A meeting chaired by President Nicos Anastasiades was held recently, to review the remaining valid offers in a tender put out by the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) for importing gas to be used for local electricity production, for a possible contract worth upwards of €3bn.

The Council of Ministers recently adopted the fourth bill of the insolvency framework.

Emirates has appointed a new Cyprus country manager, Ms Asma Al Rahma, who will be moving to the island after three years managing the airline in Oman.

Banks tightened loan conditions in the third quarter of 2014 according to the latest Bank Lending Survey by the Central Bank of Cyprus.

The cooperative sector has announced it will soon proceed with a 2% reduction in rates for agricultural loans and would reduce rates for housing loans in combination with a reduction in deposit rates.

Harmonized inflation (HICP) recorded a negative rate in December 2014 after seven consecutive months, compared with December 2013, according to new data from the Statistical Service of Cyprus.

The European Central Bank and the Single Supervisory Mechanism have approved the appointment of Bert Pijls as the Chief Executive Officer of Hellenic Bank.

Companies from countries such as Russia, Luxembourg and Greece are showing increased interest in Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS), said the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

Cabinet recently gave the green light for the state to launch a search for a private investor to purchase the logo and name of the recently defunct Cyprus Airways.

Cypriot banks are taking steps to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).