Rakuten, Inc., a Japanese e-commerce giant announces that it has acquired Viber Media, a Cyprus-registered popular messaging and VoIP startup, for US$900 million.

Lending to Cypriot households and businesses has frozen and may lead to further liquidity shortages and worsening of macroeconomic conditions, data from the Central Bank suggests.

Outstanding Central Government Debt increased by €3.1 bln in 2013 to reach €18.15 bln from €15.04 bln at the end of 2012, according to provisional figures in the quarterly bulletin of the Public Debt Management Office.

The beginning of a dialogue aimed at strengthening relations and including the expansion of activities by Lebanese banks in the Cyprus market was announced recently by Central Bank Governor and his Lebanese counterpart.

The Pancyprian Volunteerism Coordinative Council (PVCC), in collaboration with the labour ministry, has announced programmes designed to help the jobless upgrade their skillset to improve their prospects in the labour market.

The latest developments on the Cyprus problem, as well as President Obama’s statement calling for easing tension in the region, have encouraged ENI to accelerate its exploratory activities in Cyprus’s EEZ.

A high-profile delegation visiting Cyprus is seeking to strengthen Lebanese banks’ operations and business involvement on the island as it seeks the help of foreign lenders to finance trade with the EU, say bankers.

Cabinet approves the legal framework covering the privatization of state-owned organizations amid protests by the employees of the affected organisations.

Nicosia municipality has come to an agreement with representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the capital regarding the Mia Milia water treatment plant, which will lead to the project completion in 2014.

Cyprus Minister of Labour and Social Insurance Zeta Emilianides says she will announce new schemes aiming at employing 5,000 youths for a period six months to acquire work experience.