Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said that while the government plans to keep its citizenship by investment scheme inplace, it may consider a cap on the number of beneficiaries, already exceeding 1,000 since 2013, according to press reports.

APS Holdings aims at reducing the ratio of Hellenic Bank’s delinquent portfolio to a quarter of current levels possibly in the medium-term, and sees opportunities in the recovering real estate sector even as the current legislative framework to reduce bad loans requires improvement, a director said.

A social mobility report by Eurofound, the EU Agency for the improvement of living and working conditions, shows that Cyprus, Finland, Greece and Poland have changed the most, having seen massive mobility out of agriculture towards manufacturing and services over the last generation or so.

The central government’s revenue in the first seven months of 2017 rose by €438m, to almost €3.5bn, on a cash basis, compared to the respective period last year, the Treasury said.

Public debt reached €19.3bn in June 2017, up from €19.1bn at the end of March, and €18.7bn at the end of June last year, the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) said.

The Central Bank of Cyprus said that home prices rose 0.3% in the first three months of the year compared to the previous quarter, recording the third consecutive quarterly increase.

Bank Otkritie Financial Corporation sold its 19.85% stake in RCB Bank to the management of the bank, the Limassol-based lender said, with the chief executive now in control of nearly half of the capital.

Moody’s Investors Service said that Bank of Cyprus’ decision to de-risk its balance sheet with a €500m increase in provisions is a credit negative even as it reflects the vulnerability of its capital to its bad loans stock.

Cyprus-based airline Cobalt Air has announced the launch of flights to London Gatwick and Frankfurt from Larnaca as part of its 2017 winter schedule.

Russian bank Otkritie has sold its 19.8% stake in Cyprus-based RCB bank and will use the proceeds to fund the development of its retail business in Russia, Otkritie said recently.