Here are the top business stories in Cyprus from the week starting May 18:
Poullikkas, professor of energy systems at Frederick University and former chairman of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA), said the transition towards competition in Cyprus’ electricity sector could not by itself guarantee fair pricing or smooth market operation.
“In an emerging electricity market such as Cyprus, with a dominant producer, targeted regulatory rules are needed so that new distortions are not created instead of strengthening genuine competition,” Poullikkas said.
Founded in 2016, Strikerz Inc. operates internationally through several regional offices and has a global team of more than 400 employees. The company, whose headquarters are located in Cyprus, is best known as the force behind UFL, a free-to-play football video game built around skill-first gameplay, community feedback and long-term development.
UFL is already available on PlayStation5, PlayStation5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S and PC, with optional cross-play across those platforms. The game is localised into 14 languages and has attracted significant attention through football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, who is a shareholder, as well as ambassadors including Federico Valverde and Raphinha.
Its football ecosystem also includes partnerships with brands such as adidas, Joma, Kappa and Umbro, alongside collaborations with clubs including Aris Limassol FC, Hashtag United FC, FC Porto and Sporting CP.
The day, marked each year on May 17, was established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to commemorate the founding of the organisation in 1865 and to reflect the growing role of digital technologies in everyday life.
For 2026, the ITU has chosen the theme ‘Digital lifelines: Strengthening resilience in a connected world’, focusing on the infrastructure that keeps societies and economies connected at a time of increasing digital dependence.
According to the deputy ministry, these “digital lifelines” include terrestrial networks, submarine cables, satellites and data systems, which now form the backbone of modern communities and economic activity.
The approval paves the way for the expansion of UAMCO’s activities on the island, where the company already operates maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities.
The new facility will be used to test, evaluate and certify aircraft engines under controlled conditions after maintenance work has been completed. Such test cells are considered a key part of the aviation maintenance ecosystem, as they allow engines to be checked before returning to service.
According to the company, the project will also introduce a technological innovation for the wider Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia region.
Speaking to Politis, Kelepeshis explained that the market is not moving in one direction. Higher operating costs and cautious demand are creating both price increases and discounts, depending entirely on the destination and availability.
For example, a trip to Bali that could have cost around €2,000 if booked in December or January can now be found for €200, €300, or even €500 less.
Kelepeshis clarified that this does not indicate a general collapse in prices, but rather reflects the shifting relationship between supply and demand as organisers try to fill seats during a time of geopolitical uncertainty.
The report comes as Cyprus authorities maintain that the country is nearing full technical readiness for entry into the Schengen Area, following months of statements signalling 2026 as a target timeline, though officials have increasingly avoided firm commitments on exact timing.
The commission said Schengen continued to demonstrate resilience, describing it as one of the EU’s most tangible achievements, allowing more than 450 million citizens to move freely across borders while supporting trade, tourism and goods flows alongside external border protection.
It pointed to a 26 per cent decline in illegal border crossings in 2025 compared with 2024, alongside a 28 per cent return rate for individuals without legal right to stay in the EU, the highest in a decade.
Earlier today, the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) reported a sharp 27.6 per cent year-on-year decline in tourist arrivals for April 2026, highlighting the deepening impact of the war in Iran on the island’s tourism sector.
This drop brought arrivals down to 303,031 for the month, contributing to a broader 17.9 per cent decline for the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2025.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Papacharalambous said the association remains in constant contact with its partners abroad, working to promote Cyprus through offers and new travel programmes.
According to a press release, the move is aimed at bringing the two teams closer together, supporting day-to-day operations across Adora’s fleet, including technical and marine management, as well as crew services.
The opening was marked with a joint ceremony attended by senior representatives from both organisations, including Hendrik Stellamanns, managing director of CCS, and Norman Schmiedl, CEO of Columbia blue, who joined Adora Cruises’ leadership team for the official ribbon-cutting.
The day, celebrated globally across the industry, recognises the contribution of women working both at sea and ashore, across all areas of maritime activity.
Speaking on the occasion, WISTA Cyprus president Anna Pittalis said the focus should now move beyond recognition and towards meaningful inclusion, as well as measurable progress within the industry.
“Today is about visibility and about ensuring that women’s voices, expertise, and leadership are fully recognised across the maritime sector,” she said.
The event brought together members of the maritime community to celebrate the international day, which was established by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to recognise the contribution of women working at sea and ashore.
Addressing the reception, Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis said that “while shipping has traditionally been perceived as a male-dominated sector, change is happening.”
She said equality and inclusion were not simply social goals, but important factors for the sustainability, resilience and future competitiveness of shipping.
The meeting, aimed at resolving disruption faced by designers and affected citizens, was held last week, the chamber said.
It brought together a delegation from Etek led by its president Constantinos Constanti, Cyprus Architects Association president Alkis Dikaios, Town Planning Department director Kyriakos Koundouros, and department officials.
According to Etek, the meeting was “held in a constructive atmosphere and led to an agreement on how the fast-track procedure should be implemented, the problems that have emerged, and the next steps needed to restore consistency”.
At the centre of the discussion was the need for licensing authorities to carry out staff checks on submitted applications, as provided for in the relevant decrees.
The latest ranking marks a six-place improvement compared with 2025, reinforcing Cyprus’ position as one of the fastest-rising startup ecosystems globally.
According to the report, Cyprus has also recorded the highest annual climb among EU countries for the third consecutive year, underlining sustained momentum in the sector.
The ecosystem demonstrated particularly strong expansion, posting annual growth of 62.7 per cent, while its total estimated value reached $4.2 billion.
The report also pointed to broad-based development across the island, with all four Cypriot cities included in the global top 1,000 startup cities ranking.
Speaking at the presidential palace following a cabinet meeting, Koumis stressed that tourism figures should be assessed calmly and without drawing premature conclusions.
“The data show a steady and gradual recovery of tourism flows,” he said.
He acknowledged that the downturn recorded in recent months was expected, given the geopolitical developments affecting the wider region.
“It was absolutely expected that the developments of recent months would impact tourism traffic, and this has also happened in other destinations due to geopolitical developments,” he said.
Speaking to Entrepreneurial Limassol, a periodical published by the Limassol Chamber of Commerce (Evel), Armeftis said the main change brought by the project is the creation of a unified surface across the square, with the removal of steps allowing for improved accessibility and smoother movement through one of the city’s most historic public spaces.
The project had originally been scheduled for delivery in early May. However, the mayor said the timetable was pushed back to mid-June, with works currently focused on completing the road in front of the Rialto Theatre and strengthening the connection between the theatre’s entrance and the square.
The figures, drawn from Eurostat’s new Housing Dashboard and its Housing in Europe 2025 publication, point to an uneven picture. Cyprus continues to record strong housing investment and construction activity, but affordability pressures are becoming more visible, particularly for younger households and those trying to enter the market.
House prices in Cyprus rose by 6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier, slightly above the EU average of 5.5 per cent. Rents also increased faster than the bloc average, rising by 4.2 per cent year-on-year in March 2026, compared with 2.9 per cent in the EU.
The group said consolidated turnover rose 5 per cent year-on-year to €320.7 million, compared with €306 million in the first quarter of 2025, while passenger traffic increased 4 per cent to 3.23 million passengers.
The increase was broadly in line with the rise in seats offered, with the load factor reaching 80.8 per cent, compared with 80.3 per cent in the same period last year.
At the same time, EBITDA rose 6 per cent to €46.6m, from €43.8m, marking a small improvement in what is traditionally the weakest quarter of the year.
However, Aegean’s loss after tax widened to €21.7m, compared with a loss of €6.6m in the first quarter of 2025.
The winners will watch the semi-finals on Friday, May 22, before returning to the court for the grand final on Sunday, May 24, as Europe’s top teams compete for the trophy.
The competition was launched by BoC on February 16, giving Visa cardholders the chance to claim a place at the Final Four through their card transactions. Every Visa transaction made until April 19, 2026, counted as an entry, with the bank presenting the campaign as part of its wider effort to offer customers added rewards and experiences.
The re-election confirms the continuation of Loizides’ leadership within the district’s organised hotel industry, with a focus on maintaining and expanding Paphos’ position in both the Cyprus and international tourism markets.
Alongside the leadership vote, a new board of directors was formed, taking office for the next three years with the aim of supporting the development and competitiveness of Paphos’ tourism product.
The association stated that the new board “will work to reinforce the district’s presence in the tourism sector at a time when Paphos continues to hold a strong position as one of Cyprus’ key destinations”.
Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, the ambitious founder said that relocating to Paphos provided a rare operating environment that allowed him to focus on execution rather than external pressures.
“Paphos gave me something most startup environments don’t, clarity,” he said.
“No distractions, no investor pressure, no networking noise, you just build,” he added.
During his opening address at the TechIsland Summit in Limassol, Polykarpou linked Cyprus’ progress as a tech destination with the challenge of making science, technology, engineering and mathematics accessible beyond the traditional boundaries of the sector.
“A decade ago, if you told someone that Cyprus would become a global technology hub, a place where international companies come to build, where top talent chooses to relocate, where the ICT sector would drive national growth, many would have smiled politely,” he said.
Today, however, he said that “the vision of a tech island is no longer a vision. It is a fact”. For TechIsland, he added, “this is a major achievement”.
Speaking during his keynote address at the TechIsland Summit on Thursday, titled ‘The Impact of Tech and Innovation in Cyprus’, Anayiotos presented KPMG’s 2025 economic impact assessment of the sector, setting out its contribution to GDP, employment, investment and Cyprus’ wider competitiveness.
The figures, he said, show a sector that is no longer emerging, but already central to the country’s economic model.
According to the assessment, “The Tech sector’s total Gross Value Added (GVA) in Cyprus for 2025 was €5.5 bln, representing 17 per cent of country’s total GVA.”
That contribution was driven mainly by Information and Communication Technology, which accounted for €4.1bn, followed by professional, scientific and technical activities at €875m, and financial and insurance activities at €604m.
That was the central message of a panel discussion titled ‘Cyprus’ Innovation Bet’, held as part of STEM for All by TechIsland and Women in Tech Cyprus at the Pentagon Stage of the Doers Summit.
The panel, moderated by Tanya Romanyukha, General Manager of TechIsland, brought together Konstantinos Kleovoulou, Director of Research and Innovation at the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Antonis Polemitis, CEO of the University of Nicosia, and Alfredo Gomez Soria, Regional Director EMEA at Plug and Play.
Opening the discussion, Romanyukha said Cyprus is no longer discussing the possibility of becoming a tech hub, but the reality now being built on the island.
“Five years ago, we were talking about Cyprus becoming a tech hub,” she said.
The discussion took place during the panel ‘Regulate or Accelerate? Europe’s Approach to Innovation’, held as part of STEM for All by TechIsland and Women in Tech Cyprus at the Pentagon Stage of the Doers Summit at Kolla Culture Factory.
Moderated by Peter Kofler, chairman of Danish Entrepreneurs, the panel brought together Kyriaki Pantziarou, director of the Directorate of Digital Policy and Communications at the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Eugenia Bozou, head of government affairs and public policy for Greece, Cyprus and Malta at Google, and Nikolas Chatziavraam, CEO of Zygos.
Opening the discussion, Kofler said Europe was at a critical point, with around 80 per cent of digital regulation affecting countries such as Denmark and Cyprus coming from Brussels. For the past decade, he said, Europe had operated under the belief that regulation would create a safe and predictable environment for innovation.
However, he questioned whether that approach has delivered the intended results.
Speaking during a keynote speech titled ‘Sovereignty in the Age of AI’ at the Doers Summit in Limassol, Witek said AI is forcing countries to rethink what sovereignty means in a world increasingly shaped by infrastructure, chips, platforms, computing power and global technology supply chains.
Every major computing revolution, from the mainframe to the cloud, expanded access to more people, he said.
AI, however, may be different.
Witek warned that it could become the first computing revolution to reverse that trend by concentrating power in the hands of those who own the infrastructure.
Defining sovereignty, Witek said it refers to technology capabilities that a nation can “control, independently operate, secure or isolate from third-party forces”, as well as maintain without extraterritorial help.
In its Spring 2026 Economic Forecast, the commission said that Cyprus entered the crisis on a strong footing, supported by solid economic performance in 2025, but warned that the conflict’s impact is expected to be felt in the short term through higher inflation and increased uncertainty.
Headline inflation in Cyprus is projected to rise to 3.6 per cent in 2026, before easing to 2.2 per cent in 2027, reflecting a surge in energy prices followed by gradual normalisation.
Economic growth is expected to moderate, with real GDP forecast to expand by 2.3 per cent in 2026 and 2.7 per cent in 2027, down from 3.8 per cent growth recorded in 2025.
The commission attributed the earlier strong performance to robust private consumption and services exports, particularly in the ICT sector and tourism, alongside rising investment driven by construction activity.
The panel, titled ‘The Untapped Talent’, was held at the Doers Summit in Limassol, as part of the ‘STEM for All’ initiative, organised by TechIsland and Women in Tech Cyprus.
Moderated by Anna Gurina, Revenue and Partnerships Leader in Tech and Partnerships Director at Women in Tech Cyprus, the discussion brought together Gender Equality Commissioner Josie Christodoulou, Women in Tech Global Founder and CEO Ayumi Moore Aoki, and IMR / University of Nicosia CEO Christina Kokkalou.
Opening the discussion, Gurina said the debate was taking place at a time when two very different conversations are happening at once. On the one hand, there are growing fears that artificial intelligence will take jobs. On the other, companies building teams say they cannot find enough skilled people to fill the roles already being created.
“There is a talent shortage. A real one,” Gurina said.
The panel discussion titled ‘Capital on Your Terms’ examined how founders can navigate fundraising in a high-valuation environment, where access to capital is no longer the primary challenge but securing it under favourable conditions is.
Participants explored the full fundraising journey from early growth to exit, focusing on how strategic decisions shape value, control and long-term success.
The discussion brought together Alfredo Gomez Soria, regional director EMEA at Plug and Play, Elias Neocleous, Fabian Cabeza, associate at Elias Neocleous & Co LLC, Demetris Roti, partner at Elias Neocleous & Co LLC, and Oded Lieberman, entrepreneur in pharma, biotech and medtech.
“Capital is flowing but it’s not neutral,” the panel stressed, highlighting the importance of understanding investor expectations and structuring agreements that align with founders’ long-term goals.
Speaking during a keynote speech titled ‘Mindset Is Not What You Think’ at the Doers Summit in Limassol, Sulimko said the real challenge in business transformation, particularly in the age of artificial intelligence, is not only whether companies can adopt new tools, but whether people can recognise their automatic reactions when they do not know what to do.
For Sulimko, mindset is not about attitude, beliefs or motivational slogans. It is about behaviour under pressure.
Drawing on what she described as three worlds, the emergency room, psychotherapy and corporate leadership, Sulimko said one conclusion had become clear across all of them. “We don’t get stuck because we lack tools. We get stuck because of how we react,” she said.
In Manhattan, the pressure is already extreme. The median monthly rent reached $5,099 in April 2026, passing the $5,000 mark, according to the Corcoran Group’s latest rental market report. At the same time, the vacancy rate fell to 1.55 per cent, its lowest level in more than six years, while active listings dropped 25 per cent year-on-year to 4,766.
For a 30-square-metre studio, the average monthly rent in Manhattan now reaches around $3,900, roughly €3,325, placing even the smallest independent living space beyond the reach of many tenants. Larger flats tell the same story. One-bedroom apartments average $5,228, while two-bedroom apartments reach $8,338, according to figures also reported by the New York Post based on Corcoran data.
This is not simply a story of New York being expensive. It reflects a deeper squeeze between limited supply, strong demand and a rental market where tenants are competing for fewer available homes. Domestic mobility, the return of young professionals and the continued pull of the city’s financial and technology sectors have kept demand high, while available stock remains tight.
Indeed, speakers at a Cyprus Seeds panel discussion that took place at the Doers Summit in Limassol this week argued that deep expertise must now be matched with adaptability, curiosity and the ability to keep learning.
The panel, titled ‘Spot the Skillset: Defining Talent in the Age of AI’ and moderated by Andreas Papadopoulos, manager at PwC Cyprus, brought together voices from technology, entrepreneurship, research and education.
The panel featured Vera Solomatina, SVP People and Culture at inDrive, Michael Economou, founder of Exyde, Chrysanthia Leontiou, head of graduate school at The Cyprus Institute, and Ourania Miliou, education and training manager at CYENS CoE.
The award, received by Dimitris Lemesianos during the ceremony hosted by ESG Shipping Awards in Athens, recognised the group’s work around people, wellbeing, inclusion and responsible growth, both onshore and at sea.
According to the awards organisers, the Social Leader Award is aimed at companies demonstrating best practices in areas such as social reporting, labour practices, human capital development, health and safety, diversity and inclusion, human rights and corporate social responsibility.
Referring to the European Commission’s Spring Forecasts, Christodoulides said the first figures of the year were already supporting this outlook, with preliminary estimates showing 3 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2026, placing Cyprus among the EU’s top performers.
The president also pointed to the country’s fiscal position, saying Cyprus is projected to record the highest fiscal surplus among EU member states, estimated at 2.1 per cent of GDP this year.
At the same time, public debt is expected to fall further to 50.4 per cent of GDP, while unemployment is forecast to drop to 4.2 per cent, which he described as a historic low.
The panel, titled ‘The CEO–CFO Partnership: Trust, Transparency & Transformation’, focused on how strategic alignment, trust-based collaboration and a strong understanding of the business can help companies drive transformation, build resilience and support sustainable growth.
According to the announcement, the discussion also examined the evolving role of the chief financial officer, with CFOs increasingly moving beyond traditional financial oversight to become strategic business partners and broader business leaders.
The summit brought together senior CFOs and finance leaders from across the region, at a time when finance functions are being reshaped by artificial intelligence, tighter regulation, higher capital costs and growing pressure from boards for faster, clearer and more accurate decision-making.
The regulator said the updated framework, issued through a formal circular, aims to enhance the effectiveness of Cyprus’ system for combating money laundering and terrorist financing, placing greater emphasis on the quality and timeliness of reporting by supervised firms.
CySEC explained that the revised guidance issued by Mokas focuses on improving how entities submit suspicious transaction reports, suspicious activity reports and additional information files, reflecting the increasing complexity of financial crime risks.
Speaking before the gathering of EU finance ministers and central bank governors, Keravnos said the talks would centre on competitiveness, strategic autonomy and the role of investment in strengthening the European economy.
“The slogan of the Cypriot presidency is the EU’s strategic autonomy, and strategic autonomy goes hand in hand with strengthening competitiveness,” he said.
He stressed that boosting investment is essential to address economic and geopolitical challenges, but cautioned that such efforts must not come at the expense of the bloc’s fiscal governance framework.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) ahead of the EU finance ministers’ gathering, Vaitiekūnas highlighted shared characteristics between the two countries and pointed to untapped opportunities for closer collaboration.
“We have much more in common than it may seem at first glance, and our businesses and people can find more ways to cooperate, for example in tourism and defence,” he said.
He explained that both countries face similar challenges, including security concerns such as drone threats, while also relying significantly on their financial sectors.
The complaint was submitted on May 21 by the Cyprus consumers association, in cooperation with 281 consumer organisations from EU member states and under the coordination of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).
It followed an evidence-gathering exercise carried out between December 2025 and March 2026 by the BEUC and 13 consumer associations, which, according to the announcement, found that financial fraud remains widespread across Meta, TikTok and Google’s platforms.
The consumer groups said the findings showed that the companies had systematically failed to take effective corrective measures, despite the obligations set out under the DSA.
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