Cyprus Business Now: Keravnos, China ties, Qatar mission, BoC, shipping, tourism
In a written statement, he said it was “particularly encouraging” that Brussels now expects Cyprus’ economy to grow by 3.4 per cent in 2025, revising its projection upward by 0.4 percentage points from the spring.
Growth for 2026 was also raised by 0.1 percentage point to 2.6 per cent, placing Cyprus third in the Eurozone for expected performance.
According to Keravnos, the report “confirms the continued confidence of the European Institutions in the Cypriot economy” and reflects the government’s “consistent economic policy, which forms solid foundations for a sustainable, extroverted and socially fair development model”.
He added that Cyprus is “moving forward with stability, planning, responsibility and prudent fiscal policy”.
He also underscored that the period of January-October 2025 was “the best ten-month period in the history of our country’s tourism”.
Specifically, tourist arrivals reached 537,744 in October 2025, significantly up from 459,106 recorded in October 2024, marking an increase of 17.1 per cent.
For the period of January–October 2025, total tourist arrivals reached 4,142,534, compared to 3,727,196 in the corresponding period of 2024, representing an increase of 11.1 per cent.
“The findings of the European Commission’s autumn economic forecast for Cyprus constitute a clear political confirmation that our country is on a steady path of progress, credibility and resilient growth, at a time when Europe and the international economy are being tested by uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and shifting balances,” he told reporters during a media briefing at the Press and Information Office.
The forecasts revised upwards the projected growth rate, raising the 2025 estimate to 3.4 per cent from 3.0 per cent and the 2026 estimate to 2.6 per cent from 2.5 per cent.
This places Cyprus third in growth performance in the euro area with a margin approaching two percentage points above the euro area and EU averages.
“This performance is the result of systematic planning, prudent fiscal management and targeted reforms aimed at structurally strengthening the country’s economic model,” the spokesman said.
The chamber said that the event highlighted Cyprus’ role “as a strategic bridge between China and the European Union in technology, innovation, healthcare, services and shipping”.
The mission opened on November 9 with a welcome dinner that brought Cypriot delegates together with Chinese representatives in an informal setting and created an early opportunity for networking ahead of the main forum and site visits.
At the centre of the visit was the 2nd Belt and Road Economic Development Forum and EU–Cyprus–China Project Exchange and Matchmaking Meeting, held on November 10, at the Pan Pacific Hotel.
The CBC’s total assets were primarily driven by claims within the Eurosystem, which reached €20.24 bn.
The second largest asset class comprised securities in euro from euro area residents totalling €6.95 bn.
Holdings of gold and gold receivables stood at €1.45 bn. Furthermore, claims in foreign currency against non-euro area residents amounted to €1.09 bn.
Other key assets included claims in euro against non-euro area residents at €564.42 million and claims in foreign currency against euro area residents at €25.62 million.
The delegation was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy Nicodemos Damianou.
Oev was represented by its former president Antonis Antoniou, while CITEA’s delegation was led by its president Dimitris Nisiotis.
Moreover, seven Cypriot companies, all CITEA members, joined the visit.
According to the organisers, participants were briefed on Qatar’s business environment and held a series of meetings with local companies and organisations.
According to the announcement, the bank’s move is part of its “long-standing commitment to enhancing innovative and extroverted entrepreneurship in the country”.
The National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) further stated that the competition, which is organised by the University of Cyprus’s Centre for Entrepreneurship (C4E), under the auspices of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, and Industry, represents “a significant initiative for promoting innovation and business development”.
This year’s event has recorded a record participation of over 50 teams from across Cyprus.
According to a statement, the agreement marks “an important step towards protecting the country against modern challenges and threats” and is intended to support more effective, transparent and uniform implementation of the anti-money laundering (AML) framework.
Under the MoU, the two bodies will work more closely and systematically on issues related to AML legislation.
They will also be able to exchange information within their respective mandates, while respecting confidentiality rules and limiting data use strictly to powers provided by law.
According to the company, the vessel was built in Germany in 2002, measures 193 metres in length and offers a capacity of 3,200 linear metres.
It is expected to be delivered within the year and will sail under the Cypriot flag with the name “PATRIS”.
The Hellenic Initiative is a global non-profit organisation that mobilises the Greek and Cypriot diaspora to support economic development, entrepreneurship, and crisis relief in Greece and Cyprus.
In its announcement, the non-profit organisation explained that the latest endorsement represents a major boost for innovation and entrepreneurship in Cyprus.
“THI has played a vital role in our journey and their continued support for the seventh year is a tangible testimony of the support that Greeks and Cypriots of the Diaspora demonstrate in fostering deep-tech innovation and research commercialisation in Cyprus,” Cyprus Seeds said.
According to an announcement released on Tuesday, the bank recently held its first event on preventing and responding to floods, as part of a wider push to involve young people in major social and environmental issues.
The workshop, organised under SupportCY in collaboration with the University of Cyprus’ Kios Center of Excellence (KIOS CoE), the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth and the Cyprus fire service, brought together 50 final-year students from five high schools at the bank’s head offices.
They took part in an experiential simulation exercise on extreme weather events, working in groups to draft flood-prevention proposals, communication ideas and practical measures for schools and local communities.
The company confirmed that it has assumed management of Astrobank’s remaining portfolio following the bank’s sale of operations to Alpha Bank Cyprus Limited and the process of surrendering its banking licence.
The agreement between the two sides was finalised on November 3, 2025. Management of the portfolio has already begun under doValue Cyprus Ltd.
With this mandate, doValue Cyprus said that it has “expanded its footprint as a leading provider of non-performing loan servicing on the island, in line with the doValue Group’s broader growth strategy”.
The evening mixed professional updates with an interactive culinary session, offering what the Club described as a blend of learning, engagement and informal discussion.
In the absence of the President, who was travelling, Loucas Hamatsos stepped in to chair the event on behalf of the Board.
He welcomed members and delivered a series of announcements, saying the Club was pleased to introduce its newest additions, the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) and SHOHAM as Corporate Members, along with Mar Pagador and Ilya Aristov as Individual Members. He noted that with these additions, membership has reached 162.