Cyprus will seek allies in a bid to host another European agency after falling out of contention for the seat of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said recently.

The government recorded a fiscal surplus of €431.5m, or roughly 2.4% of GDP, on a cash basis in the first eight months of the year, compared to €12.1m in 2016, the finance ministry said.

The number of property transactions rose 8% in September, to 602, compared to the respective month of 2016, the land registry said.

Cyprus and Russia recently signed a protocol outlining the possibilities and prospects to further expand their cooperation, including innovation, industrial cooperation, medical services, transport, telecoms and information technology.

Bank of Cyprus’ chief executive officer John Hourican said confidence in the bank has improved “dramatically” over the past years in which the lender performed better than expected.

An extra 250,000 airline seats are being added for the coming winter tourism season, translating into a 20% increase in the number of arrivals between November and March, industry players say meaning the success of tourism so far this year looks set to continue.

The government aims to bring liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Cyprus by 2020 for cheaper and cleaner energy, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Stelios Himonas said recently.

The conclusions of the latest European Commission and European Central Bank review of the Cyprus economy were the most positive ones since 2013, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said recently.

Hellenic Bank, Cyprus’ third largest lender, said recently that it generated a net loss of €23.4m in the second half of 2017 attributable to shareholders compared to a net profit of €0.7m in the same period of 2016.

Revenue from tourism rose an annual 5.8% to all-time high of €425.7m in July 2017 when arrivals rose 10%, the statistical service said recently.