Cyprus records highest growth in seven years

Bailed-out eurozone member Cyprus exited 2015 on a high with a fourth straight quarter of economic growth, rounding off its best performance in seven years, official figures showed on Friday.

After the statistical service announced 0.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades said the data “confirmed that the Cyprus economy is on the road to recovery.”

GDP growth for the whole of 2015 was 1.6 percent, “the highest level in the past seven years,” the minister said in a statement.

“Now the conditions are created for new jobs and new opportunities in our economy,” said Georgiades.

GDP grew 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to 0.5 percent during the previous three months and 0.7 percent in the second quarter, Cyprus’s statistical service said.

The figures showed growth in manufacturing, construction, trade, hotels and restaurants, as well as transport and financial services.

[AFP]