In addition, the Bank has launched a mandatory public offer to acquire the remaining shares of Hellenic Bank with the aim of fully owning them.

The transaction was completed on February 10, 2025 after obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals and included the acquisition of 154,832,195 shares for approximately EUR 750 million at a price of EUR 4.843 per share.

Commenting on the announcement, Hellenic Bank said: “Today marks another milestone in the development of Hellenic Bank.”

According to President Nikos Christodoulides, Cypriot tourism has recovered from the challenges of the past three years, including the pandemic and the loss of the Russian market.

During the annual general meeting of the Association of Cyprus Tourism Enterprises (Stek), the President stated that the government's priority would now shift to providing targeted support to tourism within a sustainable and socially responsible framework in order to improve competitiveness.

In this context, addressing climate change is crucial, as visitor satisfaction depends on national efforts.

"Over the past three years, tourism in our country has been significantly affected by external factors," said Christodoulides. "First, it was the Covid-19 pandemic, which completely paralyzed the tourism sector for a whole year, and later it was the loss of the second largest market for the tourism sector, Russia."

Taking these factors into account, he said, the "main objective is to regain the high level of performance of the past." The president pointed out that the record results of this year, as well as the positive signs for 2025, indicate "that our country's tourism is expected to maintain this high level."

Cyprus is not directly affected by the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, but the risk of inflationary pressure in the country remains, Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the General Assembly of the Association of Cyprus Tourism Enterprises (Stek), he said that although Cyprus is not currently directly affected, the continuation of tariffs could lead to economic challenges.

"The EU has already expressed its concerns," he said, adding: "Trump's actions are creating problems around the world."

“As an EU member state, we agree with the position of the European Commission and tariffs will certainly not facilitate global trade,” he said.

“On the contrary,” he continued, “they will create barriers and inflationary pressures.”

According to Akis Vavlitis, President of the Association of Cyprus Tourism Enterprises (Stek), Cyprus is positioning itself as a high-quality, year-round destination that strikes a balance between sustainability, environmental friendliness and economic growth.

Speaking at the association's annual general meeting, Vavlitis highlighted the sector's resilience and its crucial role in empowering local communities, workers and businesses.

Despite geopolitical challenges, Cyprus could record a record number of 4.04 million visitors in 2024, he said. Expected tourism revenues would amount to 3.2 billion euros, contributing about 13 percent to the country's GDP.

However, Vavlitis pointed out that a significant proportion of these visitors – around 35 percent or 1.4 million people – did not stay in licensed hotel accommodation, but instead stayed in unregistered or short-term rented accommodation or even visited the Turkish-occupied north.

Furthermore, he pointed out that the average length of stay has fallen from 10.7 days in 2014 to 8.6 days in 2024, a decrease of 24 percent. Looking ahead, Vavlitis warned that despite the record numbers, Cyprus' tourism industry should not take its success for granted.

Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC), the parent company of Freedom24, reported strong third-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Tuesday, along with a record market capitalization of $9 billion.

“These achievements underscore the success of the company’s strategy and its growing importance in the global financial services sector,” the company said.

Specifically, Freedom Holding Corp. reported revenue of $655.2 million for the quarter ending December 31, 2024.

This represents an increase of $236.6 million, or 57 percent, over the same period last year.

"In Europe," it continues, "Freedom24 continues to attract a growing number of retail investors who value the reliability and ease of use of its trading platform."

The company also said that "the increasing popularity of the platform has fueled Freedom24's rapid expansion across Europe. There are now offices in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Greece, Poland, Bulgaria and Cyprus."

Limassol continued to lead Cyprus' high-end real estate market in 2024. According to real estate analytics firm Ask Wire, Limassol accounted for eight of the ten most expensive real estate transactions, with a total value of €176.8 million.

The most valuable transaction of the year was a EUR 39.3 million apartment development project in Polemidia, Limassol.

The only other districts in the top 10 were Nicosia and Paphos, with an office sale for €19 million in Agioi Omologites and a tourist development for €14.3 million in Kato Paphos.

The 50 most valuable real estate transactions in 2024 totaled EUR 386.2 million, with Limassol alone contributing 51.7 percent, or a total of EUR 199.7 million.

This was followed by Nicosia with 67.8 million euros or 17.5 percent, while Paphos accounted for 62.8 million euros or 16.3 percent of the total.

This growth comes against the backdrop of ongoing global logistical challenges, particularly the prolonged closure of the Suez Canal.

The company said there were signs of improvement in delivery times, "leading to cautious optimism in supply chain management."

The Society for the Promotion of Cooperative Banks in Cyprus has expressed its support for the efforts of Finance Minister Makis Keravnos to stimulate growth in the sector.

This is a reference to an interview the minister gave to the Cypriot newspaper Haravgi , in which he described the initiative to establish a new cooperative organisation as a "step in the right direction", provided that it is based on an appropriate legal framework and operates rationally and free from external interference.

In the interview, Keravnos acknowledged the “historical importance of the cooperative movement in Cyprus, especially its role in supporting disadvantaged groups and farmers”.

However, he noted that as the movement spread, various problems arose that ultimately led to its collapse.

"I see this prospect very positively," the minister explained. "In the current circumstances, it could be something that both society and the economy need," he added.

The Cyprus Institute of Certified Management Consultants (CICMC) and the University of Limassol (UoL) announced this week that they have formalized their cooperation through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The aim of the letter of intent is to “promote a productive partnership between the two institutions,” the statement said.

CICMC, a member of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve), operates under the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI).

It is responsible for awarding the internationally recognized qualification “Certified Management Consultant” (CMC) in Cyprus.

Hotels and other tourist establishments are not allowed to request or keep copies of identification documents such as identity cards or passports from their customers, the data protection officer said on Monday.

In a statement, Irini Loizidou-Nicolaindou said her office had received numerous inquiries and complaints regarding the practice of hotels requiring copies of such identification documents from their customers.

She added, however, that while these practices are used in some tourist attractions, they are not used in others.

After examining the issue, the Commissioner explained that some hotels, in addition to the mandatory collection of customer data at check-in, also ask for copies of ID cards or passports, which they then keep until check-out or until the bill is paid.

However, keeping such copies is not required by law, so hotels and tourist attractions are advised to stop this practice.

Cyprus is developing intelligent transport systems (ITS) and investing in cutting-edge technology to improve the capacity of its road network, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a seminar on digital transport in the cities of the future, Vafeades said Cyprus is completely dependent on road transport and aims to build a well-developed infrastructure for communications and transport.

He said ITS was part of Cyprus's commitments to the EU.

“We expect better integration of all modes of transport and the development of numerous applications that will support the transition to multimodality and, in particular, the use of sustainable means of transport,” he added.

Finance Minister Makis Keravnos said on Tuesday he was “not optimistic” about the Great Sea Interconnector – the discussed submarine power cable that would connect Cyprus with Greece.

However, his views differed from those of Energy Minister George Papanastasiou, who a few days ago expressed his satisfaction with the Greek side's response to a number of questions raised by Cyprus.

In response to questions from the media, Keravnos stated that he had not yet seen the Greek Energy Minister's reply to his Cypriot counterpart.

He added that he had not been informed about the matter being handled by Papanastasiou and therefore declined to comment further.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) closed with losses on Tuesday, February 11.

The general Cypriot stock market index stood at 223.08 points at 12:44, a decrease of 0.48 percent.

The FTSE/CySE 20 index was at 135.45 points, a decline of 0.46 percent.

The total value of transactions up to the above-mentioned trading time amounted to 219,059 euros.

Among the sub-indices, the main index, the alternative investments index and the investment firms index fell by 0.52 percent, 0.42 percent and 1.23 percent respectively. The hotel index remained stable.

The greatest investment interest was in Vassiliko Cement Works Public Company (no change), Hellenic Bank (-0.21 percent), Demetra Holdings (-1.25 percent), Bank of Cyprus (-0.4 percent) and Cyprus Trading Corporation (-1.56 percent).

Source: CyprusMail.com

Author: Kyriacos Nicolaou