Cyprus Business Now

The Cyprus Economic Society (CES) will be hosting its annual economy panel on Thursday, with the online event delving into Cyprus’ economic outlook and prospects.

Among the speakers are Bank of Cyprus’ Manager of Economic Research Ioannis Tirkides, former Director of Financial Stability at the Ministry of Finance and economist Andreas Charalambous, as well as Central Bank of Cyprus Director of Economic Analysis and Research George Kyriacou.

Additional speakers include Professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management University of Cyprus Sofronis Clerides, Hellenic Bank Chief Economist Andreas Assiotis, and University of Cyprus Economic Research Centre Advisor George Syrichas.

“The Cyprus economy did relatively well in 2021 but will be slowing in 2022,” the CES said.

“We will be discussing the economic outlook and the prospects for the medium term,” it added.

AstroBank announced on Monday the ongoing rollout of new eco-friendly, biodegradable debit and credit cards, which can be issued in-branch for interested customers.

“Taking into consideration how crucial this period is for climate action, AstroBank is revolutionizing its operations, by introducing a new series of cards, which are almost completely biodegradable,” the bank said in a statement.

“In this way, it aims to reduce its environmental footprint, removing significant quantities of plastic, which would otherwise end up in the ecosystem,” AstroBank added.

The cards are also equipped with improved security features, including changes to how the card number and owner’s information details are displayed.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, January 31 with losses.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 69.75 points at 14:02 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.44 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 41.84 points, which represents a decrease of 0.43 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €43,175.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index, alternative index and hotel index dropped by 0.77 per cent, 0.09 per cent and 1.03 per cent respectively.

The investment firm index also fell by 0.94 per cent.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (no change), Hellenic Bank (-1.91 per cent), Demetra (1.02 per cent), KEO Plc (no change) and Louis (-0.62 per cent).