Bank of Cyprus said recently it has generated a €95m net profit in the first quarter of 2019 on tax legislation amendments and adjustments in the sale of non-performing exposures.

The Bank of Cyprus’ board of directors recently announced it had appointed Panicos Nicolaou as the group’s chief executive officer to succeed John Patrick Hourican.

Elias Neocleous & Co LLC advises Blackstone on Cyprus law aspects of its investment in Superbet Romania

Talks between Total and Eni and the government to explore Block 7 of Cyprus’ EEZ are at an advanced stage and the announcement of an agreement is only a matter of time a government source told state broadcaster CyBC, it announced recently.

A strong 16% increase was recorded in credit card transactions during April 2019, reflecting the continuous recovery in consumption, while tax and other online payments to the state played a significant part in the upswing.

Greek oil and gas firm Energean has submitted to the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) an updated proposal to supply the island with natural gas through an FPSO, which will commence operations in March 2021 in the EEZ of Israel.

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said significant progress has been achieved in negotiations with energy giants Total and Eni over an offshore concession inside the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The Cypriot economy is projected to grow at robust rates in 2019 and 2020, albeit at a somewhat slower pace than the growth rate of 3.9% registered last year, University of Cyprus Economic Research Centre (ERC) said.

Building permits issued in the first two months of 2019 recorded an 8.63% increase compared to those issued in the same period in 2018.

Revenue from tourism rose 1% to €92m in the first two months of the year despite a drop in per capita spending, the statistical service said recently.