Cyprus Business Now

Construction material prices in Cyprus remained stable in May, according to a report published by the state’s statistical service on Monday.

According to the data cited in the report, the Construction Materials Price Index reached 135.51 units in May 2022, with 2015 serving as the base year with a value of 100, thus marking a small decrease of 0.06 per cent, when compared to the previous month.

Moreover, when compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the index registered an increase of 1.84 per cent.

Compared to May from last year, May 2023 saw a large increase of 22.7 per cent in minerals and 11.87 per cent in mineral products.

Small increases of 2.76 per cent and 2.62 per cent were recorded in wood, insulating, chemical and plastic products and electromechanical items respectively, while a more sizeable decrease of 10.47 per cent was observed in metal products.

What is more, between January and May 2023, the index saw an increase of 6.86 per cent when compared to the same period in 2022, with the largest increases recorded in minerals and mineral products with 24.70 per cent and 13.93 per cent respectively.

Furthermore, wood, insulating, chemical and plastic products increased by 6.66 per cent.

Finally, electromechanical items rose by 5.83 per cent, while metal products decreased by 2.36 per cent.

The KIOS Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence at the University of Cyprus recently announced that it is currently accepting applications for two scholarships for PhD studies and one special Scientist for Research position (Post-Doctoral researcher), for full-time employment.

The university said that successful candidates will have the opportunity to conduct research under the supervision of Assistant Professor Stelios Timotheou on the ERC Consolidator Grant entitled “URANUS” (Real-Time Urban Mobility Management via Intelligent UAV-based Sensing).

Moreover, the university stated that ERC Consolidator Grants are “highly competitive and are given to excellent scientists to pursue their most promising and innovative ideas”.

“URANUS” is a five-year project, totalling €2 million, which focuses on the dynamic and intelligent urban mobility management of vehicles and pedestrians via Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

“In this context, a holistic framework for real-time urban mobility monitoring and control, as well as UAV operational planning, will be developed. URANUS is expected to transform our understanding of joint optimization of sensing, monitoring, and control, and lead to step-change improvements in urban traffic mobility with prominent environmental and socioeconomic benefits,” the university said in an announcement.

The deadline for the PhD Scholarships is June 30, 2023. The deadline for the Special Scientist for Research position (Post-Doctoral researcher) is July 17, 2023.

The announcement clarified that the evaluation of any applications received will take place on a rolling basis.

For more information, interested parties can visit the KIOS website.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, June 19 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 117.72 points at 12:52 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.34 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 71.27 points, representing a drop of 0.29 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €81,412.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main index and hotel indexes fell by 0.63 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

The alternative index rose by 0.3 per cent while the investment firm index remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-0.33 per cent), Logicom (-1.79 per cent), Hellenic Bank (-0.52 per cent), Petrolina (no change), and Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (no change).