In December, the number of new company registrations rose an annual 4.1% to 1,335, the department said in an emailed statement.

The total number of companies registered dropped last year 8.1% to 210,677, which is the lowest after 2008, as the number of companies struck off exceeded new registrations. Company registrations are an indicator of the performance of the business services sector. In 2015, the number of company registrations rose 0.5% after rising 3% in 2014.

Last year, applications for company names rose 11% to 27,031 after dropping in December an annual 6.6% to 2,149, the company registrar said.

The number of certified copies rose in 2016 and December 10% and 6.2% to 311,110 and 28,367 respectively, the department said. The number of other documents submitted dropped 12% to 131,296 in 2016 after rising 12% to 13,623.

Source: Cyprus Mail