Cyprus set to ‘expand’

Economic growth will boom in Cyprus this year, says the Country’s Government…

Finance minister Michalis Sarris recently commented:  â€œI expect the economy to expand by about four per cent in 2008.  These revised estimates followed a higher than expected rate of economic growth recorded last year. I believe the performance of 2007 was truly impressive and the predictions we made for 2008 were based on smoother growth rates."

Mr Sarris added: “The majority of people on the island are now using euros, ahead of the day that the pound finally goes out of circulation, and the single European currency is now being used in approximately 95 per cent of transactions.

The Mediterranean island became a member of the euro at the beginning of 2008, four years after it joined the European Union. Earlier this month, the Telegraph predicted that the currency changeover would boost Cyprus's appeal to foreign property buyers, due to factors such as favourable interest rates and rising house prices.