The Cyprus Tourism Organisation has revealed that applications for the construction of 62 new hotels were approved during 2017 and concern primarily the Famagusta and Paphos districts.

The downward trend in lending and deposit rates continued in July, with marginal reductions in borrowing costs for housing and consumer loans.

Hellenic Bank, the island’s third largest lender, has said that it expects to post a €13m after tax loss in April to June 2017 on a €51m increase in provision of impairments for loan losses.

The state-owned Cyprus Cooperative Bank expects to reduce its non-performing loans stock of €7.2bn by over €1bn before the end of the year, the press reports without citing a source.

Capital Intelligence, the Limassol-based rating company, said that it affirmed Cyprus’ BB- sovereign credit rating, the B short-term foreign currency rating and their outlook at ‘stable’.

Various developments on Cyprus’ energy scene are expected to come together this autumn, including the results of now ongoing exploratory gas drilling in offshore block 11.

The Cyprus Tourism Organisation has called the 15.3% increase in June revenues, to €347.2m over the same month in 2016 “remarkable”.

Eurobank Cyprus Ltd, the subsidiary of Greece’s Eurobank, said that that it generated an after-tax profit of €23.5m in the first six months of 2017 compared to €38.1m profit in the entire 2016.

Ryanair is launching a new Paphos route to Dublin, with a twice-weekly service commencing in April 2018, the first of its summer 2018 routes.

Public expenditure in public and private education for 2014 stood at €1,142.2 millions, for all levels, which corresponds to 13.4% of the Government budget and 6.5% of the Gross Domestic Product, according to the annual report ‘Statistics of Education’ for the school year 2014/15.