The island's real estate market has continued on an upward trend in September 2016 on both an annual and monthly basis, data released by the Department of Lands & Surveys show.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), has significantly upgraded its projection for Cyprus’ economic growth in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) for October 2016.

Russian tourist arrivals in Cyprus saw a huge rise in 2016 according to tourism officials in Russia.

Non-performing loans in the Cypriot banking system dropped slightly in July 2016 as banks increasingly reduce their lending, allowing the ratio of bad loans to remain persistently high, an analysis of Central Bank of Cyprus data shows.

The number of registered unemployed dropped in September 2016 by 1,779 in a month to 34,007, which is a four-year low, or to a seasonally adjusted 37,115, the statistical service said.

Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd (CPB) entered on September 30, 2016 into a Share Purchase Agreement with Expobank Cz A.S. to sell its participation in Marfin Bank A.D. Beograd (MBS), representing 99.09% of the bank’s fully paid share capital and 72.50% of the bank`s preferred shares.

Deposits in the Cypriot banking system increased by €827.7m in August 2016 outstripping a €476.2m increase in loans, pushing the liquidity gap to €6.6bn, the smallest value since the 2013 bail-in, the Central Bank of Cyprus said.

The Cyprus Commerce Ministry has extended until the end of October 2016 the deadline for formal expressions of interest for a Science and Technology Park at Pentakomo.

“The reforms undertaken by Cyprus during the program have started to bear fruit with robust economic growth and positive developments in the financial sector”, according to a report by the Troika.

Egyptian billionaire investor Naguib Sawiris said he plans to invest further in Cyprus following a marina project amid a positive outlook for the country’s economy that will be further boosted by future earnings from natural gas discoveries.