Cyprus has the sixth highest government guarantees in the EU according to recent data released by the EU’s statistical service Eurostat.

Noble Energy, a partner in Cyprus’ offshore Block 12, announced this week that it would be cutting its quarterly cash dividend by $0.08 US to $0.10 US.

Lamesa Holdings has recently paid €4.4m to acquire 30mn shares of the Bank of Cyprus via the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), increasing its stake in the Bank from 6.2% to above 8%.

With the launch of its new Dubai-Larnaca-Athens service in March 2016, Emirates is offering promotional, all-inclusive fares for Economy and Business Class travel from Larnaca to Athens and on Economy Class between Larnaca and Dubai.

Minister of Transport, Communication and Works Marios Demetriades will participate in a two–day event in Hamburg, Germany, on the 26th and 27th of January, in the framework of the government`s strategy to attract new registration of vessels in the Cypriot ship registry and investments by new shipping companies.

Cyprus is completing its reform programme agreed with the European Stability Mechanism and the International Monetary Fund in March 2016, having utilised less than €8b out of the €10b available to it in bailout money.

While the recovering economy is supporting loan recoveries and depositor confidence, Bank of Cyprus’ and Hellenic Bank’s extremely weak loan quality will only gradually improve in 2016, Moody’s Investors Service said recently.

Cyprus is well-positioned to play a key role in the European Union’s drive for energy security although several factors must coalesce for that to happen, foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides told MPs recently.

Forty years ago, when Cyprus’ economy was still crippled by the 1974 Turkish invasion, and a large portion of its population was displaced, unemployed and lacked the basics, a doctor in Limassol came up with the idea to set up a company to produce pharmaceuticals.

The financial results of Vassiliko Cement Works are expected to show a significant improvement for the year 2015 compared to the financial results of 2014, according to an official announcement by the company recently.