Hellenic Bank, Cyprus’ third-largest lender, said that it expects the Cypriot economy to expand 3.5% this year and growth to slow down to 3.2% in 2018 as reforms came to a halt.

RCB Bank said that Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings (S&P) affirmed the lender’s BB- long term counterparty rating and its B short term rating which have a stable outlook, days after the rating company reaffirmed Cyprus’s BB+ sovereign rating, placing it on positive outlook.

The state-owned Cyprus Cooperative Bank said that it selected US lender Citigroup to act as global coordinator in its planned capital increase, which is part of its strategic Agenda 2020.

Tourist arrivals rose last month 14% to 523,651 compared with the respective month last year, the highest ever in the month of August - mainly on an increase in visitors from secondary markets, the statistical servicesaid.

Over 800 delegates from 35 countries, including high ranking officials of European and international organisations are expected to take part in the Maritime Cyprus 2017 conference on 9 October in Limassol.

The government is planning to construct a jetty at Vassilikos port to host a floating storage facility for liquefied natural gas (LNG) to be used for power production, it emerged recently.

News this week of the outcome at the Onisiphoros well generated all sorts of reaction, but for experts the main takeaway is that the gas find – albeit a small one – holds great promise for the future because it has scientifically confirmed the existence of a carbonate platform around the Eratosthenes Seamount south of the island.

In May, non-performing loans in the Cypriot banking system fell by €127.2m in a month to €23bn or 46.2% of the total mainly on a drop in corporate loans, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades welcomed the latest rating by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) that placed the sovereign credit rating outlook of Cyprus from stable to positive.

Total nominal hourly labour costs rose in Cyprus 0.4% in the second quarter of 2017 compared with the respective quarter last year, which was the third lowest in the EU, the European Commission’s statistical office said.