Here are the top business stories in Cyprus from the week starting May 26:

Cyprus inaugurated its new Business Support Centre (BSC) on Monday, marking what the government described as a turning point in efforts to cut red tape, attract investment and support entrepreneurship.

Located in Nicosia, the centre will act as a one-stop-shop for both Cypriot and foreign investors seeking to launch or expand operations on the island. It brings together key licensing authorities and investor support bodies under one roof, aiming to streamline procedures, improve transparency and reduce bureaucratic hurdles.

The move was formally announced during the general assembly of the federation of employers and industrialists (Oev) by President Nikos Christodoulides, who framed the BSC as “an important tool for facilitating business activity and strengthening the competitiveness of our country.”

“A timeless request of the federation, completely understandable and justified, is the elimination of bureaucracy and the creation of a truly attractive business environment,” Christodoulides said.

“In this direction, and in response to the needs of both local and foreign investors and entrepreneurs, I want to announce today that we are inaugurating the BSC.”

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) has welcomed the launch of the new Business Support Center, describing it as a long-standing demand finally addressed, and a much-needed tool to reduce red tape, support investment and restore confidence in Cyprus as a business destination.

In a statement posted on X, social media platform, the Chamber said the creation of the Centre marks a turning point in the country’s efforts to modernise public services and improve the overall investment climate.

Chamber representatives from all districts attended the official inauguration on Monday, which was held by President Nikos Christodoulides.

The Centre is designed to act as a single point of contact for both Cypriot and foreign investors, offering faster licensing, clearer guidance and more efficient processing.

It is the result of a joint initiative by the Ministries of Interior and Energy, aimed at simplifying procedures and cutting through bureaucratic delays that have long frustrated the private sector.

Tourists in Cyprus are turning in growing numbers to short-term rentals, with the number of registered properties swelling sixfold in under three years, prompting authorities to push for tighter regulation, new EU-wide data rules, and stricter tax compliance.

According to figures submitted by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism to Parliament, an estimated 12,000 to 13,000 units in the free areas of the Republic are currently offered for short-term rental.

Yet, only 8,375 of these have secured official registration, a legal requirement since July 2021. These registered properties offer a total of 36,784 beds, up from just 1,545 units in mid-2022.

Data shows a steady upward trend that by April 2023, 4,765 accommodations had joined the registry, offering 21,636 beds.

That figure climbed to 7,001 by April 2024 and reached 8,375 units by mid-May 2025, despite a slight drop in bed numbers compared to February.

Paphos and Famagusta remain the frontrunners, accounting for over two-thirds of registered listings.

Cyprus’ housing market continued to cool in the fourth quarter of 2024, with Paphos recording the strongest price growth while Nicosia posted the weakest performance, a marginal annual decline, according to the latest data from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

The general House Price Index (HPI), compiled by the CBC in cooperation with the member banks of the banks association, showed signs of a slowdown, largely driven by persistently high construction costs and elevated borrowing rates.

Quarterly figures revealed that housing prices rose by just 0.4 per cent in Q4, down from 0.9 per cent in Q3.

The slowdown was more pronounced in the apartment segment, where prices rose only 0.1 per cent compared to 0.5 per cent for houses.

On an annual basis, house prices grew by 4.5 per cent in Q4, easing from 6.5 per cent in the previous quarter.

Apartment prices registered an annual rise of 5.5 per cent, while house prices climbed 4.6 per cent.

Amazon SAS is moving ahead with plans to construct a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Limassol, following approval from the Environmental Authority.

The €4 million project will be located in the community of Monagroulli, within the Pentakomo-Monagroulli industrial area, approximately 620 metres southeast of the village centre.

According to the environmental impact assessment submitted in September 2024, construction is expected to last ten months, barring any unforeseen delays.

The factory will cover a buildable area of 4,405 square metres across three levels, with a total height of 14.55 metres.

The first level will comprise underground parking and auxiliary areas (1,341 square metres), the second will host the pharmaceutical production areas (2,109.85 square metres), and the third will include office and additional auxiliary spaces (954 square metres).

According to the planning application, a total of 50 parking spaces will be created, including four for disabled users.

Kornos is undergoing a major transformation, with two flagship projects worth over €20 million already launched or heading for implementation, according to Lefkara mayor Sofoklis Sofokleous.

“The municipal district of Kornos is expected to change radically in the next two to three years,” Sofokleous told Philenews.

“Every announcement must be on track and implementable, and this is my goal for the seven districts of the municipality of Lefkara,” he said, adding that “politics is judged by the project and not by the models.”

The most significant investment is the €18 million Sports Centre by the Cyprus Football Federation (Kop), a long-awaited project that has cleared key procedural hurdles.

Following talks between the municipality and Kop, a firm timeline has been set.

Planning permission was granted in July, and the municipality, in cooperation with the Larnaca Local Government Organisation (Eoa), will now move forward with the building permit. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026 and be completed by 2028.

Cyprus strengthens its bid to become a recognised hub for international film production, as Copper Island, an international production company with operations across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, selects Limassol as its new operational headquarters.

With a strong global presence and a wide network of international partners, producers and distributors, Copper Island has developed a robust profile by participating in high-calibre productions with worldwide reach.

So far, the company has invested in international projects with total production budgets exceeding $100 million.

Its collaborators include acclaimed directors such as Ron Howard, Gus Van Sant and Simon West, while its productions feature prominent names including Sir Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Bill Skarsgård, Mathew Goode, Ana de Armas, Jude Law, Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl, Shia LaBeouf and Colman Domingo.

Cyprus recorded its highest-ever number of tourist arrivals for the January–April period, which the government described as ‘historic’, reinforcing efforts to establish the island as a year-round destination.

Speaking at a media briefing at the presidential palace on Tuesday, government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the latest figures from the Statistical Service confirm the strong trajectory of the tourism sector.

“For the month of April alone, arrivals exceeded 400,000 for the first time, a fact that confirms the momentum that our tourism sector is developing,” he said, calling the results “unprecedented”.

He linked the performance to “targeted policies, a strategic approach, and close cooperation between the public and private sectors”, adding that it is “the serious work that has been done through the implementation of the National Tourism Strategy, which yields measurable and impressive results”.

Yet he made clear that there is no room for complacency.

Cyprus is stepping up efforts to bolster its maritime sector, with President Nikos Christodoulides reaffirming that shipping will be among the key priorities during the country’s upcoming EU Council Presidency in 2026.

Speaking at the 36th Annual General meeting of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) in Limassol on Tuesday, the President underlined the government’s firm commitment to supporting the local shipping industry through targeted and sustainable policies.

He described the Chamber as a “catalytic factor” in placing Cyprus on the global maritime map since its establishment in 1989 and thanked outgoing president of the CSC, Themis Papadopoulos for his contribution.

Christodoulides noted that the Cyprus shipping registry has grown by over 18 per cent in the past two years, while the country’s Tonnage Tax System recorded a 15 per cent increase over the same period.

“We are not stopping here,” he said, pointing to a renewed effort to expand Cyprus’ appeal as a maritime base, citing increased interest from international shipping firms following his visit to New York in April.

Moreover, he stressed that Cyprus continues to strengthen bilateral relations with other maritime nations, referencing his recent trip to Finland, which focused on shipping cooperation.

The Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) successfully held its 36th Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, in Limassol, attending senior officials, diplomats, party representatives and the entire shipping community.

The event was addressed by President Nikos Christodoulides, House president Annita Demetriou, and outgoing Chamber President Themis Papadopoulos.

In his speech, Christodoulides praised the Chamber’s role in the ongoing development of Cyprus shipping, reaffirming the government’s recognition of the industry as a stable pillar of the national economy.

He underlined the country’s continued political support, which he said would be channelled through targeted mechanisms and practical measures to boost the island’s attractiveness as a shipping centre.

Demetriou, speaking on behalf of the House of Representatives, pointed to the sector’s resilience in the face of international challenges and described shipping as a “strategic pillar of the economy.”

Greek airline Aegean announced on Wednesday its financial and operational results for the first quarter of 2025, reporting strong revenue growth and improved operating performance during the seasonally weakest period of the year.

Revenue reached €306.0 million, up 14 per cent compared to the same period in 2024, as total passenger traffic rose by 8 per cent to 3.1 million.

International traffic increased by 12 per cent, while total available seat kilometres (ASKs) climbed by 11 per cent to 4.1 billion. The load factor stood at 80.6 per cent.

According to the company, EBITDA reached €43.8 million, compared to €33.2 million in Q1 2024, marking the highest first-quarter EBITDA performance in Aegean’s history.

Cyprus is stepping up efforts to encourage mergers and acquisitions among small and medium-sized enterprises, aiming to unlock growth, competitiveness and innovation across key sectors.

Speaking at a conference organised by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) in collaboration with Hellenic Bank, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos presented the government’s dedicated action plan, approved by the Council of Ministers in August 2023 and scheduled for implementation from 2024 to 2027.

The minister said the plan was developed in response to persistently low levels of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in Cyprus, which he linked to the structure of local businesses.

“M&A in Cyprus are at very low levels, mainly due to the type of businesses, namely family businesses in traditional sectors, where there is no culture of mergers,” he said.

To tackle this, the plan rests on three pillars. The first seeks to shift business culture by establishing a support framework for promoting consolidation.

UniCredit has signed a derivatives agreement that paves the way for it to nearly double its stake in Greece’s Alpha Bank, increasing its shareholding to close to 20 per cent.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Italian banking group confirmed it will seek supervisory approval to surpass the 10 per cent threshold and potentially raise its holding to as much as 29.9 per cent.

The bank clarified that it has already secured a derivatives deal with leading investment banks that enables it to acquire an additional 9.7 per cent of Alpha Bank’s shares at a discount to the lender’s most recent closing price.

UniCredit currently holds a 9.6 per cent stake in Alpha Bank, a position it secured by purchasing the shares previously held by Greece’s Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).

The move to increase its position in Alpha Bank is expected to deliver approximately €180 million in additional net profits annually, according to UniCredit, which stated it intends to return these earnings to its shareholders.

Cyprus recorded €43.8 million in high-value property transactions in April 2025, marking a 52.8 per cent drop compared to March, according to real estate analytics firm Ask Wire.

Based on Land Registry data published this week, the ten most expensive transactions nationwide totalled €18.4m.

The highest-value deal was the €3.3m sale of a plot in Engomi, Nicosia. Paphos dominated the top 10 list with four sales, followed by Limassol with three, Nicosia with two, and Larnaca with one.

In district terms, Limassol narrowly led the high-end market with €11.4m in its top 10 transactions, representing 26 per cent of the national total.

Paphos followed closely with €11.1m (25.3 per cent), while Nicosia reached €10.8m (24.7 per cent).

Larnaca recorded €6.3m, accounting for 14.4 per cent, and Famagusta trailed with €4.2m.

Unemployment in Cyprus stood at 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, according to a report published by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Thursday.

The number of unemployed people was 26,161 (men 12,338, women 13,823), compared to 29,102 people (men 14,926, women 14,176) and an unemployment rate of 5.8 per cent in the same period of 2024.

According to the Labour Force Survey results for Q1 2025, the labour force totalled 519,433 people, or 64.4 per cent of the population (men 275,358 (69.8 per cent), women 244,075 (59.3 per cent)).

This marks an increase from 505,963 people (men 259,196 (68.9 per cent), women 246,767 (60.6 per cent)) recorded in the same quarter of last year.

Meanwhile, the number of employed people reached 493,272, with an employment rate of 61.2 per cent. This included 263,020 men (66.6 per cent) and 230,252 women (55.9 per cent), compared to 476,860 people in Q1 2024, with 244,270 men (64.9 per cent) and 232,591 women (57.1 per cent).

Hellenic Bank will officially adopt the name Eurobank Limited following its legal consolidation with Eurobank Cyprus, according to a decision by the board of directors on May 27.

The change will take effect after all necessary supervisory approvals have been secured.

The newly consolidated entity, now part of the Eurobank Group, signals a new chapter for the organisation, aligning its identity with one of the most prominent and forward-looking banking groups in the region.

The rebranding reflects more than just a name change.

The Daleela ferry resumes its Cyprus-Greece connection on Saturday, departing from Limassol for Piraeus in the first of 22 scheduled crossings this summer.

Now in its fourth consecutive season, the passenger and vehicle ferry remains the only maritime link between the two countries, and demand appears to be holding firm.

The 2025 service was jointly announced earlier this week by Deputy Minister of Shipping Marina Hadjimanolis and operator Scandro Holding Ltd, following the cabinet’s decision last August to extend the government contract through 2027.

According to the minister, the ferry relaunch was one of the deputy ministry’s key initiatives, aimed at offering the public a reliable and inclusive alternative to air travel.

Cyprus recorded a general government surplus of €646.8 million in the first four months of 2025, according to preliminary fiscal data published by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Friday.

The surplus corresponds to 1.8 per cent of GDP, marginally lower than the €650.5m surplus, or 1.9 per cent of GDP, recorded during the same period in 2024.

Total revenue from January to April 2025 rose by €243m or 5.3 per cent year-on-year, reaching €4.82 billion, compared with €4.58 billion in the corresponding period of 2024.

Revenue from taxes on income and wealth increased by 8.3 per cent to €1.17bl, up from €1,08bl.