Cyprus and Vietnam further strengthened their bilateral ties on Wednesday with the signing of a double tax treaty.

The agreement, signed at the finance ministry in Nicosia, aims to boost economic cooperation and prevent tax evasion on income taxes.

The agreement was signed by Finance Minister Makis Keravnos and Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Finance Cao Anh Tuan.

“The signing of the agreement will undoubtedly strengthen the economic and political relations of the Republic of Cyprus with Vietnam, a country geographically distant from Cyprus but one with shared values, common goals and a willingness to cooperate in the economic sector,” Keravnos said after the signing.

He stressed that the agreement represents an important step that “highlights the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries and the mutual desire for even closer cooperation on such a significant issue”.

Eurobank chief executive officer Fokion Karavias said investments are a national necessity and Cyprus plays a pivotal role in the group’s future, in a wide-ranging interview with Greek business outlet Business Daily examining economic growth, banking reform and Eurobank’s eastward expansion.

During the interview, Karavias said that “the banking landscape will change dramatically in the coming years”, while outlining Eurobank’s strategy in Greece, Cyprus and beyond, and warning that Europe risks falling behind unless it accelerates investment and technological adoption.

He said the Greek economy, despite the scars of the crisis, has entered a period of solid growth, with expansion rates exceeding the EU average, even if they remain below the highest levels in the bloc.

Karavias said “growth of 2 to 2.5 per cent in recent years could arguably have been higher”, but added that many EU countries continue to grow at slower rates.

Europe is pressing ahead with plans to strengthen its shipping, shipbuilding and ports sectors, despite stalled global talks on decarbonisation, with the European Commission preparing two major strategies aimed at boosting competitiveness, investment and security of supply.

Speaking at the European Shipowners’ Association’s 60th anniversary conference, Fotini Ioannidou, Director of Waterborne Transport at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), said the creation of a European shipping cluster was now essential.

“Europe is not backing down. The transition is a one-way street and shipping can be the big winner,” she said, referring to the impasse reached at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) last October on the net-zero framework.

Ioannidou described shipping as a critical pillar of Europe’s economy and geopolitical resilience, emphasising its role in securing energy, raw materials and exports.

Eurogate Limassol is preparing to expand storage capacity at its Container Terminal by demolishing one of two warehouses that pre-date the port’s privatisation, a move that Chief Operating Officer Alexandros Dimitriadis said is intended to ease operational pressure and support continued traffic growth.

Speaking to Entrepreneurial Limassol, Dimitriadis said the company has secured approval from the Ministry of Transport to proceed with the demolition of one of the two warehouses located within the port area. The move is expected to free up between 10,000 and 15,000 square metres, which will be used for container storage.

“This will give us a breather,” he said, estimating that once the works are completed, storage capacity at the terminal will increase by around 15 to 20 per cent.

According to Dimitriadis, the project has not yet started, as the relevant permits were only recently obtained. He said that if all goes according to plan, works are expected to begin in early 2026 and last approximately four months.

Finance Minister Makis Keravnos expressed confidence on Monday that the 2026 state budget will be approved by parliament.

Speaking after signing a tax avoidance agreement with Vietnam, Keravnos said he expects a “good outcome” from the debate that continues in parliament this week, adding that he believes it will attract majority support from most parties.

On tax reform, Keravnos said discussions are ongoing and aimed at maintaining economic growth while ensuring a fairer distribution of the tax burden.

The budget is currently being discussed by the House finance committee and is set to head to the plenum for a vote on Tuesday.

According to what has been heard at the House finance committee, government revenues are projected at €16.49 billion, an increase of 4.5 per cent compared with 2025, while expenditures are estimated at €15.36 billion, up 5.3 per cent year on year.

The long-planned mixed-use project on the site of the former Curium Palace hotel in Limassol is advancing towards licensing, with authorities yet to finalise key planning and building permits, industry sources say.

The 13-storey development, rising to 54 metres, will combine commercial and office space on land once occupied by the historic hotel, which was demolished in 2024 after efforts to save it failed, according to Entrepreneurial Limassol, a periodical published by the Limassol Chamber of Commerce (Evel).

According to Limassol’s town planning authority, only a limited set of requested design modifications remain under review before the formal planning and building permits can be issued early next year.

The environmental regulator has already granted a positive reasoned determination with conditions, which is publicly available through the environment of department.

The European Union increased its research and development spending in 2024, while Cyprus remained among the weakest performers, according to new figures released by Eurostat.

The EU’s total R&D expenditure reached €403.1 billion in 2024, rising from €389.2 billion in 2023, an increase of 3.6 per cent that continued a decade of steady expansion. 

In 2014, spending stood at €248.6 billion, meaning the bloc has lifted its investment by 62.2 per cent over ten years as member states sought to strengthen their innovation capacity.

R&D intensity across the EU, defined as expenditure as a share of GDP, held steady at 2.2 per cent in 2024, a level that has shifted only modestly since 2014, when it was lower by 0.1 percentage points. 

Despite this stability, major disparities remain, with a number of member states significantly outperforming others in their commitment to research.

Cyprus-based Columbia Shipmanagement (CSM), a member of the Columbia Group, is operating against a backdrop of accelerating regional momentum, as the group continues to deepen its footprint across the Middle East.

In this context, Xanthos Kyriacou, Middle East Regional Managing Director at Columbia Group, said that momentum across the region has never been stronger.

“The progress of Columbia Group in the Middle East over the past year has been exceptional,” he noted.

“The successful launch of Noatum CSM earlier this year, which attracted international attendance, marked a major milestone and we are seeing significant interest from owners and partners who recognise the UAE as a strategic base for high-quality ship management and maritime services.”

Within this framework, the newly launched Noatum CSM is a ship management venture formed by Schoeller-owned Columbia Group and Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group.

Cyprus has marked its most ambitious participation yet at the Robotex International World Robotics Competition in Tallinn, Estonia, with a record-sized delegation and impressive performances across multiple disciplines, said the Cyprus Computer Society (CCS) .

The annual global robotics festival, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, was held beginning of December 2025 at the Unibet Arena and brought together teams from countries including China, South Korea, India, the United States and Brazil in a series of high-intensity technical and robotics challenges.

According to an announcement by the CCS, a total of 302 participants, encompassing competitors, coaches, parents, chaperones and volunteers, comprised the largest Cypriot delegation since the country began taking part in the competition in 2017.

Among them were 12 organisations, 13 coaches and 95 core competitors, underscoring the depth and breadth of Cyprus’s engagement.

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), in collaboration with the Cyprus Research and Innovation Enterprises Association (CRIEA), on Monday announced the creation of the Cyprus Defence and Space Industry Cluster (CyDSIC).

According to the announcement, the new cluster “aims to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding ecosystem of Cypriot businesses in the defence, security, and aerospace sectors“.

The chamber explained that a previous version of the cluster had been “operating successfully” under the auspices of CRIEA since 2019.

It added that it “contributed substantially to the development of the Cypriot defence industry, promoting cooperation between industry, academic bodies, and state authorities, and strengthening the Cypriot presence in European and international research and technological programmes”.

Since its inception, the announcement conitnued, the cluster has participated in organised exhibitions both in Cyprus and abroad.

Cyprus’ statistical service (Cystat) on Monday reported a decline in the number of building permits issued between January and August 2025, reflecting a slowdown in authorisations even as the overall value and scale of construction activity increased.

The statistical service said that 647 building permits were authorised in August 2025, covering projects with a total value of €252.8m and a combined area of 213.2 thousand square metres.

These permits provide for the construction of 1,147 dwelling units, pointing to continued residential development despite fewer approvals.

Over the eight-month period from January to August 2025, a total of 4,842 building permits were issued across Cyprus.

Cyprus experienced decline in job vacancies in the third quarter of 2025, according to the state statistical service (Cystat).

This signals easing labour demand across the economy as hiring slowed during this time, when compared with both the previous quarter and the same period last year.

Cystat said the number of job vacancies reached 14,573 in the third quarter of 2025, marking a decrease of 1,437 vacancies, or 9 per cent, from the 16,010 recorded in the third quarter of 2024.

Compared with the second quarter of 2025, vacancies fell by 1,480 positions, representing a quarterly decline of 9.2 per cent.

The job vacancy rate stood at 3 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, reflecting weaker demand for labour across several sectors.

This compared with a rate of 3.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 and 3.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2024.

Young in people in Cyprus were less likely than most of their European peers to drop out of formal education or training during 2024, according to Eurostat, highlighting the island’s relatively strong performance within the European Union.

Across the EU, 14.2 per cent of people aged 15 to 34 reported that they had left formal education or training at least once during their lifetime.

In Cyprus, the corresponding figure stood at 6 per cent, placing the country among the lower dropout rates recorded across member states.

The highest proportions of young people who had dropped out of formal education were observed in the Netherlands, where the rate reached 32.2 per cent.

Denmark followed with 27.1 per cent, while Luxembourg recorded 24.8 per cent and Estonia 24.4 per cent, according to the data.

Cyprus’ Statistical Service (Cystat) on Monday announced that turnover increased in wholesale trade and in the trade and repair of motor vehicles during the third quarter of 2025, reflecting continued economic activity and higher sales compared with the same period last year.

Specifically, the service reported the turnover value index of wholesale trade recorded an annual increase of 4.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2025.

Employment in the broad public sector in Cyprus stood at 74,431 in the third quarter of 2025, an increase of 1.8 per cent year-on-year, according to figures released on Monday by the statistical service (Cystat).

Of the total, 69,346 people were employed in general government and 5,085 in publicly owned enterprises and companies.

Within general government, employment comprised 52,879 people in central government, 10,429 in non-profit organisations and 6,038 in local authorities.

Compared with the same quarter of 2024, employment in the broad public sector increased by 1,294 people, representing a rise of 1.8 per cent.

Central government added 643 jobs, an increase of 1 per cent, while local authorities expanded by 550 people, up 10 per cent. Publicly owned enterprises and companies also recorded a rise of 101 jobs, 2 per cent.