Moody’s rating agency said the decline of non-performing exposures (NPEs) by €5.6bn, or 33.6%, stemming from the resolution of the co-operative bank (CCB) is a credit positive for the Cypriot banking system because it reduces asset quality risks and supports depositor confidence.

Inflation in Cyprus dropped to 1.0% in December 2018, down from 1.6% in November, while a year earlier the same rate was -0.4%, Eurostat said recently.

A historic high of just under four million tourists visited Cyprus in 2018, which was a 7.8% increase compared with 2017, date from the statistical service (Cystat) showed recently.

EY’s Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) practice has received two awards at the Mergermarket M&A Awards 2018 for Europe ceremony organised by Mergermarket, an independent mergers and acquisitions intelligence and data provider. The Mergermarket M&A Awards are the top accolades in the deal industry in Europe.

The total tax debts due to the state at the end of the third quarter of 2018 stood at €2.28bn, some €250m less than the second quarter of that year.

Google searches by people interested in tourism in Cyprus reach about 100 million a year, while in 2017 there was a 60% increase, according to the Google Travel Director for Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta, Orestis Andrianis.

The expertise of the Cyprus' lawyers, accountants, auditors and other specialists, often European or US trained, offer full and efficient services in all aspects of company law and tax planning, and the world’s leading accountancy and consultancy firms are all present on the island.

Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis has said that the decision to set up the East Mediterranean Gas Forum, an international organisation, was of enormous importance for Cyprus and its citizens.

Consumer-facing companies must change how they are transforming their businesses and take bold steps in order to remain relevant to the data and technology-enabled smart consumer, according to EY FutureConsumer.Now research that identified five business imperatives for consumer-facing companies to act on now.

Property sales in 2018 were more than twice those in the financial crisis year of 2013.