Cyprus Business Now

The Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) this week reported a remarkable 35 per cent increase in total vehicle registrations in September 2023, compared to the same month in 2022, with the number reaching 4,607 vehicles, compared to 3,412 in September 2022.

According to the announcement, during the period from January to September 2023, the total number of registered vehicles increased by 29 per cent, reaching 34,280 compared to 26,581 during the same period in 2022.

It was further noted that registrations of passenger cars saw a 29.8 per cent increase, reaching 27,499 compared to 21,183 in the same period in 2022.

Out of the total registered passenger cars, 11,487 (41.8 per cent) were new, while 16,012 (58.2 per cent) were used cars. Rental cars, in particular, showed a 38.3 per cent increase, totalling 4,811.

In addition, registrations of buses increased to 266 during the January-September 2023 period from 68 in the same period in 2022, marking a significant rise of 12.5 per cent in the registrations of cargo transport vehicles, which reached 3,226 in the same period of 2023 compared to 2,867 in 2022.

Specifically, light commercial vehicles increased by 8.7 per cent to 2,514, heavy-duty trucks surged by 37.2 per cent to 398, road tractors (trailers) increased by 68.3 per cent to 106, and rental vehicles saw a 3.5 per cent increase to 208.

Finally, registrations of motorcycles under 50cc increased to 230 during the period between January and September 2023, compared to 199 in the same period in 2022.

Registrations of motorcycles over 50cc also rose by 33.3 per cent to 2,651 during the same period in 2023, compared to 1,989 in 2022.

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has announced that it will retain the countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) rate at 1 per cent, with implementation set for June 2, 2024.

This decision was made in accordance with the Macroprudential Supervision of Institutions Laws of 2015 to 2022.

The 1 per cent CCyB rate was adopted based on the latest decision of the CBC on June 2, 2023. This rate will come into effect on June 2, 2024. It marks a continuation of the CBC’s June decision to increase the CCyB rate from 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent with implementation set for June 2, 2024.

In its announcement, the CBC cited a comprehensive approach, including quantitative tools, qualitative analysis, and the principle of guided discretion, as recommended by the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) through ESRB/2014/1, for the evaluation leading to the previous decision.

The current CCyB rate stands at 0 per cent, and it is set to increase to 0.5 per cent starting from November 30, 2023, following a decision made in December 2022 and reaffirmed in April 2023, before reaching 1 per cent in June 2024, as confirmed by the latest announcement.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, October 10 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 128.36 points at 13:47 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.3 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 77.83 points, representing a drop of 0.31 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €258,979.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main and alternative indexes fell by 0.08 per cent and 0.78 per cent respectively. The hotel and investment firm indexes remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-0.34 per cent), Blue Island (+0.57 per cent), Atlantic Insurance Company (-1.2 per cent), Hellenic Bank (no change), and Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (-3.11 per cent).