Cypriot households and businesses outside the finance sector continue to be the most indebted sectors of the economy, the Central Bank said in a report recently, despite the drop in non-performing loans.

The consortium with the licence on the Aphrodite gas field in block 12 is “very close” to a deal to export natural gas to a liquefaction terminal in Egypt, Foreign Minister Nicos Christodoulides has said.

On the 12th of March 2018, the EU Commission via an explanatory memorandum (“Explanatory Memorandum”), adopted a package of further measures intended to deepen, unify and further integrate the capital markets sector of the 28 EU Member States.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the progress made in resolving non – performing loans (NPLs) in the banking sector of Cyprus has been limited.

Amid renewed Turkish threats, energy giant ExxonMobil plans to carry out an exploratory drill at a prospect off Cyprus sometime in the fourth quarter, a senior official said recently, after a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades.

Revenues from tourism rose 2.8% year-on-year in the first seven months of 2018, to around €1.5bn, the statistical service said recently.

Cyprus’ natural gas public company (DEFA) recently published the tender documents for the design, construction, and operation of an LNG import terminal that will be located at Vassilikos.

The number of registered unemployed dropped sharply in September 2018 by 23.4%, compared to the same month last year, the Statistical Service of Cyprus reported recently.

Total new loans dropped to €211m in August 2018, from €284.1m in the previous month, statistics released by the central bank showed recently.

The energy minister announced on Monday Cyprus will be seeking bidders for a €300m project to facilitate natural gas imports and will also invite energy companies to express interest in another offshore field inside the island’s exclusive economic zone.