Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou on Tuesday said that the government is moving ahead with a series of draft laws which aim to improve land development and construction processes in Cyprus.

Ioannou’s comments were delivered during during a roundtable discussion with real estate entrepreneurs at the 15th Nicosia Economic Congress.

Specifically, the minister highlighted several key initiatives, including proposals to simplify permit fees, a new bill concerning jointly-owned buildings, and legislation on urban land redistribution.

My Mall Limassol is moving ahead with an expansion plan worth over €60 million, while Leptos Estates’ residential development Limassol Park is nearing key delivery dates, according to reports that emerged this week.

The My Mall project will be carried out in three phases in the rapidly developing casino-resort area in western Limassol and is expected to include a 12-storey residential building.

In statements to the Limassol Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (Evel), My Mall director Andreas Hadjimitsis pointed out that the first phase is already under way, covering a 2,500 square metre area south of the shopping centre.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Tuesday reported that assets under management (AUM) by Collective Investments surged to €10.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024.

This represents a quarter-on-quarter increase of 10.21 per cent, as well as a year-on-year rise of 17.66 per cent.

The growth is primarily attributed to the successful raising of new capital across the sector.

Cyprus remains heavily reliant on imported medicines, with only around 40 per cent of authorised pharmaceutical products actually available on the island, according to a European Commission staff working document on the EU’s pharmaceutical strategy.

The same report notes that approximately 20 per cent of medicines in Cyprus are imported under Article 5 of Directive 2001/83/EC, which permits supply without marketing authorisation in cases of special medical need. 

The European Commission acknowledged these constraints and is working with Cypriot authorities — alongside Malta and Ireland — to improve access.  

The Limassol municipality has greenlit three large-scale projects aimed at upgrading the city’s public space.

These include the reconstruction of Anexartisias Street, the creation of two green routes and the development of 25 new parks.

As previously reported, the municipality will seek separate offers for the necessary studies to mature each project. 

The Cyprus Statistical Service released its bimonthly economic development bulletin on Tuesday, covering activity across a number of sectors for January and February 2025.

Specifically, the report offers detailed updates on major indicators, as well as comparative data from the past four years, available up to April 14, 2025.

According to the bulletin, manufacturing production in January 2025 increased by 3.7 per cent compared to January 2024, indicating a strong start to the year for the sector.

Cyprus continues to attract strong interest from Polish travellers, with 2024 marking an all-time record for arrivals from Poland, according to Deputy Tourism Minister Kostas Koumis.

Speaking during promotional events held in Krakow, Poznan and Warsaw between April 7-11, 2025, Koumis confirmed that over 337,000 Polish tourists visited Cyprus last year.

“The Polish market has developed into a very important market for our country’s tourism,” said Koumis, according to an official announcement by the ministry.

Recommendations included in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) report on Cyprus reaffirm the government’s “responsible fiscal policy”, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday.

Many of the IMF recommendations were already included in the government’s planning, particularly that of the finance ministry, with the aim of “strengthening the resilience of the economy”, he added.

Speaking before the opening of the 15th Nicosia Economic Congress, the president said reports issued by the IMF and the European Commission were always taken into serious consideration.

As Cyprus recovers from the disappointment over the failure to find commercially viable natural gas at the Electra-1 target, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou has said the outcome is not as negative as it seems.

He noted that Electra-1 had only a 20 per cent chance of success from the outset. “The result is actually quite encouraging,” he said. “It suggests that reserves may exist elsewhere in the area.”

He added that the deep borehole drilled at Electra-1 allowed for vertical, three-dimensional seismic studies of the surrounding region – a significant investment, costing millions of euros.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) moved slightly higher on Tuesday at midday, with the general index edging up 0.54 per cent to 229.27 points by 12:45.

The FTSE/CySE 20 Index gained 0.56 per cent, reaching 138.59 points, while the value of transactions stood at €173,833.

Among the sub-indices, the main market recorded the largest increase, rising 0.71 per cent, followed by the investment market with a 0.62 per cent gain. The hotel sector remained unchanged, while the alternative market slipped marginally by 0.01 per cent.

Bank of Cyprus led trading with €123,703 and a 0.73 per cent increase, followed by Logicom (€21,477, up 2.79 per cent), Demetra Investment (€19,890, up 0.63 per cent), Cyprus Cement (€8,206, unchanged), and Pandora Investments (€762, unchanged).

At that time, 3 stocks were up, 1 down, and 4 unchanged, with 57 transactions recorded.