Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis on Thursday said that Cyprus is likely to set a new record for tourist arrivals from France.

Speaking during a series of meetings in Paris, where he led the Cypriot delegation at the IFTM 2024 tourism exhibition, Koumis said that Cyprus is poised to surpass last year’s figure of 80,000 French visitors.

This year, the ministry pointed out, the “French market has shown a substantial increase in tourist arrivals to Cyprus, with a 25 per cent rise in the January to August period compared to the same period in 2022″.

It also noted that when compared to 2019, French tourist arrivals have surged by 217 per cent over the same timeframe.

Eurobank Cyprus on Thursday announced the appointment of Andreas Petsas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), following a decision by the bank’s board of directors.

According to the announcement, the appointment was finalised during a meeting held on September 17, 2024, in Nicosia.

Petsas, who has been with Eurobank Cyprus since 2007, most recently served as Senior General Manager.

At the same time, Hellenic Bank announced the appointment of Michalis Louis, the former Eurobank Cyprus CEO, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

This follows a relevant approval of the appointment by the bank’s board of directors at its annual general meeting of shareholders on September 18.

“Louis takes over the leadership of Hellenic Bank, which recently became a subsidiary of Eurobank Holdings,” a bank announcement said.

The Nicosia property market is experiencing strong demand for second-floor apartments, according to real estate analytics firm Ask Wire.

The company also reported notable differences in asking prices, with amounts ranging from €2,133 to €7,075 per square metre across different floors.

The analysis further reveals that 568 apartment sales have been completed across these 72 developments.

Buyer interest has been most pronounced in second-floor apartments, which accounted for 144 transactions, followed closely by first-floor apartments with 133 sales and third-floor apartments with 111.

As purchases taper off on higher floors, 56 transactions were recorded on the fourth floor and 22 on the fifth.

Sales figures drop into double digits for the sixth, seventh, and eighth floors, with 12 apartments sold on both the sixth and seventh floors, and 13 on the eighth.

National investment promotion agency, known as Invest Cyprus, on Thursday announced that it recently participated in the India Mediterranean Business Conclave 2024.

The event, held on September 6 in New Delhi, was part of the agency’s “ongoing efforts to position Cyprus as a premier destination for investment and business activities”, according to the announcement.

The event was co-organised by the Ministry of External Affairs of India and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

It brought together high-profile business leaders and government representatives from 28 nations, including Greece, France, Italy, Malta, Croatia, and Bulgaria.

“Invest Cyprus launched its strategic engagement in India by organising an exclusive roundtable discussion on September 5, 2024, focusing on the technology and services sectors,” the agency said.

Financial literacy and robust regulation are essential to strengthening household financial behaviour, according to a number of experts at a conference organised by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) and the University of Cyprus’ Economics Research Centre (CypERC).

Opening the conference, CBC governor Christodoulos Patsalides outlined Cyprus’s national strategy for promoting financial literacy.

He stressed the importance of this for helping individuals “manage their finances, budget effectively, save wisely, and invest securely.”

Patsalides highlighted the results of a 2023 survey that exposed significant gaps in financial literacy across Cyprus, warning that the lack of basic financial skills is leaving many Cypriots unprepared to handle their finances, especially in times of crisis.

“There is a clear need for targeted financial education,” he said.

Chief Scientist Demetris Skourides took part in the Learning Innovation Summit 2024 at the University of Nicosia, where he underlined the crucial role of the EU AI Act.

Commenting on this major legal framework, Skourides said that it “sets the foundation for creating trustworthy, human-centric AI solutions, with an emphasis on ethics, traceability, and transparency”.

He stressed the importance of ensuring these principles guide AI development, particularly in sensitive fields such as education. “These principles,” he insisted, “must be at the core of AI development, deployment, and use.” 

Skourides made a strong case for AI’s potential to revolutionise the educational landscape.  

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Thursday, September 19 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 182.17 points at 12:23 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.30 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 110.89 points, representing a drop of 0.31 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €179,072, until the aforementioned time during trading.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and investment firm indexes fell by 0.25 per cent, 0.79 per cent, and 1.51 per cent respectively. The hotel index remained unchanged.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (+2.09 per cent), Hellenic Bank (-1.2 per cent), Demetra (-1.54 per cent), Petrolina (+1.25 per cent), and Logicom (-0.68 per cent).