The total revenue of the General Government decreased by 8.6% in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the same period of 2015, the Statistical Service said recently.

The Cypriot naturalisation scheme put in place on June 1, 2013 has brought in €3b in investments in immovable property, deposits, shareholding and bond purchases.

On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey conducted by the Cyprus Statistical Service, tourist arrivals reached 482,132 in July 2016 compared to 414,527 in July 2015, recording an increase of 16.3%.

The Bank of Cyprus has announced its decision to cancel government guaranteed bonds of a value of €1 billion, due to a drop in ELA funding to €2 billion which it intends to fully repay by the end of 2017.

The intention of the Bank of Cyprus is to approve all loan applications which fulfill the necessary requirements, said the bank in a press release, adding that since the crisis began it has provided €1 billion in fresh loans, while this year’s loans have more than doubled compared to 2015.

The Cypriot economy grew 2.7% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2016, according to a flash estimate published by the statistical service recently.

Paphos looks set to have a building boom in 2017, based on building permit figures from the Statistical Service (Cystat).

A percentage of 22.2% of young persons in Cyprus were in 2015 neither in employment nor in education or training, according to information issued by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on the occasion of International Youth Day.

Demand for loans by households and businesses has been on the rise since the beginning of 2015, a trend that is expected to continue in 2016.

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, the trade deficit was up €648 million in January-May 2016 year-on-year.