Cyprus Business Now: consumer prices, pensions, construction, taxes, ESMA

Cyprus recorded annual inflation of 4.4 per cent in July 2026, placing it among the countries with the highest price increases in the European Union, according to figures released on Wednesday by both the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) and Eurostat. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose by 4.4 per cent compared with July 2025 and increased by 0.7 per cent between June and July, according to the statistical service. Eurostat data showed that Cyprus had the joint third-highest annual inflation rate in the EU, alongside Bulgaria, with only Romania at 8.2 per cent and Lithuania at 5.4 per cent recording higher rates. The figure was considerably above the 3.0 per cent EU average and the 2.9 per cent euro area average, meaning Cyprus continued to experience substantially stronger price pressures than the wider European economy. Cyprus has opened a public consultation on changes to its minimum tax rules for large multinational and domestic business groups, with the proposed amendments aimed at bringing national legislation fully into line with EU and international requirements. The consultation, which remains open for comments until September 5, 2026, concerns amendments to the law implementing the global minimum tax framework known as Pillar Two. The changes follow observations from the European Commission during its review of how Cyprus has incorporated the relevant EU rules into national law. The legislation implements the EU directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprises and large domestic groups, as amended by a further EU directive adopted on December 14, 2023. At its simplest, the Pillar Two system requires large multinational and domestic groups with annual revenue of more than €750 million to face a minimum effective tax rate of 15 per cent. Cyprus Airways will expand its year-round network from Larnaca with new direct services to Rome and Munich from December, while also increasing its weekly flights to Heraklion from late October, the airline announced on Wednesday. The new Larnaca-Rome route is scheduled to begin on December 11, 2026, with two flights a week during the winter, operating every Monday and Friday on a year-round basis. The new service will further strengthen Cyprus Airways’ presence in Italy, where the airline already operates a year-round route between Cyprus and Milan, as well as a seasonal summer connection to Venice. The new direct Larnaca-Munich service will begin on December 17, 2026, with two weekly winter flights operating every Thursday and Sunday throughout the year. Cyprus Airways said Munich would add another European destination and connectivity hub to its network, giving passengers another option for travelling between Cyprus and mainland Europe. The government’s plans to reform the pension system were on Wednesday presented to trade unions and other stakeholders, with President Nikos Christodoulides hailing the plans as “the largest and most substantial reform to the pension system carried out since 1980”. He said that the government “aims for more justice, adequacy, and security for every generation” in enacting the reform, and that the reform itself will be “based on two non-negotiable principles: more dignified pensions today, and a sustainable social insurance fund for tomorrow”. Additionally, he said, the reform will “give the greatest support to our low-income pensioners” and “strengthen households’ disposable income”. “Our message to every pensioner, to every worker, to every young person is clear: this reform is being done for you,” he said. Cyprus’ construction material prices rose further in July, driven by sharp annual increases in electrical fixtures, plastics and aluminium products, according to figures released by the statistical service (Cystat). The price index of construction materials reached 123.00 units, with 2021 acting as the base year set at 100. This represented a 0.23 per cent monthly increase and a 3.33 per cent rise compared with July 2025. Across the first seven months of the year, construction material prices were 1.87 per cent higher than during the corresponding period of 2025. Metallic products recorded the largest annual increase among the five main categories, rising by 4.94 per cent. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has informed Cyprus fund managers that European regulators are launching an EU-wide review of how investment firms manage risk, with local checks expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027. In a circular, CySEC told Cyprus investment fund managers that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has launched its 2026 Common Supervisory Action, or CSA, together with national regulators across the European Union. The review will examine the risk management functions of UCITS management companies and alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs), with CySEC taking part in the EU-wide exercise. The regulator said the initiative was particularly relevant to Cyprus investment fund managers because it would assess whether their existing arrangements for identifying and dealing with risks are appropriate for the scale and nature of their businesses. ESMA considers risk management a central part of protecting investors and maintaining financial stability. Eurobank repurchased a total of 1,245,703 of its own shares on the Euronext Athens stock exchange between August 10, 2026 and August 14, 2026, as part of its ongoing share buyback programme. According to an announcement from the company, the total expenditure for the week-long transactions amounted to €5,598,354.27, with the bank paying an average purchase price of €4.4941 per share. The share repurchases were conducted through the exchange member Eurobank Equities Single Member Investment Firm S.A. The implementation of the programme follows an earlier announcement made by the lender on June 10, 2026, confirming the formal launch of the buyback scheme. Every single one of the Republic of Cyprus’ 123,000 pensioners will receive an increase in the amount paid to them as a result of the government’s planned pension reforms, Labour Minister Marinos Mousiouttas said on Wednesday as he outlined the current state of plans to stakeholders. “Of the 123,000 old-age pensioners around today, all are positively affected,” he said, before adding that around 50,000 pensioners will receive an increase in excess of €100 per month, while future pensioners who earned low salaries during their working life may receive increases of up to 60 per cent compared to the current system. He said that the reform will “mean immediate income support for thousands of families at a time when the cost of living is putting more pressure on the elderly and houses with lower incomes”. “The most important social choice of the reform is to give the greatest support to [those on] the lowest pensions,” he added. Businesses and organisations from Cyprus and Croatia will come together in Limassol on September 25, 2026, for a business and innovation forum aimed at strengthening cross-border cooperation and creating new opportunities in the blue economy. The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) announced that it will organise the ‘Blue Bridges Cyprus-Croatia Business and Innovation Forum and B2B Meetings’ in collaboration with the Cyprus Marine and Maritime Institute (CMMI) and the Croatian Chamber of Economy. The event will take place from 9am to 4pm at the Limassol Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Evel), bringing together companies, researchers, organisations and other stakeholders involved in maritime and marine-related industries. The forum is being held as part of the SeaTecHub project, which is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and aims to strengthen innovation ecosystems and promote closer cooperation between Cyprus and Croatia in the blue economy sector. Cyprus imported approximately 3.40 million kilogrammes of ice cream and other edible ice in 2025, with the overwhelming majority coming from other European Union countries, according to a report from Eurostat. Of the total, 3.31 million kg came from other EU member states, while 89,978 kg was imported from countries outside the EU. Cyprus also exported ice cream during the year, although the volume was far smaller than its imports. Specifically, the island exported 28,983 kg of ice cream and other edible ice in 2025, the figures showed. Of this, 6,157 kg was exported to other EU countries, while 22,826 kg went to destinations outside the EU. The figures cover ice cream and other edible ice, whether or not containing cocoa, the report clarified. Cyprus’s figures form part of a wider increase in ice cream production and international trade across the EU during 2025. Allwyn AG announced on this week that it acquired 549,942 of its own shares on the Euronext Athens exchange between August 10, 2026 and August 14, 2026 for a total consideration of €7,454,599.80. The transactions were executed as part of the company’s share buyback programme originally announced on June 4, 2026. During the five-day trading window, the company maintained a steady pace of repurchases across the Athens market. On August 10, 2026, the group bought 115,693 shares for a total amount of €1,565,060.20, representing an average price of €13.5277 per share. The following day, on August 11, 2026, a further 113,649 shares were acquired for €1,544,524.00, at an average price of €13.5903. GlobalWealth Group PLC announced on this week that its shares are now available for trading through the Wealthyhood investment platform, opening access to the Cyprus Stock Exchange-listed company to eligible investors using the platform in Cyprus, Greece, and other European markets. The company said its shares, traded under $WEALTH, and the CSE ticker WEALTH, can now be submitted for execution through Wealthyhood, including limit orders. The move means registered users of the platform can place orders for GlobalWealth shares through Wealthyhood’s investment services.