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Building permit issuance in Cyprus saw a rise of 8.3 per cent in the period from January to April 2024, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, according to a report released on Monday by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat).

According to the report, local authorities issued 2,545 permits in the first four months of 2024, showing an increase from the 2,351 permits granted during the same period the previous year.

In terms of value, these permits reflected an 8.9 per cent increase, while the total area covered by the permits expanded by 15.7 per cent.

Moreover, there was a substantial 24.2 per cent surge in the number of residential units planned.


Approximately 7,000 people in Cyprus work in forex, although the actual number may potentially be much higher than that, according to recently published research from TradeInformer, a business-to-business news and research portal that covers the global retail trading industry.

According to the above figure, this means that approximately 1.65 per cent of Cypriot private sector employees work in the forex industry.

In addition, these people also comprise close to 40 per cent of financial services workers in Cyprus, with similar numbers to those working in the Cypriot banking sector.

“It is entirely plausible that the forex industry is the biggest employer within the financial services industry in Cyprus,” said TradeInformer founder David Kimberley.

“7,000 may not seem like a massive number but it is huge for what is ultimately a small country, with a workforce of less than 500,000 people,” he added.


Cypriot tech-driven analytics firm Ask Wire on Monday released a comprehensive assessment of fire risk in the Larnaca District, highlighting the distribution of properties within various fire hazard zones.

The analysis, covering Larnaca’s 1,120.10 square kilometre area, revealed that the district faces a relatively low fire risk, with 45 per cent of its territory classified as low risk.

The fire risk zones are categorised into four levels. These are designated as low risk, covering 45 per cent of the district; medium risk, with 33 per cent of the district; high risk, representing 13 per cent of the district; and very high risk, accounting for 8 per cent of the district.

According to the analysis, high and very high-risk areas are primarily located in the western part of the district, characterised by higher elevations and forested regions.


Hermes Airports, which manages and operates both the Larnaca and Paphos international airports, on Monday announced that it has received an award for its leadership and HR practices.

According to the announcement, the HR Excellence Award was awarded to Hermes during the Annual Congress & General Assembly of ACI Europe, which took place last week in Istanbul.

Airports Council International (ACI) Europe is a European industry trade association which advances the collective interests of Europe’s airports.

The announcement stated that “the award confirms the emphasis placed by the company on human resources, while at the same time serving as the embodiment of Hermes Airports’ ongoing efforts to develop and implement a wide range of initiatives and programs that place people at the centre”.

“These innovative practices focus, among others, on training, respect and collaboration, talent management, employee well-being, recognition and reward, and executive coaching,” it added.


The Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) announced on Monday that the total number of vehicle registrations from January to June 2024 increased by 19.2 per cent, reaching 26,250.

This represents a significant rise from the 22,021 vehicles registered during the same period in 2023.

Focusing on saloon passenger cars, there’s been an increase of 17.2 per cent in registrations, rising to 20,623 from 17,600 in 2023. Of these, 8,791, or 42.6 per cent, were new vehicles, while 11,832, or 57.4 per cent, were used.

However, rental cars bucked the trend with a notable decline of 27.4 per cent, totalling just 2,296 registrations.

In terms of fuel types, the landscape is shifting. The proportion of gasoline-powered saloon cars fell to 49.5 per cent, down from 59.9 per cent last year. Diesel-powered cars also saw a slight decrease from 10.5 per cent to 10 per cent.

On the other hand, electric vehicles and hybrids are gaining ground, with their shares increasing from 2.2 per cent to 3.3 per cent and from 27.3 per cent to 37.2 per cent, respectively.


The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) ended Monday, July 8 with losses.

The general Cyprus Stock Market Index was at 162.26 points at 12:43 during the day, reflecting a decrease of 0.36 per cent over the previous day of trading.

The FTSE / CySE 20 Index was at 98.67 points, representing a drop of 0.36 per cent.

The total value of transactions came up to €97,449, until the aforementioned time during trading.

In terms of the sub-indexes, the main, alternative and investment firm indexes fell by 0.33 per cent, 0.42 per cent and 0.44 per cent respectively. The hotel index remained unchanged.

The biggest investment interest was attracted by Hellenic Bank (-0.38 per cent), the Bank of Cyprus (-0.48 per cent), Demetra (-0.45 per cent), the Cyprus Cement Company (-2.89 per cent), and Blue Island (+1.05 per cent).

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