The finance minister recently issued a decree for the recapitalisation of the Co-operative Central Bank (CCB), which provides for its gradual privatisation with the goal of listing the CCB on the Cyprus stock exchange in 2017.

The government is currently in the process of hiring consultants to help map out the privatisation of Larnaca port’s commercial operations, transport minister Marios Demetriades announced recently.

After two days of debate in parliament, the plenum recently passed the 2016 state budget.

The new foreign company legislation for the ‘deoffshorisation’ that was approved in November 2014 and came into effect from January 1 2015, has already had a positive impact on the business services sector, as well as the employment sector in general.

While the government managed to reduce fiscal imbalances and restore market access, it may still have some way to go before it achieves an investment-grade credit rating, the Central Bank of Cyprus said recently.

The government had collected €84.48 million from the immovable property tax (IPT) 2015 by December 3 2015, which accounts for some 82.25% of the total amount owed.

The upcoming visit to Nicosia of Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi will further prove that China and Cyprus are true friends and good partners, ambassador Liu Xinsheng said recently.

Emirates is offering special package deals for travelers from Cyprus for January 1 to February 1, 2016 to Dubai for shopping.

Around 8,000 couples from abroad chose Cyprus as their wedding destination in 2015, with the number steadily climbing over the years, according to the Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO).

Cyprus Stock Exchange Chairman Marios Pilavakis says his appointment as a member of the Board of the Federation of European Securities Exchange (FESE) is a great success.