Cyprus Business Now: housing, gamification, basketball player investing, loans

TechIsland held its first Town Hall discussion in Limassol on Thursday, bringing together senior representatives from Ask Wire, PwC Cyprus, Leptos Estates, Neapolis University Paphos, Bank of Cyprus, Cybarco Development Ltd, SPORTSOFT, PASCAL International Education, Imperio, Lanitis Entertainment Ltd, payabl. and Wargaming for a focused examination of Cyprus’ tightening housing pressures.

The closed session brought key sectors together at a time when supply shortages, affordability concerns and quality-of-living issues increasingly influence the island’s economic competitiveness.

Opening the event, TechIsland’s general manager, Tanya Romanyukha, welcomed the participants and thanked them for joining the organisation’s first Town Hall.

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Gamification may have become one of the tech industry’s most overused buzzwords, yet very few have attempted to measure it as an investment category.

According to Diana Barsukova, who led InvestGame’s first-ever systematic review of the space, the sector has now expanded into a capital-intensive ecosystem that spans EdTech, Fitness & Wellness, and Entertainment & Social.

As she noted, gamified consumer apps built on explicit progression mechanics have generated more than $20.7 billion across 208 transactions since 2020, revealing a market that is both larger and more structurally important than most industry observers realised.

This feature is sponsored by GDEV, the Cyprus-headquartered global gaming group behind franchises such as Hero Wars and Island Hoppers, which also supports research initiatives examining the evolution of gaming and gamification across consumer markets.

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EMBIO Diagnostics has entered a strategic partnership with international basketball player Sasha Vezenkov, who joins the Cyprus-based deep-tech company as both an investor and brand ambassador for its airbeld indoor air-quality solution.

The collaboration is being launched with a new campaign and video, spotlighting the impact of indoor air on health, well-being and longevity.

According to research cited by the company, indoor air can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air, often affecting children, the elderly and families without them realising.

Against this backdrop, the airbeld device is positioned as a tool that monitors and records CO2 levels, dust particles, chemical substances and humidity, offering a clear picture of “what we are truly breathing” and how it may affect daily health.

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Net new loans in Cyprus fell by €18.5 million in October to €429.4 million, mainly due to a slowdown in lending to companies, while housing loans continued to rise, according to data published this week by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

Total new loans reached €624.9m, compared with €770.5m in September, when net new lending had stood at €447.9m.

According to the CBC, the monthly decline reflected weaker corporate borrowing, even as households continued to take out more loans for home purchases.

Net new housing loans increased to €117.5m in October, out of €158.7m in new contracts, compared with €112.9m in the previous month.

Consumer lending also strengthened, with net new consumer loans rising to €23.7m, from €21.2m in September.

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Safe Bulkers, which also maintains offices in Limassol and is led by owner and chief executive Polys Hajioannou, has authorised a new share repurchase programme of up to 10 million shares, one of its most significant capital management moves in recent years.

The decision comes at a time of healthy liquidity and a solid balance-sheet position.

According to the company, purchasing the full amount would cover approximately 9.8 per cent of its outstanding shares and around 20 per cent of the public float, marking a sizeable intervention in its equity base.

In practice, such a move is expected to reinforce shareholder value and strengthen returns for existing investors.

The company also stated that the programme “does not obligate the Company to purchase shares and may be modified or terminated at any time without prior notice”.

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National Bank of Greece (Cyprus) has appointed Michalis Athanasiou as Chief Business Officer, in a move that strengthens its management team during a period of dynamic growth and strategic upgrading of the Group’s presence in Cyprus.

Athanasiou brings extensive experience from senior management positions across Cyprus, Australia and Luxembourg.

Moreover, his career includes managing critical transformation projects, capital-enhancement initiatives and complex financings.

He has also led successful ventures in international markets and highly regulated environments, while building strong business development expertise with domestic and international counterparties.

During his tenure as Group Chief Risk Officer at Bank of Cyprus, he contributed to the process of raising €1 billion in new capital in 2014, as well as to the subsequent stabilisation and strengthening of the bank’s balance sheet.

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Inflation in Cyprus turned negative in November, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling by 0.5 per cent year on year, according to the state statistical service (Cystat).

The index decreased by 0.68 points to 117.57 units compared with 118.25 units in October, reflecting a monthly drop of 0.6 per cent.

Among economic categories, services recorded the strongest annual increase at 3.1 per cent, while electricity registered the steepest annual decline of 7.9 per cent, followed by agricultural products, which decreased by 6.2 per cent.

Compared with October, agricultural products posted the largest monthly reduction of 7.6 per cent.

Compared with November 2024, clothing and footwear experienced the sharpest annual change with a decline of 7.6 per cent. Restaurants and hotels rose by 5 per cent, education increased by 3.3 per cent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 3.1 per cent.

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