Business & economy wrap-up from the day before
The bank, a leading player in Cyprus’ financial system, recorded a RoTE of 18.9 per cent for the January to September period, while its basic earnings per share increased by 9 per cent year-on-year to €0.88.
“We continue to execute our strategy by delivering solid lending and deposit growth, whilst maintaining cost discipline and prudent underwriting standards,” Bank of Cyprus chief executive officer Panicos Nicolaou said.
Nicolaou said the results reflected the bank’s continued strong financial and operational performance, supported by a solid capital base.
“Overall, profit after tax reached €383m, up 9 per cent year-on-year, generating a RoTE of 18.9 per cent,” he said.
The bank’s third-quarter profit after tax amounted to €131m, remaining broadly unchanged from the preceding quarter.
Damianou on Thursday said the visit had focused on expanding connections between Cyprus’ innovation ecosystem and international networks, investors and markets, as the government steps up efforts to attract American investment.
“Two very productive days at the Plug and Play Summit 2026 in Silicon Valley, focused on strengthening the international connections of our ecosystem and creating new opportunities for collaboration,” Damianou said.
The summit forms part of Cyprus’ wider drive to promote itself as a regional technology and innovation hub and strengthen ties with the American business community.
The event, held on Wednesday at the Amathus hotel and titled “Strategic Intellectual Property Management & Valuation”, formed the first gathering of the company’s new Limassol Insights Series.
The initiative is designed to establish a platform for knowledge sharing and the exchange of ideas in Limassol, encouraging dialogue among professionals and business leaders while creating networking opportunities and fostering long-term professional relationships.
The discussions focused on the identification, protection, strategic management and valuation of intellectual property (IP), with particular attention to technology, software and brands.
Poullikkas, a professor of energy systems and vice-rector of Frederick University, argued that the country’s energy debate has become oversimplified, particularly on social media, where complex issues are frequently reduced to electricity bills, individual power plants or technologies presented as solutions to every problem.
“Energy has moved to the centre of public discussion in recent years. This is positive, because it directly affects every household, every business and the economy as a whole,” he said.
“However, particularly through social media, such a complex issue has been simplified to such an extent that it is presented as something straightforward,” he added.
The new identity, launched under the central message “Defining a new together”, presents the bank as an international financial group seeking to combine its expanded capabilities and expertise to provide more comprehensive financial solutions.
The group said the rebranding reflects a business that has already undergone substantial change, with a greater emphasis on understanding customers’ individual needs and supporting them throughout different stages of their financial lives.
“We have grown in order to become more useful, and our success cannot be greater than the success of those we serve, our customers,” Alpha Bank group chief executive officer Vassilis Psaltis said.
The difference reflects the use of two distinct measures of inflation, rather than necessarily indicating a discrepancy in the underlying price data.
The national figures showed that the Consumer Price Index rose by 1.12 per cent month-on-month, increasing by 1.16 points to 105.17 in October from 104.01 in September.
The index recorded an average increase of 2.5 per cent during the January to October period compared with the corresponding months of 2025.
Energy-related categories recorded some of the strongest annual price increases, with petroleum products rising by 30.6 per cent compared with October 2025, while electricity and water increased by 13.6 per cent.
The Cyprus performance was also stronger than the group’s overall growth for the first ten months of the year, during which sales across its markets increased by approximately 6.7 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 2025.
For the January to October period, sales in Cyprus grew by approximately 8 per cent, according to the group’s latest trading update.
Jumbo said it had chosen to absorb additional costs arising from the Middle East crisis, including higher energy and transport expenses, as well as the impact of VAT increases and the depreciation of the Romanian leu.
The group said consumers had responded positively to its decision to absorb these costs rather than pass them on through higher prices.
The ten companies selected for the inaugural cohort have spent the past three months working with the Cyprus team of the global innovation platform and its international network, developing their business models, addressing commercial challenges and preparing to expand their operations.
The event, taking place at ETKO in Limassol, will mark the completion of Plug and Play Cyprus’ first acceleration programme, with the founders presenting their progress and plans to policymakers, corporate representatives, investors and other members of the technology ecosystem.
The companies participating in the programme are Qubehub.ai, EleniAI, Neura Energy, Fewton, Modelroom, EMBIO Diagnostics, Blend, Cleedee, Digital Fox and Sprouty.
The company said it had continued to achieve strong sales growth throughout the quarter, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine, one of its largest markets, and turbulence in the Middle East.
July and August sales nearly doubled compared with the same months in 2025, while September marked the first time the company had exceeded $1bn in monthly revenue.
For the three months ended September 30, 2026, gross profit increased by 106.3 per cent to $134.8 million, compared with $65.3 million a year earlier.
The exchange said it had received a very large volume of telephone and email requests and was making every effort to examine them within a reasonable timeframe.
It urged investors to wait for a response rather than send repeated reminders, warning that frequent follow-ups could delay the processing of requests.
In a statement, the CSE explained that cash distributions, including dividends, bond interest and bond repayments, are made by listed companies through a paying bank.
The scholarships, awarded for the fourth consecutive year, cover the full tuition fees of the successful candidates and are granted on the basis of academic and socioeconomic criteria following an assessment process.
The recipients for the 2026-2027 academic year are George Solomonides, Kartik Rautela and Loizos Georgiades, who were selected following a detailed evaluation.
The awards were presented at a ceremony at the University of Cyprus on Thursday by Rena Rouvitha Panou, a member of the board of the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation, on behalf of Haji-Ioannou.
Cyprus’ industrial turnover increased by 5.6 per cent in August 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier, according to figures released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).
The Industrial Turnover Index reached 121.4 points in August, using 2021 as its base year, while the increase for the first eight months of 2026 stood at 4.1 per cent compared with the corresponding period of 2025.
Manufacturing, the largest component of industrial activity, recorded a 3.7 per cent annual increase, with its turnover index reaching 109 points.
Growth was also recorded across the other industrial sectors covered by the figures.
Mining and quarrying turnover rose by 12.5 per cent year-on-year, while electricity supply increased by 10.2 per cent.
Water supply and materials recovery recorded a 10.1 per cent increase compared with August 2025.
The bank’s performance translated into a 15.7 per cent return on tangible equity (RoTE), exceeding its full-year target of more than 15 per cent, while earnings per share reached €1.48, already above its 2026 guidance of more than €1.40.
Chief executive officer Pavlos Mylonas said the Greek economy had continued to demonstrate resilience despite persistent geopolitical uncertainty, maintaining stronger growth than the euro area.
“Economic activity remains supported by sustained investment momentum, resilient domestic demand and a solid tourism season,” Mylonas said.
He also pointed to sound public finances, stronger private sector balance sheets and favourable financing conditions, including record foreign direct investment inflows and increased capital market fundraising, as factors supporting continued economic growth.
The update is expected to provide a fresh indication of the Greek carrier’s performance following a difficult first half, when higher fuel and emissions costs and disruption to its Middle East network weighed on earnings.
Aegean reported revenue growth of 4 per cent in the first half of 2026, reaching €816.6 million, while passenger traffic rose 3 per cent to 7.77 million.
However, the company recorded a €3.3 million net loss for the six-month period, compared with a €47.9 million profit a year earlier.
The airline returned to profitability in the second quarter, posting net earnings of €18.5 million, although this was 66 per cent lower than the €54.5 million recorded in the same period of 2025.
There is plenty to celebrate. But before anyone gets too carried away with the numbers, Ireland offers an uncomfortable reminder that a wealthy country and a prosperous population are not necessarily the same thing.
Across the Irish Sea, a government expecting a surplus of €9.5bn in 2027 is discovering that collecting billions from some of the world’s richest companies is considerably easier than ensuring ordinary people can afford a decent home.
That contradiction is at the heart of a new Financial Times (FT) investigation, published this week, examining why one of Europe’s wealthiest economies still struggles with housing, infrastructure, healthcare and the cost of everyday life.
For Cyprus, which has spent years attracting foreign investment and building its international business sector, the Irish experience deserves closer attention.
In a post on X, Christodoulides said Cyprus would be represented at the summit by a delegation led by the deputy minister of research, innovation and digital policy, with the active participation of Cyprus Catalyst.
“Our aim is to turn international contacts into partnerships, investments and real opportunities for Cyprus,” he said.
The president recalled that during his visit to San Francisco last April, he met Cypriot scientists and entrepreneurs who have distinguished themselves in technology and innovation.
That meeting led to the creation of Cyprus Catalyst, an initiative by Cypriot professionals working in technology, science and innovation in the United States.
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