Cyprus Quarterly Economic Outlook
Authors: G. Hardouvelis, I. Gkionis
Publication: October 2017, Year 2, Issue 4
Key points
- During 2015 and 2016 the Cypriot economy expanded much
faster than previously perceived, with the Cyprus Statistical
Service revising the GDP growth rate up to 2.0% and 3.0%
respectively, from the earlier estimates of 1.7% and 2.8% - In 2017 Q2 the economy expanded by 3.5% on an annual
basis, bringing the 1H-2017 performance to 3.6% - The solid economic performance continues into the third
quarter of 2017 with particularly visible positive signals
emanating from the property market - Cyprus is an inch away from investment grade status with
S&P upgrading the outlook of Cyprus from stable to positive
within the long-term sovereign rating of BB+ - Fiscal performance is impressive for an election year as the
general government primary balance came to 2.3% of GDP in
the first eight months of the year - NPEs remain the single largest vulnerability of the economy
with banks lagging slightly behind the Central Bank’s
restructuring targets for 2017 Q1