Cyprus Business Now: banks, property, Ayia Napa, taxes, event tickets, CyFLEC

Cyprus’ Nissi Beach has been ranked the second best beach in Europe for 2026, offering another boost to the island’s tourism appeal as officials say the sector has returned to a stable recovery path despite recent regional challenges. The ranking, compiled by UK travel insurance specialists Quotezone, placed Nissi Beach second only to Mogren Beach in Montenegro, with Cyprus outperforming many of Europe’s better-known holiday destinations. The recognition comes less than a week after Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis said Cyprus tourism is now on a stable recovery path, following the publication of the latest tourism revenue figures by the Statistical Service. Quotezone’s 2026 European Beach Index assessed ten beaches across popular holiday destinations using criteria including sea and air temperatures, five-star visitor reviews, accommodation costs, drink prices and proximity to the nearest airport. Montenegro’s Mogren Beach topped the rankings, benefiting from its Adriatic coastline, warm summer weather and comparatively low holiday costs. The Bank of Cyprus (BoC) on Tuesday reported profit after tax of €252 million for the first six months of 2026, a 7 per cent increase year-on-year. It also announced a 20 per cent higher interim dividend, with the lender pointing to strong lending growth, resilient asset quality and a robust capital position. Specifically, the bank said it will pay an interim dividend of €0.24 per ordinary share, equivalent to approximately €105m, reflecting a 44 per cent payout ratio on first-half earnings and marking a significant increase from the previous year. “We delivered excellent financial results in the first half of 2026, reflecting our diversified and efficient business model and continued strong performance,” group chief executive Panicos Nicolaou said. Cyprus’ property market remained firmly on an upward path in July, with sale contracts passing 2,000 in a single month and activity exceeding last year’s levels in every month of 2026 so far. A total of 2,040 sale contracts were lodged with Land Registry offices during July, up 11 per cent from 1,832 a year earlier, according to the latest official figures. July was the strongest month of the year, exceeding the 1,964 contracts recorded in June. It was also the first month in 2026 in which the national total crossed the 2,000 mark. Consequently, contracts filed between January and July reached 12,047, compared with 10,561 during the same period of 2025, representing growth of 14 per cent and an additional 1,486 contracts. Cyprus’s appetite for low-cost online shopping has produced an unexpectedly large return for the state, with the new €3 customs duty generating almost €2 million in July alone. During the first month of the measure, Customs processed 650,000 chargeable items contained in 160,000 parcels, according to customs department spokesman George Constantinou, speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA). At €3 for each chargeable item category, the figures point to revenue of approximately €1.95m, equivalent to an average customs charge of just over €12 per parcel. The result is particularly striking when set against the department’s earlier estimate of roughly €15m in annual revenue. July alone produced about 13 per cent of that projection. If collections remained at the same level, they would exceed €23m over 12 months, although customs has cautioned that the first month cannot be treated as a reliable guide to longer-term shopping habits. UBS has raised its price target for Eurobank to €5.10 from €4.90, maintaining its ‘buy’ recommendation after the lender delivered stronger-than-expected second-quarter results and upgraded its outlook, with Cyprus continuing to play a significant role in the group’s profitability. The investment bank said the revised target implies upside potential of approximately 14.6 per cent, while an estimated dividend yield of 6.1 per cent brings the total prospective return to 20.7 per cent. The upgrade follows Eurobank’s first-half results announced last week, when the group reported net profit of €738 million, or €776 million on an adjusted basis, and raised its guidance for the full year after outperforming expectations. The group’s operations in Cyprus contributed €231 million in adjusted net profit during the first six months of the year, accounting for a substantial share of the €361 million generated by its international operations, which represented 46.5 per cent of overall group profitability. Borrowing costs for businesses across the euro area increased in June while mortgage rates remained broadly stable, according to new figures released by the European Central Bank (ECB), with the latest data reinforcing the contrast between the eurozone and Cyprus, where deposit rates continue to lag despite a recent uptick. The ECB said its composite cost-of-borrowing indicator for new corporate loans rose by 15 basis points to 3.79 per cent in June, while the equivalent indicator for new housing loans remained broadly unchanged at 3.51 per cent. At the same time, banks across the euro area raised returns on deposits, with the composite interest rate on new fixed-term corporate deposits increasing by 17 basis points to 2.21 per cent and the rate on new household fixed-term deposits climbing 13 basis points to 2.09 per cent. The European Central Bank (ECB) has reported that negotiated wage pressures across the euro area remain stable through 2026 and into early 2027, while separate data from Cyprus showed workers’ earnings continued to rise in the first quarter of the year, although the majority of employees still earned well below the national average. The ECB’s latest wage tracker, updated with collective bargaining agreements signed up to the first week of July 2026, showed negotiated wage pressures with smoothed one-off payments at 2.3 per cent for 2026, based on agreements covering 44.3 per cent of employees in participating countries, rising slightly to 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2027, when coverage currently stands at 28.4 per cent. The central bank also extended the tracker’s forward-looking horizon to March 2027, adding that the September 2026 update will extend coverage further into the second quarter of 2027 as additional wage agreements are concluded. The Deputy Ministry of Tourism recently launched a public consultation on Cyprus’ National Strategy for the Development of Diving Tourism, inviting stakeholders and the public to submit feedback before the strategy is finalised. The consultation covers the study, “Development of a Strategy aiming at the Product Development of Diving Tourism in Cyprus”, together with its accompanying implementation plan, both of which were prepared as part of efforts to strengthen and expand the island’s diving tourism sector. The consultation aims to gather opinions, suggestions and comments from industry professionals, organised groups, businesses and members of the public so they can be taken into account before the nationalsStrategy is finalised and the accompanying action plan is prepared. According to the deputy ministry, the study evaluates the current state of diving tourism in Cyprus, examines international trends and best practices, identifies the sector’s comparative advantages and challenges, and proposes a comprehensive framework of strategic directions and actions for the sustainable development of diving tourism. Cyprus Airways has signed a new agreement with Bird Aviation for the provision of heavy aircraft maintenance services, further strengthening the long-standing partnership between the two Cyprus-based aviation companies as both continue to expand their operations. The airline said the agreement will see Bird Aviation continue providing heavy technical support for the Cyprus Airways fleet through a range of scheduled maintenance services carried out at its facilities in Larnaca. These services include periodic inspections and other scheduled technical work, ensuring that aircraft remain available for operations while meeting the highest technical and safety requirements. Cyprus Airways said the renewed agreement reflects its continued investment in maintaining the highest technical standards, while ensuring the ongoing efficiency, reliability and availability of its fleet. The airline added that as it continues to expand its route network and upgrade passenger services, dependable technical support remains a central pillar of its operational strategy. Neapolis University Paphos will lead a three-year European research partnership with University College London (UCL), the University of Barcelona and Greece’s KMOP, after securing Horizon Europe funding in a Twinning call that attracted nearly 2,000 proposals. The project, GENDRIVE – Gender Equality as a Driver of Research Excellence and Careers in Research and Innovation Institutions, is intended to strengthen the Paphos university’s research and innovation capacity by treating gender equality as part of research quality and institutional reform, rather than simply an administrative obligation. According to Neapolis University, the institution will coordinate the international consortium under the Twinning action of Horizon Europe’s Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence programme, known as WIDERA. The competition was considerable. The 2026 Twinning call attracted 1,905 proposals before closing on April 9, while the EU work programme envisaged funding about 210 projects. The Cyprus Financial Literacy and Education Committee (CyFLEC) on Tuesday launched moneypedia.cy, introducing Cyprus’s new national digital financial literacy portal designed to empower citizens through reliable economic knowledge. The creation of the platform marks one of the flagship initiatives under the National Strategy for Financial Literacy and Financial Education in Cyprus, bringing together integrated, evidence-based, and accessible information under a single digital roof for the first time. According to the announcement, the new portal aims to serve as a trusted guide for individuals across all age groups and levels of financial expertise. In addition, it offers practical assistance to students, young people, families, employees, entrepreneurs, and pensioners alike. Designed to cover critical life decisions ranging from basic budgeting and saving to complex borrowing, investing, insurance, and retirement planning, the platform provides clear explanations of key financial concepts. Cyprus recorded a higher-than-average rate of online event ticket purchases in 2025, according to figures released by Eurostat on Tuesday, as digital buying continued to gain momentum across the European Union. The figures showed that 34.1 per cent of people in Cyprus had purchased tickets online for events during the three months preceding Eurostat’s annual survey on information and communication technology (ICT) usage in households and by individuals. This placed Cyprus well above the EU average of 26.8 per cent, highlighting the island’s relatively strong uptake of digital ticket purchasing. Across the European Union, 26.8 per cent of people bought tickets online for events during the three-month reference period in 2025. The National Bank of Greece’s first-half performance has exceeded initial expectations, prompting Beta Securities to upgrade its forecasts for 2026 following the group’s stronger-than-anticipated results and a more favourable interest rate environment. In its report, the findings of which were shared by business outlet Newmoney, the brokerage said the bank reported underlying net profit of €661 million, excluding extraordinary items, while delivering a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 15.5 per cent, surpassing the profitability target management had set at the beginning of the year. A key factor behind the revised outlook is Beta Securities’ updated assumptions for European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates. The brokerage has raised its forecast for the ECB’s deposit facility rate (DFR) to 2.25 per cent from 2 per cent, reflecting expectations that interest rates will remain higher than previously anticipated. Demetra Holdings Plc bought another 4,130 of its own shares this week, spending €6,091.75 as it continued the share buyback programme launched last month. The shares were acquired at €1.475 each through the Cyprus Investment and Securities Corporation Limited (CISCO), according to the company’s latest filing. The purchase marks a sharp increase from Friday’s transaction, when Demetra bought just 34 shares for €49.81. However, the volumes recorded throughout the programme have varied considerably from one trading session to another. Globalwealth Group PLC will see 3,621,164 ordinary shares admitted to trading on the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) on August 7, 2026, after the exchange announced the new listing on Tuesday. The shares, with a nominal value of €0.001 each, were issued and allotted through a private placement to interested investors. The exchange said the shares will also be entered at the same time into its central securities depository and registry, in line with the relevant Cyprus securities legislation. Minerva Insurance Company Public Ltd on Tuesday announced that its board approved the distribution of an interim dividend for the 2024 financial year, amounting to €0.0003 per share. The company said the shareholders entitled to the dividend will be those registered in the company’s shareholders’ register on October 12, 2026. Accordingly, the share will trade ex-dividend on October 9, 2026.