President Nicos Anastasiades has reiterated the government’s commitment to maintain and broaden conditions that would lead to fiscal surpluses and high economic growth.

An agreement between Cyprus and Egypt on a direct subsea natural gas pipeline between the two countries was ratified recently by the House plenary.

Britain’s eventual exit (Brexit) from the European Union (EU) will consequently impact Cyprus and its economy due to their close financial relations. UK is one of Cyprus’ main supplier of goods and services. Also, Cyprus’ exports to the United Kingdom (UK) exceed 10% of its total. Moreover, Cyprus’ financial services collaborate closely with the City of London and most importantly, Britain has always been Cyprus’ main source for tourism.

Cyprus recorded Europe’s lowest share of value added by foreign-controlled businesses at 13.4% and was below the EU average of 25%, according to latest Eurostat data.

Cyprus exports grew faster than imports during January 2019, narrowing the island’s trade deficit by €138.8 million.

Credit card spending rose by 35% in the first three months of the year compared to 2018, JCC said recently while a monthly increase for March of €307,182,374 or 15% was seen.

House prices, as measured by the House Price Index, rose by 4.2% year-on-year in both the euro area and the EU in the fourth quarter of 2018 and by 1.6% in Cyprus, according to Eurostat.

Casino operator Melco announced recently the location of its two new satellite establishments in Ayia Napa and Paphos, which will be up and running by the end of 2019.

In March 2019, the credit rating agency Fitch upgraded Hellenic Bank’s Long – Term Issuer Default Rating from B to B+ as a result of the the completion of the acquisition of certain good assets and liabilities from the Cyprus Cooperative Bank Ltd (CCB) as well as the €150m capital increase which the Bank carried out.

The Embankment Project for Inclusive Capitalism (EPIC), in its latest study, identifies the factors that drive value and are important for companies’ sustainable and inclusive growth, as well as potential metrics to assess them.