Source: cyprus-mail.com
The warning comes as Cyprus leads the EU in innovation activity among smaller businesses, but continues to face difficulties attracting private investment and turning research into commercial growth.
Speaking at the 19th Cyprus Innovation Awards and the Cyprus Research Awards 2025 at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre on Monday, Employers and Industrialists Federation (Oev) chairman Giorgos Pantelides said “the companies most likely to succeed would not necessarily be the largest, but those quickest to adapt.”
With artificial intelligence, robotics and digital technologies changing the way companies operate, he argued that businesses could no longer afford to treat innovation as something optional.
Five years on, Malloc, led by co-founder and CEO Maria Terzi, is moving across enterprise, government and defence, developing mobile security technology designed to protect users operating in some of the most sensitive and restricted environments.
The company’s evolution reflects a wider shift in cybersecurity. Smartphones are no longer simply personal devices. For journalists, executives, government personnel, political figures and defence users, they can also become a route into location data, communications, personal, confidential and operational information. For Terzi, however, Malloc’s expansion is not a departure from its original mission. If anything, she believes the company is still far from what it can ultimately achieve. From a privacy app to something much bigger.
Looking back at how Malloc has evolved, Terzi said, “To be honest, nothing changed, in fact, Malloc is not even near to what it can become.”
The event will take place at the Hilton Nicosia under the theme “Hospitality 2030: Reinvention, Resilience & Responsible Growth”, examining emerging trends and developments expected to influence the hotel and tourism sectors over the coming decade.
The conference comes at a time of significant change for global tourism, with geopolitical instability, economic pressures, climate change, evolving traveller expectations and rapid technological advances creating new challenges for the industry.
The bank’s latest analysis of the Cypriot economy points to resilient domestic demand, a robust labour market and sustained investment, although rising inflation and weaker external balances pose risks to the outlook.
Household consumption increased by 5.4 per cent year-on-year, while gross fixed capital formation rose by 9.4 per cent, making the 2 components the main drivers of growth.
Investment was supported particularly by a 151.9 per cent surge in transport equipment, while residential investment grew at a more moderate pace of 4.3 per cent.
Kineyirou identified 3 categories of dangerous buildings that require different responses, warning that inadequate oversight, owners’ failure to maintain properties and lengthy restoration procedures are allowing the problem to persist.
“We are watching the situation with abandoned and dangerous buildings with great concern and anxiety,” he said, stressing that public safety must take precedence over aesthetic considerations and the visual pollution affecting towns and villages.
“In such an important matter, we cannot afford to act like Epimetheus,” Kineyirou said, referring to the figure in Greek mythology who recognises a mistake only after the damage has been done.
The number of recorded house resales increased from 345 in the second quarter to 740 in the third, while the total value of apartment and house resales reached €710.40 million during the first 9 months of the year.
The study covered 3,241 resales of existing apartments and houses between January and September 2026, excluding residential plots, land, offices, retail premises and off-plan properties.
Overall, residential resales increased by 50 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter, from 1,044 transactions in the second quarter to 1,566, while their combined recorded value climbed by 78 per cent, from €212.80m to €378.80m.
The revised Business and Talent Attraction Strategy for 2027 – 2030 is intended to encourage new investment, help established companies expand and strengthen the contribution of international businesses to the Cypriot economy.
Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Michalis Damianos outlined the government’s intentions during the first consultation workshop, held this week, bringing together businesses, universities, banks and public authorities.
According to the ministry, Damianos stressed the importance of developing the strategy in close cooperation with investors and other interested parties, rather than drawing up measures without consulting the businesses expected to benefit from them.
The multi-year agreement will see Capital.com join the Davis Cup commercial family at the Final 8 in Bologna from November 24 to 29, when host nation Italy, winners in the last three seasons, will compete alongside seven other nations to be crowned world champions.
Established in 2016, Capital.com is an online trading platform operating across multiple jurisdictions under established regulatory frameworks. Its brand promise, Built for Better Decisions, shapes how the platform is designed, helping clients understand their choices, assess risk and make more informed decisions.
As part of the partnership, Capital.com will have a dedicated space in the Davis Cup Fan Zone throughout the Final 8, offering visitors interactive experiences before the day’s matches, alongside tennis-themed merchandise.
For years, short-term rentals offered the promise of higher returns, particularly in tourist hotspots such as Paphos, Protaras and Limassol. But a good nightly rate is one thing. What remains after cleaning, commissions, electricity bills, maintenance and periods without guests is quite another.
And with conventional rents continuing to rise, securing a reliable tenant for 12 months is looking increasingly attractive.
The latest RICS Cyprus Property Price Index, produced with KPMG, puts the annual increase in apartment rental values at 7.36 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 6.43 per cent for holiday apartments.
Tourism revenue rose 4.6 per cent to €536.5 million in July, despite arrivals falling by 1.1 per cent. Visitors spent more each day, although their average stay shortened from nine nights to 8.6.
It is an encouraging result for an industry that has spent decades measuring success largely through arrival numbers. The wider picture, though, is rather less comfortable.
Revenue for the first seven months of 2026 fell by 7 per cent to €1.76 billion, while arrivals during the first nine months were 5.6 per cent below last year’s levels.
There is also a worrying comparison with the rest of Europe.
The workshop, entitled “Green skills: from needs analysis to integration into education and training”, is being organised as part of the European SUSTAINET project, funded by the Erasmus+ programme, in collaboration with the University of Limassol (UoL).
The event aims to identify the green skills required in Cyprus and explore ways to incorporate them into education and training, taking into account changing labour market demands and the challenges posed by the green transition.
The invitation-only event, taking place at the Parklane Resort, will examine how political uncertainty, environmental regulations and the shift towards alternative fuels are affecting investment decisions and the competitiveness of the global shipping industry.
CSC president Andreas Neophytou will deliver the welcome address, followed by International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) secretary-general Thomas Kazakos, who will chair the summit, and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) secretary-general Arsenio Dominguez, who is scheduled to deliver a message.
Other prominent speakers include Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill Ocean Transportation, Pankaj Khanna, chief executive of Heidmar Maritime Holdings, and American economist Richard D. Wolff, who will address the geopolitical challenges facing international shipping.
The proposed share capital reduction will lower the company’s issued share capital from €105,436.963, divided into 105,436,963 ordinary shares, to €105,399.577, comprising 105,399,577 ordinary shares, each with a nominal value of €0.001.
The cancellation follows the expiry of the maximum statutory 2-year period during which the company was permitted to hold the 37,386 treasury shares, with the resolution stating that their disposal had been excluded.
In an announcement to investors, the National Bank of Greece said the notes were issued on November 22, 2022, under its €5 billion Global Medium Term Note Programme and carry the designation Fixed Rate Resettable Unsubordinated MREL Notes.
The notes have a maturity date of November 22, 2027, and are identified by the international securities identification number XS2558592932.
Although the original issue was valued at €500 million, the outstanding principal amount currently stands at €284,835,000.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the company said the application followed earlier announcements on December 11 and December 15, 2025, concerning the restructuring plan, which would reorganise the group and separate the hotel investment from the existing listed company.
The proposed arrangement would transfer the hotel’s ultimate ownership to the minority shareholders of Louis plc and Louis Hotels Public Company Ltd in exchange for their shares in the 2 companies.
In an announcement on Tuesday, the company said the meeting followed its October 14 announcement and a decision by its board of directors to convene the gathering.
The company said the purchase was carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations of the Cyprus Stock Exchange and circulars issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sales from filling stations also rose, increasing by 1.7 per cent compared with September 2025 to reach 62,557 tonnes.
Among individual products, sales of liquefied petroleum gases increased by 12.1 per cent, while asphalt sales rose by 5.1 per cent, light fuel oil by 1.6 per cent and motor gasoline by 1.5 per cent.
Provisions of aviation kerosene increased by 1.4 per cent year-on-year.
By contrast, provisions of marine gasoil fell by 3.6 per cent, while sales of heating gasoil declined by 6 per cent and road diesel by 1.4 per cent.
On a monthly basis, total petroleum product sales rose by 20.8 per cent in September compared with August, reflecting increases across several categories.