Interest rates for new housing and business loans exceeding €1m in the Cypriot banking system dropped to 3.68% and 3.8% respectively in April 2015, from 3.76% and 4.28% the month before, which are both historical lows, the Central Bank of Cyprus said recently.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades recently tried to allay fears of austerity until 2018, following publication of publication of the government’s Fiscal Policy Strategic Framework 2016-2018, which highlighted a planned freeze on government spending over the next three years, as well as a capped budgets for ministries.

The IMF is set to approve a disbursement of €280m to Cyprus at its next board meeting on June 19, 2015.

Noble Energy, Delek Drilling and Avner Oil Exploration, holders of a License for the exploration of hydrocarbons in Block 12 of Cyprus’ EEZ, have declared the commerciality of the Aphrodite natural gas field.

The Cyprus government has welcomed Delek’s recent announcement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange that it had begun preliminary negotiations with Noble Energy for the acquisition of 19.9% of Noble’s share in Block 12 offshore Cyprus.

Greek industrial group Mytilineos and the country’s second-biggest oil refiner Motor Oil have submitted a binding bid to supply natural gas to Cyprus’ state gas company (DEFA), Mytilineos said recently.

Cyprus from an example to avoid has become an example to follow, Pierre Moscovici, EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Union said in an interview with CNA, adding that the Cypriot economy has made remarkable progress following two years of an adjustment programme.

Cyprus is now part of the MED transnational cooperation programme that was awarded €275 million from the European Commission, along with €224 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has laid out its first official plan of action for Cyprus, saying it would focus on repairing banks, privatisations and key infrastructure like ports.

Investors from Russia and the region have expressed interest in the purchase of the state-owned Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA), sources within the Ministry of Finance said recently.