Drilling offshore Cyprus’ plot 11 or ‘Onisiforos’ by energy giants TOTAL and ENI with the West Capella rig has reached the first 2,430 meters in ocean floor depth, according to recent press reports.

On 7 July 2017 Law 87(I)/2017 was published in the Official Gazette of Cyprus, transposing the revised European Union Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) into Cyprus law. The new law, which will apply in Cyprus from 3 January 2018, will introduce significant changes to the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2007 to 2016.

Cyprus’ budget expenditure implementation reached 43% in the first half of 2017, according to figures released by the state Treasury.

The Melco International Developments and CNS consortium responsible for bringing the first casino resort to Cyprus have finalised their choices for the establishment of the temporary casino in Limassol and the four satellite casinos around the island.

Retail trade grew in May 2017 and in the first five months of the year, the island’s statistical service said recently.

Cyprus' Industrial Turnover Index accelerated by 11.4% in the first four months of 2017 compared with the corresponding period of 2016, figures released recently by the Statistical Service show.

Guarantees provided by the Cyprus government amounted to €1.76 billion at the end of June 2017, according to data released by the Cyprus Treasury.

Passenger traffic at Paphos International Airport reached 4.1 million in the first six months of 2017, registering a significant increase of 17.8%, as the airport marks ten years of operations.

Despite Turkish provocations in the island’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Cyprus’ energy plans are continuing as scheduled according to Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO) is set to adopt a new strategy in ‘wedding tourism’ which has become an important and special type of tourism in which the CTO attaches great importance.