Finance Minister Makis Keravnos on Tuesday presented the programme of the Cyprus Presidency of the European Union Council during the first meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels under Cyprus’ term.

“A self-reliant union open to the world is the slogan of our presidency,” Keravnos said.

“Guided by this slogan, we are committed to delivering an ambitious and impactful presidency,” he added.

“We want to create momentum towards a prosperous and more competitive Europe,” the minister pledged.

Keravnos said Cyprus is taking over the presidency at a time of international geopolitical realignments and uncertainty, with the European Union facing multiple challenges.

“In the field of economic and financial affairs, strengthening the European Union’s economic autonomy and reinforcing its economic position will be our core principles for the next six months,” he said.

The tourism outlook for Larnaca in 2026 is shaping up as “very positive”, according to the president of the Larnaca Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nakis Antoniou.

This assessment is a reflection of growing investor interest, infrastructure upgrades and the city’s longer-term cultural momentum.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on the sidelines of the Chamber’s annual general meeting, Antoniou said the designation of Larnaca as European Capital of Culture for 2030 is expected to further strengthen the city’s appeal.

“The fact that Larnaca won the title of European Capital of Culture for 2030 will also help in increasing the attraction of tourists,” he said.

Against this backdrop, he added that “the tourism prospects for the city are very positive”, a trend reinforced by “approximately 20 applications for the construction of small hotel units, for example boutique hotels in Larnaca”.

Raids on betting agencies are being carried out by “undercover” agents as part of stepped-up checks by the National Betting Authority (NBA) to ensure compliance with the law, it emerged during a parliamentary discussion on the authority’s 2026 budget.

Under the programme, the NBA has procured inspection services from the private sector, deploying 150 undercover agents who pose as customers and enter betting premises unannounced.

While on site, the agents monitor staff conduct, check whether illegal bets are being placed and verify that minors are not present.

Alongside these surprise visits, NBA officers also carry out on-site inspections and monitor betting websites used by hundreds of players, while inspections are also conducted to identify potential money-laundering activity.

Eurobank set out its strategy for the evolving banking environment in Cyprus during the 13th Banking, Payments and Fintech Forum and Expo in Nicosia, which took place earlier this week.

During its participation, the bank focused on three key pillars, namely digital transformation, consolidation, and international expansion .

The new banking landscape, shaped by accelerated digitalisation, enhanced customer experience and wider sector developments, was a central theme of the event, where Eurobank participated with what it described as a strong and upgraded presence.

Speaking at the forum, Chief Executive Officer Michalis Louis said the creation of Eurobank through the acquisition and merger of Hellenic Bank with Eurobank Cyprus “represents a milestone not only for the banking sector but for the Cypriot economy as a whole”.

Opap Cyprus, a member of the Allwyn group, has moved to strengthen its administrative structure with the appointment of lawyer Panayiotis Georgiou as legal manager, entrusting him with the supervision of the group’s legal services in Cyprus.

The appointment forms part of a broader strategic plan led by chief executive Alexandros Davos, as the company positions itself for a new phase of growth while maintaining full alignment with regulatory requirements.

In this context, Georgiou brings long-standing experience in commercial and corporate law, alongside deep expertise in regulatory compliance, with particular emphasis on the harmonisation of Opap’s operations with the framework set by the National Betting Authority (NBA).

A persistent flaw in Cyprus’ public transport tracking systems took centre stage at the first Cyprus Transport Hackathon, where a multidisciplinary team won first prize with an artificial-intelligence solution designed to compensate for unreliable GPS signals on buses.

The one-day hackathon, held on January 17, 2026, at Strovolos municipal hall, formed part of a national initiative aimed at rethinking mobility and transport systems in Cyprus.

It was co-organised by the Ministry of Transport, the Municipality of Strovolos, the University of Cyprus through the Society and Urban Form (SURF) Lab and the KIOS Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence, the Cyprus Youth Organisation (ONEK), Hack{Cyprus} and GDG Cyprus.

Bringing together 26 teams from diverse backgrounds, the event challenged participants to develop practical, scalable solutions to long-standing problems in urban mobility, under the motto ‘Hack the way we move’.

CEO confidence in revenue growth has fallen to a 5-year low, according to PwC’s 2026 Global CEO Survey, highlighting growing pressure from artificial intelligence, geopolitical risks and cyber threats.

The results of the survey were shared by PwC Cyprus, providing insight into how global trends are expected to shape local business sentiment.

CEO confidence in their company’s revenue outlook has slipped to its weakest point in 5 years, with only 3-in-10 CEOs, or 30 per cent, saying they are confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months.

This compares with 38 per cent in 2025 and 56 per cent in 2022, reflecting mounting challenges in converting investment, particularly in AI, into reliable financial returns.

The findings come from PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey, which gathered responses from 4,454 CEOs across 95 countries and territories.

Cyprus continued to record one of the lowest inflation rates in the European Union in December 2025, as price pressures eased across the euro area and the bloc as a whole, according to Eurostat.

The annual inflation rate in Cyprus stood at 0.1 per cent, placing the country at the bottom of the EU inflation scale.

This confirmed that Cyprus remains well below the euro area and EU averages, extending a pattern of subdued inflation.

Across the euro area, annual inflation fell to 1.9 per cent in December 2025, down from 2.1 per cent in November.

A year earlier, euro area inflation had stood at 2.4 per cent.

For the European Union as a whole, annual inflation eased to 2.3 per cent in December 2025, compared with 2.4 per cent in November.

Cyprus-based PropTech startup MyStudentFlat has announced that it is scaling its student housing operations locally while preparing to enter the Greek market later this year.

The company positions itself as the first Cypriot PropTech startup focused exclusively on student housing, offering fully furnished and equipped apartments near major universities through its digital platform, mystudentflat.com.

MyStudentFlat targets students and parents, property owners and investors, aiming to address inefficiencies in a student accommodation market it describes as fragmented, opaque and poorly organised.

The platform operates as a Student Housing as a Service digital platform, enabling users to search, book, sign contracts electronically and pay rent entirely online.

According to the company, the model removes intermediaries and provides direct access to properties that are either owned by MyStudentFlat or managed exclusively through long-term “lease and sub-lease” agreements, allowing full control over quality and availability.

The cost of construction and building materials in Cyprus nudged up in December of the previous year, according to a report released this week by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

Specifically, the Price Index of Construction Materials for December 2025 reached 118.74 units, using 2021 as the base year of 100.

This figure represented a marginal increase of 0.10 per cent when measured against the previous month.

Compared to the same month of the previous year, the index recorded an increase of 1.54 per cent.

When analysed by main commodity category, the data showed that increases were observed in minerals at 3.38 per cent, mineral products at 2.62 per cent, electromechanical products at 2.23 per cent and products of wood, insulation materials, chemicals and plastics at 1.33 per cent.

The Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Management Office on Tuesday announced the results of a 13-week treasury bills auction, reporting strong investor interest.

The office said that total bids reached €46.85 million, while accepted offers amounted to €21.6 million in nominal value.

According to the announcement, the accepted bids were issued at a weighted average yield of 2.03 per cent.

The Public Debt Management Office also said that accepted yields ranged between 2.00 per cent and 2.05 per cent, reflecting stable market conditions.

The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has issued new guidance aimed at strengthening how financial firms in Cyprus handle digital risks and technology-related disruptions.

The circular targets a wide range of regulated entities, including investment firms, trading venues, fund managers and crypto-asset providers, and focuses on improving digital resilience across the financial sector.

CySEC said it has identified weaknesses in how firms report technology-related incidents, with some serious incidents not being reported at all and others being misclassified.

The regulator stressed that firms must ensure serious ICT incidents are identified and reported promptly, warning that inaccurate reporting undermines oversight and risk management.

The EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council on Tuesday decided to launch an excessive deficit procedure for Finland after its state deficit breached the limits set under EU fiscal rules.

The decision was taken by ECOFIN, which determined that Finland’s deficit had exceeded the 3 per cent of GDP threshold established by the Stability and Growth Pact.

Alongside the decision, the Council issued a formal recommendation setting out the required fiscal adjustment path and a timetable for public spending to correct the excessive deficit by 2028.

Finland’s deficit reached 4.4 per cent of GDP in 2024 and is expected to remain elevated at 4.3 per cent in 2025, according to the Council’s assessment.

Demetra Holdings Plc completed the purchase of 3,221 of its own shares on January 19, 2026, through the services of the Cyprus Investment and Securities Corporation Ltd, also known as CISCO.

According to an announcement released on Tuesday, this financial activity was carried out in accordance with the relevant Regulations of the Cyprus Stock Exchange and the Circulars of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

Moreover, the company acted under the specific authority granted by its annual general meeting which took place on June 24, 2025.