Speaking at the 3rd Greece–Cyprus Intergovernmental Summit in Athens, Christodoulides said that forging stronger business links with the region would be a priority during Cyprus’ upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
He further stated that “Cyprus is the gateway for investments not only in Europe but also for the wider Middle East region”.
The president added that this includes India, “a country from which, especially recently, after Modi’s visit to Cyprus, we see an increased interest from Indian companies to approach our country as an entry point to Europe.”
Christodoulides also noted the government’s focus on deepening cooperation with Greece, calling it Cyprus’ largest trading partner.
“Beyond issues of national importance, we emphasise the need to strengthen our relationship in many other areas with added value for our citizens,” he said, adding that within this context, “the business opportunities between Greece and Cyprus are enormous. There are prospects that we can and must clearly exploit more.”
Representing the company was Paul Meeks, CFA, CAIA, Head of Technology Research at Freedom Capital Markets — a veteran technology investor with over 30 years of experience in global markets.
In this exclusive conversation with the Cyprus Mail, Meeks shares his insights on the future of AI in finance, the evolving balance between human expertise and machine intelligence, and how Freedom Holding Corp. is shaping the next chapter of fintech innovation.
As financial ecosystems evolve at the intersection of technology and trust, Freedom Holding Corp. continues to champion transparency, innovation, and investor empowerment through platforms such as Freedom24. Its presence at the Economist Cyprus Summit underlines the company’s growing engagement with Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean — regions poised to benefit from the digital transformation of finance.
Through thought leaders like Paul Meeks, Freedom Holding is helping shape the dialogue on how artificial intelligence and smart technologies can unlock sustainable growth and redefine the investor experience in an increasingly connected world.
The data, which is adjusted to express part-time salaries as full-time equivalents, showed a continuous climb in wages across the Union.
Despite this trend, Cyprus’ average salary, while increasing, did not keep pace with the EU average.
Specifically, the average annual full-time adjusted salary in Cyprus stood at €27,611 in 2024, according to Eurostat.
This figure represents a rise from €26,668 in 2023 and €24,203 in 2022, illustrating a consistent upward trend.
Despite this growth, the 2024 figure for Cyprus remains substantially lower than the overall EU average, which reached €39,808.
Speaking in Frankfurt, Alessandro Giovannini, adviser in the ECB’s directorate for the digital euro, said the central bank supports the European Commission’s version of the plan over an alternative put forward by EU lawmakers.
“We do believe that the Commission proposal makes sense, and the Commission proposal foresees both online and offline at the same time,” Giovannini told reporters.
His comments came in response to a report by lead lawmaker Fernando Navarrete, published last month, which suggested that an online version of the digital euro should only be introduced if the private sector fails to provide a unified payment solution for the bloc.
Otherwise, he argued, the currency should remain restricted to offline, person-to-person transactions.
Focusing on employees and self-employed persons, the data showed that foreign-controlled enterprises in Cyprus represented 10 per cent of all jobs.
This figure was matched only by Italy, and was just slightly above the lowest rate recorded in Greece, which stood at 8 per cent.
Specifically, data showed that foreign-controlled enterprises in Cyprus represented 32,119 people employed, placing the country at the lower end of the EU scale, compared to the EU total of 24,145,727 people employed by foreign-controlled enterprises.
On the other hand, foreign-controlled enterprises accounted for 45 per cent of jobs in Luxembourg, and 28 per cent in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Addressing delegates, Thomas Kazakos, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), said seafarers must be allowed to perform their duties without risking their lives.
He noted that the global trade landscape is “shifting beneath our feet”, as protectionism rises and cooperation weakens, developments he described as deeply troubling.
From the oil industry’s perspective, Karen Davis, managing director of OCIMF, warned that in some regions “the sea has become a contested space marked by deliberate missile launches, drone attacks and GPS spoofing”.
The company reported total revenue of $526.1 million for the second quarter and $1.06 billion for the first half of the fiscal year.
Net income for the six months stood at $69.1 million, while diluted earnings per share reached $1.13.
“During the second quarter of fiscal 2026, we continued to make deliberate investments aimed at building the foundation for Freedom Holding Corp.’s next phase of sustainable growth,” said Timur Turlov, the company’s founder and chief executive officer.
“Our results reflect a conscious decision to expand capacity across our key business lines, strengthen our digital and financial infrastructure, and prepare the company for future scale and efficiency,” he added.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat), the rise was mainly driven by growth in the educational service, which saw employment increase by 2.7 per cent.
By contrast, the civil service and the security forces recorded declines of 1.0 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively.
Compared with October 2024, the largest increase in total government employment was recorded among employees with contracts of definite duration, which rose by 2.5 per cent.
The biggest decline was seen among hourly paid workers, whose numbers fell by 1.2 per cent.
According to the company, this is “part of its drive to enhance product quality and improve customer satisfaction”.
“The towering structures, which now dominate the entrance to KEO’s brewery, mark one of the company’s largest infrastructure investments in recent years,” the company added.
Four of the tanks stand 17 metres high with a diameter of 4.5 metres and a capacity of 1,600 hectolitres each.
A total gross amount of €200 million will be distributed in cash, corresponding to €0.2186 per share.
This amount will be adjusted to include shares held by the bank itself, bringing the final gross amount to €0.2210 per share.
A withholding tax of five per cent will be applied under Article 64 of Law 4172/2013, meaning shareholders will receive a net amount of €0.2100 per share, except where special provisions apply under Articles 46, 48, and 63 of the same law.
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