Mobilising private sector investment will be the main objective of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a senior official said recently, as the lender sets up shop in Cyprus.

Marship Investments is set to acquire the share capital of Ahrenkiel Shipmanagement (Cyprus), according to the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC).

The introduction of alternative investment funds in Cyprus could cover the lack of finance that weighs on the Cypriot economy, Chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) Demetra Kalogirou said recently.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropped in Cyprus by 0.7% during the first quarter of 2014, while during the fourth quarter of 2013 it had dropped by 0.8%, according to Eurostat.

Bank of Cyprus plans to sell its Russian operation as part of a restructuring launched by its new chief executive to shore up the lender’s capital and refocus on its domestic market a year after it collapsed, says the Financial Times.

Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Cyprus rose to €26.7 billion in March 2014 because of a €212 million increase recorded in the Co-operative sector, it emerged recently.

Noble Energy, operators of the Block 12 offshore licence, have adopted a stretch of 400 metres of the Faros beach in Pervolia in the Larnaca district, aiming at protecting the environment and upgrading the area.

Following the net metering programme introduced by the government in 2013, the Cabinet approves the project ‘Solar Energy for All’ for the promotion of photovoltaic systems installations.

The economic recovery of Cyprus will ultimately be driven by private initiative and entrepreneurship said the Finance Minister recently.

Niki, the Austria-based airline part of the Airberlin group, will start twice weekly flights from Vienna to Paphos as of March 2015, adding an annual capacity of 12,000 seats to Cyprus.