The IMD World Competitiveness Center in Switzerland has recently published the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook of 2017, in which Cyprus is ranked 37th out of 63 countries in terms of the competitiveness of its economy.

The provisions of the EU Regulation setting up the new European Account Preservation Orders (Regulation No. 655/2014) will come into force on 18 January 2017. Under the new changes, creditors domiciled in participating EU Member States (which incorporates all Member States except for the UK and Denmark) will have the capacity to apply to freeze funds in a debtor's bank account in any other participating Member State using a single application form.

Non-performing loans in the Cypriot banking system fell by a mere €30.6m in February 2017 to well above €23.8bn in a month, mainly on increased compliance by households, the central bank said.

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades has invited businesspeople in Lebanon to explore ways to invest in Cyprus and take advantage of the wealth of opportunities available in all sectors of the economy.

There are prospects for further development of tourism in Cyprus, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said recently, recognising the decisive role of the tourism industry in the recovery of the economy, and pointing out that the effort to improve the quality of the product should continue.

The stabilisation of home prices appears to be accompanied by a similar trend in land values, reflecting a recovering economy and real estate market, two property valuators said.

Employment levels in Cyprus rose in the first quarter of 2017 an annual 3.4%, which was the third highest in the euro area after Malta’s 6% and a 3.5% in Ireland, the European Commission’s statistical office said.

Addressing the recent Cyprus-Lebanon Business Forum, President Nicos Anastasiades said that Cyprus has exited years of recession to rebound strongly.

Value Added Tax (VAT) is Cyprus’ single most important source of public revenue Minister of Finance Harris Georgiades revealed in his opening address at the first-of-its-kind Limassol VAT Forum held recently.

For an eighth consecutive quarter, the economy is exhibiting a positive growth rate at 3.3%, with most sectors showing growth compared to the previous six-month period.