Impressive arrivals figures are boosting hopes that 2017 will be another successful year in the tourism trade.

The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) in Cyprus decreased to 113.3 points in February 2017 from 114.1 in January mainly due to a fall in consumer confidence by -3.2 points and construction confidence by -23.1points, according to the latest index released by DG ECFIN.

Cyprus’ public debt rose by €357.1m in a year, to €19bn last December, the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) said.

Moody’s Investors Service maintains its positive outlook on the Cypriot banking system citing an expected improvement in the banks’ funding and a drop of non-performing loans ratio to 42% by the end of the year.

Gulf Publishing Company is pleased to announce the fourth Eastern Mediterranean Gas Conference (EMGC) will once again be held in Nicosia, Cyprus on 14-15 March 2017.

The EuroAsia Interconnector Ltd which plans to link the power grids of Cyprus with those of Greece and Israel via an undersea cable, said that the European Union agreed to finance the final detailed studies ahead of the implementation of the project with €14.5m.

UK-regulated ship insurers are preparing plans to open new outposts in EU jurisdictions such as Luxembourg and Cyprus, fearing that Brexit will hinder access to the EU’s financial market, industry sources involved say.

2016 was a good year for the GRS Group, both locally and internationally.

Net lending from banks in Cyprus is expected to rise during the first quarter of 2017, according to the January 2017 Bank Lending Survey of the Central Bank of Cyprus.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Bank of Cyprus recently signed an agreement to inject €134m of cheap credit for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and midcaps.