Transnational synergies in the eastern Mediterranean could turn the region into a gas hub, according to Italian energy giant ENI, the company that discovered an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas off Egypt’s coast.

Cyprus bailout program is working well and the country makes progress under that program, a spokesperson of the IMF stressed recently.

Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis saysthere is as yet no way of knowing if Egypt’s recently discovered Zohr offshore super giant natural gas field extends into Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said that Cypriot banks, including the three main ones, Bank of Cyprus, Cooperative Central Bank and Hellenic, require no additional capital to deal with the current high non-performing loan ratio.

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.