Strong consumer spending and a surge during Christmas put a smile on the economy with credit card transactions last year increasing 11% compared to 2018, according to JCC payment systems.

The two biggest banks are expected to offload around €4 billion in non-performing loans (NPLs) in the coming months, central bank governor Constantinos Herodotou said on Monday.

Interior minister Nicos Nouris on Monday pledged that a new and swifter licensing system for ‘strategic investments’ will make Cyprus an attractive place for foreign investors.

The health care sector is becoming more consumer-centric, participatory, outcomes-based and cost-efficient, but lags in introducing automation and enablement technologies. This is according to New Horizons 2019: An EY NextWave Health Report, that explores the shift from reimagining the health ecosystem of tomorrow to executing on that vision.

A government decision to include subsidies for used vehicles in a scrappage scheme has importers of new cars fuming over the inclusion saying it defeats the purpose of protecting the environment from harmful emissions.

The Cyprus Republic’s recent double bond issuance has made clear that investors now come from a wider geographical spectrum and that fund managers and banks had expressed preference towards the highest-valued bonds, Phileleftheros reports.

Four Paphos items have been added to the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO and the Cultural Services of the Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, Phileleftheros reports.

Cyprus welcomed 3.976 million tourists in 2019, recording a 1% increase over the previous year and setting a new record, according to the latest figures published by the Statistical Service on Friday.

The owners of self-catering accommodation with services such as Airbnb will now have to register with the state under a new law passed by the House of Representatives on Friday.

EM Island Bitumen Ltd has submitted plans for the construction of an asphalt storage plant in Mari. The value of the ambitious project is estimated at over €1.5 million.