Cyprus Business Now

Private healthcare company Laertes Health LTD on Monday announced that it has finally approved the necessary building permit for the construction of a private hospital in Nicosia.

The hospital, a 4-story building in the Engomi municipality, will be constructed on land that has been allocated by the Church of Cyprus.

The building was designed by Texas-based international architecture firm HKS, as well as Cyprus firm MDG Architects, who specialise in the design of high-end hospitals.

According to the submitted environmental report, the proposed development will be comprised of one building with a basement, ground floor, four ground floors and a roof garden.

Development is scheduled to start in January of 2023, with a soft opening due to take place in 2025.

Cypriot fintech company Ask WiRE, which compiles and analyses property values and other attributes across Europe, on Monday announced the opening of its Athens office.

The company said that it aims to improve transparency in the Greek real estate market and provide the necessary infrastructure for banks, insurers, financial institutions, real estate investors, and others to tailor their products and services and facilitate online sales.

The company’s new office will be located at the premises of Eurobank’s EGG, a programme that provides essential support to startups and young businesses by offering them office space, mentoring, hands-on business training, and networking opportunities.

The EGG initiative began in May 2013 and, to date, has helped more than 1,000 entrepreneurs, from Greece and abroad, to create more than 275 startups.

“Greece has one of the most dynamic startup ecosystems across Europe, with the government and corporates being highly proactive in the digital transformation of the economy and their product offerings,” Pavlos Loizou, Ask WiRE CEO said.

“This, along with the pick-up in real estate activity, the highly varied geophysical landscape, and the spike in energy prices, offer us tangible collaboration opportunities and the chance to deploy our solutions,” he added.

Loizou concluded by saying that the company hopes to lay robust foundations for its Greek entity and become a valuable contributor to the country’s growing tech ecosystem.

Government employment in Cyprus increased by 149 persons, a rise of 0.3 per cent, in August 2022, compared to the corresponding month of 2021, reaching 52,470 persons in total, according to a report released on Monday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

There was a decrease of 703 people (2.6 per cent) in terms of permanent staff, falling from 26,568 to 25,865 people.

In terms of temporary staff, there was an increase of 844 people, a rise of 4.9 per cent year-on-year, reaching 18,120, compared to 17,276 people in August 2021.

Furthermore, there was an increase across all personnel categories, with the exception of security forces personnel, which contracted by 2.1 per cent.

According to the report, the largest increase took place in public education, where staff grew by 2.5 per cent. This has been attributed to a rise of 11.8 per cent in temporary members of staff.

Compared to July 2022, there was a decrease across all staff categories in August 2022, with the largest one taking place in public education with 4.2 per cent, something which has been attributed to a fall of 11.1 per cent in temporary staff.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, September 12 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 74.30 points at 12:50 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.09 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 44.56 points, which represents a decrease of 0.11 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €176,135.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, investment firm and hotel indexes all declined, falling by 0.06 per cent, 0.29 per cent, 2.36 per cent and 0.47 per cent respectively.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (+0.37 per cent), Demetra (no change), the Cyprus Cement Company (-1.53 per cent), Hellenic Bank (+0.88 per cent), as well as Alkis H. Hadjikyriacos – Frou Frou Biscuits (-0.82 per cent).