Here are the top business stories in Cyprus from the week starting September 7:
The agreement was signed during a bilateral meeting between Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis and Bahrain’s Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.
It covers a broad range of areas, including maritime safety and security, education and training, search and rescue, innovation, as well as the exchange of expertise and best practices.
The two sides also agreed that the signing should be followed by practical steps, including the creation of joint working groups to turn the agreement into specific areas of cooperation.
Hadjimanolis was accompanied at the meeting by Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) president Stavros Stavrou and Cyprus’ ambassador to Bahrain, Andreas Eliades.
The 22nd session of the IMO working group, held in London from September 1 to 4, brought together nearly 1,200 participants, both in person and online, as governments attempted to narrow remaining differences over the organisation’s Net-Zero Framework.
The meeting did not abandon the framework. However, it also failed to resolve the concerns that have prevented its final adoption, leaving some of the most commercially important details for another negotiating round in November.
According to the IMO, discussions focused on proposals submitted to MEPC 84 and 85, previous working-group sessions and ISWG-GHG 22 itself, all aimed at addressing concerns surrounding the proposed amendments to MARPOL Annex VI.
The bank noted that cyber fraud, email scams and other online schemes can have consequences that extend far beyond a single incident, with the impact often felt both financially and emotionally, affecting individuals long after the attack occurred.
Financially, victims may face direct monetary losses, unauthorised transactions, or the costs associated with restoring compromised accounts and information. In some cases, recovering from the damage can require significant time and effort.
At the same time, the Bank of Cyprus stressed that equally important is the emotional toll.
Discovering that personal information, savings or sensitive data have been targeted can leave people feeling vulnerable, frustrated and unsettled, while a cyberattack may create stress, anxiety and a sense that personal privacy has been violated.
That was one of several issues readers had been raising with us. Some wanted to understand what fintech could mean for Cyprus and how the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) fits into the picture, while others were concerned about scams, licences and misconceptions surrounding crypto. Younger readers, meanwhile, wanted practical advice on what to study and the skills needed to enter the industry. Their questions formed the starting point for my conversation with Vassiliades.
Speaking exclusively to the Cyprus Mail, Vassiliades, explained that Kraken is one of the oldest and largest digital asset platforms in the world, founded in 2011. Kraken’s CySEC-regulated Cypriot Investment Firm is at the centre of its European derivatives business, while spot crypto trading in the EU sits under its MiCA hub authorised by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Cyprus, he added, covers MiFID II regulated products, primarily derivatives, including futures, tokenised stocks (xStocks) and most recently traditional stocks. Through its MiCA and MiFID hubs, Kraken can passport services across the 30 EEA countries.
Morningstar DBRS affirmed Cyprus’ long-term credit rating at ‘A’ and revised its outlook from stable to positive, while also affirming the Republic’s short-term ratings at R-1 (low) and moving their outlook to positive.
Charalambous said the decision reflected Cyprus’ favourable macroeconomic conditions, particularly its strong fiscal position.
“It was an expected development, which reflects Cyprus’ positive macroeconomic data and, in particular, its good fiscal position,” Charalambous said in comments to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).
He said the Fiscal Council’s own assessment, due to be published in mid-September, would highlight the opportunity created by the country’s fiscal position to tackle long-standing structural problems.
The company will release its results after the close of the Euronext Athens trading session, with its financial statements to be made available on its website.
Aegean will then hold an analysts’ conference call on September 15 at 3pm Athens time, or 1pm GMT.
The results will follow a first quarter in which consolidated turnover rose 5 per cent year-on-year to €320.7 million, compared with €306 million in the first quarter of 2025.
Passenger traffic increased 4 per cent to 3.23 million, broadly in line with the increase in seats offered, while the load factor edged up to 80.8 per cent from 80.3 per cent.
A total of 1,241 sale contracts were lodged with land registry offices during August, up 10 per cent from 1,128 a year earlier, according to the latest department of lands and surveys figures.
Although activity was considerably lower than July, when contracts crossed the 2,000 mark for the first time this year, August is traditionally a quieter month for property transactions.
Consequently, contracts filed between January and August reached 13,288, compared with 11,689 during the same period of 2025, representing growth of 14 per cent and an additional 1,599 contracts.
All the company’s offices and other leased facilities in the city were closed during the past month, including premises in at least two locations, according to information published on Tuesday by Politis.
The BrainRocket signs have also been removed from the buildings, while employees who were still working in Cyprus were instructed to work remotely until further notice.
At the same time, most were offered relocation packages to move to Spain or other countries where the company maintains offices.
The assessment is being carried out for the Paphos regional tourism board (Etap) by the European University Cyprus, with support from the American University of Beirut, and is expected to be completed by mid-2027.
Etap executive director Nasos Hadjigeorgiou told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that a scientific team has already been formed, while work has begun on establishing a mechanism to record both public and private infrastructure.
Once completed, the study will provide a comprehensive picture of the current situation, identify gaps and help determine the individual measures required across the district.
Tourist arrivals in July were just 1.1 per cent below July 2025, improving from a 1.7 per cent decline in June and marking a substantial recovery from falls of 30.7 per cent in March and 27.6 per cent in April.
The improvement followed a difficult start to 2026, when renewed instability in the Middle East and turbulence in air transport sharply affected travel sentiment and visitor flows.
Despite the recovery, arrivals during January to July remained 8 per cent below the corresponding period of 2025, representing about 193,000 fewer visitors.
The requirements apply to a broad range of financial entities regulated in Cyprus, including investment firms, crypto-asset service providers, and certain issuers of asset-referenced tokens.
It also applies to central securities depositories, central counterparties, trading venues, alternative investment fund managers, management companies and crowdfunding service providers.
The new requirements follow the adoption of joint guidelines by Europe’s three financial supervisory authorities on how firms should calculate the combined annual financial impact of major ICT-related incidents.
The airline said on Tuesday that flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai from October 25, alongside services to Jeddah and Amman, would progressively return to its network.
The Larnaca-Abu Dhabi service will operate three times a week, with fares starting from €24.99, making it the lowest advertised fare among the 12 routes being restored.
Wizz Air said the returning services would provide 470,000 seats over the winter season, covering 12 routes and 49 weekly flights between European cities and Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the chamber said the reported scaling back or possible termination of BrainRocket’s Cyprus operations should be approached carefully, while warning that an outcome of this scale should prompt wider discussion about the conditions facing businesses on the island.
“Without official and comprehensive information from the company itself, it would not be right to draw conclusions about the reasons behind its business decisions,” Keve said.
Kyriakou explained that the main gap was often not experience but whether candidates could connect what they knew to how a dealing desk actually operated.
In an piece of analysis released this week, the academy examined why candidates with established brokerage backgrounds can falter during dealing interviews, an issue of particular relevance to Cyprus given the country’s sizeable FX and contracts-for-difference (CFD) brokerage sector and workforce.
It pointed out that candidates can arrive at interviews with experience at recognised brokers, several years of desk exposure and relevant qualifications, but can struggle when questions move beyond basic terminology and into practical situations.
CyDSIC operates under the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) and was originally established within the Cyprus Research and Innovation Enterprises Association.
In an announcement on Wednesday, the assembly was described as a significant milestone in the development of Cyprus’ defence and space business ecosystem, with the cluster having expanded its activities since its establishment.
CyDSIC said its work had contributed to strengthening Cyprus’ international presence in the strategic sectors of defence, security and space, while also increasing the participation of Cypriot businesses in major European programmes and initiatives.
The upcoming meeting follows the beverage company’s announcement on August 25, 2026, confirming that it had successfully completed the payment of its interim dividend to beneficiary shareholders after overcoming earlier software disruption.
Management had previously disclosed on August 7, 2026, that technical issues with calculation software threatened to delay the distribution timeline.
Shareholders had approved the total €1.69 million dividend during the annual general meeting on July 8, 2026, allocating four cents per fully paid share funded from 2024 profits held within the revenue reserve.
The agreement came at the ninth maritime meeting between Cyprus, Greece and Malta, held for the first time in an expanded 3+1 format with Italy, bringing together four Mediterranean countries with some of the EU’s strongest shipping interests.
Cyprus Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis hosted Greece’s Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Minister Vassilis Kikilias and Malta’s Minister for Sustainable Mobility Chris Bonett at the Parklane Hotel in Limassol.
Italy’s Deputy Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Edoardo Rixi participated online, while Italy was represented at the meeting in Limassol by Ambassador Antonella Cavallari.
The anniversary event, held under the theme “CELEBRATE 2.0 – Two Decades of STEAM-Powered Inspiration”, will invite children and adults to explore science, research and innovation through activities combining science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics.
The event will take place at the Cyprus State Fair grounds in Nicosia and is expected to offer a family-focused experience centred on the STEAM approach.
The European Researchers’ Night has been organised in Cyprus by the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) since 2006, in collaboration with the main organisations forming the country’s research and innovation ecosystem.
The dry-bulk shipping company announced the proposed placement on Wednesday, just over three months after its shares began trading on Euronext Athens, alongside their existing New York Stock Exchange listing.
Chief executive and largest shareholder Polys Hajioannou has committed to subscribe for 2m shares at the eventual offer price, although his allocation may be reduced to allow shares to be placed with other investors.
According to a company announcement, the final number of shares and the price will be decided by the board in cooperation with the placement managers following an accelerated bookbuilding process.
A total of €100,000 is available under this year’s programme, with individual projects or actions eligible to receive grants of up to €20,000.
According to the chamber, proposals must fall within Etek’s areas of activity and responsibility, reach beyond its membership and have a positive impact on professionals and the public.
They must also lead to a practical outcome or usable deliverable capable of creating broader added value, rather than remaining solely at the level of research or discussion.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said the schemes formed part of a broader housing policy designed to increase the available housing stock and give people more opportunities to secure a home.
“Our housing policy is a continuous and multi-level effort, with a clear goal, to expand housing options and create more opportunities for citizens to acquire a home,” Ioannou said.
The first scheme will allow owners of existing homes, subject to specific conditions, to construct an additional floor for children or grandchildren, even where the existing building has exhausted its permitted building density.
Addressing the EY Cyprus Future Realised Forum in Nicosia, Christodoulides said the increase in investment activity was strengthening confidence in Cyprus’ long-term prospects, while international companies were showing growing interest in a range of higher value-added sectors.
“Over recent years, we have seen increasing interest from international companies across a wide range of sectors, such as information and communications technologies (ICT), fintech, innovation, business services and other knowledge-intensive activities,” he said.
Speaking to Entrepreneurial Limassol, a periodical published by the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Evel), Tsolaki said the proposal should nevertheless be assessed carefully, with its financial and environmental sustainability forming a key part of any eventual decision.
“The introduction of a tram in Limassol appears to be a very promising proposal,” Tsolaki said, while stressing that it should be carefully studied “with sustainability in relation to cost as the main criterion”.
The potential for a tram is also being examined by Professor Loukas Demetriou, head of the interdisciplinary team of experts from Cyprus and abroad working on plans for Limassol’s future.
The event, which will take place at 10am at the DP World Terminal in Limassol, will bring together representatives of the Italian and Cypriot governments and businesses from the shipping and wider business sectors, under the auspices of the Deputy Ministry of Shipping.
Speaking to Entrepreneurial Limassol, Evel’s own periodical, chamber president Andreas Tsouloftas said that preparations were already under way for what he described as a major business event, with shipping expected to be a central focus alongside broader business issues.
The forum will be followed by a networking lunch and B2G and B2B meetings, giving government and business representatives from the two countries an opportunity to establish direct contacts and explore potential areas of co-operation.
The EY Attractiveness Survey found that 83 per cent of investors consider Cyprus an attractive destination for foreign direct investment, while 62 per cent plan to expand their operations on the island over the next year.
The findings were presented this week at EY’s Cyprus Future Realised forum, where attention turned not only to what Cyprus is getting right, but also to the familiar problems it has yet to solve.
They came on the same day President Nikos Christodoulides announced that substantive foreign investment in Cyprus rose by around 10 per cent in 2025.
Presenting the survey, EY Cyprus representative Andreas Anastasiou said the tax system remained Cyprus’ strongest card, receiving a positive assessment from 90 per cent of respondents.
The company completed the accelerated bookbuilding process on Wednesday, placing 12m new common shares with selected investors at €6.70 each. The figure represents gross proceeds, with the net amount to be available after transaction costs.
The deal follows the fundraising plan announced earlier on Wednesday, when Safe Bulkers said it intended to use the proceeds to strengthen liquidity, finance its existing newbuilding programme and potentially support further newbuild orders or second-hand vessel purchases.
Chief executive and largest shareholder Polys Hajioannou also took part in the placement, although his final allocation was smaller than initially planned.
Hajioannou had subscribed for 2 million shares but was ultimately allocated 1.5m, after his order was scaled back to make room for other investors. At the €6.70 offer price, his participation represents an investment of €10.05m.
The two airports handled 8.82 million passengers between January and August 2026, compared with 9.13 million in the corresponding period of 2025 and 8.18 million in 2024.
The figures provide a mixed picture for Cyprus’ aviation and tourism sectors as the island continues to absorb the effects of the Iran war and wider instability in the Middle East.
They show that passenger traffic has not fallen back to 2024 levels, despite the disruption experienced during the spring, while the gap with the record-breaking 2025 season has narrowed considerably during the summer.
Speaking during an interview with the News of Bahrain’s Ashen Tharaka, Stavrou said that the recent visit to Manama had built on January’s high-level contacts and aimed to turn renewed political momentum into practical business cooperation.
“This meeting was a follow-up to the one our president had in January, when we accompanied him with a delegation from the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” Stavrou stated.
The Keve president mentioned that he had held a “very open and productive discussion” with the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry on how to take relations between businesses and entrepreneurs in Bahrain and Cyprus “to the next level”.
The Cabinet approved Karatzias’ appointment for a five-year term, alongside the appointment of Loukas Lagoudis as CySEC vice-chairman and Andrea Moundi Savvides as a board member.
Panikkos Vakkou was also appointed as an executive director on the CBC board, completing a reshuffle that will see the two financial institutions exchange senior officials.
The CBC congratulated Karatzias on his appointment as chairman of CySEC and thanked him for his contribution during his time at the central bank.
“At the same time, the CBC welcomes Panikkos Vakkou, who is assuming duties as an executive director at the CBC,” the central bank said in a statement on Thursday.
Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis announced the measures following the cabinet meeting, explaining that they aim to develop specialist tourism, enrich the services available to visitors and increase tourism flows towards less popular areas.
The largest targeted investment is a €1.5 million grant scheme for hotels, tourist accommodation and leisure centres operating in Kato Pyrgos Tyllirias.
Under the programme, which will run from 2026 to 2028, businesses will be able to receive funding covering 85 per cent of eligible expenditure on improvement projects.
The report, which examined labour productivity and labour compensation across ten major sectors between 1996 and 2025, found that labour productivity increased by an average 1.44 per cent a year across the economy.
However, the overall figure concealed substantial differences between sectors, with several traditional industries recording long-term declines in productivity.
Information and communication was the strongest performer, with average annual labour productivity growth of 5.27 per cent, followed by financial and insurance activities at 2.33 per cent and wholesale and retail trade at 1.61 per cent.
Speaking at the first Cyprus IT Directors Forum, held as part of the third Cyprus Tech Summit, Damianos said the funding was being directed towards entrepreneurship, industrial development, energy upgrading, the circular economy and the digital upgrading and transformation of businesses.
“Through the policies and grant schemes of the ministry, businesses are supported in modernising their infrastructure and processes and strengthening their productivity and outward orientation,” Damianos said.
The Stelios Awards for Young Entrepreneurs in Cyprus return for another year, offering three prizes aimed at helping promising businesses grow, create jobs and take their next step.
This year, the winner will receive €100,000, while the second-placed entrepreneur will take home €60,000 and the third €40,000.
Applications opened on September 1 and will remain open for two months, closing on October 31.
The three winners will then be recognised at an awards ceremony on November 10 at the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation’s headquarters in Nicosia.
After four days of negotiations in London last week failed to close several of the remaining gaps, governments now have less than three months before another intense round of talks that could determine the shape of global shipping regulation for decades.
The next round, ISWG-GHG 23, will take place from November 23 to 27, immediately followed by the Marine Environment Protection Committee’s MEPC 85 session from November 30 to December 3.
Then, subject to confirmation by MEPC 85, the extraordinary session suspended in October 2025 is scheduled to reconvene on December 4, when governments could again attempt formally to adopt the framework.
In a written statement following Thursday’s meeting of the ECB Governing Council, Patsalides said the latest data had confirmed earlier concerns over the inflationary impact of a prolonged conflict.
As he explained, the ECB’s initial scenario analysis at the start of the Middle East conflict had shown that a prolonged confrontation would intensify price pressures and push inflation forecasts higher.
“Six months after the start of the conflict, this assessment is now being confirmed by the latest data,” he said.
Patsalides said the inflation outlook continued to be shaped largely by the energy shock, while stronger economic growth forecasts were also adding to price pressures.
Organised by the Girls in STEAM Academy, BridgeSTEAM combines hands-on programming and digital skills, career guidance and contact with women already working in STEAM professions, giving teenage girls a practical introduction to possible studies and careers in the field.
Applications for the Limassol programme are open until September 30, while no previous knowledge of programming is required.
The programme is aimed both at girls who already have an interest in technology and science and at those who simply want the opportunity to explore the subjects and find out what studying or working in STEAM could involve.
The BoC Fintech Hackathon 7.0, the bank’s seventh innovation marathon for application development, will take place in person at the IDEA Innovation Centre, with participants competing for a combined €16,000 in cash prizes.
The aim is not simply to pitch ideas. Teams will be expected to develop their concepts as far as a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), creating an initial working version that could later be developed into a fully operational application.
Participation is open to developers, startups, professionals, students and anyone interested in contributing to applications designed to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship and the development of services that can make everyday transactions and other services easier.
A major part of the event will be BoCs’ upgraded open banking infrastructure.
The business-to-business meetings will take place at the offices of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev) on October 13, 15 and 16, with companies interested in taking part asked to register by September 25.
According to Oev, the meetings form part of a business delegation to Cyprus organised by the German-Hellenic Chamber of Industry and Commerce and will give local companies direct access to German businesses operating across a range of energy-related sectors.
The aim is to allow companies to discuss their business needs and proposals directly, exchange technical expertise and explore possible partnerships and joint projects.
Christodoulou took part this week in The EU’s Equality Advantage: How equality powers competitiveness, innovation and social cohesion, organised by the Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU and Ireland’s Department of Children, Disability and Equality.
The conference looked at a question that is becoming harder for Europe to ignore, whether better equality policies can also help improve productivity, labour participation and economic performance.
Christodoulou spoke on a panel on the care economy and competitiveness, where much of the discussion focused on who carries the burden of care, and what that means for the labour market.
That covers both paid and unpaid care, from childcare and support for older people to services for people with disabilities, health care and social care.
The economists, speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Friday, also said the ECB’s expectation that inflation will return to its 2 per cent target by the end of 2027 pointed to a prolonged period of price pressures.
University of Cyprus economist Sofronis Clerides said the ECB’s latest rate increase had been expected given the inflationary trends seen in recent months.
“If the war situation continues to worsen, there is likely to be greater pressure on oil prices and consequently greater inflationary pressures and further interest rate increases in the coming months,” Clerides said.
The initiative, called Banking Forward, is described by Eurobank as a strategy focused on technology, data and artificial intelligence, with the aim of combining digital banking with human contact.
According to the bank, the programme is intended to create a so-called “phygital” model, combining the speed of digital channels with face-to-face interaction while redesigning customer journeys for individuals and businesses.
“The Banking Forward programme is the largest technology investment programme in the history of the Group,” Eurobank said.
Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Keve secretary general Philokypros Roussounides said closer and more frequent contact with the state could help tackle problems affecting foreign investment before they become more serious.
It could also, he argued, put Cyprus in a better position to benefit when geopolitical uncertainty pushes companies to look for a new base.
His comments followed reports that a company had decided to leave Cyprus, although Roussounides was careful not to present the case as evidence of a wider trend.
He stressed that Keve did not want a single departure to be seen as the beginning of an exodus or to create unnecessary concern over the position of other companies based on the island.
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