Cyprus ranks 15th among 63 world countries in its ability to develop, attract and retain talent, according to the IMD World Talent Ranking 2018.

The Stena Icemax drillship leased by ExxonMobil, arrived last week in Cyprus and began drilling in Cyprus’ offshore block 10, named by ExxonMobil as ‘Delphine’ after the Greek mythology dolphin-shaped sea daemon that was in the service of Poseidon.

Cyprus needs a new economic model which utilises both the traditional sectors and strengthens the role of young people if it wants to get ahead, the head of the chamber of commerce and industry (Keve) Christodoulos Angastiniotis said recently.

Among highly indebted European countries, Cyprus is most exposed to credit risks related to high household debt because it has a small economy, weak banking sector, and very high public and private debt levels, Moody’s Investors Service said in a recent report.

Cyprus’ macroeconomic outlook is positive with growth expected to reach 4% in 2018 and 3.9% in 2019, Hellenic Bank said recently.

A satellite casino will open in Nicosia on December 10, 2018 and one in Larnaca on December 17, 2018 Melco executive president Lawrence Ho has said.

Arrivals of tourists reached 433,617 in October 2018 compared to 406,870 in October 2017, recording an increase of 6.6%, according to Statistical Service figures.

The government said recently it is open to the idea of channelling a portion of the proceeds from the citizenship-by-investment scheme to funding a soon-to-be-unveiled affordable housing programme.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices climbed by 1.9% in October 2018, compared with the respective period of last year, due to increases in prices for housing, water, electricity and gas.

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis announced that ExxonMobil has started drilling at an offshore field inside the island’s exclusive economic zone.