Cyprus has moved to establish a national framework for screening foreign direct investments (FDIs), aiming to safeguard security and public order while maintaining an open environment for investors.

The Council of Ministers approved the draft legislation on July 2, the Finance Ministry said in a statement issued on Friday. The bill will now be submitted to the House of Representatives for a vote.

Specifically, it seeks to implement Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European Parliament and Council, which establishes a mechanism for controlling FDIs into the European Union on grounds of national security or public order.

Under the bill, the Finance Ministry would act as the competent authority, with powers to approve, impose conditions, prohibit, or even reverse investments deemed to pose risks. To assist in decision-making, a seven-member advisory committee comprising officials from relevant ministries will provide written recommendations, the ministry said.

The Bank of Cyprus (BoC) on Friday announced a revision to its privacy statement, saying this part of its ongoing efforts to safeguard personal data and ensure full compliance with European and national data protection legislation.

The changes respond to the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and Council, commonly known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as the relevant Cypriot legislation, Law 125(I) of 2018.

The revised privacy statement covers the processing of personal data of natural persons who fall into one or more of the following categories.

These include customers or potential customers of the bank, representatives of customers or potential customers, and beneficiaries of legal entities that are either customers or potential customers.

The Finance Ministry on Friday announced the scheduled delisting of Cyprus government treasury bills from the fourth issuance of 2025, which are set to mature on July 25, 2025.

The treasury bills in question, coded TB13D25, were issued on April 25, 2025, with a maturity period of 13 weeks.

In an official statement, the ministry said the last day of trading for these bills will be July 21, 2025.

The Cyprus House Price Index (HPI) climbed to 113.71 units in the first quarter of 2025, reflecting a 2 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2024, according to a preliminary estimate released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

When compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, the index posted a quarterly increase of 1.1 per cent.

The HPI is a quarterly indicator that measures the average price change of residential properties in Cyprus, including both new and existing housing units. It accounts for all types of residential dwellings, and the land value is included in the price.

The Paphos regional tourism board (Etap) this week called for a revision of local bus timetables following the completion of its first free community excursion programme to the Akamas region, which aimed to highlight points of interest and encourage visits to lesser-known villages.

In a statement issued after the final trip on Saturday, the board said that “the results of the initiative were clear”.

“If the departure times are changed, as the board has repeatedly suggested, then we will see an increase in visits to various communities, along with all the positive consequences that entails,” it said.

The board further pointed to two other similar cases in which it offered free excursions at times better suited to local and foreign visitors.

Cyprus’ Industrial Turnover Index climbed to 137.2 units in April 2025, marking a 1.6 per cent increase compared with April 2024, according to data released on Friday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

The index, based on 2021 as its reference year with a baseline of 100 units, reflects the monthly variation in turnover across four key industrial sectors.

These include mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity supply, and water supply. The latter also encompasses material recovery.

For the period from January to April 2025, the index recorded a year-on-year increase of 4.3 per cent.

State-owned asset management company (Kedipes) announced this week that it has officially terminated its interest subsidy scheme for performing credit facilities indexed to the European Central Bank’s main refinancing rate, effective from July 1, 2025.

The decision was taken by Kedipes’ board of directors, marking the end of a support plan that had been in place since 2023 to ease the burden on borrowers during a period of high interest rates and inflation.

In its announcement, Kedipes stated that approximately 3,200 loan accounts benefited from the subsidy scheme. The total amount of interest subsidies provided by Kedipes for 2023, 2024 and the first half of 2025 reached €28.3 million.

The scheme offered subsidised interest rates of 3.5 per cent for housing loans and 4 per cent for credit facilities issued for other purposes. Kedipes said the plan had been designed to provide meaningful relief to up-to-date borrowers facing economic pressure during a particularly challenging period marked by soaring borrowing costs.

The Transport Ministry on Friday announced the signing of a contract for dredging works at Larnaca marina.

“We are pleased to announce the signing of the contract for the dredging works at Larnaca marina on Thursday, July 3, 2025,” the ministry said.

The contract was signed on behalf of the government by the Director of the Public Works Department, Eleftherios Eleftheriou, and on behalf of Semesco Company Ltd by Philippos Psyllas.

“The project involves the dredging of the entrance and the harbour basin of the Larnaca marina, as well as the supply, installation and operation of two specialised periodic lighting mechanisms (beacons) on the marina’s lighthouses that will operate using solar energy (photovoltaic system),” the ministry explained.

The hotel industry is bracing for fresh tensions as unions and employers clash over alleged breaches of the collective agreement signed in December 2024.

According to a report in Philenews, the issue centres on union complaints that key provisions of the deal are not being honoured.

Trade unions are heading to the labour ministry today, calling on Minister Yiannis Panayiotou to issue a clear statement urging employers to comply with the agreement.

Anything less, they warn, could endanger labour peace in the sector at the height of the tourist season.

Freedom Holding Corp. on Friday announced that it has secured a notable vote of confidence from institutional investors, as its shares were added to the First Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund (FXO) during the fund’s latest quarterly rebalance.

The FXO fund acquired approximately 185,000 shares of Freedom Holding Corp., assigning the company a weight of 1.22 per cent in the index.

This development marks a significant milestone for Freedom Holding Corp., with the company saying that it “reflects the growing confidence of institutional investors in Freedom Holding Corp.’s ongoing performance and potential for generating strong returns”.

Managed by First Trust Advisors, the FXO fund is an exchange-traded fund that focuses on selecting high-potential financial sector stocks.

Dubai Silicon Oasis, part of the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), has partnered with The Doers Company to host the first Middle East edition of its Doers Summit, aiming to connect startups, investors and innovators across regions.

The event, held annually in Athens and Limassol, has become one of Europe’s largest platforms for startups and venture capital, bringing together thousands of participants from Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The Dubai edition is expected to attract over 3,000 attendees, including hundreds of startups, to catalyse cross-border collaboration and improve access to capital.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by His Excellency Mohammed Al Zarooni, Executive Chairman of DIEZ, and Demetris Skourides, Chief Scientist for Research, Innovation and Technology of Cyprus.

The agreement was signed by Badr Buhannad, Deputy Director General of Dubai Silicon Oasis, alongside Stylianos Lambrou, co-founder of The Doers Company and Doers Summit, and Dusan Duffek, co-founder of The Doers Company and Managing Partner at Zero One Hundred venture capital fund, at DIEZ headquarters.

Bank workers’ union (Etyk) last week held a special event in honour of former Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) governor Constantinos Herodotou.

According to a statement released on Friday, the event was attended on behalf of Etyk by honorary president Loizos Hadjicostis, members of the general secretariat, and officials from the Etyk sectoral committee at the CBC.

The statement noted that the organisation’s collaboration with Herodotou began in 2017, when he was appointed as an executive member of the board of directors of the central bank, and continued through his term as governor from 2019 to 2024.

Etyk said that it “developed a positive working relationship with Herodotou, during which time several long-standing issues affecting central bank staff were successfully addressed”.

Thirteen bounced cheques totalling €28,296 were registered in the preliminary list of the Central Information Register (CIR) in June, according to a report published on Friday by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

The cheques were issued by eight individuals, three of which were legal entities and five natural persons.

In total, during the first half of 2025, 115 bounced cheques were recorded, amounting to €269,884.

By comparison, during the same period in 2024, the Central Bank reported 143 bounced cheques valued at €302,946.