The Bank of Cyprus on Tuesday announced that it has successfully completed its share buyback programme.

According to the bank’s latest submission on the Cyprus Stock Echange (CSE), the company purchased a total of 121,281 ordinary shares between June 13, 2025, and June 16, 2025, with a nominal value of €0.10 each.

The transactions were carried out on both the Cyprus Stock Exchange and the Main Market of the Regulated Securities Market of the Athens Stock Exchange.

All purchases were executed through the company’s broker, the Cyprus Investment and Securities Corporation Limited.

On the Cyprus Stock Exchange, 27,300 shares were acquired, while another 93,981 shares were purchased on the Athens Stock Exchange.

Tourist arrivals in Cyprus rose by 13.7 per cent in May 2025, reaching a total of 479,160, compared to 421,400 in the same month last year, according to the state statistical service.

For the period from January to May 2025, total tourist arrivals stood at a whopping 1,344,486, up from 1,170,214 during the same period in 2024, marking a rise of 14.9 per cent.

The United Kingdom remained the primary source of tourism for Cyprus in May 2025, accounting for 37.4 per cent of total arrivals or 179,150 tourists.

The UK was followed by Israel with 9.4 per cent (45,249), Poland with 7.7 per cent (36,800), Germany with 6.2 per cent (29,938), Sweden with 4.8 per cent (22,924), and Greece with 3.7 per cent (17,591).

In terms of travel purpose, 81.2 per cent of tourists visited Cyprus for holidays in May 2025.

Eurobank, Fairfax Digital Services, Voicing.AI and Pixis on Tuesday announced the launch of Europe’s first enterprise-grade agentic AI voice platform for businesses, selecting Cyprus as the location for its rollout.

The announcement coincided with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic first official visit to Cyprus, where he met with president Nikos Christodoulides.

In this context, the timing underlines a deepening Indo-Cypriot relationship centred on innovation, digital trust and joint technological leadership.

Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Nicodemos Damianou, described the launch as “a powerful vote of confidence in our country’s potential as a strategic hub for next-generation AI technologies, a crossroads where continents, talent, and ideas converge.”

According to him, it reflects “Cyprus’ strong commitment to innovation and emerging technologies“, as well as the growing trust of global partners in the island as a gateway for AI advancement in Europe.

The Crete–Cyprus electricity interconnection is moving steadily forward, but only until August, according to reports that emerged on Tuesday.

Nexans, the French cable contractor, has confirmed it will continue construction until then, yet what happens after that remains entirely unclear.

For now, the burden is on Greece’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (Admie) to keep the project alive, Greek outlet Newmoney.

The Greek transmission operator is under pressure to recover expenses through both Greek and Cypriot regulatory authorities in order to ensure liquidity.  

So far, there has been little enthusiasm from Nicosia, which appears unwilling to approve payments without clearer guarantees that the project will actually be completed. 

According to sources close to Greece’s regulatory authority for energy, waste and water, in order for the €7.5 million of permitted revenue for the cable to be approved, Admie needed to submit operating expense data and figures from related projects, which it finally did at the end of last week.

Cyprus experienced a surge in exports, combined with a rise in tourist arrivals, during the first four months of 2025, according to a report released on Tuesday by the state statistical service.

The report covered a number of sectors, including construction, manufacturing, consumer prices, and tourism, among others.

Specifically, manufacturing production during the period from January to March 2025 increased by 3.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.

In contrast, the total area of building permits authorised in January 2025 reached 189.9 thousand square metres, marking a decrease of 4.2 per cent compared to January 2024.

The total registrations of motor vehicles declined by 8.3 per cent, reaching 16,133 vehicles during the period from January to April 2025.

Constantinou Bros Hotels, a hotel management company that owns and operates a group of luxury hotels in Cyprus, on Tuesday issued an interim profits forewarning for the first half of 2025.

After examining the financial results for the first six months of 2025, the company’s board of directors announced that the results are expected to be slightly better compared to those of 2024.

This announcement was made in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

The board of directors stated that this update aims to fully inform shareholders and the investing public based on the economic data available so far.

Moreover, despite the modest improvement expected in the interim results, the board and the company’s management remain cautious about the full-year outlook.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange on Tuesday announced the acceptance of new government treasury bills for trading.

Specifically, 25,000 treasury bills with a nominal value of €1,000 each have been introduced to the market.

These are 13-week treasury bills, sixth issue, series 2025, covering the period from June 20, 2025, to September 19, 2025. The total value of the bills amounts to €25 million.

The Japanese shipping market is seeing a shift, with more owners recognising the role of technology in driving efficiency and sustainability, according to Limassol-based shipping company Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM).

Meanwhile, smaller shipowners, traditionally hesitant to adopt value-added services such as vessel optimisation, digitalisation, catering, and crew welfare solutions, are now showing greater interest in these offerings, said Columbia Group’s Demetris Chrysostomou, who was recently promoted to CEO of Asia region.

“Japanese owners have always been very clear about their expectations from ship management companies, historically focusing only on core services,” Chrysostomou said.

However, he noted that “they are now realising that to remain competitive, they need to embrace technology.”