President Nicos Anastasiades recently underlined the importance of the coming year for the best exploitation of Cyprus’ natural gas reserves.

The government has sold €50 million in 30-day Treasury Bills with a weighted average yield of 0.68%.

Energy Minister George Lakkotrypis said in an unexpected turn of events that the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) ought to remain fully in state hands but the administrative split of the organisation will move ahead.

Credit rating service DBRS has upgraded its long-term rating for Cyprus from B (low) to B, it announced recently.

The government will guarantee loans which the European Investment Bank (EIB) will give to banks in Cyprus, amounting totally to €225m, it was announced recently.

The cabinet recently approved the extension of energy giant Total’s exploration license in offshore Block 11 for two years.

Cyprus and Greece concluded a project on cross-border cooperation for Maritime Spatial Planning development, according to a relevant announcement.

Blue Air is looking to expand its presence in Cyprus with new flights from Larnaca to Luton, as well as direct flights from Larnaca to Tehran and Tel Aviv.

There is a need for new incentives in order to increase the investment attractiveness of Cyprus, said RCB Bank CEO Kirill Zymarin.

The deadline for bids on the establishment of a casino in Cyprus is ending on December 18 2015, with last minute expressions of interest coming from Russian companies that are also interested in other large-scale projects in Cyprus, according to a recent statement by PWC CEO, Evgenios Evgeniou.