ENI company, currently prospecting for natural gas in Cyprus waters, signed recently a cooperation agreement with Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) to further strengthen their relationship in a number of areas, particularly in the upstream and LNG sectors.

As a result GDP for 2014 is expected to contract by 2.4%, according to the Economic Research Centre (ERC) of the University of Cyprus.

The fiscal deficit is projected to be lower in 2014 than the 3% threshold set by the EU and closer to 2.5%, said the Finance Minister recently.

The Cooperative Central Bank (CCB) is receiving encouraging signs from its restructuring operations, its chairman said a day after the bank posted profits of €85.6m for the first half of 2014.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has not ruled out the possibility of buying a stake in Cyprus' banks, EBRD Cyprus office head said recently.

Cyprus will submit candidacy for the leadership of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) of the United Nations in the upcoming elections in June 2015.

Some 6,840 young people have taken part in placement projects implemented by the Human Resource Development Authority to address youth unemployment with a budget of €24 million, according to Labour Minister Zeta Emilianides.

Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman will be visiting Cyprus next month, to prepare for an official state visit by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The ratio of non-performing loans in Cyprus’s banking system rose slightly to 47.7% in August 2014 compared to 46.9% the month before, even as the number of non-performing loans fell by more than €55.5m, the Central Bank of Cyprus said recently.

The decision to cut carbon dioxide emissions in shipping should be taken at an international level and not just by the European Union as any unilateral step by Brusselswould affect the competitiveness of the European and Cypriot shipping industries, a Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) official said.