The government is considering a request for the construction of a small dock in Cyprus paid for and under the control of Israel as a means of relieving the isolation of the Gaza Strip, deputy government spokesman Klelia Vasiliou said recently.

Hellenic Bank said that it signed with the Cyprus Cooperative Bank a business transfer agreement allowing it to acquire the latter’s healthy part and a subscription agreement with Bravo Strategies III, a fund owned by Pacific Investments Management Company LLC (PIMCO).

The unemployment rate in the first quarter of the year rose to 10.7%, from 10.1% the previous quarter, revising previous estimates upwards, a likely sign the economy is slowing.

The Administrative Court cancelled a decision of the competition watchdog to fine JCC Payment Systems €1.7m and Bank of Cyprus €18.1m, citing the deficient composition of the Commission for the Protection of Competition.

The governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) Rolf Wenzel said recently that the lender will continue supporting economic recovery in Cyprus and advised more action to reduce non-performing loans.

Demetra Investment, owner of 10.1% of Hellenic Bank’s shareholding, and software developer Logicom Public Ltd, said their respective shares will be suspended from trading at the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE).

Tourist arrivals rose in May 2018 by 7.6% to 450,955 compared to the respective month of 2017 as secondary markets offset a decline in Russian visitors, the statistical service said recently.

Government Spokesman Prodromos Prodromou stressed the need for a solution to the problem of Non-Performing Loans in Cyprus.

The harmonised consumer price index rose in May 2018 an annual 1% compared to a year before mainly on more expensive energy products, the statistical service said.

The cabinet approved in principle Hellenic Bank’s offer for the acquisition of state-owned Cyprus Cooperative Bank’s operations, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said.