Cyprus Business Now: shipping, housing, tourism, technology, startups

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) secretary general Thomas Kazakos has taken the industry’s push for free passage through international waterways to the UN Security Council, warning that commercial ships and seafarers must not become collateral in geopolitical disputes. Kazakos was invited to brief an Arria-Formula meeting in New York convened by Bahrain and chaired by the country’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, with discussions focusing on the worsening maritime security environment and, in particular, the Persian Gulf. Representing the international shipping industry, Kazakos used the meeting to press the case for freedom of navigation, arguing that the established rules governing international waterways cannot be allowed to change according to political circumstances. “The ability of commercial ships to navigate international waterways safely, predictably and without unnecessary impediment, is crucial to international maritime law and to the global trade system. Shipping must not be held to ransom,” he said. Cyprus put seafarers’ rights, shipping’s social role and the competitiveness of the European fleet under the same spotlight in Athens, as a three-day maritime programme moved from the people behind the industry to the regulatory pressures shaping its future. Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis used an international symposium marking the 20th anniversary of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) to argue that the protection of seafarers could no longer be treated separately from the wider changes transforming global shipping. The convention, adopted in Geneva on February 23, 2006, brought seafarers’ rights under a single international framework, setting minimum standards for working and living conditions, medical care, social protection, repatriation and other basic employment rights. Cyprus took part in the negotiations that led to its adoption and, in 2012, became the 29th country worldwide and ninth EU member state to ratify it. Cyprus and Greece reaffirmed their shared maritime priorities at a dinner hosted by the Cyprus Union of Shipowners (CUS) in honour of President Nikos Christodoulides in Athens on September 18. The dinner was held at the Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel on the occasion of the CUS annual general meeting and brought together senior political and government figures from both countries, as well as European officials, diplomats and prominent shipowners. President of the Hellenic Republic Constantine A. Tassoulas attended alongside Greek government vice-president Kostis Hatzidakis, Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, Shipping Deputy Minister Marina Hadjimanolis and government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis. European representatives included Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas and MEP Elisavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi, while ambassadors from Greece and Cyprus and US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle were also present. Cyprus has emerged as one of Europe’s clearest examples of homes outgrowing the households inside them, with more than seven in ten people in rural areas living in properties considered larger than they need. The latest Eurostat figures place Cyprus among the EU countries with the highest levels of under-occupied housing in rural areas, alongside Ireland and Belgium. Only the Netherlands recorded a higher rural rate, at 73.3 per cent. Under-occupation, however, does not mean a property is empty. Eurostat uses the term when a household has more rooms than are considered necessary for the number and ages of the people living there. A family home occupied by a couple after their children have moved out, for example, may therefore be classed as under-occupied. That distinction is particularly relevant in Cyprus, where larger homes have long been a feature of the housing market. Across the island, 69.4 per cent of people lived in under-occupied homes in 2025, the highest proportion in the EU and more than twice the bloc average of 33.4 per cent. Ireland followed at 66 per cent and Malta at 63.2 per cent. The Cyprus Real Estate Agents Association (Skek) highlighted the challenges facing the property market at the Cyprus Property Show 2026, with its vice-president Vasilis Artemiou pointing to geopolitical tensions, uncertainty and rising construction costs. Representing the association, which is affiliated with the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), Artemiou took part in a discussion on developments, challenges and prospects for the Cyprus property market. He said the property market had operated in a particularly complex and constantly changing environment in recent years. Geopolitical tensions in the wider region, international uncertainty, increased construction costs and changes in the economic environment had created and continued to create significant challenges for the sector, he said. Cyprus recorded the second-largest annual decline in commercial flights in the EU in August, even as flight activity across the bloc continued to expand and the island’s tourism downturn showed further signs of easing. According to Eurostat, the number of commercial flights in Cyprus fell by 3 per cent in August compared with the same month in 2025, with only Austria recording a larger decline. The figures came as Cyprus continued to record fewer tourist arrivals than in the record year of 2025, although the shortfall has narrowed steadily through the summer. Cyprus’ tourism downturn is expected to ease further by the end of the year, with arrivals forecast to finish around 5 per cent below 2025 levels, Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis said at the weekend. The latest figures from the statistical service (Cystat) show that tourist arrivals reached 2,820,649 between January and August, down 7 per cent from the same period last year, improving from an 8 per cent decline during the first seven months. Speaking during the inauguration of new cycling routes in Troulloi, Aradippou, Koumis said the year had begun on a particularly strong footing, with January and February both setting records for their respective months. “We had the best January and the best February we have ever had,” he said, before pointing to the sharp change that followed in March as disruption in the Middle East hit air travel to and from Cyprus. Deloitte brought together more than 20 startups and scaleups in Limassol on September 17 for an event highlighting the growing strength and international potential of Cyprus’ technology ecosystem. The second edition of Deloitte’s “Cultivating Success Stories of Innovation” brought together entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders under the Technology Fast 50 programme and the ARIS (A Really Inspiring Story) accelerator. The event, held in Limassol under the theme “Cultivating Success Stories of Innovation”, focused on the challenges facing technology businesses as they move from early growth to international expansion. In an announcement on Monday, Deloitte said the event was intended to celebrate the momentum, ambition and growing international reach of the startup and scaleup ecosystem in Cyprus and the Middle East. Cyprus-based technology distributor Asbis reported estimated consolidated revenues of approximately $604 million in August 2026, representing a 91 per cent increase from the same month last year. The Limassol-headquartered company said on Monday that August revenues were up from approximately $316m in August 2025. The latest increase follows an 89 per cent year-on-year rise in estimated revenues in July, when Asbis generated approximately $531m compared with $281m a year earlier. The Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev) will host the opening event of the annual consortium meeting of the European TRIERES hydrogen project in Ayia Napa on September 22, 2026. The event will take place at the Thalassa Museum at noon on Tuesday, bringing together representatives of the project’s 25 partners from five countries. Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Michael Damianos and Oev president Stavros Stavrou are expected to attend the event. Representatives of the 25 project partners will also be present, including businesses, academic and research institutions, public-law organisations and local government bodies. The event is being organised by Oev as part of TRIERES, a European project co-funded by the European Union through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) will hold a round-table discussion in Nicosia on September 29, 2026, focusing on workers with care responsibilities and the support available to them, including a new scheme subsidising care services. The event will examine how employees can balance their professional responsibilities while caring for an elderly person, someone with a disability or another family member. It will also look at how employers, public authorities and other relevant organisations can better respond to the needs of workers who provide informal care. The round table is being organised as part of Keve’s participation in the European CareDivide project and will provide an opportunity for information-sharing, discussion and the exchange of experiences about the challenges faced by working carers. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has warned that stretched technology valuations and heightened geopolitical tensions are increasing vulnerabilities in EU financial markets, despite their continued resilience. The EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor said persistent inflation, weaker economic growth and heightened volatility were testing markets, while strong performance in technology and artificial intelligence-related sectors had helped restore investor optimism and valuations. ESMA said this resilience should not be mistaken for an absence of vulnerabilities, warning that the growing gap between deteriorating macro-financial conditions and upbeat market valuations could increase the risk of sudden corrections if economic risks materialised or investor sentiment changed abruptly. The authority also highlighted rapidly emerging threats to market infrastructure and major market participants, including risks associated with frontier artificial intelligence. Reflect Festival and global innovation platform Plug and Play have announced a strategic partnership aimed at connecting Cyprus and the wider region more closely with the global startup, investment and corporate innovation ecosystem. The partnership brings together two organisations seeking to create connections between founders, investors, corporations, governments and people involved in developing new technologies and businesses. Reflect Festival has grown into a major regional meeting point for innovation, bringing more than 10,000 entrepreneurs, investors, executives, policymakers, creators and technology leaders to Limassol and connecting ecosystems across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Through the partnership, Plug and Play will bring its global network, startup expertise, corporate relationships and innovation capabilities closer to the Reflect ecosystem. The collaboration is intended to create opportunities for international cooperation, investment and business growth, while increasing the exposure of promising companies from Cyprus and the region to global investors, corporations and markets. Cyprus’ credit servicers and credit acquiring companies held a €19.28 billion loan portfolio at the end of June 2026, with the sector’s non-performing loan ratio remaining close to 95 per cent, according to a report from the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC). The CBC said the aggregate data covered the Credit Servicers (CSs) and Credit Acquiring Companies (CACs) sector, with June 30, 2026 as the latest reference date. The total contractual balance of the sector’s loan portfolios stood at €19.276 billion at the end of June. Of this amount, €9.345 billion related to households, while €9.205 billion concerned non-financial corporations. A further €726 million was related to other financial corporations. Alpha Bank S.A. acquired 2,033,797 of its own shares on Euronext Athens for a total consideration of €9,832,079.81 between September 14, 2026 and September 18, 2026, the Greek lender announced on Monday. The share repurchases were executed as part of the bank’s ongoing share buyback programme, following a prior corporate update issued on July 31, 2026. The overall initiative was formally authorised by a resolution passed during the annual general meeting of shareholders on June 26, 2026. Across the five-day trading period, the bank paid an average purchase price of €4.8343 per share to complete the transactions. Aegean was namedEurope’s Best Regional Airline for the 15th consecutive year at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards in London on Monday, marking the airline’s 16th win in the category during its 27 years of operation. The Greek airline, which operates extensively to and from Cyprus, also retained fourth place in the global ranking for the title of World’s Best Regional Airline. The latest award was presented at the Langham Hotel in London, where Aegean representatives and cabin crew members attended the ceremony and received the distinction. The awards are based exclusively on passenger feedback through what Skytrax describes as the world’s largest airline passenger satisfaction survey. Skytrax, an international airline rating organisation, said the awards are widely regarded as an independent global benchmark for airline standards and are often referred to as the “Oscars of the aviation industry”.