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Business & economy wrap-up from the day before The event, now in its 45th year, drew more than 40,000 tourism professionals from over 180 countries, confirming the British capital’s central role as a global hub for the travel industry. Koumis said that the messages received were overwhelmingly positive, explaining that the island’s record-breaking summer performance is set to continue into 2026. “The messages, I would say, are only positive as the high number of visitors brought record performances that will certainly continue into 2026,” he said. “What is now more important for us is to increase visitor numbers during the winter period. I believe that during the summer we have reached our peak,” he added. Total expenditure on social protection benefits in the EU reached €4.92 trillion according to early estimates for 2024 released on Friday by Eurostat. This marks a 6.9 per cent increase compared with the previous year of 2023. Data showed that social protection benefits expenditure represented 27.3 per cent of the EU’s Gross Domestic Product. Eurostat also reported that this percentage indicates a 0.6 percentage points increase compared with 2023. The situation in Cyprus shows its expenditure on social benefits was considerably below the EU average, reaching 19.13 per cent of GDP in 2024. This figure for Cyprus is an increase of 0.34 percentage points from the 2023 level of 18.79 per cent of GDP. In terms of absolute value, Cyprus’ social benefits expenditure for 2024 stood at €6.65 billion. This is a decrease of approximately 3.44 per cent from the 2023 expenditure of €6.89 billion. The Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), in collaboration with the Education Ministry, will hold an educational event on November 10 to mark World Savings Day, celebrated globally on October 31. The event, which will take place at Nuevo Campo in Latsia, will begin at 8:30am and is designed to raise awareness among primary school pupils about the importance of saving and financial responsibility. According to the CBC, the programme will include four thematic workshops aimed at sixth-grade pupils from schools across all districts. These workshops will be led by secondary school teachers and trainers from Junior Achievement Cyprus, an organisation with extensive experience in delivering financial education and entrepreneurship programmes to young people. The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) has released a new retail investor guide on navigating digital finance safely to mark its participation in World Investor Week 2025.The guide was issued as part of the global investor education campaign. The campaign’s key themes this year were Technology and Digital Finance, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Fraud and Scam Prevention. “As technology reshapes the financial world, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how we save, invest, and make financial decisions,” CySEC said. “But along with opportunities come new risks, from misleading information to online scams,” it added. The guide stresses that as technology reshapes the financial world, artificial intelligence is transforming how people save, invest, and make financial decisions. This slight decline in the euro area and stability in the EU followed a decrease of 0.1 per cent in both zones in August 2025. On a year-on-year basis, however, the calendar-adjusted retail sales index showed growth, increasing by 1.0 per cent in the euro area and by 1.3 per cent in the EU compared with September 2024. Among member states for which data were available, Cyprus recorded the highest annual increase in total retail trade volume, surging by 8.5 per cent. This robust growth placed Cyprus significantly ahead of the next highest increases, which were observed in Malta at 6.6 per cent and Bulgaria at 5.7 per cent. Energy ministers from the four countries, along with co-chairs of the US national energy council, met during the 3+1 energy ministerial meeting on Thursday in Athens. Papadopoulos said it was very important in geostrategic terms that the US was there and had emphasised the strategic importance of the Eastern Mediterranean for Europe’s energy security. US officials said they are ready to support projects that promote the diversification of energy sources and routes. At the centre of talks was the development of the Eastern Mediterranean energy centre, described as a key element for strategic stability and resilience in the region. Papadopoulos said that a proposal by the United States to create such a centre, which could potentially be hosted in Cyprus, was discussed. “The goal is to strengthen the foundation’s research and educational work, as well as to cultivate the values of volunteerism and social contribution among Cyprus’ younger generation,” the company said in an announcement released on Friday. “This collaboration falls within Eurolife’s Corporate Social Responsibility framework and reflects the company’s values of supporting life, health, and hope,” the company added. In a statement, Eurolife general manager Athena Shipilli Tsingi said that the company takes deep pride in supporting the Karaiskakio Foundation’s mission. “As Eurolife, we deeply honour the Foundation’s contribution and feel proud to support its efforts in giving life and hope to our fellow human beings,” she said. A number of publicly listed Cypriot firms on Friday announced upcoming meetings and key financial decisions, including scheduling board meetings to review mid-year results and ratifying a material transaction with a related party. Unifast Finance & Investments Public Company Ltd announced that its board of directors will convene on Monday, November 17, 2025. The purpose of the meeting is to examine and approve the unaudited financial results for the period of January to June 2025. Similarly, CPI Holdings Public Company Limited also announced that its board of directors will meet on Monday, November 17, 2025. This meeting is scheduled to examine and approve the unaudited financial results for the same six-month period of January to June 2025. Philoktimatiki Public Limited, meanwhile, announced a decision reached at its extraordinary general meeting (EGM), which took place on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at 11:30 a.m. According to the announcement, circulated by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) on Friday, the webinar offers stakeholders an opportunity to contribute their views and experiences on the trade pact. The online seminar is being organised as part of a study commissioned by the European Commission and implemented by the ECFORTE consortium. According to the organisers, the primary goal of the seminar is to present the results of the agreement’s official evaluation. It will also enable participants to share their experiences, views, and suggestions regarding the functioning and practical impact of the agreement. The wage tracker, which monitors active collective bargaining agreements, indicated negotiated wage growth with smoothed one-off payments of 4.7 per cent in 2024, before easing to 3.2 per cent in 2025. The 2024 figure was based on a coverage of 50.6 per cent of employees in participating countries, while the 2025 figure was based on coverage of 48.7 per cent. Meanwhile, provisional figures from the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) showed that the average gross monthly earnings in Cyprus reached €2,476 in the second quarter of 2025, marking a 4.2 per cent rise from the previous year. This continues the wage growth trend from 2024, when the average gross monthly salary stood at €2,483, though wage inequality persists, as evidenced by the 2024 median wage of €1,881 being significantly lower than the average. Furthermore, the 2025 Q2 data showed that the gender pay gap continues to be an issue, with men earning an average of €2,656 and women €2,251. The agreement was made under CySEC’s authority to reach settlements for any violation or possible violation, act, or omission for which there are reasonable grounds to believe that it may have occurred in breach of laws under CySEC’s supervision. The investigation focused on the company’s compliance during the period from 2018 to 2020. The settlement reached between CySEC and the company amounts to €150,000, which has been paid in full. This followed a larger monthly fall of 0.4 per cent recorded in both the euro area and the EU in August 2025. Focusing on the domestic market, Cyprus experienced one of the largest monthly decreases in industrial producer prices in September 2025, falling by 0.5 per cent. This significant monthly drop put Cyprus alongside Hungary and Poland, which also saw a 0.5 per cent decline, and just behind Bulgaria and Finland, which recorded the largest monthly decreases at 0.7 per cent each. According to an announcement released this week, the company also agreed on a resolution to pay an interim dividend of $11.1 million from its 2025 profits. “All 55,500,000 of the Company’s shares are subject to the interim dividend, which means $0.20 per share,” the board said. The record date for the dividend is set for November 17, 2025, with the payment date scheduled for November 27, 2025. The company clarified that the dividend distribution will not exceed the limits specified under Article 169 of the Cyprus Code of Commercial Companies. Q3 2025 results showed revenues of $929.5 million, up 28.7 per cent compared to Q3 2024. Gross profit margin reached 7.03 per cent, while operating profit (EBIT) rose 22.7 per cent to $23.3 million from $19.0 million in Q3 2024. In its announcement, CySEC said that the websites listed do not belong to any entity that has been granted authorisation under the relevant piece of legislation governing the provision of investment services and activities within the Republic. The websites named by the regulator are amazon-forex.com, novatradecore.com, vall-fin.com, daoroyal.com, capitaldealhub.com/AI_app_es, digiteamagency.com/second-income, seamanfx.com, newfuturevip.com, trademarketcup.com, fxtrade.app, and mexc.com. These webinars, set for November 2025, are primarily aimed at businesses that are required to submit due diligence statements via the Information System under the EUDR. The seminars are intended for Operators, Traders, their authorised representatives, and relevant professional bodies or associations that represent them. The goal is to familiarise these key players with the Information System, a crucial element in complying with the new regulation.
