Category: Cyprus News Agency

Approximately 36% of the CSE’s market capitalization is already held by foreign investors, a fact that reflects the international investment community’s confidence in the Cypriot market, said Marinos Christodoulides, Chairman of the Cyprus Stock Exchange Board, on Thursday, in his opening remarks during a CSE conference titled ‘Prospects, Strategic Programs, and Investment Options.’

He added that the CSE’s partnerships with the Athens Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India, as well as its role in the Competitive Electricity Market, are shaping a CSE with an expanded footprint and an international orientation, while at the same time, plans for privatization, with the relevant process scheduled to begin in 2026, open up new growth prospects for the Organization.

According to a CSE statement, of particular importance was the participation of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association representative, Andreas Leonidou, and members of the CSE, who play a significant role as essential contributors to the market.

As noted, during the main part of the event, representatives of listed companies presented their companies’ data and strategic plans, while the event was attended by a significant number of representatives from financial institutions, brokerage firms, investors, and entrepreneurs, who asked questions and were briefed on the companies’ prospects and strategic plans.

In his opening remarks, Christodoulides said that the conference is part of a broader framework of initiatives undertaken by the CSE with the aim of strengthening communication among all market participants. ‘We believe that transparency, information, and open dialogue are not merely best practices-they are the cornerstones of a healthy capital market. Events such as today’s will become standard practice for the CSE, both in Cyprus and abroad,’ he added.

‘The Cyprus Stock Exchange is in a phase of active growth. The CSE’s New Market has already attracted a significant number of dynamic companies from Cyprus and abroad. Our partnerships, with the Athens Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, and our role in the Competitive Electricity Market, are shaping a CSE with an expanded footprint and an international orientation. At the same time, plans for privatization, with the relevant process scheduled to begin in 2026, open up new growth prospects for the Organization,’ he continued.

He added that approximately 36% of the CSE’s market capitalization is already held by foreign investors, a figure that reflects the international investment community’s confidence in the Cypriot market.

‘Our goal is to further expand this footprint by attracting new listed companies from dynamic sectors-such as major infrastructure projects, private hospitals and universities, shipping, and the pharmaceutical sector. At the same time, we want to give small and medium-sized enterprises, which form the backbone of the Cypriot economy, access to alternative sources of financing through the Stock Exchange. This direction is fully aligned with the European Union’s strategy for the Savings and Investments Union, which highlights the central role of stock markets in improving the competitiveness of European businesses,’ he further noted.

‘The CSE, as an organization fully aligned with the European regulatory framework, has the potential to play an active role in this transition. In this context, today’s conference is of particular importance. The companies presenting their data and outlook today offer the public something of real value: reliable, direct information from the source. In a world saturated with data, quality information is a competitive advantage,’ concluded Christodoulides.

A naval exercise was held on Tuesday, June 9, as part of the Tactical Exercise with Troops “NIKITIS-DIMITRA 2026” in the Larnaca-Limassol coastal area, between the Patrol Vessel “Ioannidis” and the Greek frigate “Elli.”

A Ministry of Defence statement says the scenario included, among other elements, tactical movements and maneuvers, technical drills, and communications exercises. The joint training is considered particularly beneficial, as it helps to improve interoperability and the exchange of know-how for conducting naval operations, the statement added.

The exercise was observed at sea by the Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Theodorou, who congratulated the crews of both vessels on their excellent training and professionalism.

The Chinese Film Week constitutes a continuation of a long tradition of friendship between the peoples of Cyprus and China, based on mutual respect and cooperation during 55 years of diplomatic relations Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Cyprus, Zhou Yunliang, said during the opening ceremony of the Film Week which took place on Wednesday at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre.

According to a press release, the event took place in the presence of politicians and official guests. The Chinese Film Week in Cyprus, which will last until June 15, is part of the celebration of the United Nations International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, as well as the celebration of the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Cyprus.

The Permanent Secretary of the Deputy Ministry of Culture, George G. Papageorgiou, stated that the Chinese Film Week is a valuable opportunity for the Cypriot audience to come into contact with the richness and diversity of modern Chinese cinema.

The event was also attended and addressed by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), Khassim Diagne, who stressed that the diversity of cultures is not an obstacle but serves as a bridge.

Director Marios Ioannou Elias, whose film ‘Sound of Shanghai’ had its European premiere during the event, said that the work was born from an act of listening and not explanation.

On Thursday, June 11, at 8:00 PM, the film ‘A Table For Two’ will be screened at the Pantheon Theatre in Nicosia, with free admission. On Friday, June 12, at 18:00, the animated film “I Am What I Am” will be screened at Amphitheatre 1 of the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT) in Limassol, also with free admission, while at 20:00 of the same day the Pantheon Theatre will host the film “Night King”. On Saturday, June 13 at 20:00, again at the Pantheon Theatre, “The Shadow’s Edge” will be screened, and on Sunday, June 14 at 20:00, the film “It’s OK” will close the public screenings.

The closing ceremony will take place on Monday at 18:30 at K-Cineplex Nicosia Prime, with the screening of the film “Blades of the Guardians: Wind Rises in the Desert”, and is closed, by invitation.

All films will be screened with Greek and English subtitles.

Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna described the revised negotiating package, known as “nego box”, presented Thursday by the Cyprus Presidency in Brussels as a “decisive milestone” for reaching a political agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034, as she pushed back against criticism that the package favours some member states over others. “Today is a particularly important day for the Cyprus Presidency and at the same time a decisive milestone for the European Union to achieve a political agreement on the MFF, it will serve as the basis for a substantive political discussion,” she said.

The package, presented for the first time with concrete figures, is the result of over five months of intensive work. “The negotiating framework we have tabled today reflects the different approaches and political sensitivities of member states,” Raouna said, noting that the Presidency had worked “with transparency, objectivity and inclusivity, seeking through intensive negotiations to bridge the distances between member state positions and shape a credible point of convergence” that would lay the ground for the political negotiations to follow, including under the incoming Irish Presidency.

The nego box proposes a 2% cut across all budget headings, while preserving the modernised architecture put forward by the Commission. “We worked to maintain the key elements of the new architecture, which aims to modernise the budget, simplify financing instruments and procedures, and strengthen the Union’s flexibility to address challenges more effectively,” Raouna said.

The package will also feature on the agenda of the General Affairs Council next Tuesday in Luxembourg, while the President of the Republic will present the Cyprus Presidency’s progress at the informal European Council on 18-19 June.

Asked whether the Cyprus Presidency had tilted the balance in favour of cohesion and traditional policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy, at the expense of frugal member states demanding deeper cuts, Raouna was unequivocal. “We listened closely and worked closely with all member states, carefully reflecting the positions, priorities, sensitivities and red lines of all, acting as true honest brokers,” she said, acknowledging that “there were very strong and often opposing views on all sides.”

While some member states had pushed for extensive cuts and others for maintaining or even increasing spending levels, “we chose the path of a 2% cut, and across all budget headings without exception,” she stressed. The competitiveness heading, which includes the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), remains above 50% of the total budget, with the principle of excellence preserved at its core.

In response to a CNA question on whether the nego box could realistically serve as a basis for negotiations, given that some member states were already signaling rejection, Raouna said she had anticipated such reactions. “We are well aware that when you are the Presidency tasked with putting the first numbers on the table, there will be reactions,” she acknowledged, while insisting the text represents “a comprehensive and balanced compromise that can serve as a basis for the negotiations ahead.”

She pointed to a telling indicator: national allocations account for around 41% under the new scenario, compared to around 60% under the current MFF. “A sign,” she argued, “that modernisation remains at the heart of the proposal”. She also stressed that the nego box is “only one piece of the puzzle,” with the sectoral regulations – the National and Regional Partnership Plans fund (NRPP), the ECF and Global Europe – being negotiated in parallel.

Asked about the risk of failing to reach agreement by end-2026, Raouna acknowledged the difficulties while holding firm on the goal of a timely deal to ensure uninterrupted EU funding from January 2028. “We still have 19 days of Presidency. We will continue working intensively, inclusively, as honest brokers, results-oriented, until the very last day of our Presidency,” she said, adding that Cyprus would also support the incoming Irish Presidency since reaching agreement, as she put it, “is a shared responsibility of all member states.”

A positive case for foot-and-mouth disease has been identified at a livestock farm within the infected zone in Mammari, the Veterinary Services announced on Wednesday evening.

According to the update, the case concerns a sheep and goat farm in Mammari, in the Nicosia district, with approximately 80 adult animals.

‘The Veterinary Services are following the prescribed procedures for the swift culling of the animals’, the statement issued to the media said.

The Cyprus Presidency will present its revised negotiating package, also known as ‘Nego-Box’, for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the 2028-2034 period on Thursday afternoon in Brussels. The package is expected to include an overall reduction of around 2%, equivalent to approximately pound 32.8 billion in current prices. The proposal will be presented by Deputy Minister for European Affairs Marilena Raouna.

The objective is to put forward a mature and credible package capable of gaining the trust of Member States and generating the necessary momentum to reach an agreement by the end of 2026.

The proposal seeks to strike a balance between widely differing positions, ranging from the ‘frugal’ Member States calling for substantial cuts to the ‘Friends of Cohesion’ group advocating the preservation or even an increase of the EU budget.

Reductions are expected to be distributed across all budget headings, but neither horizontally nor equally. This approach aims to preserve the overall balance of the package while maintaining the proposed architecture of the future EU budget, sources told CNA.

Cyprus’ banks excess liquidity dropped in to pound 17.4 billion as at end-2025, down from pound 18.5 billion in 2024, according to data published by the Central Bank of Cyprus on Thursday, in the Monetary Policy implementation report for 2025.

According to the executive summary of the report, the CBC’s balance sheet remained broadly stable in 2025, with total assets increasing marginally from pound 28.6 billion at end-2024 to pound 28.7 billion at end-2025.

Assets continued to consist primarily of Intra-Eurosystem claims in TARGET and monetary-policy portfolios. Assets associated with the implementation of monetary policy comprise the monetary policy portfolios, which declined from pound 6.5 billion to pound 5.7 billion during 2025, as well as refinancing operations to Cypriot monetary policy counterparties, which remained unused over the period under review.

On the liabilities side, bank deposits/liquidity declined from pound 19.2 billion to pound 18.6 billion over the same period.

According to the report, structurally, liquidity developments were driven mainly by movements in Intra-Eurosystem claims, autonomous factors, and the reduction in the value of monetary-policy portfolios, which fell by pound 0.77 billion in 2025. Despite this decline, overall liquidity in the banking system remained ample throughout the year.

In 2025, the ECB Governing Council implemented a series of reductions in the deposit facility rate, lowering it from 3% at the end of 2024 to 2% by June 2025. These adjustments were carried out through four successive rate cuts (in February, March, April, and June of 2025) in line with the Governing Council’s assessment that a more accommodative monetary-policy stance was required as inflationary pressures eased and financing conditions normalised.

The successive reductions in the deposit facility rate during 2025 reduced the facility’s attractiveness for banks to place their excess liquidity (pound 17.4 billion as at end-2025, down from pound 18.5 billion in 2024) with the CBC. Consequently, banks increasingly turned to alternative investment options, including bond holdings and lending.

According to the report, within the banking sector, the most significant asset categories in 2025 were loans, debt securities, deposits and cash equivalents.

Loans rose from pound 27.6 billion at end-2024 to pound 31.7 billion at end-2025, while deposits and cash equivalents declined from pound 20.4 billion to pound 19.8 billion.

Total banking-sector liabilities increased from pound 59.4 billion to pound 63.1 billion over 2025, driven mainly by higher deposits from households and non-financial corporations.

The minimum required reserves of the monetary-policy-eligible counterparties in Cyprus increased from pound 527 million at the end of the final maintenance period of 2024 to pound 553 million at the end of the corresponding period in 2025.

Mobilised collateral placed with the CBC in 2025 consisted primarily of additional credit claims, covered bonds, and government bonds.

President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, has welcomed the decision of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe regarding the property aspect of the displaced in Cyprus, due to the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974.

“I welcome with satisfaction today’s decision of the Committee of Deputy Ministers of the Council of Europe, which was taken in the context of examining the implementation of the European Court of Human Right’s decision in the case of the Fourth Interstate Application of the Republic of Cyprus against Turkey, regarding the aspect related to the property of the displaced,” the President said in a post on ‘X’.

Our foreign policy, he stressed, “among many other things, upgrades the international status of the Republic of Cyprus, strengthens our great effort and contributes decisively to our negotiating power on the Cyprus issue.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (A)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 0600 11/06/2026 UNTIL 0600 12/06/2026

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1010hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is affecting the area. The weather will be mainly fine, but locally increased low cloud coverage with local mist and/or fog patches are expected, over night and during dawn.

Visibility: Good, but moderate to poor in mist and very poor in fog

Sea surface temperature: 24°C

Warnings: NIL

CYPRUS DEPARTMENT OF METEOROLOGY

FORECAST FOR THE SEA AREA OF CYPRUS (B)

FOR THE PERIOD FROM 1200 11/06/2026 UNTIL 1200 12/06/2026

Area covered is 8 kilometers seawards.

Winds are in BEAUFORT scale. Times are local times.

Atmospheric pressure at the time of issue: 1011hPa (hectopascal)

Weak low pressure is affecting the area. The weather will be mainly fine, but locally increased low cloud coverage with local mist and/or fog patches are expected, mainly overnight and during dawn.

Visibility: Good, but moderate to poor in mist and very poor in fog

Sea surface temperature: 24°C

Warnings: NIL