Cyprus is ready to fully conform “in record time” with all international transparency requirements to avoid losing double taxation agreements that countries like India and Russia have already brought into doubt.

Over thirty research projects are underway at the Cyprus Institute (CyI), with board chairman Dr Andreas Pittas saying that targeted research could have great benefits for the economy.

Standard & Poor’s, the international rating agency, raised its long-term sovereign debt rating on Cyprus to B- from CCC+ on Friday, saying the immediate risks to its debt repayments appeared to have receded.

The President of the European Commission yesterday said the commission would be supporting Cyprus as it started to put together the pieces of its crumbling economy and as it tried to push forward on peace talks on the Cyprus problem.

Bank of Cyprus (BoC) and the accounts of the now defunct Laiki Bank are expected to be fully integrated by mid 2014, it has emerged, ending months of confusion and inconvenience suffered by customers after the forced merger of the two lenders.

Bank of Cyprus (BoC) on Tuesday reported a €1.8 billion net loss for the first half of the year, impacted by its forced disposal of Greek operations and rising provisions.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) predicts a 25% increase in Russian tourists, with 800,000 expected in 2014.

Work on a new marina in Ayia Napa should begin in April 2014 if new plans to lower costs are accepted, the head of the Famagusta Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) said yesterday.

The Cyprus banking system has shifted to crisis-resolution phase, according to Isobel von Koeppen Mertes, Advisor in the European Central Bank Market Operations Analysis Division, speaking at the Economist 9th Cyprus Summit, but needs to avoid some of the mistakes seen in Ireland.

Solving the Cyprus problem would be another way to boost the island’s economy and a way to ensure long term stability and prosperity for all, US Ambassador John Koenig has said as he urged the divided communities to resolve the longstanding issue.