Cyprus’ trade deficit widened in 2017 an annual 17%, or €727.3m, to €5.1bn, the highest since 2010 mainly on increased imports, the statistical service said.

As part of an effort to develop the next generation of supercomputers Cyprus became the fifteenth country to sign a European declaration on high-performance computing (HPC) this week, the European Commission said in a statement recently.

Company registrations in January rose by 13% to 1,198 compared with the same month in 2017, the Department of the Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver said recently.

The Treasury said the government’s actual revenues last year rose to €6.5bn from €5.9bn the previous year, against over €6bn provided in the 2017 budget.

Italy’s energy giant Eni said that it made a lean gas discovery off the coast of Cyprus after drilling an exploratory well at Calypso, the target of exploration in block 6 of the island’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Some 3,000 new tourist beds are expected to operate this year in Ayia Napa and Protaras, ahead of the peak summer season.

The use of plastic money rose 9% in January to €227.1m compared to the respective month of 2016, the payment processing joint venture of Cypriot banks, JCC Payment Systems Ltd said.

The amount of non-performing loans in the Cypriot banking system fell in October 2017 by €51.7m to €21.4bn compared to September and by €2.7bn in a year, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

The European Commission said that it expects economic growth in Cyprus to moderate to 3.2% this year and to 2.8% in 2019 after reaching 3.8% in 2017.

Building permits rose in January to November 2017 an annual 45% in terms of construction area, to 1,354,786 square metres and 53% in terms of budget to €1.6bn, the statistical service said.