Here are the top business stories in Cyprus from the week starting June 16:
The country had ranked 43rd in 2024, and despite this year’s minor decline, Cyprus remains significantly behind its 2021 position when it was ranked 33rd.
The World Competitiveness Yearbook evaluates 69 global economies each year and serves as a key reference point for both governments and the private sector.
The ranking is based on four main pillars, which are economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.
The data from 20 sub-indicators show that Cyprus continues to balance strong performances in some areas with persistent structural weaknesses.
According to information from Philenews, the measures currently under preparation are expected to combat tax evasion, widen the revenue net and strengthen the Tax Department’s collection capacity.
One of the scenarios under consideration would allow the Tax Department to seal off businesses that repeatedly fail to issue legal receipts or invoices, a measure already enforced in Greece.
There, tax authorities can temporarily close shops or companies if they are caught violating the law on receipts, particularly after repeated offences.
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.
The meeting marked a follow-up to the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two stock exchanges.
Representing the Indian side were Ashish Chauhan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSE Group, and V Bala, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSE International Exchange.
According to the chairman of the CSE council Marinos Christodoulides, the partnership “falls within the broader framework of strengthening business and investment ties between Cyprus and India“.
He said this “objective was clearly outlined during the official visit of the Indian prime minister Narendra Mondi to Cyprus the previous day”.
Known as STEP (setting up facilities and production lines for manufacturing new innovative products or services), the programme is part of a series of flagship actions unveiled by president Nikos Christodoulides in the 2025 annual governance programme.
According to the RIF, it aims to “reinforce the productive fabric of the economy through targeted support for industrial innovation“.
Total bids submitted amounted to €51.75 million, while the average weighted yield for the accepted bids was 1.98 per cent.
The accepted yields ranged between 1.96 per cent and 2.00 per cent.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange has previously announced that it had accepted the 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.
The financial results, announced by the Kazakhstan-headquartered firm, reflect strong performance across both its brokerage and insurance segments, in line with the company’s stated growth strategy.
The group operates through subsidiaries and representative offices in 22 countries, including Cyprus.
Net profit for the year totalled $84.5 million, with earnings per share reaching $1.43, based on a basic weighted average of 59.4 million shares.
Insurance underwriting income surged by 134 per cent to $618 million, while interest income grew by 4 per cent to $864 million.
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.
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 announcement came in the wake of the historic visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Cyprus, his first in 23 years.
The visit, which took place less than a year after Modi’s trip to Athens, underscored the growing strategic importance of Greece and Cyprus in India’s vision for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).
This global corridor aims to facilitate trade between India and Europe by enhancing connectivity across regions.
During his visit to Nicosia, Modi, alongside the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, attended a high-level meeting on June 15 with the business delegation accompanying the Indian leader.
They met with prominent figures from the Cypriot business community. Eurobank was represented at the meeting by its Chief Executive Officer Fokion Karavias and Hellenic Bank CEO Michalis Louis, whose bank operates as part of the Eurobank Group.
The report showed that 562 building permits were issued in during this time, compared to 706 in February of the previous year.
The total value of these permits reached €296.3 million, while the total area amounted to 237,200 square metres. These permits provide for the construction of 1,094 dwelling units.
Inflation in Cyprus fell to just 0.4 per cent in May 2025, down from 1.4 per cent in April and 3 per cent in May 2024.
The annual inflation rate in the eurozone decreased to 1.9 per cent in May 2025, from 2.2 per cent in April. One year earlier, the rate stood at 2.6 per cent.
In the European Union as a whole, annual inflation dropped to 2.2 per cent in May 2025, compared to 2.4 per cent in April. A year earlier, EU inflation had reached 2.7 per cent.
The lowest annual inflation rates were observed in Cyprus at 0.4 per cent, in France at 0.6 per cent, and in Ireland at 1.4 per cent.
At the same time, a significant reduction in the inflation estimate was also recorded, now set at 1.5 per cent from the previous 2.1 per cent.
The CBC said in its announcement that the projections were completed before the recent conflicts between Israel and Iran, and thus, any related economic impacts are not included.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for 2025 is expected to reach 3.1 per cent, compared to 3.4 per cent in 2024, while for 2026 and 2027, the GDP is anticipated to expand by 3 per cent annually.
The projected GDP trajectory is mainly attributed to the expected further increase in domestic demand throughout the forecast period and, to a lesser extent, to external demand during 2026-27, which is negatively affected by the exceptional uncertainty in the global geopolitical and trade environment.
The agency, tasked with driving investment to the island, described the move as a significant step in strengthening economic ties between Cyprus and India.
The Indian company, which specialises in drone technology and training and is listed on NSE Emerge, announced its investment following the official visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Cyprus at the invitation of Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides.
The decision signals growing alignment between the two nations and positions Cyprus as a hub for innovation and advanced technology. The new entity will focus on drone development, services, training and drone sports, laying the groundwork for a comprehensive and forward-looking drone ecosystem across Europe.
The bill was previously approved by the Council of Ministers during its session on June 4, 2025.
It regulates the procedure for selling the shares of a special purpose vehicle established to facilitate the privatisation of the CSE, handing its operations to a strategic investor. The bill also defines the competent bodies and stages of the privatisation process.
This includes the transfer of operations, responsibilities, activities, functions, assets, and liabilities of the CSE, as well as the transfer of CSE personnel to the Finance Ministry or the provision of compensation based on a relevant voluntary early retirement scheme.
According to an official announcement released this week, the funding round was led by Eleven Ventures and Corallia Ventures, along with several angel investors.
The funding aims to accelerate Bitloops’ efforts to redefine how software teams transform Figma designs into high-quality, scalable production code without compromising engineering standards.
“This is not just code generation,” said Vasilis Danias, Co-Founder and CEO of Bitloops. “It is system-aware implementation.”
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