Cyprus Business Now
The general director of the Cyprus Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe) Philokypros Roussounides, and Chrisemily Psilogeni, director of the Association of Cyprus Tourist Enterprises (Stek), both stressed that tourist arrivals and hotel bookings are not equally proportional.
The tabloid’s alarmist headline claimed the industry was in “crisis” and facing potential losses of £30 million.
However, Roussounides clarified to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the article relied on now outdated data.
“Both the headline is a bit far-fetched and the publication is also a bit out of time,” he stated, noting that additional flights have been added since the data was collected.
Disy MP Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis, speaking to state broadcaster CyBC, charged that the recently secured cost-benefit analysis received by the energy ministry from project promoter Admie was lacking in solid evidence.
Two weeks ago, the energy minister took formal delivery of the cost-benefit analysis for the mooted electricity subsea cable linking Crete to Cyprus to Israel, which is meant to make electricity cheaper for consumers.
He said inordinate pressure was being exerted on the energy regulating authority (Cera) to accept a proposal by the Greek power transmission operator (Admie).
As it stands, Hadjiyiannis said, the entire process suffers from an absence of transparency with closed door meetings taking place between Admie, Cera, the energy minister, EU counsellors and subcontractors, leaving MPs uninformed.
Accepting the project without caution risks the nightmare of Cyprus having to take on the whole burden of the project’s geopolitical risk, the MP added, something the investor naturally favours by default.
Trapped buyers are those who, despite strictly adhering to the terms of their agreement and paying the full purchase price of a property, have not been able to obtain full ownership, meaning a title deed.
Essentially, these buyers, while having settled all amounts owed to the land developer, remain without a title deed and are, therefore, unprotected.
In addition, any inability of the respective developer to settle their loan obligations could even lead to the foreclosure of the buyers’ property.
In its statement, Syprodat stressed that the matter of trapped buyers “is extremely serious and must be treated with the appropriate attention by both the government and the political parties”.
Specifically, the Bank of Cyprus was awarded the Platinum Award in the Long-term Investment category for the establishment of the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre 26 years ago.
Moreover, the bank highlighted that it has financially supported the centre from its inception, contributing a total of €70 million to date.
In addition, in 2023, the bank announced a doubling of its annual donation to €2 million, aiming to enhance and expand the services offered by the oncology centre.
What is more, the bank received the Gold Award for its SupportCY network in the Investment Cooperation – Local Community-State category.
Non-performing loans (NPLs) in the Cypriot banking sector remained virtually unchanged in May, totalling €1.77 billion compared to €1.80 billion the previous month, according to a report released this week by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).
In addition, the CBC report showed that the NPL ratio against total loans held steady at 7.4 per cent.
Moreover, when compared to the end of December 2023, NPLs in Cyprus have decreased by just €81 million.
According to the CBC report, the total amount of loans overdue by more than 90 days remained stable at €1.39 billion, which represents 5.8 per cent of the total loan portfolio.
The coverage ratio for NPLs rose slightly to 54.4 per cent from 54.2 per cent the previous month. Provisions for NPLs total €786 million.
Additionally, the total amount of restructured loans decreased in May to €1.42 billion from €1.44 billion in the previous month.
According to the announcement, “this collaboration introduces the elegant and sophisticated Comitti yachts to the Cyprus market, renowned for their masterful blend of classic beauty and modern aesthetics”.
The announcement added that Comitti Yachts are “celebrated for their Italian artistry”, and “construct each vessel using the finest materials and time-honoured methods, making them a coveted choice globally”.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Wednesday, July 24 with profits.
The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 164.77 points at 12:17 during the day, reflecting an increase of 0.23 per cent over the previous day of trading.
The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 100.32 points, representing a rise of 0.25 per cent.
The total value of transactions came up to €509,823, until the aforementioned time during trading.
In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and investment firm indexes rose by 0.4 per cent, 0.18 per cent and 3.26 per cent respectively. The hotel index remained unchanged.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by Hellenic Bank (-0.38 per cent), Demetra Holdings (+3.33 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (-0.72 per cent), Logicom (-1.29 per cent), and Louis (+0.89 per cent).