TechIsland, the foremost tech association in Cyprus, is gearing up for the much-anticipated fourth edition of its annual TechIsland Summit, according to an announcement released on Monday.

Scheduled for May 30, this all-day event will be a key feature of the Reflect Festival in Limassol, a city renowned for its vibrant tech community.

The TechIsland Summit promises inspiration, knowledge-sharing, and actionable ideas. This year’s summit is structured around two main components designed to engage and enlighten participants.

German credit rating agency Scope has completed its periodic review of the Cypriot economy, opting not to issue a rating action, citing no significant changes that would impact the assessment of the creditworthiness of the Republic of Cyprus.

The agency had initially noted that May 10 had been designated as one of the potential dates for the issuance of a rating action for this year.

In addition, the agency originally upgraded Cyprus’ credit rating to BBB+ with a stable outlook in November of 2023.

For the current year, the German agency estimates that GDP growth will accelerate to 2.8 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent in 2023.

Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis has extolled the value of sports tourism, saying that it can have a multiplier effect on the local economy, after having noted the segment’s significant growth across the world.

Koumis’ comments were made to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), in the context of the inaugural International Water Polo Tournament, sponsored by Petrolina, which took place in Larnaca over the weekend.

In his comments, the Deputy Minister of Tourism voiced appreciation for the hosting of the international water polo tournament in Cyprus.

“It is a sport that is not particularly developed in our country, despite having been designated an Olympic sport since the early 20th century and despite aligning with what we offer as a destination,” Koumis said.

Cyprus University of Technology (Tepak) rector Panayiotis Zaphiris on Monday called the construction of student dormitories on the former British base settlement of Berengaria, in Kato Polemidia, “a dream come true”.

The foundation stone-laying ceremony for the project, which cost around €56 million, took place on Saturday and was attended by President Nikos Christodoulides.

“We are building a stronger future for our university,” Zaphiris told the Cyprus News Agency on Monday. “The ceremony represented a symbolic start of a new chapter for the us and for our students.

The Stelios Philanthropic Foundation on Monday announced a donation of €750,000 to Unicef for humanitarian support of children in Gaza.

The organisation said the donation, under its “Food from the Heart” programme, would treat 15,000 malnourished children for one month with ready-to-use therapeutic-food (RUTF), a life saving supply item that treats severe wasting in children under five years old.

The donation to Unicef for food aid to children in Gaza is an expansion of a programme started during the 2013 financial crisis and operated since then by the foundation in Greece and Cyprus, providing food to tens of thousands of people.

The total number of registered vehicles in Cyprus surged by 33.5 per cent during the period of January to April 2024, reaching 17,589, compared to 13,180 during the same period in 2023, according to a report released on Monday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Passenger car registrations saw a notable increase of 31.3 per cent, reaching 13,851, compared to 10,546 in the corresponding period of 2023.

In addition, of the total passenger car registrations, 6,073, a share of 43.8 per cent, were new, while 7,778, a share of 56.2 per cent, were used cars.

Employment in the Cypriot government has seen a rise of 5.2 per cent, totalling 2,697 individuals, for the period of January to April 2024, when compared to the same period in 2023, averaging at 54,837 individuals, according to a report released on Monday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

According to the report, government employment reached 55,253 individuals in April alone.

In terms of the public service specifically, 12,238 workers were employed as permanent staff, 4,274 as indefinite-term employees, 1,334 as fixed-term employees, and 5,784 as hourly wage earners.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, May 13 with profits.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 151.06 points at 15:15 during the day, reflecting an increase of 0.43 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 91.80 points, representing a rise of 0.44 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €461,402 until the aforementioned time during trading.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and investment firm indexes rose by 0.26 per cent, 0.91 per cent and 0.40 per cent respectively. The hotel index remained unchanged.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (+0.5 per cent), Hellenic Bank (no change), Demetra (+0.43 per cent), Logicom (no change), and Atlantic Insurance (+6.32 per cent).