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.

Industrial production in June 2017 rose to the highest level of the past 10 months according to data released recently by the Statistical Service of Cyprus.

A clearer picture of the findings at the Cyprus’ Onisiforos-West 1 region of Block 11 is anticipated to emerge within the next few days.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (“CySEC”) has issued a summary of the changes to passporting arrangements and conditions governing the provision of investment services and activities by third country firms that will result from the implementation of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU, commonly known as MiFID II, and Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (“MiFIR”). MiFID II and MiFIR have been transposed into Cyprus law by Law 87(I)/2017 and the new provisions will apply from 3 January 2018. Law 87(I)/2017 expressly adopts the provisions of MiFID II, including a number of discretions that member states had been granted the option to adopt in transposing MiFID II.