President Nicos Anastasiades and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri have held “very productive, fruitful and constructive” talks, during which they discussed a number of issues, including ways to enhance bilateral relations, EU-Lebanon ties and developments in efforts to find a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) said that Monday night’s Cyprus-Russia business dinner in Moscow had been extremely fruitful in terms of making connection with top Russian entrepreneurs.

The Republic of Cyprus has adopted all international measures against the legalisation of income from illegal activities and the relevant Cypriot legislation is strict, the Ministry of Justice said recently in a press release.

Economic sentiment improved in October 2017, according to the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre.

Bank of Cyprus, the island’s largest lender, said it obtained approval to set up an asset management company.

Funds deposited in the Cypriot banking system dropped by €164.9m to €49bn in September as the amount of outstanding loans dropped by €134.6bn to €52.6bn, the lowest in nine years, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

The of value of turnover in retail trade rose in August 2017 a preliminary 4.2% compared to the respective month of 2016, the statistical service said.

The government held at the Central Bank of Cyprus more than €1.4bn in deposits at the end of September 2017, the bank supervisor said.

Cyprus-based TUS Airways is expanding operations and is offering direct flights from Larnaca to Athens from December, it announced recently.

The consolidated economic growth of recent quarters has helped reduce the stock of non-performing loans in the banking system mainly via a reduction in delinquent corporate credit, central bank data show.