowing the further development of the sector,” the bank added.

The new IBU technology hub will be based in Limassol due to the prominence of such companies in the city.

Two new electric cars have become available for purchase in the Cypriot automotive market.

Fiat’s new 500 electric can already be viewed at CiC Automasters showcase rooms, while Toyota’s bZ4X can be pre-ordered online through Toyota’s dedicated vehicle ordering system.

The electric Fiat 500 offers a 199 mile range through an 87kW battery, while its five minute fast charge offers 30 miles of driving.

Meanwhile, the all-wheel-drive bZ4X SUV offers a 450km range, with rapid charging at public stations requiring 25 minutes and home charging requiring between 6.5 and 19 hours.

In terms of their prices in Cyprus, the Fiat 500 starts at €26,500, while the Toyota bZ4X starts at €46,700.

Inflation in Cyprus increased to 4.3 per cent in November, according to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

This has been attributed to the sharp rise in electricity and petroleum products prices.

According to Cystat, the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.57 units and reached 105.36 units compared to 104.79 units in October 2021.

For the period between January and November of this year, the index rose by 2.2 per cent year-on-year.

In terms of a sector by sector breakdown, the most significant year-on-year Consumer Price Index changes were observed in electricity (35.7 per cent) and petroleum products (30 per cent).

Electricity also rose by 7.5 per cent month-on-month.

The total number of unemployed persons registered at the District Labour Offices on the last day of November 2021 reached 13,977 persons.

Based on the seasonally adjusted data that show the trend of unemployment, the number of registered unemployed for November 2021 fell to 14,857 persons, 1,177 fewer than October’s figure of 15,154.

In comparison with November 2020, a decrease of 18,991 persons or 57,6 per cent was recorded.

This has been primarily attributed to the sectors of accommodation and food service activities (a decrease of 4,656), trade (a decrease of 3,839), manufacturing (a decrease of 1,229), transportation and storage (a decrease of 990), construction (a decrease of 887), as well as to the 1,375 newcomers who entered the labour market.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Friday, December 3 with losses.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 66.48 points at 13:21 during the day, reflecting a drop of 1.19 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 39.80 points, which represents a 1.19 per cent decrease.

The total value of transactions came up to a relatively high amount of €184,163.86.

In terms of sub-indexes, the investment firm index rose by 0.49 per cent. Conversely, the main, alternative and hotel indexes fell by 1.34 per cent, 0.22 per cent and 0.59 per cent respectively.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Demetra (+0.54 per cent), Louis (-7.53 per cent), Atlantic Insurance (+1.23 per cent) and Logicom (+0.62 per cent).