Eurobank announced on Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of an additional 37.5 per cent stake in Hellenic Bank, bringing its total shareholding to 93.47 per cent.

The bank has also launched a mandatory public offer to acquire the remaining shares of Hellenic Bank, aiming for full ownership.

The transaction, finalised on February 10, 2025, after obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, entailed the acquisition of 154,832,195 shares for approximately €750 million at a price of €4.843 per share.

Commenting on the announcement, Hellenic Bank said that “today marks another milestone in the journey of Hellenic Bank”.

Cypriot tourism has recovered from the challenges of the previous three years, including the pandemic and the loss of the Russian market, according to president Nikos Christodoulides.

Speaking during the annual general assembly of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (Stek), the president explained that the government’s priority will now shift to targeted support for tourism within a sustainable and socially responsible framework, in order to improve competitiveness.

In this context, he said that addressing climate change is key, as visitor satisfaction depends on national efforts.

“In the last three years, our country’s tourism was significantly impacted by external factors,” Christodoulides said. “At first, it was the Covid-19 pandemic, which completely paralysed the tourism sector for a whole year, and later, it was the loss of the second-largest market for the tourism sector, Russia.”

Taking these factors into account, he said, the “main goal was to return to the high performance levels of the past“. The president pointed out that this year’s record results, as well as the positive signs for 2025 indicate “that our country’s tourism is expected to maintain these high levels”.

Cyprus is not immediately affected by the tariffs imposed by US president Donald Trump, but the risk of inflationary pressures on the country remains, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the general assembly of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (Stek), he said that while Cyprus is not directly affected for now, continued tariffs could pose economic challenges.

“The EU has already expressed its concerns,” he said, adding that “Trump’s actions are creating issues around the globe”.

“As an EU member state, we are aligned with the European Commission’s position, and certainly, tariffs will not facilitate global trade,” he said.

“On the contrary”, he continued, “they will create barriers and inflationary pressures.”

Cyprus is positioning itself to become a high-quality, year-round tourist destination that balances sustainability, environmental friendliness, and economic growth, according to the president of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (Stek) Akis Vavlitis.

Speaking at the association’s annual general assembly, Vavlitis highlighted the sector’s resilience and its critical role in benefiting local communities, workers, and businesses.

Despite geopolitical challenges, he said, Cyprus achieved a record 4.04 million visitors in 2024, with expected tourism revenue reaching €3.2 billion, contributing about 13 per cent to the country’s GDP.

However, Vavlitis noted that a significant portion of these visitors—around 35 per cent, or 1.4 million people—did not stay in licensed hotel accommodations, opting instead for unregistered or short-term rental properties or even visiting the Turkish-occupied north.

Moreover, he pointed out that the average length of stay dropped from 10.7 days in 2014 to 8.6 days in 2024, marking a 24 per cent decrease. Looking ahead, Vavlitis warned that despite the record numbers, Cyprus’ tourism industry should not take its success for granted.

Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC), the parent company of Freedom24, on Tuesday reported strong third quarter results for the 2025 fiscal year, as well as a record market capitalisation of $9 billion.

“These achievements underscore the success of the company’s strategy and its growing prominence in the global financial services sector,” the company said.

Specifically, for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, Freedom Holding Corp. reported revenues of $655.2 million.

This represents an increase of $236.6 million, corresponding to a rise of 57 per cent, over the same period last year.

“In Europe”, it continued, “Freedom24 continues to attract a growing number of retail investors who appreciate the reliability and convenience of its trading platform.”

The company also said that “the platform’s rising popularity has driven Freedom24’s rapid expansion across Europe, with offices now established in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Greece, Poland, Bulgaria, and Cyprus”.

Limassol continued to lead Cyprus’ high-value real estate market in 2024, accounting for eight of the ten most expensive property transactions, with a total value of €176.8 million, according to real estate analytics firm Ask Wire.

The highest-value transaction of the year was a €39.3 million apartment development in Polemidia, Limassol.

The only other districts represented in the top 10 were Nicosia and Paphos, with a €19 million office sale in Agioi Omologites and a €14.3 million tourist development in Kato Paphos.

The 50 highest-value property transactions in 2024 totaled €386.2 million, with Limassol alone contributing 51.7 per cent, totalled with €199.7 million.

Nicosia followed with €67.8 million, 17.5 per cent, while Paphos accounted for €62.8 million, representing 16.3 per cent of the total.

Greek retail chain Jumbo Group has reported a 3 per cent increase in January sales for its stores in Cyprus, according to recent data shared by the company.

This growth comes amid a backdrop of ongoing global logistical challenges, notably the prolonged closure of the Suez Canal.

The company said that there have been signs of improvement in delivery times, “fostering cautious optimism within their supply chain management”.

The society for the promotion of cooperative banks in Cyprus has expressed its support for the efforts of Finance Minister Makis Keravnos to spark growth in the sector.

This is in reference to an interview the minister gave to Cypriot newspaper Haravgi, where he described the initiative to create a new cooperative organisation as “a step in the right direction,” provided that it is based on a proper legislative framework and operates rationally, free from external interference.

In the irterview, Keravnos acknowledged the “historical significance of the cooperative movement in Cyprus, particularly its role in supporting disadvantaged groups and farmers”.

However, he noted that as the movement expanded, various issues emerged, leading to its eventual collapse.

“I view this prospect very positively,” the minister stated. “Given the current circumstances, it may be something that both society and the economy need,” he added.

The Cyprus Institute of Certified Management Consultants (CICMC) and the University of Limassol (UoL) this week announced that they have formalised their collaboration by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

According to the announcement, the MoU aims “to foster a productive partnership between the two institutions”.

CICMC, a member of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), operates under the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI).

It is responsible for awarding the internationally recognised Certified Management Consultant (CMC) qualification in Cyprus.

Hotels or other tourist premises may neither request nor keep copies of customers’ identification papers – such as ID cards or passports – the Data Protection Commissioner said on Monday.

In a statement, Irini Loizidou-Nicolaidou said her office had received a number of queries and complaints regarding the practice of hotels asking customers for copies of such identification documents.

She added, however, that whereas some tourist premises do engage in these practices, others do not.

After looking into the issue, the commissioner said that – in addition to logging customer information on check-in, which is required – some hotels also ask for copies of IDs or passports. And they keep such copies on hand until checkout or until customers have settled their bill.

But keeping such copies is not provided for by law. Hotels and tourist premises are therefore advised to cease this practice.

Cyprus is developing intelligent transport systems (ITS) and investing in state-of-the-art technology to improve the capacity of the road network, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Tuesday.

In an address at a seminar on digital transportation in cities of the future, Vafeades said Cyprus depends wholly on road transport and is striving to set up well-developed infrastructure for communications and transport.

He said ITS was among Cyprus’ EU obligations.

“We expect to achieve better integration of all modes of transport and develop many applications that will help the shift towards multimodality and especially the use of sustainable means of transport,” he added.

Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Tuesday he is “not optimistic” about the Great Sea Interconnector – the mooted subsea electricity cable linking Cyprus to Greece.

However, his sentiments diverged from those of Energy Minister George Papanastasiou who days ago indicated he was satisfied with the Greek side’s response to a series of questions posed by Cyprus.

Responding to media questions, Keravnos said he had yet to see the letter of response delivered by Greece’s energy minister to his Cypriot counterpart.

He has not been briefed on the matter, which is being handled by Papanastasiou, he added. As such, he declined further comment.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Tuesday, February 11, with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index stood at 223.08 points at 12:44, reflecting a drop of 0.48 per cent.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 135.45 points, representing a decrease of 0.46 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €219,059, until the aforementioned time during trading.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and investment firm indexes fell by 0.52 per cent, 0.42 per cent and 1.23 per cent respectively. The hotel index remained stable.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (no change), Hellenic Bank (-0.21 per cent), Demetra Holdings (-1.25 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (-0.4 per cent), and the Cyprus Trading Corporation (-1.56 per cent).