Hotels in Limassol have reached around 90 per cent occupancy in August, matching last year’s booking levels as a rise in last-minute reservations helped the city recover from earlier concerns over the summer season.

“The key feature of this year is that of last-minute bookings, and the figures confirm what we said at the end of June,” president of the Limassol branch of the Cyprus Hotel Association (Pasyxe) Christos Tsanos told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

“August is performing at the same booking levels as August 2025,” he added.

Moreover, Tsanos said occupancy levels across Limassol city and district were currently at around 90 per cent for August.

He further stated that bookings had been strengthened during the August 10-17 period, particularly through increased demand from the domestic tourism market.

The latest figures appear to confirm expectations expressed by Limassol hoteliers in June that last-minute bookings could help reverse a deterioration in the tourism climate following the war in neighbouring Iran.

On June 23, Tsanos had expressed optimism that the situation could improve following revisions to travel advisories issued by several countries.

At the time, he had also said he expected summer occupancy rates to be considerably better than initially forecast, while cautioning that “the three months do not save an entire year”.

Freedom Holding Corp, the parent company of Freedom24, reported a 40 per cent year-on-year increase in net revenue for the first quarter of its 2027 financial year, driven by strong growth across its brokerage and banking operations.

The Nasdaq-listed group reported total net revenue of $732.5 million for the three months to June 30, 2026, compared with $524 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Net income, however, fell to $31.7 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, from $37.4 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, in the same quarter of the previous year.

Total assets rose to $14 billion, up from $13.2 billion at the end of March, while the group’s combined customer base across banking, brokerage, insurance and other businesses reached 8.743 million.

“Our results this quarter reflect the continued strength and momentum of our business across the Freedom ecosystem,” said Timur Turlov, founder and chief executive of Freedom Holding Corp.

“We saw meaningful growth in revenue and in our customer base, underscoring the durability of our diversified model as we continue to expand into new markets and new lines of business,” he added.

A new free mobile app helping people in Cyprus report signs of wildfires, receive nearby alerts and access key fire-safety information has gone live, with TechIsland and Brickworks Games launching SafeIsland CY in collaboration with Kitas Weather.

Available on iOS and Android as part of an initial pilot phase, SafeIsland CY brings wildfire reports, nearby alerts and fire-safety information together through one interactive map, while Kitas Weather will administer the platform during the pilot, support the provision of timely updates and assist with reviewing and verifying information submitted through the app.

The app was developed by Brickworks Games as part of the TechIsland Wildfire Initiative, which was established by TechIsland following the devastating wildfires of 2025 to support affected communities and strengthen wildfire prevention, preparedness and immediate response.

Designed as a community-powered public-safety tool, SafeIsland CY aims to improve early awareness and help communities share useful information faster during periods of increased wildfire risk.

It has been created particularly for residents in rural, mountain and high-risk areas, where early local information can make a real difference.

Cyprus’ airports handled over 1.63 million passengers in July 2026, with passenger traffic narrowing its year-on-year decline to just 1 per cent as the recovery continued despite ongoing regional instability.

Specifically, a total of 1,635,055 passengers travelled through Larnaca and Paphos airports during the month, according to data published by Hermes Airports in its monthly bulletin.

The July figures represent a marked improvement from earlier in the year, with the operator saying the recovery seen in previous months continued despite challenges affecting the wider region.

Paphos airport recorded particularly strong growth, handling 7 per cent more passengers than in July 2025.

Hermes Airports attributed the increase to stronger connectivity at Paphos and a wider range of travel options available to passengers.

The National Bank of Greece acquired a total of 650,000 of its own ordinary shares between July 31, 2026, and August 7, 2026, as part of the first tranche of its approved buyback programme.

According to an official announcement, the repurchased shares, which trade on Euronext Athens, were bought at a weighted average price of €16.4078 per share, representing a total outlay of €10,665,100.

The transaction follows decisions taken during the bank’s ordinary general meeting of shareholders on April 30, 2026, and its subsequent corporate update on June 12, 2026, regarding the launch of Tranche I of the scheme.

Regulatory clearance for the repurchases was granted on June 8, 2026, by the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Single Supervisory Mechanism.

Cyprus’ state workforce reached 53,747 employees in July 2026, rising by 300 people or 0.6 per cent from 53,447 a year earlier, according to figures released by the statistical service (Cystat).

The increase came as growth in education and the security forces outweighed a further reduction in civil service staffing.

The civil service remained the largest of the three services, although employment fell by 1 per cent from 23,208 to 22,978.

By contrast, the educational service grew by 2.6 per cent to 16,928 employees, while the security forces added 103 people to reach 13,841, an increase of 0.7 per cent.

Across the state workforce, permanent employees remained by far the largest category, with their number rising by 0.3 per cent from 32,837 to 32,935.

Cyprus-based GlobalWealth Group PLC has approved and signed an investment agreement to acquire interests in a €2.5 million hotel development in Barbati, Corfu, as part of its strategy to expand its luxury tourism property portfolio in Greece.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange-listed company said the agreement covers the “Aspro Spiti Barbati Corfu” project and forms part of its wider business plan to build a portfolio of high-yield properties in Greece’s luxury tourism sector.

GlobalWealth said the investment is intended to strengthen the value of its assets while generating stable future cash flows.

The company also said part of the investment is intended to serve as seed capital before potentially becoming part of the portfolio of the Global Private Equity Real Estate Fund, which is to be managed by its subsidiary GMM Global Money Managers AIFM Ltd.

Alpha Bank S.A. has announced that its share capital has been updated following the formal cancellation of 59,018,043 treasury shares.

The lender explained that the capital adjustment was carried out in accordance with the relevant piece of legislation to help shareholders calculate thresholds for acquiring or disposing of significant holdings.

The reduction of the bank’s share capital stemmed from a decision taken during the ordinary general meeting of shareholders on June 26, 2026, the announcement added.

Moreover, the bank stated that the cancelled shares each carried a nominal value of €0.29.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) announced on Tuesday that it will suspend trading in the securities of six listed companies from August 13, 2026, after they failed to submit and publish their annual financial reports for the year ended December 31, 2025.

The decision, announced by the CSE on Tuesday, follows an earlier announcement issued on May 7, 2026, and applies to companies listed on both the regulated market and the emerging companies market (ECM).

Under Article 183 of the Cyprus Stock Exchange Laws, the CSE can suspend trading in securities where listed companies fail to meet their financial reporting obligations.

On the regulated market, trading will be suspended in the securities of Cyprus Trading Corporation Plc, Ermes Department Stores Plc, Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties Plc and Rehub Plc.

Cyprus-based biotech innovator Marianna Prokopi-Demetriades has been named the 2026 Study UK Alumni Awards global winner for Business and Innovation, becoming one of only four people worldwide to receive the British Council distinction this year. 

Prokopi-Demetriades progressed from winning the award in Cyprus to representing Europe among seven international finalists in her category, before being selected as the global winner. 

The scale of the competition makes the achievement particularly notable. Now in its 12th year, the awards attracted more than 1,800 applications from over 120 countries, representing more than 140 UK universities. Just 28 candidates reached the global final, with one winner chosen in each of four categories. 

“Absolutely ecstatic and still trying to take this all in,” Prokopi-Demetriades said while announcing the news on her personal platform. 

Cyprus’ startup and investment scene is expanding rapidly, but founders still face the challenge of making their businesses visible beyond the island, according to public relations and communications strategist Evgenia Zaslavskaya.

Zaslavskaya, the founder of international communications agency ZECOMMS, has made Cyprus her home after working with technology startups, venture capital firms and global companies across international markets.

Speaking exclusively to the Cyprus Mail, she delved into how founders can build visibility without large marketing budgets, what separates startups that attract international media attention from those that do not, and why she believes Cyprus is one of Europe’s most underrated innovation hubs.

Zaslavskaya launched ZECOMMS in 2022 and, in the three years since, the agency has supported more than 50 companies across sectors including fintech, femtech, robotics, climatetech, cybersecurity and child safety.

The Cyprus Composite Leading Economic Index (CCLEI) recorded a 0.43 per cent year-on-year decline in July 2026, according to the latest revised data from the Economics Research Centre of the University of Cyprus (CypERC).

The smaller annual decline suggests that the downward trend in the index is gradually easing, although CypERC said the Cypriot economy continues to face short-term challenges from heightened external and geopolitical pressures.

The CCLEI is designed to provide early warning signals of turning points in the Cypriot business cycle, with its constituent indicators generally changing ahead of overall economic activity.

CypERC regularly assesses a range of domestic and international leading indicators to produce the index, which is intended to provide an indication of where economic activity may be heading before changes become evident in broader economic data.

The index comprises the Brent crude oil price, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) for Cyprus and the euro area, and total property sales contracts.

Gaming operator Allwyn AG acquired a total of 530,414 of its own shares on Euronext Athens between August 3, 2026, and August 7, 2026, as part of its ongoing share buyback programme.

According to a statement released this week, the share repurchases were carried out following the initial announcement of the buyback scheme on June 4, 2026.

The transactions involved a combined total consideration of €7,153,376.32 across the designated trading days.

The weekly buying activity began on August 3, 2026, when the company repurchased 78,146 shares for a total amount of €1,057,948.36, achieving an average price of €13.5381 per share.