Cyprus’ seventh quarterly review of its economic adjustment programme agreed with international creditors in April 2013 as part of a €10-billion bailout loan recently kicked off.

The trade deficit decreased by €117.5m in the period January – April 2015, and stood at €925.3m compared to €1.042,8m in the corresponding period of 2014, figures released by the Statistical Service of Cyprus showed recently.

The first ever casino resort in Cyprus has been given the green light by lawmakers in Nicosia.

The UK Cyprus Enterprise Council joined forces with the International Professionals Association (IPA) to organise a seminar at the Cyprus High Commission in London recently to promote the island’s attractions as a centre for services, enterprise and investment.

Property sales continue to grow for the fifth consecutive month in 2015, both from the domestic and especially from the overseas markets, with Paphos continuing to lead in purchase contracts by foreign buyers recorded at the Department of Lands and Registry by 36%.

The House recently approved most of a batch of tax reform bills, aimed at streamlining taxation and encouraging investment.

Plans to hire up to 1,000 young people with a €4 million budget will be announced by the end of 2015, according to Labour Minister Zeta Emilianidou who was speaking at the annual conference of the Democratic Labour Federation of Cyprus (DEOK).

The European Commission has adopted a key investment package for the Cypriot maritime, fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

New figures from the Cyprus Central Bank show that non-performing loans now account for a staggering 46.82% of the total loans in the local banking system - amounting to €27.75 billion.

Bank of Cyprus said that the maximum amount of government bond the Central Bank of Cyprus could buy from the secondary market as part of the European Central Bank’s expanded asset purchase programme is €977m, out of €2.2bn in maximum securities purchases allocated for the country.