Cyprus Business Now: real estate, shipping, retail, US mission, startups, CSE

President Nikos Christodoulides on Monday urged closer cooperation between the government and the private sector to attract productive investment, accelerate major developments and address challenges including housing affordability, as he addressed the annual general meeting of the Association of Large Investment Projects in Nicosia. Christodoulides said major developments played a decisive role in attracting capital, bringing in expertise, creating business opportunities and strengthening Cyprus’ international competitiveness. “Large developments, through attracting capital, making use of expertise and mobilising a wide range of professional activities, contribute decisively to economic diversification, upgrading the country’s productive model and strengthening our international competitiveness,” he said. He described the attraction of quality and productive investment as a strategic government priority, adding that efforts were under way to safeguard economic stability, improve the business environment and promote reforms intended to strengthen investor confidence. “We are working to create the necessary framework so that attracting quality investment becomes an achievable goal,” Christodoulides said. Only 1.8 per cent of two- and three-bedroom apartments advertised for sale in Limassol are priced within the estimated €256,000 budget of a hypothetical average-income household, according to a new study by real estate analytics firm Ask Wire. The analysis, based on residential property listings across the government-controlled areas of Cyprus, highlights wide differences in housing affordability between districts, with Nicosia offering the greatest overall choice of apartments within the study’s assumed budget. The research compares asking prices advertised on online marketplace Bazaraki in early October with household purchasing power calculated using median salary data from the Cyprus Statistical Service. Ask Wire examined 25,550 active property listings after carrying out data validation checks, of which 17,532 were for two- or three-bedroom homes. The study identifies two main obstacles to homeownership, namely the ability to raise the initial deposit required for a mortgage and the capacity to meet monthly repayments. Cyprus’ shipping fleet has expanded by around 27 per cent since September 2023, with 119 new vessels joining the national register since the beginning of 2026, Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis said on Monday, as she presented the ministry’s 2027 budget to parliament. The budget was presented before the House finance committee, outlining the ministry’s strategic objectives and priorities for the coming year. The surplus budget reflects the government’s commitment to strengthening the country’s shipping sector, developing its maritime ecosystem and maintaining Cyprus’ competitiveness as an international shipping centre, the ministry said. “The steady upward course of the Cyprus Ship Registry over the past three years confirms that Cyprus remains a reliable and competitive shipping destination,” Hadjimanolis said. “Specifically, from September 2023 until today, the capacity of the fleet under the Cypriot flag has increased by approximately 27 per cent, reflecting the confidence of the international shipping community in our country,” she added. Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nicodemos Damianou on Monday travelled to the United States to promote Cyprus as a regional technology and innovation hub and strengthen links between local startups, international investors and the American business community. Damianou is attending the Plug and Play Silicon Valley Winter Summit, which runs from November 3 to 5, 2026, in California, following an invitation from the leadership of the international innovation network. The visit forms part of the government’s wider efforts to raise Cyprus’ international profile, expand the reach of its innovation ecosystem and encourage new business and investment partnerships with the US. He is accompanied by Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF) director-general Theodoros Loukaidis. During the summit, Damianou is scheduled to meet Plug and Play founder and chief executive Saeed Amidi to discuss expanding the organisation’s cooperation with Cyprus. Eurobank repurchased more than 1.55 million of its own shares on the Athens stock exchange during the final week of October, spending approximately €6.74 million as part of its ongoing share buyback programme, the bank announced on Monday. The bank said it bought 1,555,730 shares between October 26 and October 30, at an average price of €4.3345 per share. The purchases carried a total cost of €6.74 million, with the shares traded on Euronext Athens through Eurobank Equities Single Member Investment Firm. The largest daily purchase took place on October 26, when Eurobank acquired 592,995 shares for €2.52 million, at an average price of €4.2533. Financial institutions in Cyprus face growing risks from prolonged cyberattacks, after a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeting a bank lasted 200 hours in the third quarter of 2026, according to cybersecurity company Qrator Labs, highlighting the importance of keeping critical digital services operational during sustained disruptions. The attack lasted more than 8 days, making it significantly longer than any incident recorded by the company during 2025 and more than 2.5 times the duration of the longest attack observed in the previous quarter. Qrator Labs’ latest global report found that financial technology (fintech) remained the most targeted sector, accounting for 31.3 per cent of all recorded DDoS attacks during the third quarter. E-commerce followed with 19 per cent of attacks, while information and communication technology accounted for 18.2 per cent, meaning the 3 sectors together represented more than two-thirds of the incidents observed. The findings are particularly relevant to Cyprus, which has established itself as a hub for online trading, brokerage and financial services, with firms increasingly expected to demonstrate that their systems can withstand serious cyber incidents and recover effectively. The report comes amid growing regulatory attention to operational resilience and compliance with the European Union’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which sets requirements for financial firms to manage information and communication technology risks. Cyprus households held €62.57 billion in financial assets at the end of 2025, with more than half of their holdings kept in cash and bank deposits, while outstanding household loans approached €20 billion, according to figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Monday. The figures showed that household financial assets totalled €62.57bn at the end of December 2025, of which 53.8 per cent consisted of currency and deposits, indicating that bank savings and cash remained the largest component of household financial holdings. Equities accounted for a further 25 per cent of household financial assets, while debt securities represented 2.6 per cent and loans 0.8 per cent. Meanwhile, household loans reached €19.89bn at the end of December 2025, equivalent to a debt-to-gross domestic product ratio of 51.9 per cent. GAP Vassilopoulos Public Ltd on Monday reported a lower profit attributable to shareholders for the first half of 2026, despite an increase in revenue, as its earnings declined compared with the same period last year. The group’s profit attributable to shareholders stood at €1.26 million in the six months to June 30, 2026, down from €1.48 million in the first half of 2025. Revenue, however, increased by 6.03 per cent to €38.05m, compared with €35.89m a year earlier, according to the company’s interim consolidated financial statements. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell to €2.81m, from €2.99m in the corresponding period of 2025. The group also reported earnings of €2.16m after deducting depreciation on fixed assets and leases, which the company described as non-cash expenses. This compared with €2.31m in the first half of last year. Over €1 billion has been allocated by the government since 2023 to contain the rising cost of living through five different support packages targeting inflation due to the energy crisis and regional conflicts, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Monday. “The aim of our policy is to improve the daily lives of citizens by practicing a broad social policy that contains and enhances the available income of workers, vulnerable persons and households,” he said in a message on social media. He said that to meet the needs of the people and small businesses, it was necessary first of all to have “a resilient economy as a result of responsible administration”. “This is what we have done over the past years and this is what we are continuing to do. The fiscal surpluses and the reduction of public debt allow us to pay off loans and to return the benefits of growth to the society with specific interventions,” he said. The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) has suspended trading in bonds issued by iDNA Genomics Public Ltd for up to two months after the company failed to appoint a replacement trustee following the resignation of its previous representative. The suspension took effect on Monday, November 2, 2026, under Article 183 of the Cyprus Securities and Stock Exchange Law, the CSE announced. The decision follows the resignation of Crowdbase Ltd, which had been acting as trustee for the company’s bonds listed on the CSE’s corporate bond market. iDNA Genomics announced Crowdbase’s resignation on October 29, 2026, but had not appointed a replacement by the time of the stock exchange’s decision. Cyprus’ administrative court has annulled a €175,522 administrative fine imposed on K. Kythreotis Holdings Public Ltd subsidiary K. Kythreotis – Skyrodema Ltd by the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC), ruling that the original decision was inadequately justified and raising concerns over the disclosure of information. In an announcement on Monday, K. Kythreotis Holdings Public Ltd said the judgment was issued on September 30, 2026, in Case No. 1784/2018, overturning the CPC’s decision to impose the fine. The case dates back to October 15, 2018, when the company announced that its subsidiary had been fined €175,522 by the competition watchdog. The administrative court based its judgment, among other grounds, on what it described as inadequate justification of the CPC decision, as well as issues relating to the commission’s failure to disclose further information. Cyprus’ retail trade turnover increased by 10.4 per cent in value and 7.7 per cent in volume in September 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier, according to figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Monday. The Turnover Value Index of Retail Trade, which measures sales at current prices, recorded an annual increase of 10.4 per cent in September. At the same time, the Turnover Volume Index, which measures sales after adjusting for price changes, rose by 7.7 per cent compared with September 2025. The figures cover retail trade excluding motor vehicles and provide an indication of developments in consumer spending across the sector. Eurobank reported €367 million in profit before tax from its Cyprus operations for the first nine months of 2026, as the group’s overall net profit attributable to shareholders rose to €1.16 billion, according to its interim financial statements released on Monday. The bank’s Cyprus operations generated €733m in external revenue between January and September, accounting for a substantial share of the group’s international business, which also includes Bulgaria, Luxembourg and other markets. Cyprus accounted for €579m in net interest income, €98m in net banking fee and commission income and €56m in other net revenue during the nine-month period, according to the financial statements. The results come as Eurobank continues to integrate its Cypriot banking and insurance operations, following the acquisition of the former CNP Cyprus subgroup in April 2025 and the subsequent merger of Eurobank Ergasias Services and Holdings with Eurobank SA in December 2025. Cypriot investment firm Demetra Holdings Plc completed the repurchase of 3,358 own shares on October 30, 2026, as part of its ongoing corporate capital management strategy, involving a total financial outlay of €4,432.56. The investment entity carried out the transactions through the Cyprus Investment & Securities Corporation Ltd (CISCO) acting as the sole brokerage service provider. The regulatory authorisation for this commercial manoeuvre stems from the approval granted by shareholders during the annual general meeting dated June 30, 2026. The Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev) on Monday released an announcement reviewing a conference it held late last month at its headquarters in Nicosia, where it highlighted opportunities for social enterprises to expand employment and participation in the Cypriot labour market. The conference held on October 21 and titled “Social Entrepreneurship and Inclusion: From Idea to Participation, Employment and Social Change”, was co-organised by Oev, the Co-operative Societies Service, which serves as the competent authority for social enterprises, and cultural organisation Neophytos. The event aimed to present the institutional framework governing social enterprises and explore their development potential in Cyprus, while also examining the role of responsible business practices in promoting social inclusion. Female participation in the technology sector needs strengthening, gender equality commissioner Josie Christodoulou said on Monday, arguing that gender equality was a prerequisite for the creation of a fair and safe digital environment. “The question is not whether women have a place in the digital future. The question is whether we can ensure that they also have the power to shape it,” Christodoulou said, speaking at a Women4Cyber event. Referring to the participation of women in technology, she cited Eurostat data for 2025, according to which in Cyprus men constitute 85.1per cent of employees with education in information technology (IT), compared to just 14.9 per cent of women. Christodoulou highlighted that this reveals a significant disparity, with 73.9 per cent of young women demonstrating basic digital skills compared to 55.1 per cent of young men. Price decreases of five to 12 per cent were observed in 35 products recorded by the consumer association in October, it announced on Monday. According to the association, the product categories in which large decreases were observed were cheese, chocolates, pasta, baby food and coffee, with reductions in the latter two partly attributed to the zero VAT rate that came into effect in October. Meanwhile, price increases ranged between 5 and 15 per cent in 17 products. The main products in which large increases in the average retail price were observed were ravioli, fruit juices, baby wipes, flour and household cleaning products.