Cyprus Business Now: start up, tourism, shipping, CTC, CySEC, electricity

The association of Cyprus tourist enterprises (Stek) on Wednesday said a recent Audit Office report has confirmed its long-standing concerns over short-term holiday rentals, renewing calls for a comprehensive overhaul of the legislation governing the sector. The association said the Audit Office’s findings demonstrate that weaknesses in the supervision and enforcement of online short-term rental platforms pose significant risks to both visitors and Cyprus’ tourism industry. “The weaknesses in the supervision and control mechanisms for electronic short-term rental platforms constitute a significant risk to the safety of users and may have a direct negative impact on the credibility and quality of Cyprus’ tourism product,” the association stated. Stek said it has been warning for years that the existing legal framework suffers from serious shortcomings, both in its provisions and, more importantly, in its implementation and enforcement. The association argued that accommodation providers continue to operate and advertise without the required licences, while effective inspections remain limited and cooperation between the competent authorities is insufficient. More than 200 representatives from Cyprus’ research, innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem gathered on Tuesday for The Bash 2026, the Research and Innovation Foundation’s (RIF) flagship annual networking event. This year’s event was organised under the theme “Let’s Cheers to Innovation Together!”, bringing together the people helping shape Cyprus’ future through research, innovation and entrepreneurship. The gathering provided startups, scaleups, innovative businesses, researchers, academics, investors, business support organisations, public sector representatives and policymakers with an opportunity to network, establish new relationships and explore future collaborations. The event featured opening addresses by RIF board chairman and Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology Demetris Skourides, RIF director general Theodoros Loukaidis, and Konstantinos Kleovoulou, representing the Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy. Freedom Holding Corp. has stated that Europe has a major opportunity to establish itself in the next phase of artificial intelligence, following the group’s participation in the 30th Annual Economist Government Roundtable held in Athens between July 8 and July 10. The parent company of Freedom24 took part in the annual event, where Paul Meeks, Head of Technology Research at Freedom Capital Markets, represented the company and outlined emerging opportunities for the European economy in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). During the conference, Meeks said the global market had reached a critical turning point, explaining that while major US technology companies continue investing billions in developing large language models, the market is now moving into a new phase in which AI is no longer confined to learning information but is increasingly capable of applying knowledge and carrying out complex tasks automatically on behalf of users. “This is a tremendous opportunity for Europe,” Meeks said. He explained that, according to Freedom Capital Markets’ assessment, Europe can secure a significant position within the digital ecosystem despite the United States currently leading investment in AI infrastructure. Cypriot entrepreneur Elias Orfanou did not pick the easiest moment to start thinking about travel. In 2020, while the world was shutting down and tourism was being pushed into one of the darkest periods in its history, a university idea at UCLan Cyprus began to take shape. Five years later, that idea has taken him far from the classroom. Orfanou has left his job, moved alone to New York and rebuilt TravelX as a tour booking platform, with ambitions that now stretch well beyond tours into hotels, content, events, artificial intelligence and a wider travel ecosystem. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, Orfanou described a journey marked by early validation, repeated setbacks, two teams walking away and a decision to leave Cyprus rather than grow older wondering what might have happened if he had tried. TravelX began in Cyprus, 2020, where it won the Startup IdeaFest award for best entrepreneurial idea. The recognition gave Orfanou and his original team the confidence to take the concept beyond the university presentation. Then, almost immediately, the world changed. The Great Sea Interconnector (GSI) will not automatically translate into higher electricity bills because its costs are recovered through a detailed European Union regulatory framework rather than being passed directly to consumers, according to energy systems expert and former Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) chairman Andreas Poullikkas. In a recent piece of analysis, Poullikkas said public debate surrounding the project often focuses on headline figures running into billions of € or assumes electricity consumers will inevitably bear the full cost. “The reality is more complex and much more tightly regulated,” Poullikkas said. He explained that, as a Project of Common Interest (PCI), the GSI follows European rules under which cost recovery is neither arbitrary nor one-dimensional. Instead, he said, the process combines market revenues, regulated tariffs and the cross-border cost allocation (CBCA) mechanism. A fresh Russian drone attack on two commercial ships off Odesa has again exposed the human cost of navigating through conflict zones, while emphasising how security threats are steadily redrawing the map of global maritime trade. The Tanzania-flagged Atlas Bey and a second merchant ship sailing under the Liberian flag were struck on Tuesday, July 14, while travelling through Ukraine’s Black Sea maritime corridor, according to Odesa authorities. The captain of the Atlas Bey, an Azerbaijani national, was killed after the Turkish-owned dry cargo ship was hit and caught fire. Eleven surviving crew members were brought ashore, three of whom were injured, while information regarding the damage to the Liberian-flagged vessel and the condition of its crew remained limited on Wednesday. The attack came only one day after a Russian strike hit a Togolese-flagged civilian merchant vessel in the Odesa region, killing three crew members and injuring five. Ukraine said that vessel had been carrying agricultural products, while the latest incidents formed part of a widening exchange of attacks against shipping and maritime infrastructure across both the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Reuters reported that the earlier ship was struck while operating near a Ukrainian port. The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), serving as the coordinator for Enterprise Europe Network Cyprus, has launched a public consultation to investigate the excessive gold-plating of European Union legislation by member states. The initiative seeks to gather essential feedback from businesses and stakeholders regarding the phenomenon where national authorities impose rules that exceed the requirements set out by Brussels. Simplifying the regulatory framework and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens remain key priorities for the European Commission as it strives to strengthen business competitiveness across the bloc. In the communication titled ‘A Simpler, Clearer and Better Enforced EU Rulebook’ adopted in April 2026, the Commission committed to developing a toolkit of best practices to assist member states in identifying and avoiding cases of excessive legislative implementation. The Strategy for the Single Market of May 12, 2025, previously identified gold-plating as one of the most significant obstacles affecting the proper functioning of the internal market. The Cyprus Trading Corporation (CTC) has increased its direct holding in Ermes Department Stores Plc to 86.275 per cent, following the completion of its mandatory takeover bid for the retailer’s remaining shares. According to the announcement, preliminary results showed that shareholders tendered 15,810,257 Ermes shares, representing an acceptance rate of 9.060 per cent, during the offer period that ended on July 13. At the offer price of €0.014 per share, CTC will pay approximately €221,344 for the shares submitted through the bid. Of the shares tendered, 1,026,128, 0.588 per cent of Ermes’ issued share capital, were held by persons considered under the law to be acting in concert with CTC. Combined with the 134,740,047 shares, 77.215 per cent, already held directly by CTC before the offer closed, the acceptances raise its direct participation to 150,550,304 shares. Lordos Hotels (Holdings) Public Ltd announced on Wednesday that the dividend payment previously approved by shareholders has been dispatched and successfully paid to investors. The company had previously confirmed that the board of directors proposed a dividend of €0.04 per share, which was subsequently approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting held on June 24, 2026. This dividend payout corresponds to 11.76 per cent of the nominal value of the share. The distribution comes despite a warning from the company that its results for the first half of 2026 are expected to fall below the levels recorded during the previous year. The group attributed this weaker performance to lower occupancy rates at its hotel units, which it said reflects the pressure felt by the tourism industry as regional instability continues to affect travel demand. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) on Wednesday informed regulated entities of two public consultations launched by the European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), urging them to participate in shaping new EU anti-money laundering rules. The first consultation concerns draft Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) under Article 69(3) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, which establish the format for reporting suspicious transactions and submitting transaction records. CySEC said the draft ITS, interpretative note, annexes and consultation response form are available on AMLA’s website, with comments accepted until September 20, 2026. It also informed regulated entities that AMLA will hold a public hearing on September 9, 2026, between 10am and 12pm CEST, with registration available through the consultation webpage. The Financial Wellbeing Institute (FWI) has entered into a strategic partnership with Mastercard to strengthen financial literacy in Cyprus through research, public awareness initiatives and a nationwide educational programme. The partnership aims to reach thousands of people across the country, including 3,000 young people aged between 18 and 29, while helping citizens better understand financial services, make informed decisions and navigate an increasingly digital financial environment with greater confidence. The initiative comes as financial wellbeing remains a key challenge for many citizens. According to the Financial Wellbeing Index 2025, presented by FWI with the support of Mastercard, financial wellbeing in Cyprus improved to 54.6 points compared with 2024. However, according to its statement, almost four in ten Cypriots remain financially vulnerable or struggling, while 49.5 per cent say financial issues cause them stress and anxiety. Cyprus maintained a steady industrial output in May 2026, avoiding the broader downturn experienced across the euro area and the European Union, according to official data released by Eurostat. The seasonally adjusted industrial production in Cyprus recorded no change on a monthly basis in May 2026, effectively remaining stable after a slight growth of 0.1 per cent observed in April 2026. This performance stands in contrast to the wider bloc, where industrial production saw a decrease of 0.2 per cent in the euro area and a 0.1 per cent decline in the EU compared with April 2026. When measured against the same month of the previous year, Cyprus reported a notable annual increase of 2.5 per cent for May 2026. This figure marks a continuation of the upward trajectory for the country, which also recorded a 2.5 per cent annual increase in March 2026 and 1.5 per cent in April 2026. The board of directors of Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company Ltd on Wednesday announced that it will convene on July 30, 2026, to consider the interim consolidated financial results for the first six months of the year. The scheduled meeting will address the company’s financial performance for the initial half of 2026, marking a key update for investors. This announcement follows the recent completion of the dividend payment process by the company, which saw eligible shareholders receive €0.23 per share as of July 7, 2026. The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) announced on Wednesday that it has decided to delist the shares of K. Kouimtzis and A.J. Green Shell from the emerging companies market effective from July 31, 2026. This decisive action follows a determination that the necessary conditions for the smooth operation of the stock market are no longer being met by these companies, thereby placing the interests of investors at risk. Regarding K. Kouimtzis, the exchange cited a failure to retain a nominated adviser and the omission of both the six-monthly financial report for the period ending June 30, 2025, and the annual financial report for the year ending December 31, 2025. Furthermore, the board noted that the shares of K. Kouimtzis had remained in suspension of trading for a duration exceeding six months, beginning August 11, 2025. The exchange also identified a lack of compliance with the requirement to maintain a satisfactory number of shareholders and a failure to provide information concerning the business plan of the firm. Cyprus remained below the EU average for young people with at least basic digital skills in 2025, while recording the bloc’s widest gender gap in favour of young women, according to a report released on Wednesday by Eurostat. The EU’s statistical office reported that 63.9 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 in Cyprus possessed at least basic digital skills in 2025, well below the EU average of 74.6 per cent. Across the European Union, almost three quarters of young people had acquired at least basic digital skills, reflecting the growing importance of digital competencies for education, employment and everyday life. Denmark recorded the highest share of young people with at least basic digital skills at 92.1 per cent, followed by the Czech Republic with 91.7 per cent and Malta with 91.5 per cent.