Cyprus Business Now: Techisland, cybersecurity, banks, energy, SafeIsland CY

TechIsland has presented the first-year results of its €2 million Wildfire Initiative, showing how an emergency appeal launched after the devastating fires of 2025 has developed into a long-term programme spanning prevention, preparedness, early detection and recovery. According to figures included in the presentation, the fires burned more than 100 square kilometres of forest, destroyed 191 homes across 15 villages and claimed two lives, making them among the most destructive in Cyprus’ history. The scale of the disaster prompted an immediate response from the technology community. Within just a few days, more than 60 companies and individuals answered TechIsland’s call, raising approximately €2 million to support affected residents and communities. However, as the immediate needs began to change, so did the initiative. What started with emergency assistance gradually expanded into a wider social impact programme, bringing together the private sector, the state, scientists, local authorities and volunteers. Forty-five communities across Cyprus will receive small fire engines at no cost, after TechIsland committed €450,000 to cover the share not financed by the government, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Thursday. Speaking at the official launch of the TechIsland Wildfire Initiative in Limassol, Ioannou said the partnership would give local communities a vital tool for responding during the first critical moments of a fire, before the arrival of the Fire Service and other emergency crews. He thanked TechIsland president Valentinos Polykarpou, the association’s board and management, the members of the initiative’s committee, and the companies, donors, partners and volunteers who supported the effort. “TechIsland is the largest association of technology companies in Cyprus”, Ioannou said. The initiative was created following the devastating wildfire of July 23, 2025, in mountainous Limassol, which claimed lives, destroyed homes and property, affected businesses and farms, and caused serious damage to infrastructure and the natural environment. SafeIsland CY, a new free mobile app for iOS and Android, is now available to the public, helping people in Cyprus report wildfire signs, receive nearby alerts and access key fire-safety information on one interactive map. Developed by Brickworks Games as part of the TechIsland Wildfire Initiative, the app was presented to the public for the first time on July 23, at The Warehouse by IT Quarter in Limassol. Vladimir Polianskii, chief marketing officer of Brickworks Games, presented SafeIsland CY as “a public-safety tool that helps people in Cyprus report wildfire signs, receive nearby alerts and access key fire-related information, all on one interactive map”. The community-powered tool was created particularly for residents in rural, mountain and high-risk areas, where early local information can make a real difference. Explaining the problem the app seeks to address, Polianskii noted that “during the first minutes of a wildfire, information is fragmented”, while “residents nearby notice smoke, blocked roads or changing wind long before it becomes widely visible”. A satellite-based system using machine learning to detect wildfires across Cyprus 24 hours a day has been presented in Limassol, seeking to give first responders earlier and more reliable warnings of possible outbreaks. The Geosfire project, funded by TechIsland, was presented on Thursday by Anna Zenonos, a researcher at the Cyprus Institute’s Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre, as part of the TechIsland Wildfire Initiative. Geosfire stands for Geospatial Earth Observation System for Fire Intelligence and Real-time Evaluation and is being developed specifically for Cyprus. Explaining its mission, Zenonos said that “this project aims to develop a satellite-based, machine-learning fire detection and alert system tailored to the geographic and climatic conditions of Cyprus, while addressing the operational needs of first responders”. Unlike traditional monitoring, which largely depends on someone seeing smoke or flames, Geosfire uses satellite data to monitor locations across the island. The Paphos regional tourism board (Etap Paphos) announced on Tuesday that its “Paphos – Unleash Your Senses” campaign has secured two industry awards, recognising the region’s long-term strategy to promote itself as an international tourism destination. The campaign received a gold award at the Cyprus Tourism Awards 2025 in the Strategy & Innovation – Timeless Presence category and a bronze award at the Marketing Achievements Awards 2025 in the Integrated Marketing category. The tourism board said the awards represented recognition not only of an individual promotional campaign but also of a wider collaborative model developed over the past seven years. The strategy was built around a shared long-term vision bringing together public and private sector partners to promote the Paphos region under a unified destination marketing approach. Morgan Stanley expects the Greek banking sector to enter earnings season with higher profit forecasts, robust credit growth and a string of second-quarter upside surprises. In its report, the findings of which were shared by Greek business outlet Newmoney, the US investment bank said it that remains constructive on the sector, arguing that the macroeconomic backdrop is still supportive, loan growth is continuing at a brisk pace and valuations remain attractive. Morgan Stanley said its top picks ahead of results are Piraeus Bank and Eurobank, which it believes have the greatest scope to beat market expectations and lift full-year guidance. The bank set target prices of €11.30 for Piraeus Bank, €4.90 for Eurobank, €4.90 for Alpha Bank, €17.20 for the National Bank of Greece and €1.16 for CrediaBank. Cyprus’ heavy dependence on road transport, above-average traffic congestion and strong road safety performance were among the findings highlighted in a new European Commission report published this week examining transport and tourism trends across the European Union. The report, titled ‘Transport and tourism in the European Union – Current trends and issues’, provides an overview of recent developments across the bloc, assessing competitiveness through sustainability, resilience, connectivity, safety, security and the social dimension of mobility. It also presents detailed country factsheets for each member state, allowing Cyprus’ transport performance to be compared with EU averages across a broad range of indicators. According to the report, 83.5 per cent of inland passenger transport in Cyprus was carried out by passenger cars in 2023, slightly above the EU average of 82.0 per cent. Cyprus is seeking to deepen cooperation on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital resilience, following a working meeting between Communications Commissioner Marios Pieris and Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology Demetris Skourides. At the centre of the discussions was the creation of a strategic cooperation framework that would support the secure, responsible and innovative adoption of AI across society, the economy and the public sector. The two officials examined practical ways of working together, with particular attention given to the implementation of the European Union’s AI Act and the proposed development of an AI Act Implementation Playbook. They also discussed organising joint technical meetings and roundtables with ISO/IEC experts, bringing international expertise on AI governance and recognised standards into Cyprus’ preparations. Beyond the immediate regulatory work, the meeting also considered initiatives intended to future-proof Cyprus against emerging challenges in AI and cybersecurity, while strengthening the country’s wider digital resilience. The European Central Bank (ECB) reported this week that non-cash payments across the euro area continued to expand during the second half of 2025, while Cyprus emerged as the bloc’s leading user of card payments and recorded faster adoption of instant payments than the euro area average. The ECB said the total number of non-cash payment transactions in the euro area increased by 6.9 per cent year on year to 83.5 billion during the second half of 2025. The total value of those payments reached €117.8 trillion, representing an increase of 0.8 per cent compared with the same period of 2024. Card payments remained the most widely used payment instrument, accounting for 57 per cent of all non-cash transactions, followed by credit transfers at 21 per cent, direct debits at 14 per cent and electronic money payments at 6 per cent, while the remaining 1 per cent consisted of cheques, money remittances and other payment services. Cyprus remained below the European Union average for renewable energy use in 2025, with renewables accounting for 21.5 per cent of the island’s gross final energy consumption, according to Eurostat. The figure places Cyprus 4.7 percentage points below the EU average of 26.2 per cent, highlighting the distance the country still needs to cover as the bloc works towards its 2030 climate targets. Across the EU, renewable energy accounted for 26.2 per cent of gross final energy consumption in 2025, up from 25.2 per cent in 2024. The share has risen steadily since records began in 2004, when renewables represented just 9.6 per cent of the EU’s gross final energy consumption. Despite the continued progress, the EU still faces a considerable challenge in meeting its legally binding 2030 renewable energy target of 42.5 per cent. Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company Ltd announced on Thursday that its financial results for the first half of 2026 are projected to show an improvement compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. This anticipated financial growth is primarily driven by higher revenues generated across the board. Unigrowth Investments Public Ltd on Thursday issued a profit warning for its unaudited half-year results for the period from January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026. The company said that, based on the indications so far, the group is expected to post lower profits in its unaudited six-month accounts compared with the corresponding period in 2025. Moreover, the company said the main reasons for the weaker profitability were milder fluctuations in the performance of investments in financial assets and a reduction in dividend income receivable by the company. Cyprus-based mobile game developer Top App Games Ltd announced on Thursday that its strategy RPG Ludus: Merge Arena has passed $50 million in net revenue since launch, with $66 million in gross revenue also recorded, underscoring the scale of the game’s growth from its Limassol roots. The findings were shared by Greek business outlet Newmoney, which reported that the title has now been played by more than 11 million people worldwide after starting as a small soft launch two years ago. The company said the game has evolved sharply over that period, growing from 25 heroes at launch to more than 100 today, with each character now able to be built and played in different ways. Top App Games said the expansion has been driven by a series of additions including Clan Wars, Divisions, Hero Perks, player-launched mini-events and Spells, all of which have reshaped the original merge-and-battle format.