As Cyprus’ economy expands with projected GDP growth of around 3.5% in 2019, employers in two of its backbone industries, construction and tourism, say they are facing a chronic labour shortage.

A targeted campaign to promote Paphos as the top destination to spend summer on the island has been launched.

Last week, the 4th International Investors Summit organised by Invest Cyprus took place in Limassol, and the list of attendees included over 150 foreign entrepreneurs and investors,representatives from audit and law firms and banks and government officials, amongst others the President of Cyprus, Mr. Nicos Anastasiadis and Finance Minister, Mr. Haris Georgiades.

A draft bill to regulate blockchain technology in Cyprus is expected to be ready before the end of 2019, as part of the National Strategy of Cyprus for blockchain that has been prepared, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said recently.

Europe’s largest integrated casino resort (ICR) is on track to open in Limassol in late 2021 but the cost will exceed the initial budget of €550m to around €600m, Melco said.

The Cyprus banking system continues to post the second highest Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio in the EU, following Greece, according data published by the European Banking Authority (EBA) recently.

It is time to put an end to outdated perceptions of Cyprus as a haven for tax evasion and money laundering. Today, the small EU state has in fact some of the toughest AML measures in place on a global scale and is attracting serious business and FDI to support its economic growth. This new AML framework of Cyprus can reasonably class the island as a model amongst all other European jurisdictions.

Cyprus Casinos ‘C2’ have attracted over 880,000 visitors from across the globe in its locations in Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca, the company said recently, as it marked one year of operations on the island.

Cyprus airports saw a 3.6% increase in passenger traffic in the first six months to June 2019 compared to the same period last year, according to data from operator Hermes Airports.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS), which is part of the Lufthansa Group, has launched flights from Geneva, Switzerland to Larnaca, Cyprus.