The Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has upgraded its rating of Cyprus to “overall largely compliant.” The revision from the previous rating of non compliant was approved by the assembly of the Global Forum which convened in Barbados on 29 and 30 October 2015. The assembly approved a supplementary...Read More

Cyprus has no plans to extend the bailout programme when it expires in early 2016, finance minister Harris Georgiades said at The Economist 11th Cyprus Summit in Nicosia on Tuesday, 3 October but nor does it appear that the government will try to exit early. “We shall be completing the support programme early next year...Read More

The World Bank has listed Cyprus amongst 10 countries with improving economies, opening it up to new investment. The favourable Doing Business 2016 report released on Wednesday 28 October said Cyprus had moved up 13 places to become one of the top ten most improved countries in terms of economic and business reforms making it...Read More

Cyprus issued a benchmark 10-year one billion euro bond with a yield of 4.25% on Tuesday 27 October, its first since 2010, indicating growing confidence in the economy which officially exited recession in the first half of the year. Offers for the bond reached €2.8 bn. Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said the country’s creditworthiness has...Read More

Cyprus will tap the bond markets for a 10-year bond on Tuesday 27 October, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Finance. No information was given about the amount that will be issued, but local media reported that the government was planning to issue a bond of up to €1 billion. Cyprus issued a...Read More

With the September unemployment figures showing the first real drop since March 2013, recruitment experts say that interest is growing in all areas, albeit slowly in some, and the financial services and forex trading sectors seem to be driving the new momentum. The government statistics office Cystat said that the number of registered unemployed fell...Read More

Fitch Ratings upgraded on Friday 23 October Cyprus` long term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings (IDRs) to B+, up from B-, with a positive outlook. The international rating agency said in a press release that the issue ratings on Cyprus` senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have also been upgraded to B+...Read More

Oil and gas companies have expressed great interest to take part in a third licensing round to obtain rights for hydrocarbons exploration in Cyprus` Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Minister of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism Yiorgos Lakkotrypis has said. Lakkotrypis said the interest expressed had been “great”, but refrained from naming specific operators. He added...Read More

Ι. Introduction According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (par. 3.6), Cyprus had an obligation to initiate a privatisation plan to help improve the economic efficiency of State-Owned Organizations (SOEs) through enhanced competition and encouragement of capital inflows, and to help restore debt sustainability. The Action Plan will include assetspecific timelines and concrete intermediate steps....Read More

Cyprus and Iran signed on Tuesday 4 August an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, paving the way for the expansion of business and investment opportunities between the two countries, three weeks after world powers reached a deal on Iran`s nuclear activity to gradually lift international sanctions. The Agreement on the Avoidance of Double...Read More