Cyprus Business Now: Paralimni, fuel prices, banks, CSE, Demetra

Paralimni’s central core is a step closer to a major overhaul after the municipality secured planning permission for a redevelopment designed to reshape the heart of the town and support local commercial activity. The Paralimni-Deryneia municipality said on Thursday that it had received the permit on Monday, August 10, clearing an important hurdle in its wider development programme. The work will include the replacement of the existing road surface, the construction and upgrading of pavements, new tree planting and green spaces, as well as service areas for shops and visitors. Parking spaces will also be created as part of the scheme, which is intended to make the centre easier to use for residents, businesses and tourists. The municipality said the goal was “to create a modern, functional and accessible urban environment” that would improve residents’ daily lives. The cost of filling a 1,000-litre heating oil tank in Cyprus has risen by almost €500 since March, prompting fresh questions over whether retail fuel prices are being properly monitored. The consumers association stated that it accepts that turmoil in the Middle East has pushed international energy costs higher. Its concern, it explained, is whether those pressures fully explain the increases passed on to Cypriot motorists and households. Association president Marios Drousiotis told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Thursday that the figures offered “strong indications that something is wrong with fuel prices in Cyprus”, calling on the authorities to provide evidence that the rises were justified. The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) on Thursday announced that it had extended the suspension of trading in the shares of the Reputation Exchange Plc on its Emerging Companies Market (ECM) for a further two months, until October 19, 2026. The CSE said the suspension would remain in place because the company does not have an appointed listing adviser and has not issued and published its annual financial report for the year ended December 31, 2025. The extension means trading in the company’s shares will remain suspended through October 19 unless the reasons for the suspension are resolved earlier. The CSE said the decision was taken under Article 185 of the Cyprus Securities and Stock Exchange Law, as the circumstances requiring the suspension continued to apply. The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has extended the deadline for companies seeking to mint, package and deliver Cyprus euro silver and gold collector coins, giving potential bidders until September 25, 2026 to submit their tenders. The extension moves the deadline from the previously announced September 4, 2026, to the date mentioned above. The procurement process, officially designated Tender No. 12/2026, concerns the minting, packaging and delivery of Cypriot euro silver and gold collector coins. The CBC had originally opened the tender to interested economic operators, with the contract to be awarded on the basis of the lowest price offered for the services. Cyprus is looking to make artificial intelligence a central part of its tourism strategy, with Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis and Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology Demetris Skourides discussing how the technology can improve services and strengthen the island’s competitiveness on Thursday. The meeting focused on linking tourism with AI as Cyprus seeks to accelerate the digital transformation of the country as a tourism destination, according to the Deputy Ministry of Tourism. Skourides’ team presented a strategy titled “Smart Tourism 2032: the Cyprus Artificial Intelligence Strategy”, as part of the ongoing public consultation on the country’s national AI strategy. The consultation is due to conclude on August 31, 2026, with the tourism strategy forming part of the wider effort to determine how AI should be developed and applied across the economy. Greek food services conglomerate Vivartia group is in discussions over a potential sale of its food-service arm Evergood to a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings, with the talks having already progressed to due diligence, according to sources cited by Greek business outlet Insider. According to the report, sources close to Vivartia confirmed to Insider that discussions are under way and that financial due diligence has been completed, but Fairfax has not yet submitted a financial offer. Goldman Sachs expects the National Bank of Greece to make an interim distribution of around €220 million in the third quarter, despite management neither confirming nor ruling out such a move. In its latest report, whose findings were shared by Greek business outlet Insider, the US investment bank stated that management had left open the possibility of some form of interim distribution following the bank’s second-quarter results, prompting Goldman to include an interim dividend of approximately €220m in its forecasts. The expected distribution would come as the National Bank of Greece continues to pursue a policy of increasing capital returns to shareholders, with Goldman forecasting a gradual rise in the payout over the coming years. Demetra Holdings Plc repurchased 3,660 of its own shares on August 12, 2026, as part of an ongoing share buyback scheme, according to an official corporate filing released on Thursday. The transactions were executed through the Cyprus Investment & Securities Corporation Ltd, known as CISCO, at a single purchase price of €1.465 per share. The market action was carried out under the relevant regulatory framework of the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) and applicable circulars from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). Cyprus recorded a 1.3 per cent drop in industrial output in June 2026, contrasting with stable production across the broader euro area, according to a report from Eurostat. The statistical office of the European Union reported that seasonally adjusted industrial output remained flat across the eurozone while edging up by 0.2 per cent across the wider EU block during the same monthly period. The month-on-month decline of 1.3 per cent in Cyprus follows a contraction of 0.6 per cent recorded in May 2026 and a flat reading of 0.0 per cent registered in April 2026. Cyprus banks’ non-performing loan ratio remained at 1.6 per cent at the end of May 2026, according to the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), leaving the sector’s asset quality significantly better than the EU-wide average recorded two months earlier. The CBC reported that its updated aggregate banking sector data showed the NPL ratio was unchanged from the end of April, while the proportion of bad loans covered by provisions edged higher. The latest Cyprus figure compares with an EU banking sector NPL ratio of 1.98 per cent at the end of March, according to consolidated banking data published by the European Central Bank (ECB). Mitsides Public Company Limited completed the payment of a €410,000 final dividend to eligible shareholders on August 13, 2026, according to an announcement released on Thursday. This follows an initial market announcement made on July 17, 2026, which outlined the decisions taken during the company’s annual general meeting. The distribution represents a final dividend payout of €0.05 per share drawn from the total net profits accumulated during the 2023 financial year. Payment was made directly to entitled investors whose names were registered on the official share roster as of the record date on July 31, 2026.