The share of government revenue from taxation and in the form of social contributions rose to 33.6% last year from 33.2% in 2015, the European Commission’s statistical office said.

Hellenic Bank, Cyprus’ third largest, said that it approved 220 applications for its voluntary retirement scheme which will help it reduce its annual payroll by €14m.

The supplementary state budget for 2017 was passed recently by the House, even as opposition parties accused the government of timing the vote for maximum impact ahead of next month’s presidential elections.

Seasonally adjusted GDP rose by 0.6% in both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 during the third quarter of 2017, and by 0.9% in Cyprus compared with the previous quarter, according to an estimate published by Eurostat recently.

Total foreign investment in Cyprus increased by a record 9.1% in 2016 while the assets of Cyprus-based investment funds increased by 83%, the outgoing president of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), Christodoulos Angastiniotis told the organisation’s AGM recently.

As the situation shaped out in March 2013, the bail-in of depositors was the only remaining viable solution to save the banking system inCyprus, outgoing Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said recently.

Larnaca-based airline TUS will start twice-weekly flights to two destinations in Greece – Alexandroupoli and Araxos airport in Patra – from March 27, 2018.

Consumer prices rose an annual 0.3% in November as the inflation rate accelerated from October’s 0.1% after it was in the negative area in August and September, the statistical service said.

Bank of Cyprus’ decision to enter an agreement with Australia’s delinquent loans specialist Pepper Group Ltd is a credit positive for the lender, Moody’s Investors Service said.

Cyprus needs to get back to reforming its economy in order to consolidate economic growth in the long run and safeguard the sustainability of public finances, the European Commission said.