Hotel occupancy in the Paphos district is expected to reach between 85 and 90 per cent in August, according to Paphos hoteliers association president Evripides Loizides, who nevertheless warned that falling room prices and weaker autumn bookings continued to weigh on the sector.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Loizides said demand would be particularly strong around the August 15 holiday, traditionally one of the busiest periods of the summer for the district’s hotels, tourist accommodation and restaurants.

Although August remained one of the most important months for Paphos tourism, he expressed cautious optimism about its performance, pointing to the growing influence of last-minute reservations.

“Consumers are delaying decisions about their holidays and looking for the best possible price,” Loizides said, explaining that higher living costs and financial pressure were prompting travellers to make reservations shortly before departure.

Hotel occupancy in the Famagusta district is expected to reach between 80 and 85 per cent in August, as the tourism sector recovers from a difficult start to the season, according to Famagusta hoteliers association president Panayiotis Constantinou.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Constantinou said tourist traffic had improved significantly during July and August, following the losses recorded in the opening months of the season. 

“The situation has now changed,” Constantinou said, adding that the district’s main tourism markets were performing at fairly good levels. 

Demand was being driven mainly by visitors from the United Kingdom, Israel, Poland, Scandinavia and Central Europe.

By contrast, tourist traffic from Switzerland and the Netherlands had weakened, largely because of fewer flights during the summer season.

Citi has raised its target price for Alpha Bank to €5.30 from €4.70 following the Greek lender’s strong second-quarter results, while retaining its buy recommendation for the shares.

Based on Alpha Bank’s closing share price of €4.55 on August 7, the revised target implies 16.5 per cent upside, which rises to a total potential return of 19.1 per cent when factoring in the expected 2.6 per cent dividend yield, according to the investment bank’s report, the findings of which were shared by Greek business outlet Newmoney.

The upgrade reflects both an improved earnings outlook and a lower required return being used by Citi in its valuation of the bank.

Citi has raised its estimate for Alpha Bank’s underlying earnings per share by 2 per cent for 2026 and by 1 per cent for 2027, while leaving its 2028 forecast unchanged.

Crypto.com has launched its Tokenised Stocks product across the European Economic Area (EEA) through Cyprus-regulated Foris Capital CY Limited, offering eligible users price exposure to 1,500 US stocks and exchange-traded funds from US$1.

The company described the launch as its largest-ever offering of tokenised stocks at launch, combining round-the-clock trading with fractional access and fast settlement through the Crypto.com App. 

Foris Capital CY Limited, formerly known as A.N. Allnew Investments Limited, is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and holds Cypriot Investment Firm licence number 344/17. 

The licence was granted under the Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law 87(I)/2017, as amended, which implements the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, known as MiFID II, in Cyprus. 

It allows Foris Capital CY Limited to conduct the investment and ancillary services and activities specified in its licence. The company has also passported those services and activities to other EEA jurisdictions on a freedom-of-services basis. 

A sharp rise in building permits points to a stronger construction sector and a positive outlook for the wider Cypriot economy, according to the Cyprus employers and industrialists federation (Oev) and the Cyprus chamber of commerce and industry (Keve).

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Oev director general Michalis Antoniou emphasised strong housing demand but warned that labour shortages were limiting the sector’s ability to respond. Keve secretary general Philokypros Rousounides, meanwhile, called for less bureaucracy and faster licensing procedures. 

According to the latest figures from the statistical service (Cystat), 2,915 building permits were issued between January and April 2026, up from 2,157 during the corresponding period of 2025. This represented an increase of 35.1 per cent. 

At the same time, the total value of permits rose by 46.1 per cent, their total floor area increased by 45.5 per cent and the number of planned residential units jumped by 65 per cent. 

The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) has published a piece of analysis by its internal audit director Constantinos Trikoupis, arguing that new international requirements for internal audit can strengthen public trust in central banks and financial authorities, while also creating new demands for auditors.

Trikoupis said public trust is one of the most valuable assets of central banks and financial supervisory authorities, which operate under increased accountability and scrutiny from governing bodies, national and European institutions, financial markets and society.

“Trust is the operational currency of public institutions,” Trikoupis said, highlighting the importance of independent, thorough and comparable assurance across Europe’s interconnected financial system.

Cyprus-based technology company Powersoft365 will return to Indonesia later this month with eight operational AI agents developed for the apparel, fashion and retail industry.

The company will showcase the technology at the Indonesia Retail Summit & Expo 2026, taking place in Jakarta on August 26 and 27, as it steps up efforts to expand its presence in Asian markets. 

Powersoft365’s return comes only weeks after it joined ten other Cypriot companies and organisations on a business mission to Southeast Asia, held under the umbrella of Cyprus’ Chief Scientist Demetris Skourides. 

During that visit, the company presented its vision for AI-driven retail, explored the region’s business and technology ecosystem and sought opportunities for collaboration and international growth. 

Referring to the first visit, Powersoft365 CEO and founder George Malekkos said “A few weeks ago we went to Jakarta to listen, learn, and understand the market.” 

Road freight transport in Cyprus increased in the first quarter of 2026, with the weight of goods moved within the country rising by 2.3 per cent and freight transported to and from Cyprus climbing by 9.3 per cent, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Statistical Service.

During January to March 2026, the total weight of goods transported by road within Cyprus was higher than in the corresponding quarter of 2025, while freight movements involving Cyprus recorded a substantially stronger increase.

The figures point to continued growth in road-based goods movement despite Cyprus’ reliance on international shipping and air transport for many external trade links.

Eurostat data also show that Cyprus recorded 1,099 million tonne-kilometres of road freight transport in 2025, up slightly from 1,096 million in 2024 and 1,023 million in 2023.

Cyprus remained the leading global hiring hub for online trading firms as of July 14, 2026, with 226 vacancies, even as overall recruitment across the sector fell sharply, according to research by Cyprus-based marketing agency FYI.LTD.

The findings, based on 2,030 open positions at 92 crypto exchanges, CFD brokers and prop trading firms, show that Cyprus accounted for 11.1 per cent of all vacancies, putting it ahead of Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.

The research also points to a gradual shift in the skills employers are seeking, with artificial intelligence increasingly appearing in job descriptions across the sector.

“Cyprus has been an operational hub for fintech companies for many years. As AI becomes more widely used, repetitive tasks and roles focused mainly on execution may come under pressure,” said Christian Görgen, founder of FYI.LTD and author of the research.