Cyprus Business Now

The Paphos regional board of tourism (Etap) announced on Tuesday that it is currently hosting 25 tourism industry stakeholders, including agents and journalists, from Jordan.

The initiative, which is conducted in collaboration with a private hotel group and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, aims to promote Paphos to the Jordanian market.

According to a statement, Etap said that it has prepared a specific programme of activities to enable its guests to get to know the district, visit points of interest, as well as see in detail what Paphos has to offer as a full-time tourist destination.

At the same time, guests will be informed about the efforts made for the further upgrading of both the infrastructure and the tourist experience in Paphos.

Due to the year-round availability of flights between the countries, Etap sees a lot of potential in Jordan, including short break visitors, specialised groups, expats, as well as second home owners.

Cyprus had approximately 18,000 visitors from Jordan in 2019.

Total sales of petroleum products increased by 37.7 per cent in February 2022, compared to February 2021, reaching 15,952 tons, while total petroleum reserves decreased, according to a report by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

There was an increase in oil supplies to aircraft (230.8 per cent) and ships (228.4 per cent), as well as sales of light and heavy fuel oil 120.5 per cent and 71.5 per cent respectively, LPG (16.6 per cent), petrol (15.1 per cent), heating oil (13.0 per cent) and kerosene (7.1 per cent).

Conversely, there was a decrease in the sales of asphalt (-31.4 per cent) and diesel (-0.9 per cent).

Petrol station sales recorded an increase of 8.9 per cent, reaching a total of 53,815 tons.

In addition, total sales of petroleum products in February 2022 increased by 3.1 per cent month-on-month.

Sales of gasoline increased by 6 per cent, diesel by 7.5 per cent, while oil supplies to aircraft fell by 3.7 per cent.

Finally, total oil reserves at the end of February 2022 decreased by 12.8 per cent month-on-month.

The Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) released a statement this week congratulating Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) George Theocharides for his appointment as Chairman of the Committee of Economic and Markets’ Analysis (CEMA) of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

“Theocharides’ appointment in such a significant and prominent position at the European authority, which is responsible for collective investments, enhances the position and the role of Cyprus, at large, as an emerging investment centre,” the association said.

“As part of our ongoing and enhanced cooperation, we wish Dr Theocharides a successful term as President of CEMA, a committee of great importance for the development of the European economy and money market,” CIFA added.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, March 29 with losses.

The main Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 67.15 points at 12:32 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.43 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 40.35 points, which represents a decrease of 0.44 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €13,713.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index fell by 0.95 per cent, while the alternative index rose by 0.57 per cent.

Conversely, the hotel and investment firm indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works (+2.9 per cent), Louis (-5.13 per cent), Logicom (-1.52 per cent), the Cyprus Cement Company (no change), and the Bank of Cyprus (-1.63 per cent).