The Bank of Cyprus on Thursday announced that it has received the Quality Recognition Award from global financial services firm JP Morgan Chase.

The award, which the Bank of Cyprus has won for the fourth year running, is given in recognition of excellent funds transfer processes under SWIFT.

In its statement, the bank noted that “JP Morgan is one of the correspondent banks with whom the Bank of Cyprus works for transactions in US dollars”.

The turnover of most economic sectors in Cyprus recorded an increase in 2024, reflecting the country’s broader economic growth, which has been driven by key industries such as tourism and technology.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, the Index of Turnover in Services for the fourth quarter of 2024 showed a rise in almost all major service sectors compared to the same period in 2023.

The data for the full year also indicated a positive trend, with administrative activities increasing by 8.9 per cent, accommodation and food services by 8.2 per cent, and information services by a remarkable 51.8 per cent.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) has developed a structured process to draft an official document outlining its positions and recommendations on the preliminary tax reform framework presented at the Presidential Palace last week.

According to reports, ICPAC intends to prepare the document after consulting with stakeholders affected by the reform and gathering input from its members.

The consultation process began this week with a scheduled meeting between ICPAC and Cyprus’ major employer organisations, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) and the Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev).

The Energy Ministry this week announced that Eni Cyprus Limited is offering scholarships for postgraduate studies in energy and environmental management.

This initiative, the ministry explained, is part of the company’s exploration and production sharing contract with the Republic of Cyprus.

The scholarships are available for the academic year 2025-2026 for the Master’s Degree in Energy and Environmental Management and Economics (MEDEA) at the Eni Corporate University (ECU).

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has approved Eurobank’s public offer document for the acquisition of up to 100 per cent of Hellenic Bank’s issued share capital.

The approval allows the publication of the document, which was officially released on March 5, 2025.

Eurobank currently holds 385,847,001 shares in Hellenic Bank, representing 93.47 per cent of its issued share capital.

Under the applicable legal provisions, the public offer is considered successful and is unconditional.

The House is set to vote on Thursday afternoon on the National Betting Authority (NBA) budget law of 2025.

The proposed budget aims to establish a surplus of approximately €514,000 by allocating €55,602,239 for expenditures against anticipated revenues of €56,116,486 for the fiscal year ending December 2025.

The NBA’s 2025 budget will primarily benefit from various gaming-related revenues, including a significant €19 million from betting activity taxes and €23 million from taxes on specific gambling activities.

Additionally, revenue streams such as a €3 million licensing fee, a €4.3 million OPAP Cyprus licence fee, a €5.7 million betting activity levy, and a €280,000 OPAP Cyprus supervision levy will bolster the financial framework.

The PwC Cyprus Foundation on Friday announced the successful completion of its Scale Up 2 Programme, a global PwC initiative designed to accelerate the growth of promising startups.

This year, for the first time, the programme placed a strong emphasis on women-led startups.

The company said that this aimed to acknowledged “the unique challenges faced by female entrepreneurs and equipping them with the tools to scale their ventures”.

Cyprus’ Larnaca and Paphos airports achieved a milestone in passenger traffic during February, surpassing half a million passengers, according to the Transport Ministry.

Specifically, the two airports welcomed a total of 535,423 passengers, representing an 8 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2024.

This rise is particularly remarkable as February traditionally records the lowest passenger traffic of the year.

Deputy Minister of Research Nicodemos Damianou has called for increased public funding and private investments in cybersecurity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), during an informal EU telecommunications ministers’ meeting.

The call aligns with the EU’s broader strategy to bolster resilience against growing cybersecurity threats. 

The meeting also saw the ratification of the ‘Warsaw Call on cybersecurity challenges’ Joint Statement by EU member countries, aimed at strengthening the approach to cybersecurity threats with a focus on prevention, response, and recovery. 

Damianou emphasised the importance of advanced cybersecurity tools and skilled workforce training to address the evolving threats.

The rise in tourist traffic in the municipality of Paralimni – Deryneia is expected to be approximately 6 per cent this year, according to Mayor Giorgos Nikolettos on Thursday.

Speaking from the ITB tourism fair in Berlin, Nikolettos said that increased interest had been shown in his municipality with summer prospects being particularly positive.

The next season was predicted to see a six per cent general increase with a nine per cent increase from the German market, he said.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded slight gains on Thursday, March 6.

By 13:00, the Cyprus Stock Market Index rose to 228.10 points, marking an increase of 0.31 per cent.

Similarly, the FTSE/CySE 20 Index edged higher by 0.38 per cent to reach 138.42 points.

Total trading volume for the session was recorded at €766,817.18.

In terms of market performance, the main market advanced by 0.51 per cent, while the alternative market saw a decline of 0.37 per cent.

There were no changes observed in the hotels and investment companies sectors.

Key players in Thursday’s trading included the Bank of Cyprus, leading with transactions worth €724,704.42, an increase of 0.74 per cent.

Noteworthy movements were also seen in Hellenic Bank, which went up by 0.42 per cent with €19,887.02 in trades, and KEO, which fell by 0.85 per cent to €3,807.12.

Both Demetra Holdings and Petrolina (Holdings) remained unchanged, drawing €20,995.97 and €3,308.40, respectively.

Overall, the stock activity saw 4 shares moving up, 3 declining, and 3 remaining unchanged out of a total of 124 trades executed.