Cyprus saw its government debt fall in the third quarter of 2014 by €956m to €18.2b after it redeemed part of the bond issued to recapitalise Cyprus Popular Bank in 2012, the Finance Ministry said.

Industrial turnover index in Cyprus was down by 6.4% in the first eight months of this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to data released by the Statistical Service.

The Labour Ministry will pay €41 million more in social spending next year, Minister Zeta Emilianidou said recently, mainly because of the introduction of the guaranteed minimum income (GMI).

The government would like to see the €1 billion of bailout money not required for recapitalising the Cooperative Central Bank used to repay more expensive, short-term debt, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said recently.

Property owners have until April 25, 2014 to appeal the government’s valuation of their real estate and correct any other mistakes made in the process of fixing immovable propertytax (IPT).

Aegean Airlines said it was interested in developing its operations on the island, but it was not yet clear whether the processinvolved acquiring the island’s ailing carrier Cyprus Airways (CY).

Bank of Cyprus shareholders elected former Deutsche Bank’s Josef Ackermann, US billionaire Wilbur Ross and Russian Vladimir Strzhalkovskiy to the new board recently.

The circumstances and decisions that led to the collapse of Laiki Bank should be fully and thoroughly investigated by state independent investigators, Deputy Government Spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said recently.

Bank of Cyprus shareholders are meeting in Nicosia to elect a new board of directors which will represent the new shareholder structure, following the €1 billion capital increase in August 2014.

The Cabinet has green-lighted government guarantees to the European Investment Bank (EIB) to the tune of €105m to finance small and medium sized businesses and middle capitalisation companies.