Cyprus Business Now: shipowners, Eurobank, Shiacolas, real estate, fraud, CySEC
The central bank said total fraudulent payment transactions rose to approximately 16,000 cases in the first six months of 2025, compared with the same period in 2024, while their total value climbed to almost €4 million.
This marked a faster increase than in the euro area overall, where the total number of fraudulent transactions remained broadly stable at around 9 million between the end of the first half of 2024 and the end of the first half of 2025, and the total value rose modestly by 6 per cent to €1.7 billion.
The CBC stressed that fraud levels remain acceptable in both absolute and relative terms in Cyprus, meaning fraud as a share of total payments is still lower than the corresponding euro averages for each payment service.
However, it highlighted that the overall upward trend has been driven primarily by a surge in fraudulent card payments over recent years.
The Federation of Employers and Industrialists (Oev) said the pioneering businessman had been recognised for decades across the broader construction industry, earning international respect.
At the same time, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) said its president, board and staff expressed deep sorrow over the loss, noting in a post on its platform that Shiacolas “left an indelible mark in the field of construction, investment and in general in Cypriot business”.
The chamber also conveyed sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.
The distinguished Cypriot businessman leaves behind a long and varied career in construction and investment, as well as a strong imprint on the island’s business community.
The blessing was performed by Protopresbyter Michael Michael, while the presence of the deputy minister reflected the long-standing cooperation between the state and the shipping community.
Among those attending were CUS president Polys Hajioannou, executive committee members George Mouskas and Zacharias Zachariou, and board members Kyriacos Mouskas and Mark Klerides, alongside association members and officials from the Deputy Ministry of Shipping.
During the gathering, participants exchanged wishes and held discussions on the sector’s outlook, reiterating a shared objective to further strengthen Cypriot shipping.
The new premises are intended to function as a modern hub for coordination and cooperation, in line with the role Cyprus shipping maintains at European and international level.
The firm, which utilised data from the land department, reported that a total of 7,819 contracts were filed for new homes, including off-plan developments, thereby confirming strong activity across all districts.
Apartments dominated the market with 6,382 transactions (81.6 per cent) generating €1.77bn in value, while house sales were far fewer at 1,437 transactions worth €737.9 million.
The most expensive transaction of the year involved a Limassol apartment sold for about €15.2m, with the highest-priced house reaching roughly €6.2m.
Nicosia reflected steady domestic demand, recording 2,171 new residential transactions.
The bank carried out these transactions on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) at an average purchase price of €4.1255 per share.
The financial institution incurred a total cost of €7,376,900.17 during this five-day trading window to acquire its own shares.
This activity followed an announcement made on December 12, 2025 regarding the commencement of the share buyback programme.
The current initiative was approved pursuant to the resolution of the extraordinary general meeting of the bank’s shareholders held on October 22, 2025.
The event, titled “From Space to Solutions: Leveraging Space Technology, Earth Observation & AI for Real-World Impact”, is scheduled to take place at the Landmark Nicosia hotel under the auspices of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU.
Running from 09:00 to 16:00, the one-day forum aims to bridge the gap between complex satellite data and practical applications for diverse industries.
The gathering will assemble a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including European policymakers, space agencies, research institutions, and industry leaders to discuss how digital innovation can drive economic growth.
The decision concerns VM Vita Markets Ltd and HTFX EU Ltd, whose membership in the fund was withdrawn under the regulator’s rules.
The announcement was issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, which oversees investment firms and market activity in Cyprus.
The affected companies were members of the Investors Compensation Fund, a safety mechanism designed to protect clients if an authorised investment firm is unable to return funds or financial instruments owed to them.
In the final quarter of 2025, registrations of businesses in the EU increased by 0.5 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2025, while Cyprus recorded a significantly stronger performance based on the quarterly index.
At the same time, the number of bankruptcy declarations in the EU rose by 2.5 per cent compared with the third quarter of 2025, indicating mounting pressure in parts of the business economy.
The data form part of Eurostat’s latest release on quarterly registrations of new businesses and declarations of bankruptcies, offering insight into trends across sectors and member states.
According to the data, 76.5 per cent of young people aged 16 to 24 in Cyprus used generative AI tools during 2025, placing the country well above the European Union average.
Across the EU as a whole, 63.8 per cent of people aged 16 to 24 used generative artificial intelligence tools in 2025.
This level of use was nearly twice as high as that recorded among the general population, where 32.7 per cent of people aged 16 to 74 reported using generative AI tools.
Specifically, the figures show that 51.38 per cent of enterprises in Cyprus used paid cloud computing services in 2025, covering online access to software, computing power and storage capacity.
This compared with 52.93 per cent in 2023, indicating a slight easing in uptake among Cyprus enterprises over the two-year period.
Across the European Union as a whole, 52.74 per cent of enterprises used paid cloud computing services in 2025, up from 45.32 per cent in 2023.
The largest reductions across the bloc were estimated in Estonia, where emissions dropped by 17.4 per cent, followed by Slovenia with a decline of 5.7 per cent and Cyprus with a 5.2 per cent decrease.
Out of the 10 EU countries that registered decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, only Lithuania also recorded a decline in GDP.
The remaining nine countries, Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia, managed to reduce or maintain their emissions while growing or maintaining their GDP levels.
More specifically, in 2024 J.P. Morgan has awarded SGBCy with the ‘2024 QUALITY RECOGNITION AWARD’ and in 2025 Bank of New York has awarded SGBCy with the ‘STP AWARD 2025’.
Both awards are in recognition of SGBCy’s high-quality, fully automated Straight Through Processing payments, as the bank partners with both institutions for correspondent banking services related to US dollar and Euro payments.
The initiative was organised by the board as part of its strategy to strengthen and promote sports tourism, with a particular focus on cycling as a means of extending the visitor season and enhancing the island’s international profile.
During their stay, the cyclists were given extensive exposure to the district’s cycling network, riding primarily in the countryside across the Laona region, Akamas, Polis Chrysochous, as well as the Diarizos and Xeros river areas.
“They experienced a variety of routes combining natural beauty, shifting landscapes and high quality surfaces, reinforcing Paphos as an ideal location for both training camps and leisure cycling tourism, particularly between November and May,” the board said in a statement.
According to first estimates, seasonally adjusted industrial production decreased by 1.4 per cent in the euro area and by 0.8 per cent in the European Union in December 2025 compared with November 2025.
In November 2025, industrial production had grown by 0.3 per cent in the euro area and fallen by 0.1 per cent in the EU.
In Cyprus, industrial production fell by 1.1 per cent in December 2025 compared with November 2025, following a 1.4 per cent increase in November and a 0.3 per cent rise in October.
Specifically, the total weight of goods transported by road within Cyprus reached 11.26 million tonnes between July and September 2025, up from 11.1m tonnes in the corresponding period of 2024, representing a rise of 1.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, freight transported from and to Cyprus increased to 11,000 tonnes from 9,400 tonnes, marking a stronger increase of 16.4 per cent.
Looking at cumulative data for the first nine months of the year, the total weight of goods transported within Cyprus stood at 33.05m tonnes, compared with 32.82m tonnes in the same period of 2024, an increase of 0.7 per cent.