Cyprus Business Now

There was a decrease of 4.9 per cent in the number of building permits issued in Cyprus between January and October 2022, according to a report released on Thursday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

According to the report, which utilises district and municipal data, 6,347 building permits were issued during this time, compared to 6,671 in the corresponding period of the previous year.

However, despite the decline in the number of permits, the total value of these permits remained at the levels of the previous year, reflecting the increase in construction costs.

In addition, the total area of all permits decreased by 5.9 per cent, while the number of residential units experienced a decrease of 4.6 per cent.

Furthermore, a year-on-year decrease in building permits was also observed in October 2022.

In more detail, 646 licenses were issued in October 2022, compared to 663 licenses in October 2021.

The total value of these licenses reached €203.7 million, compared to €186 million in the corresponding month of 2021.

The total area amounted to 186,000 square metres, compared to 173,600 square metres in October 2021.

The Nicosia district saw the highest number of building permits being issued, with a total of 220, followed by Limassol with 190, Larnaca with 121, Paphos with 87, and Famagusta with 28.

The largest total value and the largest area of these permits concern the permits that have been issued for the Limassol district, which amount to a total of €92.6 million and 78,872 square metres respectively.

Government employment in December 2022 increased by 632 people, a rise of 1.2 per cent, compared to the corresponding month of 2021, amounting to 53,686 people, according to a report released this week by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

According to the report, there was a decrease of 760 people in permanent staff, a drop of 2.9 per cent, falling from 26,226 to 25,466 people.

In terms of temporary members of staff, there was an increase of 1,336 people, a rise of 7.2 per cent, with the total figure reaching 19,980 people, compared to 18,644 in December of 2021.

What is more, an increase in staff was observed across all categories, with the largest one occurring in public education employees with a rise of 2.9 per cent, something which has been attributed to a significant increase in temporary staff, which grew by 12.3 per cent.

Compared to November 2022, both education service and security forces personnel rose by 1 per cent respectively, while public service staff increased by 0.1 per cent.

Finally, the total number of government staff on hourly contracts experienced a decrease of 1.9 per cent.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, January 12 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 92.38 points at 13:15 during the day, reflecting a drop of 0.41 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 55.72 points, representing a decrease of 0.39 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €77,691.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and investment firm indexes all declined, falling by 0.57 per cent, 0.36 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively, while the hotel index remained unchanged from the previous day.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (no change), Logicom (+0.52 per cent), Demetra Holdings (-2.82 per cent), as well as Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (-1.49 per cent).