Cyprus Business Now
June saw a muted start for the hotel industry in the Paphos district but has shown some improvement as the month progressed, according to the president of the Paphos Hoteliers Association (Pasyxe) Evripides Loizides.
In statements made to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Loizides mentioned that June is expected to end with slightly lower occupancy rates compared to last year, estimated to range between 65 per cent and 85 per cent.
Reviewing the situation in Paphos since the beginning of the year, the regional Pasyxe president noted that January was a challenging month, slightly worse than the previous year.
However, he remarked that from February 10 to the end of March, Paphos experienced its best tourist performance ever, despite the relatively small number of tourists.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), Cyprus submitted to the commission a request for a targeted review of its recovery and resilience plan. The proposed modifications are linked to objective circumstances which impact the feasibility of implementing the measure concerned,” the commission says in a press release.
“The Cypriot recovery and resilience plan amounts to €1.2 billion, including €1 billion in grants and €200 million in loans.”
The plan includes 282 milestones and objectives, 61 reforms and 75 investments.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said the main expenditure was €103m for the purchase of medicine, €60m for increased state contributions and €58m for desalinated water to cover the shortage in water supply and irrigation caused by drought.
Another €31.5m was going to defence, €23m to the University of Cyprus and Tepak, €13.5m to counteract higher prices, €11.1m to hire temporary teachers for September and €1.1m to employ assistant aides for children with special needs.
The announcement noted that this marks the second consecutive year the bank has received this accolade.
The award was presented by Global Private Banker, a publisher and market insights provider to the global wealth industry, during a ceremony in London on June 5, alongside other global financial and investment institutions.
The jury, the announcement explained, highlighted AstroBank’s innovative solutions for high-net-worth individuals offered by its private banking division.
“This way, AstroBank grew its total assets while enjoying continued revenue growth,” the jury members said, explaining the rationale behind their decision.
“By making strategic investments to upgrade its digital capabilities, the bank offers its clients personalised wealth preservation services,” the jury added.
The challenges and trends of the primary sector, which concerns activities that typically provide raw materials for further processing, were discussed at the 7th Pan-Cyprian Dairy, Agriculture, and Livestock Conference, which was recently held at Ktima Kousioumi in Nicosia.
This year’s conference focused on the sector’s role as a key pillar of the Cypriot economy, its challenges, and the prospects for further development.
The event aimed to explore ways in which the agricultural sector can contribute more significantly to the sustainable development of Cyprus’ economy, attract investments, and adopt new methods and technologies.
Andreas Papadopoulos, head of the SME unit at Hellenic Bank, emphasised that the agriculture and livestock sectors can significantly contribute to the development of the Cypriot economy.
He noted that with smart technological tools and guidance from the Green Deal, new prospects and opportunities for domestic product production are emerging.
The Bank of Cyprus has been awarded the prestigious “Best Financial Institution Bond in Southeast Europe” by the business periodical EMEA Finance, for its highly successful issuance of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital securities worth €220 million in June 2023.
According to an announcement released this week, this accolade underscores the bank’s strong financial and operational performance over recent years.
Chris Moore, publisher and CEO of EMEA Finance, stated that the AT1 issuance by the bank was remarkable for several reasons.
Notably, the bank effectively reopened this market segment, as it was the first AT1 bond announced following the collapse of Credit Suisse.
The official inauguration of the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) new offices in Cyprus is set to take place this autumn, with EIB President Nadia Calvino scheduled to attend, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos announced on Wednesday following a Cabinet meeting.
Keravnos revealed that the decision was finalised after a recent meeting with President Calvino in Luxembourg, leading to an immediate agreement to establish the Bank’s presence on the island.
Moreover, he explained that to speed up the process, EIB officials will be temporarily accommodated in the Ministry of Finance until they can move into a permanent office.
“This decision is very important because the experts and the executives will be present here and will have a direct understanding of the needs of our economy and our society, but we will also use their expertise for various issues and projects that we are promoting as a government,” Keravnos explained.
Zing Coach, the Palta-backed health tech startup reducing growing rates of physical inactivity with its AI-powered fitness app, has today announced that it has raised a Series A funding round in equity and debt financing totalling $10 million led by Zubr Capital and Triple Point Capital.
The capital will enable Zing Coach to continue to develop revolutionary new features for its market-leading AI-powered fitness app, expand its workforce, and enter new markets.
In addition, the funding will enable Zing Coach to expand its growing team and strengthen its marketing efforts to reach new international markets.
Likewise, it will continue to improve its new AI Coach, which educates and motivates by analysing individual training behaviour, text, audio, and videos to develop optimal workouts and motivation strategies tailored to each user.
The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Wednesday, June 26 with losses.
The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 161.71 points at 13:20 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 1.09 per cent over the previous day of trading.
The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 98.37 points, representing a drop of 1.11 per cent.
The total value of transactions came up to €274,559, until the aforementioned time during trading.
In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative, and investment firm indexes fell by 1.42 per cent, 0.1 per cent and 0.85 per cent respectively. The hotel index remained unchanged.
The biggest investment interest was attracted by the Bank of Cyprus (-1.94 per cent), Logicom (-1.88 per cent), Demetra (-0.87 per cent), the Cyprus Cement Company (+3.03 per cent), and Hellenic Bank (-0.38 per cent).