Cyprus Business Now: tourism, Keravnos, Eurobank, CySEC, cyberattacks
Presenting the Deputy Ministry’s annual report, Koumis said the industry had once again proven its resilience despite “continuous challenges and an ever-changing international environment”, reinforcing its position as a key driver of economic growth.
Tourist arrivals surpassed 4.5 million for the first time, marking a 12.2 per cent increase year-on-year and a 41.6 per cent rise over three years.
Revenues also rose sharply, rising 15.3 per cent year-on-year in the January–November period and 51.1 per cent over three years.
In absolute terms, total revenues for 2023 – 2025 reached €9.9 billion, capping what Koumis described as a historic cycle for the sector.
Speaking upon his arrival in Brussels, Keravnos described the meeting as particularly significant for Cyprus’ six-month term at the helm of the Council.
“It is a great pleasure for me to chair today’s meeting on Cohesion Policy, which is the first since Cyprus took over the Presidency,” Keravnos said.
“The motto of the Cyprus Presidency is an autonomous Union, open to the world,” he added.
He further stated that “Strategic autonomy goes through competitiveness and economic resilience, while cohesion policy is directly linked to strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of the economy”.
The bank confirmed that the FY2025 financial results will be announced on Thursday, February 26, 2026, once the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) trading session ends, with the analysts’ briefing to take place soon afterwards on the same day.
It further stated that the Annual Financial Report 2025 will be published on Friday, March 6, 2026.
Eurobank also announced that the Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, marking a revised date.
The regulator stated that the websites deumarket.com, crowd-base.com, velorato.com and xt-blimited.com do not belong to an entity granted authorisation for the provision of investment services and or the performance of investment activities.
CySEC stressed that the absence of authorisation means these websites are not licensed to offer investment services within or from the Republic of Cyprus.
The commission urged investors to exercise caution before engaging in any business or financial transactions through the specific online platforms.
The report, based on data collected through CYTUR-TI, the company’s maritime-specific threat intelligence platform, concludes that the rapid digitalisation of ships, particularly the integration of satellite communications with onboard Operational Technology (OT), has significantly widened the industry’s attack surface.
Ransomware, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and malware infections accounted for the majority of recorded incidents.
However, more strikingly, attacks are no longer confined to corporate IT networks. Instead, they are increasingly penetrating vessel OT systems, including ballast water management, engine and propulsion controls, Integrated Automation Systems (IAS), ECDIS and AIS.
The company stated that the January 2026 figure was approximately 78 per cent higher than revenues recorded in January 2025, when consolidated revenues stood at $213 million.
The update was issued following the board’s decision on the publication of information about estimated monthly consolidated revenues, as previously announced in the relevant report.
According to the announcement, the reported amount represents an estimate prepared by the board on the basis of the best available data.
The Economic Sentiment Indicator fell by 1.3 points compared with January, mainly due to a decline in services and, to a lesser extent, lower consumer confidence.
“The weakening of the climate in services was the result of more unfavourable assessments of the recent course of businesses, and specifically their financial situation and turnover,” the centre said.
At the same time, services firms appeared more optimistic about turnover in the next quarter, giving more positive estimates than in the previous two months.
“More than 300 members of the company’s network attended an evening dedicated to recognition, progress and continuous growth,” the company said in an announcement released on Thursday.
Addresses were delivered by Michalis Louis, chief executive officer of Eurobank Ltd, Takis Feidias, first executive director of ERB Cyprus Insurance Holdings, Andri Kallimachou, general manager of ERB Cyprialife, and Giorgos Gogou, sales director.
Through their remarks, they highlighted the pivotal role of the company’s human capital and sales network in achieving its strategic objectives.
The company stated that the agreement was concluded with Vergina Kypros TV Ltd and its existing shareholders.
Under the terms of the agreement, GWG will immediately provide the target company with short term financing in the form of a convertible loan to cover its working capital needs.
The agreement also grants GWG an exclusive call option to acquire a stake in the issued share capital of Vergina Kypros TV Ltd.
The call option may be exercised within an agreed time period defined between the parties.
The index is based on 2021 as the reference year, set at 100 units, the service explained.
For the full year, covering the period from January to December 2025, industrial production recorded an overall rise of 3.6 per cent compared with 2024.
The manufacturing sector once again acted as the main driver of growth, expanding by 4.6 per cent year-on-year in December.
In addition, water supply and materials recovery posted an increase of 3.2 per cent during the month.
In the corresponding quarter of 2024, the labour force stood at 518,053 persons, accounting for 64.3 per cent of the population.
Of the total, 509,773 persons were employed, pushing the employment rate to 62.6 per cent, compared with 494,600 persons and 61.4 per cent a year earlier.
At the same time, the number of unemployed persons declined to 21,289, bringing the unemployment rate down to 4 per cent of the labour force, from 4.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Breaking the figures down by gender, male unemployment stood at 3.8 per cent, while female unemployment reached 4.2 per cent.