Under the foreclosures bill drafted by the government, mortgagors will have around six months at their disposal to challenge or block repossession proceedings on a property, with recourse to the courts and mediation agencies available every step of the way.

The operations of Russian subsidiary banks in Cyprus will not be affected “at all” by the sanctions imposed by the EU and the US against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest lender announces it will proceed with a reduction of its lending base rates as of August 4, 2014.

A drop of 3.0% was recorded during January-May 2014 in the Industrial Production Index, compared to the respective period in 2013.

The European Commission will co-finance with a maximum potential support of around €8.8 million from the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Programme, 2 transport infrastructure projects taking place partially in Cyprus.

The Ministry of Agriculture can contribute to growth and job creation, said Minster of Agriculture Nicos Kouyialis, pointing out that the registration of halloumi cheese as a product with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) is crucial to this effort.

Cyprus is likely to return to growth next year in 2015, the International Monetary Fund said recently, but cautioned the outlook was tempered by tensions over Ukraine and banks’ rising bad loans.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) on owner-occupied housing account for less than 15% of all NPLs, according to latest data from the Central Bank.

If the House does not pass the foreclosures bill the Troika’s fifth and latest review will not be considered concluded and they will come back to the island to re-discuss the issue, IMF Mission Chief Delia Velculescu said recently.

The government recently signed a preliminary agreement in Nicosia with an Italian-South Korean joint venture on exploring the development of natural gas offshore Cyprus.