Cyprus recorded the second-highest budget surplus among EU member states in 2024

Macro Political

• Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced over EUR 1bn in permanent economic support measures and new investments. Key measures, effective by year-end, include:
A) One month’s rent reimbursed annually for renters (EUR 230mn).
B) A permanent EUR 250 benefit for 1.5 million low-income pensioners and vulnerable groups (EUR 360mn).
C) A EUR 500mn increase in the public investment program.
Source: Capital.gr

• The announcement followed Eurostat data showing Greece posted a 1.3% of GDP budget surplus in 2024, far exceeding the 0.7% deficit target. Greece’s primary surplus reached 4.8% of GDP, nearly double its goal. Despite this progress, the country still carries the EU’s highest debt burden, with public debt at 153.6% of GDP. However, this represents a notable 10-percentage-point reduction from 163.9% of GDP in 2023.
Source: Eurostat

• Greece will today auction 26 Weeks T-Bills with maturity October 24, 2025. The amount to be auctioned is EUR 500mn.

Source: PDMA

• The IMF maintained its forecast for Greece’s economic growth at 2.0% for 2025, unchanged from previous projections. For 2026, the IMF projects a growth rate of 1.8%.
Source: IMF

Markets:

• Metlen announced that it has entered into an agreement for Glenfarne to acquire a portfolio Solar and Battery Energy Storage System (“BESS”) assets in Chile. The transaction involves operational solar projects with total capacity of 558MW, combines with co-located BESS facilities with storage capacity of 1610 MWh. The headline consideration of the acquisition is agreed at USD 815 mn.
Source: ATHEX

Macro Political

•  The IMF downgraded its forecasts for Cyprus’ economic growth, estimating that GDP growth in 2025 will slow to 2.5%, compared to previous projections of 3.1%. Additionally, for 2026, the IMF projects growth of 2.7%.
Source: IMF

•  According to data released by Eurostat, Cyprus recorded the second-highest budget surplus among EU member states in 2024, posting a surplus of 4.3% of GDP. Eurostat reported that 21 of the EU’s 27 member states ran budget deficits during the year. In addition to its strong surplus performance, Cyprus also achieved a significant reduction in public debt. By the end of 2024, public debt had fallen to 65% of GDP, down from 73.6% in 2023. In absolute terms, this represented a decrease from EUR 23.08 billion to EUR 21.82 billion.
Source: Eurostat