Cyprus and the European Investment Bank will sign a €100m loan agreement which will help finance projects co-financed by the European Union’s cohesion funds in 2014 to 2020, the Finance Ministry said.

A Cypriot company based in Paphos, the New Anesis Travel &Tours LTD, has signed an agreement with the Chinese company Zhongjia Chenfei General Aviation LTD to launch direct flights between the two countries.

Cyprus was among the world’s top 10 countries that improved their business rules in 20145, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business report.

Fuel retail prices are expected to drop on October 28 2015, following reductions agreed to by oil companies a day earlier.

Bank of Cyprus Chairman Josef Ackermann told the New York Times that the turnaround of the bank will take another two to three years.

UK and institutional investors accounted for the bulk of buyers of the 10-year bond issued by the Cyprus government recently.

Increases in deposits at local banks continued for the third consecutive month in 2015 amounting to €933 million.

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades says the island’s creditworthiness has been essentially restoredfollowing his Ministry’s issuance of a 10-year eurobond (EMTN).

Retail sales volumes jumped by 4% year on in year August 2015, according to preliminary figures from the Statistical Service Cystat, following a 4.7% leap in July.

Arch Capital Group Ltd (ACGL), one the most internationally respected providers of innovative risk management solutions through Insurance, Reinsurance and Mortgage underwriting platforms is opening up shop in Cyprus before the end of 2015.