Cyprus ranks 20th among 27 EU member states in the 2022 edition of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), faring particularly well as regards connectivity where it came in 12th according to an EU Commission report published on Thursday.

Evgenios Evgeniou, chairman of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, commonly referred to as Invest Cyprus, on Wednesday said that the country’s efforts to attract foreign companies have helped the economy’s resilience and are contributing toward a more sustainable economic model.

The European Commission announced it received on Thursday the first payment request from Cyprus under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for the disbursement of €85 million in financial support (net of pre-financing), adding that it will assess it and will send its preliminary assessment of milestones and targets fulfillment to the Council's Economic and Financial Committee.

Economic sentiment improved in July, the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre said on Wednesday.

The city of Limassol has witnessed positive transformation in the last few years with the addition of numerous new projects that will attribute to the city’s renewed outlook. Projects like these offer a plethora of competitive investment opportunities, ranging in size, value and category while attracting foreign investment and international business.

Cyprus ranked amongst the top for rates of car use in the EU with 645 passenger cars per 1,000 people, far outstripping neighbouring Turkey and Greece but at a similar rate of most Italian regions.

Activity in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has been very positive lately, with works worth $200 million completed since the start of the pandemic, Energy Minister Natasa Pilides said on Wednesday.

Cyprus telecommunications authority (Cyta) is participating in the multi-million undersea East Med Corridor (EMC) venture, a data cable that will link Europe with Asia.

Health Ministers of Cyprus and Lithuania said they want to establish a closer working partnership by drafting a Memorandum of Cooperation.

Occupancy rates at Paphos hotels in August will be around 80 to 85%, compared to last month’s rate of 80%, the President of the Paphos Hoteliers Association Thanos Michaelides told the Cyprus News Agency on Wednesday.