One of the UK’s biggest tour operators, which plans to bring in more than 250,000 tourists in 2016, has said that although prospects are good for this year, Cyprus should be doing better.

Minister of Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism George Lakkotrypis is upbeat on tourism, saying that the positive trend is expected to continue in 2016, although global challenges for the industry will also have their impact on Cyprus.

Public expenditure was equal to public revenue in 2014 according to Finance Minister Harris Georgiades.

Bank of Cyprus said that it will post an after tax loss of €0.4bn for 2015 caused by an increase in provisions for impairment of customer loans by €0.6bn in October to December to a total of €1bn for the year, adding that it will need no additional capital.

Cyprus’ tourism should be based more on its own competitive capabilities and less on external or geopolitical factors, Undersecretary to the President Constantinos Petrides said as he outlined a sweeping new strategy for the sector that includes wide-ranging legislative reforms.

The government is not opposed to examining ways to reduce airport charges but not in such a way that would benefit only one party, Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said recently.

President Nicos Anastasiades will be seeking a joint decision which would also involve all the political parties with regards to Cyprus’ next move in the field of energy.

A research initiative aims to design and develop new technology to facilitate the integration of photovoltaic systems into the electricity distribution network.

A new study on the long-term viability of the Social Insurance Fund of Cyprus will be ready by the end of March 2016.

The Public Debt Management Office announced that during its recent 13 week treasury bills auction, tenders for a total amount of approximately €191 million were submitted, out of which, €120 million total nominal value have been accepted with a weighted average yield of 0,54%.