Cyprus Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides and his Omani counterpart Sayyid Badr Bin Saud Bin Hareb Al Busaidi recently discussed issues of mutual interest in humanitarian missions and search and rescue operations.

The Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) has accepted tenders for €150 mln, with at average yield of 2.47%, during a recent 13 week Treasury Bills Auction.

The government has signed a deal that will see the island’s strategic oil reserves moved from Larnaca to VTTV’s facilities in the Vassilikos area, Limassol.

The Employers' Association (OEV) helped stabilise the Cyprus economy in2014 by lowering labour costs, curbing unemployment, and supporting the government’s guaranteed minimum income (GMI) scheme, the body said in a statement recently.

Auctioneers for mortgaged property auctions will be assigned randomly via an electronic selection system at the interior ministry, according to the auctioning regulations tabled by the government in a recent joint House finance and interior committee session.

Cheaper water will be available for 26 farming communities once a water treatment plant currently under construction is completed, agriculture minister Nicos Kouyialis told a meeting of the House Refugees Committee recently.

According to the European Commission’s Spring 2015 economic forecast, growth momentum is not expected to resume until 2016, when household and corporate deleveraging enable sustainable growth.

The Bank of Cyprus announced recently the disposal of its investment in Marfin Diversified Strategy Fund Plc (MDSF), comprising 1.142.052,6400 Founder Shares and 765.096,0464 US Dollar A Shares (95% of MDSF issued share capital) to Dorchester Capital Secondaries Offshore III, LP.

Unemployment in Cyprus fell slightly in March 2015 and stood at 16,0%, compared to 16,1% in February 2015.

The Cooperative Central Bank recently announced a net profit of €41.20 million for 2014, after having revised upwards its provision for impairment losses on loans and other advances by €166.05 and a tax credit of €15.22 million.