MONEY DEC 2018 ISSUE 52

BU S I NES S

|

LIFES T YLE

|

DESIGN

TH E F I N A N C E E D I T I O N ISSUE 52

24 Jean-Luc Micallef

AN ACCOMMODATING CONCEPT C OVER STOR Y

10 J o s e p h Z a m m i t Ta b o n a

WHAT HAPPENS (BR)EXT?

16 Alfred Sant & Roberta Metsola

TWO SIDES TO EVERY COIN

32 Manuel Delia

BUT CAN WE POLICE IT?

WELCOME

4 ¡ MONEY

Surely after the turbulent political revelations of the year, the festive season should offer some respite?

ISSUE 52

COVER

Jean-Luc Micallef Managing Director, JL Properties Read the full story on page 24

It has been a trying year, with construction clogging up the roads and historical monuments becoming the focus of a standoff that has turned the quest for justice into a farce. The revelations of the Panama Papers has continued to leave a slimy trail up the stairs to Castille, and the corruption that has tainted the way business is done a process that has decades-long roots - has been made painfully public to an extent that makes it impossible for us to ignore any longer.

The shackles put around Pilates and Satabank have shaken our belief in a regulatory environment that is supposed to lock the stable doors beforehand, and the appointments of one incompetent after another have shamed us internationally.

Planning permits have shaken the foundations of our belief that procedures should be in place to curtail greed and short-sightedness. National Audit Office reports have left us unable to pretend that all that ails us is merely down to oversight

Photo by Chris Sant Fournier

CREDITS EDITOR

and not to gross abuse and negligence. And other cauldrons are bubbling away, ready to spill their poisonous contents, from hidden poverty to not so hidden racism.

So, is it all doom and gloom? The economy is still booming and unemployment is at record lows. The majority of people are prospering as they rent their properties, boost their sales and see their investments pay off.

Waiting times at the hospital are going down, and medicines are getting cheaper, school transport is now free and childcare centres are making it possible for women to work - if they want to or need to.

More people are taking more holidays and solar panels are sprouting. We have a new power station and can only hope that the new medical school in Gozo will deliver even as we acknowledge that it is just a matter of time till the American University gives up and begrudgingly turns into a property development. Blockchain is putting us on the map so recently besmirched by money laundering claims.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A Merry Christmas to you all.

GET YOUR FREE REVOLUT VISA DEBIT CARD!

Anthony P. Bernard anthony@moneymag.me DESIGN

Bloom Creative bloomcreative.com.mt | 79091413 DISTRIBUTION

Mailbox Direct Marketing Group PRINTING

Print It

Money is hand delivered to businesses in Malta including all managers and directors of the TOP 250 companies. iGaming companies, all 5 Star Hotels including their business centers, executive lounges and rooms (where allowed), all foreign embassies and Maltese Embassies abroad (UK, Rome, Brussels and Moscow). All government ministries and institutions.

For information regarding promotion and advertising: Tel: (+356) 2134 2155 / 2131 4719 Email: hello@moneymag.me

Money is published by Be Communications Ltd, No. 81, Howard Street, Sliema, Malta SLM 1754 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited without written permission. Opinions expressed in Money are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. All reasonable care is taken to ensure truth and accuracy, but the editor and publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions in articles, advertising, photographs or illustrations. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome but cannot be returned without a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The editor is not responsible for material submitted for consideration.

CONTENTS

6 · MONEY

28

INSIGHT

BRICKS AND CLICKS: WEATHERING THE STORE(M)

ISSUE 52

46

Patrick Debattista outlines five trends which are sure to give you hope to lead your retail brand into 2019 and beyond.

32 10

16 20

OPINION

BUT CAN WE POLICE IT? Political analyst Manuel Delia speaks about the dire need to effectively police the economic sector if Malta is to match its offer to the world as a financial hub.

COUNTRY PROFILE

IS LONDON BRIDGE STILL FALLING DOWN? MONEY analyses whether the fifth largest economy in the world is holding up against Brexit jitters.

48

BREXIT

WHAT HAPPENS (BR)EXT?

SOCIAL MEDIA

CALL-TO-ACTION As the marketing power of social media continues to grow, it’s worth taking a look at the financial rewards you can reap out of it. Richard Muscat Azzopardi analyses social media marketing and the sense it makes financially.

Giselle Borg Olivier speaks to Joseph Zammit Tabona who served as Malta’s High Commissioner to the UK and now is chairman of the Malta-UK Business Promotion task force, who assures that the task force won’t just fold up post-Brexit as Malta will continue to try attract business as it’s been doing for years.

MEP

TWO SIDES TO EVERY COIN Giselle Borg Olivier speaks to MEPs Alfred Sant and Roberta Metsola about the Malta’s financial services sector in the light of the events that have unfolded.

BREXIT

NOTHING COMPARES TO EU

38

Although the situation between the UK and the EU remains fluid, MONEY’s Dayna Clarke finds out how Brexit can affect European e-commerce sellers and consumers.

TA X

NEW DAWN Miraine Falzon, senior consultant in EY's Business Tax Advisory team, analyses whether tax rules are responding to the modernisation of the economy and what lies ahead in terms of plans to tax the digital economy.

50 24

AN ACCOMMODATING CONCEPT

54

MONEY speaks to Jean-Luc Micallef, managing director at JL Properties, on his ever-growing platform, which provides landlords and language school accommodation providers a cost-effective means of both letting and reserving accommodation.

56

COVER STORY

PHOTOGR APHY

BE(S)WITCHED Switch comprises a killer bunch of creatives with a mission: to scare the hell out of your competitors! MONEY features some scare tactics of theirs...

FA S H I O N

A STOCKING FULL OF STARS Start the new year in style with MONEY’s gift list.

L AST WORD

IN THE NAME OF HONOUR The Bluesman speaks about the false honour of dying in battle and those who stand to gain from bloodshed.

SKILLBIKE™ Will you make it to that last hill? Can you push yourself above and beyond your last competitor, and take the challenge further? It’s hard if it doesn’t feel like the real thing.

If you don’t shift a real gear on a real road, riding across real routes along with real companions. It’s time to unleash your athletic potential. It’s time to shift to real riding.

CHRISTMAS EXTENDED SHOPPING HOURS REGULAR SHOPPING HOURS Mon - Wed 08.00-20.00

Sat 07.30-20.00

Thu - Fri 08.00-21.00

Sun 09.00-14.00

Sun 25 Nov 08.00-18.00

Sun 2 Dec 08.00-18.00

Sat 8 Dec 07.30-20.00

Sun 9 Dec 08.00-18.00

Thu 13 Dec 08.00-20.00

Sun 16 Dec 08.00-18.00

Sun 23 Dec 08.00-18.00

Mon 24 Dec 08.00-18.30

Tue 25 Dec CLOSED

Wed 26 Dec 08.00-20.00

Mon 31 Dec 08.00-18.30

Tue 1 Jan CLOSED

Wed 2 Jan 09.00-20.00

www.myparktowers.com

Psaila Street, Santa Venera t. 2148 0807

Gorg Borg Olivier Street, St Julian’s t. 2137 8520

Spinola Park, St Julian’s t. 2138 1055

BREXIT

10 · MONE Y

ISSUE 52

Giselle is a freelance writer, proofreader and social media marketer who lives on Instagram and cappuccino. She runs Content for Success.

WHAT HAPPENS (BR)EXT? Giselle Borg Olivier speaks to Joseph Zammit Tabona who served as Malta’s High Commissioner to the UK and now is chairman of the Malta-UK Business Promotion task force, who assures that the task force won’t just fold up postBrexit as Malta will continue to try attract business as it’s been doing for years.

Joseph Zammit Tabona is no stranger to the business world in Malta, having held positions over the years from partner at PwC to Malta’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, and now as chairman of the MaltaUK Business Promotion task force set up to implement a plan of action between now and the end of 2019 to promote business to Malta in collaboration with the UK. I met up with him in the beautiful courtyard of the Xara Palace in Mdina, ready to discuss Brexit and Malta’s value proposition in this regard, and, without fail he jumped right into the discussion explaining the nuances of the task force.

“The reason that it’s called the Malta-UK Business Taskforce, and not the Brexit Taskforce (as other EU jurisdictions have done), is because we are asking UK businesses to co-locate as opposed to relocate. We are not actively involved in any negotiations that are taking place but are interested in seeing

how we can possibly attract business down to Malta. We therefore suggest that companies remain in the UK and set up either a subsidiary or a branch in Malta that will allow them to passport their business into the EU.” The model makes sense, but what has the task force achieved till now, I asked. He explains that it’s difficult to identify and quantify what has been achieved. He says that, what the task force has been trying to do since September 1, 2017, which is when it was established, is to create opportunities for businesses to know about Malta and what it offers. This has been done through various activities, such as the one organised in November 2017 where the Prime Minister spoke at a lunch held at the Guildhall in the City of London. This was attended by approximately 40 people from the City, all within senior roles, such as chairmen and CEOs of financial institutions and insurance companies. That event was followed by another lunch held on February 1, 2018

where 54 business people from the Indian community were present. Following this lunch, a familiarisation visit to Malta was organised in May 2018 led by Lord Bilimoria and Lord Gadhia.

The Indian-UK business community is one that Mr Zammit Tabona is focusing heavily on, as there is much interest in Malta and the community is a large one. In fact, on November 2, 2018, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was presented with an award by the Indo-EU Business Community at the European Business Forum 2018. Around

THE FINANCE EDITION

140 people were present for this event, with approximately 50 delegates flying out from India to be present.

Mr Zammit Tabona explained the importance of familiarisation visits, saying that the task force has been bringing people out to Malta for such visits on a continuous basis and expounding on their success.

“The Prime Minister and I have had meetings with a senior person in the Indian business community, who is already operating out of Malta in one area of business, and we’re

BREXIT

hoping that he will expand his repertoire and potentially open a family office in Malta.”

“We’re looking at different opportunities and one of our briefs is to work with different institutions like the Institute of Directors, the Confederation of British Industries, Confederation of Indian Industries, and the like.”

Since the set-up of task force is an amalgamation of several people from different industries in Malta, there aren’t any dedicated staff members and certain jobs are outsourced. Mr Zammit Tabona explained

MONEY · 11

that in November 2017, two contracts were signed with two research companies – “one was to identify companies within the financial services sector and the other was in relation to the manufacturing sector. They bring us leads which we take over and, because of these, we bring the relevant people down to Malta. That’s the approach that we’ve been taking till now.”

“We’re going to probably take a different stance in the next few weeks, whereby we’ll be trying to engage more with the professionals in Malta, such as the →

12 · MONEY

accountants and the lawyers and their respective counterparts. We’d like them to come forward with a group of potential investors to try and have weekly events in London with representatives from Malta Enterprise, FinanceMalta, etc., starting from January up to May, with the assistance of the task force. Following any favourable feedback from these meetings, we will then organise local site visits.

I believe in the familiarisation visits because I normally bring people down to Malta on a Wednesday night and they leave on a Friday afternoon, so they have a full 36 hours here where I arrange around 12-15 meetings which is quite extensive. I’ve just had one in November and have more planned in December.”

He said that Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri is also participating in meetings due to the interest in blockchain and DLT and will be in London in November for an all-day event which will see him meeting with around 70 people in total.

I enquired further about who is handling the targeting of UK businesses, asking whether it falls on the government or the local practitioners. He replied that Malta Enterprise, particularly Mario Galea, is heavily involved in the operation, with three to four people directly assisting both himself and the Prime Minister as well as handling the leads generated by the research companies.

“In terms of the local practitioners, my intention is to be more aggressive by organising separate meetings with the Chamber of Advocates and Malta Institute of Accountants, Mr Zammit Tabona further explained. “The practitioners are also doing their own thing and I’m trying to bring it all together to be more focused and to also offer them more assistance. The accounting firms have their international counterparts; the law firms have their affiliations with various law firms in the UK – they’re the ones that could bring opportunities.”

It all sounds very promising but has there been anything concrete, I ask. “The feedback has been good; there’s a high percentage rate of success,” he says. “One Indian company particular, an IT company, are probably

BREXIT

looking to relocate certain activities from Eastern Europe to Malta. They’re thinking of passing on to Malta two particularly large contracts.”

“The Indian community are ready to get involved in everything – universities, family offices, the works. A business owner who already operates a bank is thinking of setting up a bank in Malta to service his Asian clients who do venture trading in the EU. I am hopeful that there will be investments on the

Malta will be losing an ally at the discussion table when passing legislation within the EU... back of this, although it’s been happening; when there was the first lunch on February 1, one Indian business person said that he has been operating his trading company for luxury goods out of Malta for the last 30 years.”

What does he think the impact of Brexit will be on the different business sectors? Will there be winners and losers as a result?

“Obviously, no one in the UK knows the outcome of the Brexit negotiations so it’s only the larger companies, like the larger banks or some insurance companies that have actually taken the decision of either relocating to other jurisdictions or having activities outside of the UK.” “If you talk to certain senior people within the City of London they’ll tell you that the city has already lost around 40,000 jobs, although this isn’t being publicised, and the reason for this is that if there were businesses who were previously thinking about setting up in London and employing a few thousand people, the threat of Brexit put a stop to these plans.”

“I think that the UK will continue to be one of the leading financial services centres in the world, irrespective of Brexit, so all that companies are doing is positioning

ISSUE 52

themselves with regards to EU activities; however, I don’t think that people are moving out as such. What businesses have likely done is frozen their activities to a particular level rather than continue to expand within the city of London. Regarding the smaller companies, I don’t think that any of them have taken any decision yet. I do think that some of them are looking at the different opportunities available and this is why I think we need to be more aggressive with our efforts in the coming six months, as the timing could be crucial for decision making.”

Mr Zammit Tabona is well acquainted with Malta-UK ties, both economically and culturally, having been the Maltese High Commissioner to the UK from 2009 till 2013 - What is likely to be the impact on Malta in terms of support when the UK leaves the EU? “Malta will be losing an ally at the discussion table when passing legislation within the EU,” he explains succinctly. “UK has been an ally in industries like financial services and gaming so there will definitely be a loss. The other (still unknown) point is whether other smaller countries are likely to suffer as a result of the UK exiting the EU.” As you said, no one knows what the deal is going to be, and recent news coverage has speculated that there might not even be a deal…

“I think that some sort of a deal will take place. The difficulty is whether UK PM Theresa May will manage to get it through Parliament; I think the chances are slim. Though she wouldn’t like to go back to a referendum, my opinion is that she’d be better off asking the people whether they want to accept the deal or not. The reason is that I believe the public was misled at the time of the referendum as no details were given as to what the deal would entail and what exiting the EU would mean; however, whether she sees that as not being part of her brief, since she got appointed as a result of the referendum is another thing – that’s a politician’s stance.

However, one must acknowledge that she does have a very difficult situation on her hands; whichever way she chooses to go there is a loss of some sort. But the days are going by rather quickly and some sort of a deal needs to be reached.” →

I-MEET Meeting

Prestige lines and finishing, modulated shapes and sizes, facilitate collaboration and visual contact; then the various tools needed for electricity, wide and easy-to-check wire management container, make I-meet that perfect environment, for functional and highly representative meetings.

I-meet fully responds to the different furnishing needs of a room where you can meet your team, customers or just visitors.

Mdina Road, Mriehel | T: 2546 4000 | www.oxfordhouse.com.mt Like us on

14 · M O N E Y

This is all well and good, but if there’s a second referendum and the Remain vote wins, then what happens to the work that the task force has done?

He explains that the work will continue because we still want to attract business to Malta, and we’ve been doing this since the 1960s so there’s no reason why this would stop.

“We’re still promoting Malta and what it has to offer, and this brings me back to the point of co-location rather than relocation,” he says. “This would still remain valid to UK businesses and keeps Malta impartial by simply putting Malta more on the map with the opportunities that it has to offer. The financial services sector will always gain, based on the work that we’ve been doing for the past 30 years. The blockchain industry could prove to be a new opportunity, as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) at some stage, and could develop into a new economic sector for the country.”

And what happens to the task force after the Big Day, March 29, 2019?

Mr Zammit Tabona assured me that the task force won’t just fold up post-Brexit. There will be a transition period and follow-up work to be done especially for those businesses who are still deciding about their next move.

“The intention is to assist entities like both FinanceMalta and Malta Enterprise in highlighting the opportunities that Malta offers, and I would imagine that this brief will continue till the end of 2019, although this is up to the Prime Minister to decide upon.”

BREXIT

need to keep their rental demands in check, because if the market outprices itself then operators could move out of Malta and relocate to Eastern European countries where the costs are significantly cheaper.

So, should there be a more consolidated effort to control this?

“I think that it should be controlled on a national scale as it affects everybody. How can it be controlled? I don’t know,” he laughs.

He’s aware that the upper property market is asking for prices akin to those of London; “… but Malta is not London”, he muses. “Can we continue increasing prices and still attract high net-worth individuals? Personally, I don’t think so as there is a limited market and we need to adjust to what we currently have.”

I ask Joseph about the banking situation in Malta, because, although there is this concerted effort to bring more business to Malta, operators are finding it very difficult to open bank accounts, so what’s the solution there?

“There is obviously a need for more banks, particularly ‘chains’ that have corresponding banks in the States. I think we should try to identify and encourage such banks to recognise the opportunities because Malta’s trades have increased enormously, and yet the number of banks has more or less remained the same.”

But what about the negative impact, such as the increase in rental rates?

“Another area where Malta can really develop its economic stance is aviation. SR Technics already employs around 350-400 people and there is potential for further staff training.

Malta Enterprise has allocated a sum of money towards training for such initiatives.

This will help combat the skills gap that Malta is facing, especially in the aviation engineering field. There was an opportunity to set up AOC (Air Operator Certificate) licenses in Malta; however, unfortunately we lost out to Austria as it was thought that Malta couldn’t deliver, despite Malta already having 23 AOC licenses. These are the opportunities that we shouldn’t miss out on.”

He agreed that the property rental market is a problem with rates having increased substantially, and he believes that flat owners

As the interview ended, I brought up an amusing incident that took place between Mr Zammit Tabona and the Queen when he

I voiced my concerns about whether Malta is prepared for the influx of business that the task force is hoping to generate, and Mr Zammit Tabona assured me that the importation of expats to Malta helps to boost economic activity on the island, same as what happened in the gaming sector.

ISSUE 52

Can we continue increasing prices and still attract high net-worth individuals?

Personally, I don’t think so [...] we need to adjust to what we currently have. was presenting his credentials to her on his appointment as British High Commissioner, causing him to chuckle at the memory as he recounted the event.

“I was interviewed by the diplomatic magazine, ‘The Diplomat’, and in it I said that I was going to concentrate in attracting business to Malta. During the ceremony, she brought up the subject by saying, ‘I understand you’re here to take away business from the UK’ and I did cringe and go red in the face and replied, ‘Ma’am, as you well know Malta is a tiny place and we could do with the crumbs of London which is more than enough for us’. She certainly does her homework and I have a lot of admiration for her and the Royal Family and I was surprised when she brought that up. The Queen has a great affection for Malta; one must bear in mind that Malta was the only place where she had the liberty of moving around without any security. She told me that she had a car while she was here, likely an MG convertible, and she said that she used to spend hours driving around the island and enjoying the sun. I think, both for Prince Philip and the Queen, Malta was a nice place for them and I believe that they wished that they could have spent their 60th wedding anniversary here but certain reasons precluded them from doing so.”

On that note, I gathered my things, thanked him for his time and said, “Bye Mr Zammit Tabona”, to which he replied, “Call me Joe”, with his trademark smile.

Note information in this article was correct at the time of going to print, however due to the fast-changing nature of negotiations and unpredictability of the Brexit negotiations, it is naturally subject to change.

BOV STOCKBROKING

committed and professional We offer a dynamic service led by a team of experienced traders, determined to execute your instructions in a prompt, efficient and effective manner. Place your trades through our Branch Network, Investment Centres or 24/7 via our Internet Banking Service.*

Aiming to achieve effective goals for your success.

Investment returns can go down as well as up and past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. Changes in the rate of exchange currencies may also affect the value of your investments. * Trades in complex financial instruments may only be processed through our Investment Centres.

More information is available from www.bov.com or contact 2131 2020.

Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c., 58, Triq San Ĺťakkarija, Il-Belt Valletta VLT 1130 Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a public limited liability company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking and investment services in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta) and the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta).

MEP

16 · MONE Y

ISSUE 52

Giselle is a freelance writer, proofreader and social media marketer who lives on Instagram and cappuccino. She runs Content for Success.

Two sides to every coin

Giselle Borg Olivier speaks to MEPs Alfred Sant and Roberta Metsola about the Malta’s financial services sector in the light of the events that have unfolded.

The financial services sector has been one of the major driving forces behind Malta's economic performance in the past, however the jurisdiction's reputation has taken a nosedive in recent months. Do you think that this will affect the industry and what can be done to safeguard this?

Dr Alfred Sant - There is a concerted effort within the EU to restrict the space within so-called "tax havens" like Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland, Cyprus, but also Holland and Belgium operate to offer low taxes and financial services that, by many European politicians, are perceived as providing avenues for tax evasion, tax avoidance, aggressive tax planning, and money laundering. They link this approach to their preference for harmonisation of business and income taxes within the EU tied to a common accounting system for reporting income and expenditures. Their concerns have been given salience and momentum by the publication of revelations like Lux leaks, the Panama Papers and so on, putting those countries perceived

as "tax havens" under the critical microscope.

Already placed under such criticism, Malta came under further attack due to the stupid and short-sighted publicity given by PN politicians in the social, national and international media to cases that allegedly happened in Malta, giving them credibility even though in scale they were piddling compared to the transgressions committed by such institutions as Danske Bank, Deutsche Bank, and other big banks and businesses in the larger EU states.

To safeguard its position, Malta must make sure that it is always abiding by internationally-agreed regulations, implementing them fully and pushing for full transparency in Malta and elsewhere.

It should also seek to remain in sync with other member states that are facing the same pressures.

Dr Roberta Metsola - Malta has a hardearned reputation, built over decades, as

a great country to do business in - we have the workforce, the climate, the regulatory environment and we manage to use our size to our advantage; that is what propelled previous administrations to work so hard to establish industries like financial services, tourism, maritime, aviation, and more. The reputational damage being done by the Prime Minister’s refusal, or inability, to take any action to tackle the fallout from the Panama Papers and 17 Black scandals, is incalculable.

The Prime Minister is playing with people’s livelihoods when he continues to defend the indefensible actions of his Ministers.

What should have happened was that he immediately removes those responsible from political power and addresses any institutional shortcomings to stamp out abuse and corruption. Sadly, he refused to do anything of the sort.

Last year, the Malta Employers Association expressed alarm at the "extensive media reports" tarnishing Malta's reputation as a

THE FINANCE EDITION

respected EU centre for financial services.

Do you think that there is cause for alarm?

Should such bodies make these public declarations?

Dr Sant - The MEA was right to feel alarmed at those reports. I go beyond that and criticise those Maltese citizens and politicians who were active in encouraging and fuelling those reports. As to whether representative bodies should make their feelings known or not, I'm sure they do not need me or anybody else to tell them what to do.

Dr Metsola - Industry, unions, employers should all demand accountability. They know that impunity and corruption is endangering their businesses and way of life. It is not the media that is the problem, it is the corruption and the refusal of those responsible to address it.

Given the reputational risks surrounding the jurisdiction, what are your views about branding Malta as the Blockchain Island at this stage?

Dr Sant - Promoting fintech in Malta is a good idea, provided it is carried out with care, in full transparency and with enough resources

Dr Alfred Sant ↑

MEP

to be able to fully implement the regulatory function. This is an area where, without letting the stars get in our eyes, the future for it is quite likely now. Most EU institutions however treat the whole subject area with caution.

Dr Metsola - Blockchain technology is the revolutionary element in the current digital transformation of the global economy we are experiencing. Its potential is enormous, with uses in finance, healthcare, banking, entertainment poised to transform established industries and change how business is conducted practically across the board.

Let me emphasise how much reputation matters - and this is particularly true for cryptocurrencies. We need to ensure that money-laundering concerns are addressed and that this new, misunderstood, system does not create new darknets of anonymity to allow new places for criminals to hide illgotten wealth.

Law enforcement agency concerns are well documented, and these concerns must be addressed if the technology is to truly take off and reach its potential. Reputation matters

M O N E Y ¡ 17

to companies, to bona fide investors and to your bottom line. It is too important for a few rogue operators (or a few rogue politicians for that matter) to endanger.

Do you think that the restructuring at the MFSA was a necessary move, and why?

Dr Sant - Given the expansion that the financial services sector has been going through for over a decade, the MFSA ended up understaffed and under resourced, with apparently quite a high turnover of personnel.

(Many other EU regulatory authorities, including the European Banking Authority and the European Central Bank face the same problem.) Corrective action had therefore become imperative and one hopes and expects that all that is necessary to maintain adequate regulatory controls in Malta has been, and will continue to be, done. From the assurances that the Finance Minister has been giving, I trust that this is fully the case.

Dr Metsola - We need the MFSA to protect the industry and to demand standards from all operators and we need it to have the tools, the human resources and the means to safeguard the industry. Any shortcomings in this regard must be addressed. →

To safeguard its position, Malta must make sure that it is always abiding by internationallyagreed regulations, implementing them fully and pushing for full transparency in Malta and elsewhere.

18 · MONEY

MEP

ISSUE 52

It is sad to see that, what could be such an amazing destination for business is being damaged by the people leading it, but we are still in time to turn things around...

The Panama Papers scandal rocked the financial services world on an international scale. What do you think about the impact that it had on a local level? How can Malta save its reputation?

Dr Sant – I spoke about the local impact of the Panama Papers previously; however, regarding Malta's reputation, one should not exaggerate. To worry about "saving" the island's reputation seems to me to be such an exaggeration. It is true that Malta has been at the receiving end of criticism regarding how certain things were done; however, the cases that arose, though needing strong correction, were nowhere close to scandals that happened in other jurisdictions, involving billions of euros trafficked over close to two decades. When operating in any economic sector there will always be a percentage of fakes and crooks. What is also true though is that, as already indicated, in the past few years, the Maltese financial services sector has continued to grow at a very fast rate and the regulatory and control agencies failed to keep pace with this growth.

Dr Metsola - The first step must be to divest Konrad Mizzi and Keith Schembri of any political power whatsoever and to demand law enforcement does its duty. Before that first, and absolutely necessary, step takes place, damaging questions will always remain.

↑ Dr Roberta Metsola

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said that the institutions had to react because they were asked to – by MEPs – and not because they were really concerned. Do you think that there would have been so much of an international reaction had there not been the input of such MEPs? Dr Sant - Which institutions are being referred to? If it's related to how MEPs Casa and Metsola handled the Pilatus issue, the answer is already covered by my previous replies.

Dr Metsola – Prof. Scicluna should know better. Perhaps he does and refuses, or is unable, to speak out. I suppose I should be flattered that he thinks I control the world’s media, his own Socialist political group, the United Nations and the European Commission, but sadly it reads like he has just started to believe his own propaganda. The truth is that, as much as this may come as a surprise to the Minister, proper institutions do their jobs irrespective of any political pressure.

The latest E&Y Attractiveness Survey resulted in Malta scoring 44% on the stability and transparency scale - based on the political, legal, and regulatory environment - a considerable drop of 37%

over the past two years. What is your stance on this figure and its decline?

Dr Sant - I think the drop reflects the bad international press generated about Malta, following the Panama Papers revelations, the Egrant scam and the Caruana Galizia murder.

All these were blended into a narrative that made Malta look like a Mafia state. That narrative was made to sound credible in certain media, because there were Maltese personalities willing to repeat and spread it.

Clearly, there is a need to work on this negative image and correct it: by the relevant communications and PR techniques to remedy for its distortions; as well by ensuring greater regulatory activism and transparency in running our financial system. For the rest, I do not think that the political, legal and regulatory environment is all that different from what it was say ten or fifteen years ago, apart from the fact that it has become much bigger.

Dr Metsola - It is sad to see that, what could be such an amazing destination for business is being damaged by the people leading it, but we are still in time to turn things around, we just need the political will to take the decisions needed.

20 · MONEY

BREXIT

Nothing compares to EU

ISSUE 52

THE FINANCE EDITION

BREXIT

MONEY · 21

Dayna is a senior speech therapist by day and feature writer by night.

When she’s not busy fixing words, she is travelling the world to add to her fridge magnet collection.

Although the situation between the UK and the EU remains fluid, MONEY’s Dayna Clarke finds out how Brexit can affect European e-commerce sellers and consumers.

It’s been well over a year-and-a-half since Brits voted to leave the European Union and the road out has been anything but easy.

At the time of going to press, British Prime Minister Theresa May must now persuade politicians in the UK Parliament to support the deal. The prime minister has pledged to put her "heart and soul" into a two-week drive to convince MPs to back the terms of the UK's withdrawal from the EU and its future relations with the bloc. UK Parliament will decide whether to accept or reject the agreement next month, in a vote which is likely to be on December 12.

EU heads have warned, it is this deal or no deal, and the package on the table is not up for further negotiation. In recent weeks Brussels and EU governments have upped their contingency planning for the eventuality of a ‘No-deal’ Brexit, and this would escalate if May cannot get her agreement through the UK parliament. The European Commission last month announced plans for preventing disruption to derivatives markets, while the French government has assumed decree powers to introduce customs controls, such as keeping the Channel tunnel open and the desire to take any other emergency measures necessary.

Europe’s leaders would face crucial decisions about how far to go in ironing out the consequences of a no deal, with Britain’s willingness to meet its financial obligations to the EU likely to be a decisive factor. “It is our responsibility to prepare ourselves for all scenarios,” French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron said.

In the case of a no deal Brexit, what could the UKs divorce agreement mean for online sellers selling to Malta and from Malta to the EU?

Well first and foremost it would appear it’s not only a hard Brexit for the Brits: Malta’s online shoppers could be feeling the pinch when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union on March 29 next year. For unless the UK reaches a trade agreement with the EU by the time it leaves, Britain will be a third country with different customs regulations that put an end to the free movement of goods to Malta.

Consequently, that means that Malta’s own affinity with online shopping may become a costly habit, as the wide variety of items from British websites such as Next, Book depository and ASOS are until now delivered to Malta exempt of any customs fees. The bottom line is we cannot be sure how Brexit will affect E-commerce sellers, but we can be sure that there will be both advantages and disadvantages.

The current negotiated deal has opted to keep the UK within the same customs area, though this is yet to be approved by the UK Parliament. The UK has until the end of 2020, or longer if negotiated to establish a mutually agreed upon trade deal between itself and the EU. Until this deal is finalised, the UK will remain in a single customs union with the EU, preventing disastrous economic consequences investors may have feared and a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Currently, EU law remains in force in the UK until the UK has lawfully withdrawn its membership, and that process is currently being negotiated, though regardless if the Brexit is hard or soft, Joseph Chetcuti Customs Department Director general from the Ministry of Finance has warned that goods travelling to any EU Member State from Britain will have to be declared, even in the instance of a “soft” Brexit. Should a

hard Brexit prevail, the standard procedures currently in place for imports and exports to and from non-EU countries will also apply to the UK. Mr Chetcuti added. “If you actively import or export products from and to the UK, you will have to declare these goods. This also applies if you transport said goods through the EU. Excise goods will also be affected. You will not only have to deal with the procedures of the EMCS, (Excise Movement and Control System) but you will also have to file an import/export declaration. All imports and exports will be subject to all controls that Customs deems appropriate.”

The Department of Customs in Malta has advised: “We are hoping for the best, but everyone should be prepared for the worst.

So until an agreement is reached kindly

Regardless of whether a hard or soft Brexit occurs, we can ascertain goods coming from the UK will embark upon rigorous documentation procedures. get familiar with declaration procedures as all trade activities with the UK will have to be declared to Customs.” To put it clearly, should a hard Brexit take effect, it is evident tariffs will be imposed on imports and exports from the UK, if a customs agreement remains as is between the Malta and the UK the tariffs will not be required. Regardless of whether a hard or soft Brexit occurs, we can ascertain goods coming from the UK will embark upon rigorous documentation procedures. →

22 · MONEY

BREXIT

The EU is Britain’s largest trade partner.

It’s not yet certain which new trading arrangements would replace the existing free trade arrangement with the EU. This is why there is so much uncertainty about how E-commerce sellers would be affected.

“There is a large degree of trade between Malta and the UK, and that means there is quite a considerable amount of additional procedures the Customs department and businesses have to undergo. Every day there are 12 flights between Malta and the UK. Come Brexit, all passengers on board will be liable to Customs’ controls” Chetcuti said.

“25 trailers a week containing ‘groupage’ cargo arrive from the UK every week. Each of these containers carries goods for an average of 10 consignees, whom each has to start filling in a declaration. So we’re talking 250 declarations per week for groupage containers, and there are also around 30 single-consignee containers a week.”

In addition, over 500 UK parcels are also delivered to Malta through international couriers each week. Added to this is the huge number of parcels delivered through the regular postal mail – 50% of all parcels coming by ordinary mail is from Britain. These include all goods such as household items, clothes, appliances and books ordered by customers from UK websites for delivery to Malta. The Maltese islands also receive 100 consignments from Britain every week delivered on planes.

ISSUE 52

Car Imports Naturally, with Malta driving on the same side of the road as the UK, new and secondhand car imports are big business in Malta.

Jonathan Mifsud from Quality Car Imports, who imports UK cars to Malta, shared his views on the topic.

“There are Japanese Imports coming into Malta all the time and Japan has never been part of Europe. People also imported cars before too. There will be a lot of money that won’t be coming into the island if all of a sudden there isn’t the flow of cars coming in from the UK. I’m not sure what will happen but if they stop the flow of UK cars I would imagine that the vast sum of money from the registration tax is at stake. I just hope nothing changes too much as there are so many people making a living in Malta from importing all kinds of products.”

What’s next?

If you are already selling in the UK you may see an increase in sales over the next months thanks to the better Euro-Pound exchange rate. Many EU nationals tend to buy before sellers raise their prices in order to stay profitable.

It is impossible to know at this stage what the consequences will be, inevitably in the face of Brexit some will win and others will lose.

“No-one knows how the Brexit process under an agreement called Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty will work out,” local civil lawyer Dr Carina Nagiah, said.

But, some argue that independent UK’s lack of scale compared with the larger economies when combined with the rest of the EU means we may have to accept higher trade tariffs than we currently possess. On the other hand, the currency drop means that products sold in the UK are cheaper to overseas shoppers, which could lead to increased sales. Of course, UK sellers are very likely to raise their prices in order to stay afloat.

Note information in this article was correct at the time of going to print, however due to the fast-changing nature of negotiations and unpredictability of the Brexit negotiations, it is naturally subject to change!

DISCOVER THE NEW TRAVELLER MEMBERSHIP

Use of priority lane Unlimited access to lounges Exclusive shopping discounts

Malta International Airport plc Luqa LQA 4000, Malta.

Tel: (+356) 2369 6292/6016 Freephone: 8007 6666 Email: info@lavaletteclub.com

www.lavaletteclub.com

24 ¡ MONE Y

COVER STORY

ISSUE 52

AN ACCOMMODATING CONCEPT

MONEY speaks to Jean-Luc Micallef, managing director at JL Properties, on his ever-growing platform, which provides landlords and language school accommodation providers a cost-effective means of both letting and reserving accommodation.

Our business relies a lot on online reviews, so offering highend, top notch accommodation, coupled with a professional customeroriented service, is more than vital.

Jean-Luc Micallef ↑

THE FINANCE EDITION

COVER STORY

MONEY · 25

Jean-Luc Micallef sits in his home beside his two Weimaraners eager to spill the beans on his exciting project that is accommodating in more words than one, making short let accommodation less costly and risk-free for both those looking to rent out their individual or batch of properties to him and accommodation providers such as language schools which he sublets to.

With tonnes of experience under his belt in the student tourism industry and short letting business, he has embarked on an ambitious project that is making the international language school accommodation industry in Malta more of a risk-free business.

His skills and experience in both the short letting business and the student tourism industry have helped his business grow from strength to strength and what started as a leap in the dark with a list of only a few properties has, in the blink of an eye, followed with a slew of additions, the number of properties he will manage expected to reach no less than 65 by next year.

So what is it about Jean-Luc’s relatively new platform that ticks all the boxes?

“I have always dreamt of starting my own business and initially started to experiment with my own properties. I decided to expand my business, JL Properties, and was managing some 12 rented properties at once which were entrusted to me by the owners of the properties.

“By managing I mean taking a leading role in the properties I have in hand by providing a full package to clients, i.e. landlords and those I sublet to, overseeing all aspects that involve the management of a property: from maintaining cleanliness at all times to seeing that maintenance issues are resolved that same day where and when possible.

“But what really entices international language schools to rent out the properties from me in batches is the fact that I also manage the allocation of student bookings and schools are not tied down if they don’t have enough students to fill the properties as they only pay for the properties their students occupy, making it risk-free and cost-effective for language schools. Even when it comes to

shoulder months, I’ve got them covered.

“In this way schools needn’t worry about the accommodation aspect any longer as this is all taken care of by myself and the human resources aspect is also heavily reduced from their end.

“Some schools we already have on board, for instance, have certain preferences and restrictions such as having students of the same nationality live in separate apartments or blocks in a bid to ensure that students do practice their English-language skills and not end up speaking their native language instead. Such tailor-made bookings are done by using an advanced technological system we recently invested in,” he says.

But this is only one of the many facets of the business where student allocations are concerned.

“My platform has many advantages for landlords and the clients I sublet to. Things like electricity bills, cleaning expenses, maintenance fees and any issues that may crop up from time to time are all taken care of. The owner of the property and the tenants or schools using my services to accommodate their students have peace of mind when using our platform,” Jean-Luc assures.

According to Jean-Luc, his platform provides cleaning services on arrival, departure and once weekly during stay. “We deliver on what we promise and spot checks are welcome by those using our services. And if a client

has some maintenance-related issues and a customer complaint on such issues is filed by 3 pm on the day, we ensure that the issue is resolved that same day.”

What’s more is the fact that the apartments he manages have all been installed with energy-saving appliances and his company has invested heavily in coin-operated meters and tenants are provided with recycling bags, helping promote the separation of waste.

He explains: “The reason for these ‘green’ forward looking initiatives is two-fold: a sustainable business and sustainable environment.”

Jean-Luc highlights the fact that today’s competitive landscape calls for those running his sort of business to stay ahead of the game as “our business relies a lot on online reviews, so offering high-end, top notch accommodation, coupled with a professional customer-oriented service, is more than vital”.

Jean-Luc had only words of praise for Dominique Pace Vincenti "who is my right hand and who has been with me from the start of the business".

Every year, Jean-Luc’s platform also pitches in a sum of money for charity or cause and this year it was ‘The Bubble’.

To learn more about Jean-Luc’s platform, email him on jl@jlproperties.com.mt or simply call 7928 0154.

PROMO

26 · MONEY

ISSUE 52

People-centric growth MONEY speaks to Chris Casapinta, country executive Malta and Italy desk leader, at Alter Domus – a financial services company that started off its Malta operations with only three people but which has now been turned into a fully-fledged fund administration and corporate services provider.

Can you give me a brief history of the Alter Domus group in Malta?

With the financial services industry in Malta developing at a fast pace, I saw that there was a place for an international service provider within the local industry. This has resulted in the decision to set up shop in Malta. Together with my colleagues and our head office in Luxembourg, we went through the necessary licencing process in order to be able to commence business in 2011. At that time, the operation was rather lean, with just myself and two other hard-working colleagues.

However, by 2012 we had accumulated a number of important clients, which meant that the operational platform and human resources had to be upgraded quickly to meet our clients’ demands.

Over the years, we have continued to attract top clients and we now have the secondlargest Alter Domus office in the EMEA region.

We currently employ around 150 experienced professionals and we are growing at a solid double-digit rate.

What kind of services does the company offer?

Alter Domus Malta prides itself in being a fully integrated provider of Fund Administration and Corporate Services, where our wide range of services is being continuously expanded to cater for our clients’ needs.

The range of services include Company

Formation and Fund Launch, Corporate Management, Fund Administration, Accounting and Consolidation, Corporate & Legal Compliance, Tax Compliance, Transfer Pricing, Regulatory Services, Liquidation and Depositary Services. Over the last year we have also launched a number of additional services, including: −

−

−

Co-sourcing services – where our own staff occupy posts at our clients’ businesses in the short or medium term; This service came across very well with our clients as we have the opportunity to send our well-trained staff to the client site within days of their request to fill in staff shortages.

Middle-office services – we have moved from offering purely back-office support in the fund management industry to a more value-added middle-office function, a service which puts us closer to our asset manager clients; Capital markets – we have been seeing an encouraging number of capital markets’ transactions locally, which require assistance in terms of setting up SpecialPurpose Vehicles (SPVs) and listing in the various European stock exchanges.

Over the last year we have also focused on improving our service offering in the field of wealth administration for private clients.

Specifically within the area of wealth administration, what makes the

combination of Alter Domus and Malta the ideal choice for High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs)?

I believe that as private clients and HNWIs look to break away from the status quo, Malta has a unique opportunity to consolidate its position as a private wealth administration hub of tomorrow. While jurisdictions such as Luxembourg, Ireland and the Channel Islands target institutional investors, Malta is filling the gap as a unique and flexible private wealth administration hub for family offices and private wealth structuring.

In the last 15 years, due to changes in the local and regulatory frameworks, there have been significant changes in the way wealth is structured in order to have more transparent wealth management and administration structures.

Malta offers a wide range of investment vehicles, supported by a robust legal infrastructure and regulatory framework. As the international financial market becomes ever more competitive, flexibility has been the key to Malta’s success. An example of such flexibility is the fact that Malta is one of the few jurisdictions catering for both trusts and foundations. Such flexibility has proven attractive to both private clients and HNWIs. The jurisdiction also offers a number of fund options, such as alternative funds, which are free of investment restrictions and therefore attractive to high net worth investors. Cost optimisation and a highly reputable EU location are also equally important drivers.

Malta offers a highly regulated, highly respected, sophisticated EU environment, and the country is becoming a popular wealth management jurisdiction for people from across the world.

THE FINANCE EDITION

PROMO

MONEY · 27

such as debt, infrastructure, etc.) as well as corporates and multinationals. This includes ensuring we have a strong understanding of each client we serve, that we tailor our services accordingly to ensure efficiency and to help optimise our client’s day to day operations.

Our team of around 150 staff at our Malta office, with backgrounds and experience ranging from investment management, Big Four accountancy to specialist fund administration provision. We also believe that in addition to their experience, it is important that stability and motivation are key features of a successful business, so we offer our staff a range of opportunities, including secondments, to foster motivation and team spirit.

Ambitious growth plan. 2018 clearly demonstrated that not just Alter Domus Malta, but the entire Alter Domus group has an ambitious plan, which is being executed at a dynamic pace. The acquisition of Cortland Capital Market Services LLC in the first quarter of this year clearly demonstrates the group’s intent and ambition to expand further within the US market.

What is the short and long-term outlook for Alter Domus?

Chris Casapinta ↑

At Alter Domus Malta, we are able to coordinate with our extensive global footprint of offices and specialists in segments such as private equity, real estate and alternative assets as required by our clients, providing a seamless, vertically integrated approach as previously outlined. Such expertise truly adds value to our clients. We are also proud that a large and increasing number of private clients hailing from 45 different countries are trusting us with the administration of their wealth. I strongly believe we are truly geared towards offering a one-stop solution for our private clients.

We have also recognised the challenging and growing world of managing different asset classes, and so through our comprehensive, insightful, personalised and secure data information methods we have developed a Wealth Administration Solution platform to help private clients have a consolidated view of how we are administering their assets.

What makes Alter Domus Malta different from other companies in its field?

Alter Domus Malta has several unique characteristics which sets it apart from its competitors, namely: Our Integrated Service, offering both a vertical (range of services, from fund administration through to corporate services) and horizontal (29 international locations and a single global platform) approach.

We have a proven and strong track record in the administration of funds investing in alternative assets, as well as underlying subsidiaries/asset-holding vehicles throughout the key jurisdictions in Europe, US and Asia-Pacific. This gives us a unique position in today’s competitive landscape.

Our dedication to the Private Equity and Real Estate market (and associated strategies

We are consistently seeing a healthy pipeline of prospective clients, so, I would say generally the outlook is positive. However, like any other industry we face challenges.

Particularly in Malta, we do struggle to source potential recruits that have specialist knowledge in particular fields of finance. We also need to find solutions around the limited banking infrastructure on the island.

On a more global level, our industry is constantly affected with the fast regulatory and fiscal framework. We therefore need to be nimble and be proactive to manage operational processes to reflect such changes in the industry. Such changes in operational processes are being supported through significant investment in technology that results in efficiency gains and security, thus more added value to our clients.

INSIGHT

28 · MONEY

ISSUE 52

Patrick has worked in the financial sector for ten years. His job as Private Equity Associate includes evaluating new investment opportunities and optimising portfolio performance. Patrick holds a CPA warrant and is a CFA charterholder.

BRICKS AND CLICKS: WEATHERING THE STORE(M) Patrick Debattista outlines five trends which are sure to give you hope to lead your retail brand into 2019 and beyond.

Over the past few years, we have heard about the disruption that was coming in the retail industry. In reality, retail is already undergoing “disruption” and, in this article, I will explain the reasons why.

material possessions. Brick and mortar stores are no longer the default go-to outlets that they used to be for consumers because anyone can sell experiences, whether from a store or online.

If companies truly wish to survive in this age of constant change, they must stay laserfocused on adapting to the evolution of technology and their customers' preferences.

More specifically, they need to embrace change and prepare for the upcoming trends that will transform their industry in 2019 and beyond.

But contrary to popular belief, this should not spell the end for old-fashioned retail brands which we find in many cities or shopping complexes. Consumer tastes might have changed over the years, but recent technological advances have allowed retailers to adapt to them and create their own “experiences”.

The following are some of the trends that we will be experiencing as consumers in the near future.

Despite this pre-conception that brick-andmortar stores are dead, physical retail is not actually finished, but boring retail is.

Buying products in the past used to be more transactional in kind. These days, shopping is more of a journey, with more emphasis being placed on relationship building, not simply purchasing. Most people value experiences over material objects because memories could last a lifetime, whereas a new iPhone, for example, will lose its lustre after a while to be replaced with the latest, more trendsetting product.

As online shopping continues its relentless rise, a shift is forming in consumer preferences for experiences rather than

By setting up designated shops that only sell experiences, retailers can attract customers towards more pleasant, memorable

1. Brands will not just sell products in shops, but experiences.

THE FINANCE EDITION

experiences that make much more of an emotional impact than a mere purchase – in effect maximising “experience per square foot” even in brick and mortar stores. This is what Apple tries to add to its products and stores, for example.

One still cannot simply write off the power of brick and mortar outlets. According to Forbes, by January 2019, 90% of all retail will still be done in physical stores. However, what many retailers are now doing is merging “bricks” with “clicks” and diversifying their sales channels.

2. The Internet of Things will make shopping easier, cheaper, and more convenient.

The Internet of Things is the interconnection through the Internet of devices embedded in everyday objects, which enables them to send and receive data. According to the IDC, spending on the Internet of Things in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is forecast to reach $11.2 billion in 2018, including items such as home speakers, TVs, and cars. This is helping retailers to collect massive amounts of data that provides feedback on their customers’

INSIGHT

habits and usage. Firms could then pass on relevant marketing to their customers through every stage of the buyer’s journey.

For example, if consumers run out of milk or it spoils, a smart refrigerator can recognise their need and alert their phones about the closest and best deals on milk. One can even order a carton through one of these smart devices if the refrigerator company partners with a grocery store.

Yet more automation will happen in stores to ease the selection and buying process, with unmanned checkouts capturing some of the more recent headlines. For example, Grabango are taking this a step further by creating completely checkout-free products.

Clearly, the Internet of Things facilitates shopping for consumers and makes it cheaper. Also, since Gartner expects consumers to possess over twice as many smart devices in 2020 as they do today, it is also believed that the technology could finally make the jump from hype to mainstream reality by 2020.

The so-called “A-commerce” (i.e. “A” for “automated”; as distinct from “e-commerce”,

MONEY · 29

i.e. “electronic commerce”) will be another key player in retail going forward. Ever-busier shoppers will embrace the outsourcing of certain retail experiences to algorithms and smart devices. For instance, Finery is a mobile app which is embedded to people’s wardrobes that allows them to catalog their wardrobe and re-discover clothes they have not worn in a long time. It also styles every item for maximum usage and accesses consumers’ receipts for personalised shopping advice.

3. Consumers will communicate more with brands' bots to screen and purchase their products.

This year, Facebook announced that businesses and consumers exchanged over 8 billion Facebook messages with each other per month on average, with the retail sector exchanging the second highest number of those messages. Facebook Messenger is one of the most popular and convenient channels for consumers to research and purchase retail merchandise today.

53% of consumers also prefer to shop with →

30 · MONEY

INSIGHT

ISSUE 52

businesses they can directly message on Facebook (Greenberg, Inc), so it is key for retailers to set up Messenger or other Instant Messaging (“IM”) bots that would be able to deal with basic to moderately complex conversations, such as welcome interactions or product queries.

To drive even more sales with Facebook Messenger or other IM bots, retailers should also build bots that could collect abandoned cart messages and allow consumers to place orders straight from the app.

By leveraging augmented reality, these retailers have made it much easier for customers to engage with their brand [...] and, ultimately, make repeat purchases.

Some of the top retail brands are already using IM bots to accelerate their buying process. With H&M's bot, consumers can tailor and buy their own outfits, and with 1-800-Flowers' Messenger bot, people can order and ship flowers in under five minutes.

Here in Malta, a number of service providers are moving in this direction by starting to use IM software for customer communication.

4. Firms will apply cognitive computing to provide a more efficient customer service.

Cognitive computing is a form of technology that can analyse large swathes of data in a similar manner that humans could think,

reason, and remember, so people can naturally interact with the technology and extract data-backed recommendations from it.

Brands which apply cognitive computing into their customer support technology are able to assemble two-pronged customer service teams that help provide better, faster customer service. By building computers and robots in their stores that are capable of understanding human language and accurately answer people’s routine questions, a retailer's human employees can then service more customers who have more urgent, or sophisticated, queries.

For instance, Hilton Hotels introduced their first ever concierge robot, Connie, in 2016.

Connie can help guests find the most popular attractions and best restaurants in the area.

She can even move and point her body to direct guests toward any spot in the hotel.

With Connie's help, Hilton Hotel's front desk employees could focus their efforts on more important demands, such as picking up phones and checking in guests.

5. Brands will use augmented reality in their marketing process The most successful furniture brands are often the ones which appreciate the

importance of their customers’ decision to design a room. If they buy the wrong furniture for their rooms, it could destroy their aesthetic. Apart from that, they would have to put up with having to living with an eyesore until they fork out more funds to buy new furniture.

Without being able to picture how a store’s furniture would look in their own home, customers would either postpone their decision to buy any furniture or, worse, blame the brand if they made the wrong choice. To assist customers in avoiding this situation, IKEA have come up with a mobile app that lets shoppers insert and view digitally rendered products in their own homes. Users can even save room designs for future reference.

By leveraging augmented reality, these retailers have made it much easier for customers to engage with their brand, pick the right furniture for their house, and, ultimately, make repeat purchases. Also, some real estate agents in Malta are already offering three-dimensional “virtual tours” of properties for sale or rent.

The retail industry will keep evolving at breakneck speed, but hopefully, preparing for these five trends will arm you with the insights and skills that you need to lead your retail brand into 2019 and beyond.

YOUR IT SIMPLIFIED

DESKTOP

SECURITY

DATACENTRE

RELIABILITY

FLEXIBILITY

CLOUD

EFFICIENCY

For more information, contact us at sales@bmit.com.mt or visit bmit.com.mt

OPINION

32 ¡ MONEY

ISSUE 52

Manuel is a political blogger who writes for The Sunday Times and manueldelia.com.

BUT CAN WE POLICE IT?

There was a moment at the time when Malta was getting ready to join the European Union when a number of choices had to be made. Joining the EU was, at the time, a form of graduation for a young, independent country. It was not unlike a wedding. The heady, exciting and naughty days of youth would now need to become a fond memory.

What would have been endearing behaviour in your teens - a little too much to drink, a little too much adventure in revolving door

Political analyst Manuel Delia speaks about the dire need to effectively police the economic sector if Malta is to match its offer to the world as a financial hub.

relationships, a little too many pranks - would no longer be acceptable in a married state.

Those four or five years before 2004 were a time of reckoning. A filtering examination by objective standards we had never faced since Independence and quite likely, and quite unfortunately, we never will again.

All our laws, our systems, our policies were reviewed and measured against a gold

European standard and what fell short would need to be revised. Clearly there would be local specificities that would need taking account but equally clearly these would be kept to the bare minimum.

This was the time when we had to examine deeply Malta’s economic model. Naturally change had been in motion for some time already. The government had shed many unproductive industries and withdrew

THE FINANCE EDITION

OPINION

MONEY · 33

protection from other privately held economic activities that had no future. A deadline for a turnaround was set on that great millstone of our modern economic history: the dockyards.

But change was not only needed in the oil puddles of the harbour side. A long hard look at Malta’s status as a tax haven was needed as clearly that could not survive membership in a mainstream trade block. After all that’s the sort of thing people run away from to find shelter in tax havens.

Banking secrecy, anonymous ownership of companies, complicity in tax evasion: those would be off the cards.

Yet, the negotiators of the time sought not to throw the baby with the bath water. Years of providing off-shore services created a body of expertise that could be useful to customers that would want to operate - efficiently, to be sure - in a white-listed jurisdiction.

It’s one of the unsung miracles of those negotiations that the EU was persuaded to allow Malta to continue to extend to nonresident customers of its financial services a spectacularly advantageous tax discount.

It would not be a tax free package but as damned near tax free as anyone could hope while staying in Europe and not having to explain owning companies in banana republics or wayward tropical islands.

For many years this ‘deal’ stayed under the radar. The impact on tax revenues of the countries out of which business was syphoned to Malta was not such as to raise too many red flags. Certainly not in the good times.

The irony was that EU membership, that at face value looked like a threat to financial services in Malta, became its biggest asset.

The concerns of the anti-EU campaigners now prime minister and staff — that EU rules would suffocate Malta’s ability to “fix” things its own way proved misguided.

The attitude changed around the time of the 2008 financial crisis. Malta never got anywhere near needing bailouts to survive the crisis. Domestic banking was robust and the government of the time dealt with

businesses on an individual basis, helping almost all of them wobble through the worst.

that systematically charged less than their real needs.

Famously Ireland and Cyprus - jurisdictions that also attracted businesses away from their mainland competitors with attractive tax offers - did need bailouts. That’s when the tax-payers asked to fund the bailouts became uneasy with the realisation that they habitually paid more tax to a government that could now afford to bail-out governments

The issue of unfairness is of course not just a matter of borders. Only islanders tend to see things in the sense of hard political frontiers.

The more fundamental unfairness is that global finance and tax shopping offers the very rich opportunities to pay less tax while the rest of us, stuck to the laws of our own land pay a greater share. →

34 · MONEY

If we are unable to police the economic sectors we attract, we are effectively cheating our customers - the lawabiding ones…

OPINION

It’s not just that the tax advantages that Malta offers reduce the revenues of governments in countries where those tax payers conduct their business. It’s that the poor of those countries are stuck paying their government higher taxes while the rich among them stash their money in places where they need to pay less.

The financial crisis brought this pain to the top of the agenda. Avoiding the need for a bailout helped us dodge political pressure to make changes.

The story is altogether different now. The Pilatus Bank scandal brought to the world’s attention inherent weaknesses in Malta’s ability to filter out money laundering and criminal transactions from the financial services it provides. News from inside the bank would have remained local - and very heavily denied - had the journalist that had published those stories not ended up blown up in a car bomb.

And of course four months after that car bombing the owner of the bank ended up the guest of the FBI in New York indicted for bank fraud and awaiting trial in 2019 that could send him to prison for two lifetimes.

When that happened, scrutiny fell on Malta

ISSUE 52

on a scale never seen before. The European Parliament stepped in, followed by the European Banking Authority, the European Central Bank and the European Commission is starting to make noise too.

While that happens, the FBI kept busy with other arrests in the United States for moneylaundering through Malta.

Quiet apart from the reasonable suspicion of political interference into law enforcement to protect senior political figures in Malta from prosecution for financial crimes, the manifest structural weakness in Malta’s law enforcement of these crimes screams out for solutions.

The weakest link is the police force that is beset by a culture that an action is criminal only if there is blood on the floor. Our laws are not designed to recognise organised crime especially if it is wearing a sharp suit and sipping espresso. Our police force employs a single qualified accountant who alone is expected to detect the crimes hidden in the reams of paper banks and financial institutions draw up to avoid the attention of the SEC and the FBI, let alone Floriana Headquarters.

Assuming, optimistically, surviving the enormous political fallout on the world stage of the scandals of the last three years, Malta will require major shifts to provide proportionate law enforcement if it is to match its offer to the world as a financial hub.

Writing laws and licensing accountants is nowhere near enough.

If we are unable to police the economic sectors we attract, we are effectively cheating our customers - the law-abiding ones - by throwing them in the same cells with hardened criminals, indistinguishable except to trained law-enforcement eyes.

We are also cheating future generations of sustainable economic development. Because as any banker will tell you, the day you irretrievably lose your clients’ trust, is the day you close down your bank and become a roadside florist.

It looks like we’re again due some hard reckoning.

Boost Your Competitive Advantage Unlimited users with no increased expense, no software installation, no maintenance or management fees, and no hardware or device upgrades required.

Smart, Connected Experiences

Flexible, Scalable Platform

Growth Friendly Licencing

Responsive, Reliable Support

Business Software & Integration Solutions

+ 3 5 6 2 1 4 9 0700

www.computimesoftware.com/acumatica-erp

info@computimesoftware.co m

Telephone

Internet

TV

Now with faster internet, free TV and Sports!

Let us handle the connections while you get down to business. Sign up today for the New Business Infinity pack!

go.com.mt/businessinfinity

THE FINANCE EDITION

PROMO

MONEY · 37

RECRUITMENT M Recruitment employment agency is a recently founded company that supplies various categories of labour.

We specialise in catering and restaurant placement services, nursing services, skilled-labour, construction and information technology. Our philosophy is to help businesses find the talent they need to drive their success and at the same time place the right professional at the best market conditions.

LOOKING FOR STAFF IN THE FINANCE SECTOR? Amongst the many positions, we can provide administration clerks, book keepers, accountants, auditors and many more on a part or full-time basis.

Tumas Gaming is a multi-casino operator and includes two live Casinos, Real Online Casino and Gaming shops. With over 400 employees to operate all sectors we often call upon companies such as M Recruitment to fine-tune the recruitment process.

Zenith Group provides various services in the Financial Industry.

Our primary aim is to deliver high-quality products to our clients.

We achieve this by employing people who go the extra mile for our clients. This ensures a culture of enthusiasm, growth and professionalism within our team. All employees must reflect this core philosophy and they must be able to transmit this to our clients. Our relationship with M Recruitment helps us find the right individuals suitable for the required posts.

“As the gaming industry continues to boom in Malta so does demand for Live casino tables and thus Live Casino dealers to work those tables. M Recruitment achieves this by always supplying us with the right candidates for the job with extreme efficiency.

Their fast and attentive approach when recruiting is key for us when acquiring staff, and we are always guaranteed affluent young professionals” — Ruth Camilleri, Live Dealer Product Manager at Portomaso gaming.

MATTHEW PACE

JESMOND GALEA

Executive director, Zenith Group

Operations manager, Tumas Gaming

LET'S TALK If you would like to learn more, contact Duncan on 7788 0202, info@mrecruitment.eu, or visit www.mrecruitment.eu

38 ¡ MONEY

TA X

NEW dawn Miraine Falzon, senior consultant in EY's Business Tax Advisory team, analyses whether tax rules are responding to the modernisation of the economy and what lies ahead in terms of plans to tax the digital economy.

ISSUE 52

THE FINANCE EDITION

TA X

MONEY · 39

Miraine is a senior consultant in EY’s Business Tax Advisory team and a casual lecturer at the University of Malta. She graduated with a Master of Accountancy in 2016.

The Taxation of Digital: Where are we at?

Business has changed. Enterprises and customers alike have access to a wider, more diverse market. New product and service offerings have become desirable and available. Transactions are occurring without physical interaction. Traditional industries are altering their processes by improving their technological capabilities. Data and other intangibles have become businesses’ most valuable assets. The impact of digitalisation on the economy is widespread and pervasive to the extent that it is becoming increasingly difficult to isolate the ‘digital’ economy from the economy at large.

As with other market participants, tax authorities are seeking to adapt to this new digital era. Tax policymakers are questioning whether existing tax rules and international tax framework, which were predominantly developed at the time of brick-and-mortar companies, are suitable for the digital age.

(EU) in a bid to address these challenges.

At OECD level, the debates involve upwards of 100 countries, and optimistic targets are for consensus to be reached by 2020. 2 Discussions held so far have been documented by the OECD in an Interim Report 3 which acknowledges that finding a suitable solution to these technically complex issues is no simple feat.

The EU has taken a more hands-on approach and has proposed two new set of rules for the taxation of the digital economy. The first, termed the long-term solution, aims to address the direct tax challenges identified by the OECD through a reform of international tax principles. Through the proposed reform, countries would be able to tax profits generated in their territory by enterprises which do not necessarily have a physical presence therein, but which: − −

Back in 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) identified the broader tax challenges of digitalisation. On a direct tax front, these challenges concerned the inability of current tax rules to capture tax revenues from enterprises participating in markets through digital means with no significant physical presence such an office or outlet in the country where revenues are being generated.

Concern was also voiced on the inability to tax enterprises which add value to their products and services through the collection and monitoring of user data, such as, for example, digital platforms which can leverage on the information they have on users to provide targeted marketing.1 International Landscape: close to consensus or no end in sight?

Since then, numerous discussions have been taking place at international forums such as the OECD and the European Union

−

derive more than a set amount of revenue from the territory; or have more than a set number of users residing in the territory; or enter into a set number of contracts for digital services with such users.4

The second proposal, termed the ‘short-term solution’, has been branded a temporary indirect tax aimed to address the revenue gaps arising from the lack of suitability of existent direct tax principles to the digitalised economy. 5 The Digital Services Tax (DST) is an interim indirect tax on the revenues – and not on the profits – of EU and non-EU enterprises whose value is predominantly derived from their users. The targeted tax subjects include social media companies selling online advertising space and transmitting user data, collaborative platforms and online marketplaces where sellers and buyers, both users of the service, can interact with one another. In line with the existing proposal, enterprises would only be subject to DST if their global revenues exceed €750 million per annum and if they have EU annual revenues of least €50 million.6 →

Opposition to Digital Services Tax (DST) is coming both from within the EU, with countries such as Finland, Denmark, Czechia, Ireland, Sweden and Malta commenting against its uptake.

40 · MONEY

The controversies surrounding the ‘interim’ solution are many. Opposition to DST is coming both from within the EU, with countries such as Finland, Denmark, Czechia, Ireland, Sweden and Malta commenting against its uptake,7,8 and externally, with the OECD opining that there is no consensus on the merits of a tax such as the DST. The opposing parties have contended the levying of such an indirect tax is likely to fall out of the scope of the existing international tax treaty network, thus resulting in double (or multiple) taxation for companies falling within its scope.9 Another highlighted drawback is that DST would be levied even when the taxpayer is in a loss-making position, thus potentially acting as a hindrance to innovation and digitalisation.10 From the other side of the pond, the United States (US) has stated that it is opposed to tax policies that single out digital companies.11 Fears of DST leading to increased tensions between the EU and the US have also been voiced.12 Notwithstanding the criticism, Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said during an ECOFIN meeting held in September 2018 that a deal on DST was ‘doable by Christmas’.13 Recent case law of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights also suggest that there are no prohibitive legal impediments to a pan-European DST.14 So, is the taxation of digital happening?

Several countries are moving forward unilaterally to varying extents in their bid

TA X

to tax the digital economy. Some countries such as Israel, India, Slovakia and Saudi Arabia have amended domestic tax laws or altered their interpretation of international tax principles with the aim to dilute the requirement for permanence and physical presence to establish a taxable nexus in a country.15 Others, such as Greece, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brazil and Thailand are introducing new withholding taxes or extending the remit of existing withholding taxes with respect to payments made for digital services.16 The effectiveness of such unilateral measures may be limited as existing international tax treaties may act as a barrier to their application.

ISSUE 52

the Minister has reiterated that such developments should not be made regionally but should be agreed internationally at OECD level. This suggests that, apart from any EUled initiatives, Malta does not intend to come up with any unilateral measures to tax the digital economy for the time being. 20 Maltese businesses offering digital services abroad or which have an online exposure in other jurisdictions should, however, not dismiss all the international developments as they too may eventually fall within the scope of the multiple initiatives taking place in the world of digital tax.

It is also apparent that several countries have taken a leaf out of the EU’s books, since talks of introducing unilateral indirect taxes as a tool to tax digital companies are on the rise. Countries such as Australia, Chile, Columbia, India, Italy, Germany, Hungary, France, Spain and the United Kingdom are, in fact, issuing legal instruments or discussion papers supporting the future enactment of the same.17,18 And where does Malta stand? What does this mean for Maltese businesses?

In his Budget Speech for 2019, Finance Minister Prof. Edward Scicluna has indicated that Malta too is working towards developing a ‘system of international taxation that is appropriate to meet the challenges and opportunities that arise from the digitisation of the economy’.19 However, and as outlined during an ECOFIN meeting this November,

Endnotes 1 OECD, 2015. Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy, Action 1 – 2015 Final Report 2 White, J., 2018. The OECD’s long road to a 2020 consensus on digital tax 3 OECD, 2018. Tax Challenges Arising from Digitalisation – Interim Report 2018: Inclusive Framework on BEPS 4 European Commission, 2018. Digital Taxation: Commission proposes new measures to ensure that all companies pay fair tax in the EU 5 Ernst & Young, 2018. New digital tax policies: What, when, where, how and by whom?

6 European Commission, 2018. Fair Taxation of the Digital Economy.

7 Ernst & Young, 2018. Europe’s digital tax proposals: Finish line approaching, or end of the first lap?

8 Al Ali, N. & Dendrinou, V. (2018), Europe Digital Tax in Doubt as Malta Questions Year-End Deadline 9 Ecommerce Europe (2018). Factsheet – Taxation of the Digital Economy 10 Ibid.

11 Ernst & Young, 2018. New digital tax policies: What, when, where, how and by whom?

12 Al Ali, N. & Dendrinou, V. (2018), Europe Digital Tax in Doubt as Malta Questions Year-End Deadline 13 Ahmed, K., (2018). EU pushes for new tax on tech giants

by Christmas 14 Viking Motors AS and Others v Tallinna linn and Maksu-ja Tolliamet (ECJ); Plaisier B.V. v the Netherlands (ECtHR) 15 OECD, 2018. Tax Challenges Arising from Digitalisation – Interim Report 2018: Inclusive Framework on BEPS 16 Ibid.

17 Ibid.

18 Ernst & Young, 2018. Europe’s digital tax proposals: Finish line approaching, or end of the first lap 19 Ernst & Young, 2018. Budget 2019 Alert 20 Times of Malta, 2018. EU digital tax plan flounders as states ready national moves

FIMBank Business Account

Manage your day to day corporate requirements with ease The Business Account is one of the latest in FIMBank’s suite of products and has been designed to facilitate the banking requirements of corporates, SMEs and partnerships. FIMBank is dedicated to provide businesses and other entities with a holistic range of banking services, aimed at facilitating their daily operations.

Benefit from: • Favourable international payments selection and multi-currency credit facilities • Efficient USD settlements, payments and deposit services • International banking support with the expertise of specialised Relationship Managers • Real time settlement opportunities • Use of a secure, versatile and easily accessible digital banking platform • Competitive interest rates

FIMBank Business Fixed Term Deposits

Foreign Exchange • Control your cash flow effectively • Support your international commercial needs with efficient Foreign Exchange Services • Manage exchange rate volatility in the most traded currencies

2132 2100

• Fixed term deposit flexibility, available in USD, EUR and GBP • Effective management of liquidity • Attractive interest rates • Available in major currencies

info@fimbank.com

www.fimbank.com

FIMBank p.l.c., Mercury Tower, The Exchange Financial & Business Centre, Elia Zammit Street, St. Julian’s STJ 3155 FIMBank p.l.c. is a licensed credit institution regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority and is listed on the Malta Stock Exchange.

THE FINANCE EDITION

PROMO

MONEY · 43

WHY MALTA REMAINS A FINANCIAL STRONGHOLD IN THE EU FinanceMalta chairman, Kenneth Farrugia, tells MONEY why Malta’s reputation as a financial hub remains a strong one, and what solutions Malta is offering UK businesses on the back of Brexit.

Mention the word Malta and one would be forgiven if images of sun, beaches and Mediterranean Sea are brought up. But over the last 10 years, Malta has also built a reputation as a budding and fully-fledged international financial services centre.

But what has made Malta such a viable alternative as a financial centre? “Malta has a reputation of getting things done,” Kenneth Farrugia, Chairman of FinanceMalta, says.

“This mindset has enabled us to come up with very innovative legislation governing certain sectors of financial services which allowed international companies to set up and operate from Malta. And these innovative ideas cross the three main pillars Malta’s proposition, which are the fund & asset management, insurance, and private wealth sectors,” Mr Farrugia adds.

But is it only innovative solutions that have built the sector that now contributes around 12% to GDP and employs in excess of 10,000 people? “Certainly not,” Mr Farrugia states.

“It is the whole ecosystem around the sector that has contributed to this rapid growth over a short period of time. We have a single,

open and accessible, but firm Regulator, a host of excellent legal, accounting and corporate services providers, as well as a highly educated workforce with excellent work ethics. It is the whole package that makes Malta such an interesting proposition,” he says.

Malta’s financial services sector has also been in the news lately, and not necessarily for the right reasons. “Recent cases of money laundering weaknesses in the small bank segment of the market drew unwarranted international attention. Nonetheless, despite the occurrence of these incidents, the regulatory authorities have been effective and moved expeditiously to undertake the necessary requirements. Nonetheless, let us not imagine for one moment that what has happened in Malta is unique or unheard of. Every jurisdiction that deals with financial services has had to grapple with episodes like these at one stage or another.

London, Ireland, Germany, Luxembourg, Latvia, Denmark all have had issues with money laundering over the years,” Mr Farrugia highlights. “This is of course of no consolation. We must ensure our structures are strong, effective and far-reaching and continuously strive to strengthen our regulatory and supervisory functions.”

But there are other issues which need to be addressed such as the availability of adequate human resources, rising costs and the scarcity of real estate. “Malta’s economic

Every jurisdiction that deals with financial services has had to grapple with episodes like these at one stage or another…

growth over the last few years has been extraordinary. There are also two new areas that will influence Malta’s growth. One is of Malta’s making: the positioning of Malta as the ‘Blockchain Island’ thanks also to the implementation of a legal and regulatory framework that gives a degree of certainty and comfort to entities operating in this area, as well as their clients.”

One other factor that will impact Malta is Brexit. Mr Farrugia was straightforward in his assessment of the situation. “Over the past two years, FinanceMalta has organised or taken part in a significant number of initiatives aiming to provide practicable solutions to UK financial services operators that would be impacted by Brexit.

In the process, our vision has always been clear. We pushed for colocation rather than relocation, as this allowed UK firms to create structures in Malta whilst maintaining their passporting rights into the EU. We are in fact experiencing momentum insofar as the number of firms expressing an interest to set up structures via Malta, and we expect this momentum to gain further traction once negotiations between the EU and UK come to an end,” Mr Farrugia concludes.

PROMO

44 · MONEY

ISSUE 52

Circular opportunities for Maltese business Ing. Marc Muscat – CEO of Resource Recovery & Recycling Agency

Up to very recent times waste was considered as undesirable by-product of our consumption. As a result, our attitude has been to rid of it at the least cost, away from human exposure – landfills. Besides going contrary to our obligations as per Landfill Directive, on such a small but densely populated island, future landfills will be near to impossible to sustain without encroaching further into unspoilt terrain. We thus need to look at waste from a different perspective where it could be just another raw resource that needs further processing before it can be made suitable for reprocessing.

This was the rationale behind Government’s recently established Agency; the Resource Recovery and Recycling Agency, through which government wants to push for a transition where a recycling industry can evolve and progress. The Agency intends to

proceed towards this transition by identifying specific waste streams where reprocessing will lead to new products for which there is market demand that can be further increased and expanded through Green Procurement initiatives.

This is in line with the 2014-2020 Waste Management Plan, prepared within a resource management context. The recent launch roll-out for the national collection of source separated organic waste was one of the measures contained therein. The plan also indicated the need to maximise the resource efficiency through the extended producer responsibility principles. This consisted mainly of the transposition of the four EU directives: the Packaging Waste Directive, the WEEE Directive, the Vehicles EoL Directive, the Batteries and Accumulators Directive.

Whilst these initiatives are taken to enable private participation and increase recovery, most recycling technologies remain sensitive to economies of scale and necessitate consolidation of waste streams to augment the supply side. A robust recycling industry may need to explore export opportunities to overcome local demand constraints.

These supply and demand imbalances are often attributed to the reasons impeding the establishment of a professional recycling industry. Other reasons cited were often a result of negative externalities where cheaper but environmentally unsound practices are preferred. All these elements constitute market failure.

Market failures can be addressed through regulatory improvements that will minimise the risk of disruptive competition and double investment that occur within the same waste

THE FINANCE EDITION

stream, rendering competing industries unsustainable. Market interventions would still need to comply with internal market competition rules and any policy intended to promote and facilitate waste management activities would need to be least restrictive in terms of competition rules that can deliver an objective of economic interest. Potential solutions for waste management would be to either be awarded through competitive bids or through national producer responsibility organisations.

Regulatory interventions, whilst facilitating uptake, would not necessarily improve our recycling performance and we need to rethink

This separation of responsibilities provides comfort whereby the development of the recycling industry will not come at the expense of the environment.

PROMO

the three steps in the recycling chain model: 1) collection and recovery, 2) sorting and 3) recycling in net amounts of material, where the whole chain has to be seen as an industry producing valuable products. Particularly, more emphasis needs to be made on the quality at every stage; higher quality both during Collection and during the Sorting & Baling process will lead to make the final treatment being simpler and therefore more cost-effective.

The separated organic bag collection was launched for this specific reason. Whilst biogas can still be extracted from mixed waste collection subsequent treatment of the digestate is limited. Source separation of organic waste creates the opportunities where industry may continue with further processing to obtain a marketable product.

The Extended Producer Responsibility model can also be further developed to deliver on quality. The forthcoming introduction of the Beverage Containers Refund Scheme towards the end of 2019, will see a number of innovations to the existing models. The operation will focus on quality from the initial collection up to sort and bale stage. It will have ambitious recovery targets and will maximise on quality of the recyclates. The scheme will be operated through a not-for

MONEY ¡ 45

profit producer responsibility organisation, responsible for the whole waste management value chain where all associated costs will be internalised. Regulations will be put in place to reduce the fragmentation of the waste stream, introduce mandatory participation and provide for a fair and transparent distribution of costs.

For the plastic stream, this waste stream alone may still not suffice to take it to the next stage in a sustainable manner that will transform plastic waste to new products.

Whilst it would still be producing a high quality recyclate, for which there exists demand internationally, this model will be further studied with the objective to increase further volumes of quality recyclates until it becomes feasible to progress to the next stage.

Beyond these two examples, transitioning to a circular economy needs to progress in a structured format. A strategic implementation plan needs to be drawn up where we do not only look at the main waste streams but also on their related sectors. This approach will permit addressing the issues of barriers to innovation across the economic sector and value chains with the participation of private industry.

Steering future management of waste in this direction needs to be supported by a reduction in regulatory barriers. This does not imply that we should relegate the environmental concerns associated with such industries, but aren’t environmental concerns present in almost all industrial processes?

Mitigating environmental concerns should therefore not be considered as a waste specific concern. Whilst the Agency will focus on the promotion, facilitation and monitoring of new activities intended to transition to a circular economy, the environmental regulator will ensure that environmental and health risks have been taken into consideration and mitigated without placing undue barriers that can discourage the industry. This separation of responsibilities provides comfort whereby the development of the recycling industry will not come at the expense of the environment. Indeed, they will complement each other for the benefit of a strong recycling industry and a healthy environment.

46 · MONEY

IS LONDON BRIDGE still

COUNTRY PROFILE

MONEY analyses whether the fifth largest economy in the world is holding up against Brexit jitters.

On November 14, British Prime Minister Theresa May blinked. With the clock ticking down towards the EU Summit on November 25 and her own party falling apart, she agreed to a Brexit deal.

Alas, this is only the first step and at the time of writing, she was yet to persuade her parliament to approve the deal, which was largely criticised as having ‘given in’ to the EU. In spite of calls for another referendum on the final deal, and the possibility that parliament will vote against it, it looks as though the UK will still leave the bloc on March 29, 2019.

The news had an immediate impact on sterling, which was $1.50 just before the 2016 referendum. It rose to $1.297, as well as a 6-1/2-month peak versus the euro. A Reuters poll of analysts published at the end of October suggested the pound is likely to rise to around $1.34 by late April.

EU sources said the draft accord envisages a decision by July 2020 on how to maintain an open border between Northern Ireland and Ireland if a new trade deal is not in place.

Without one, the transition period could be stretched beyond December 2020, possibly until the end of 2021.

FALLING DOWN?

The world is carefully watching the fifth largest economy, hoping that once the dust has settled, the United Kingdom will use its unilateral status to strike its own global trade deals.

How has the economy held up, in the midst of all this uncertainty?

ISSUE 52

THE FINANCE EDITION

COUNTRY PROFILE

British inflation held steady in October.

Consumer prices rose at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent, the lowest inflation rate since March 2017.

This is a metric that will be carefully watched as the UK relies on imports substantially, since moving towards a service economy from a manufacturing one. Indeed, the cost of raw materials - many of which are imported - was 10 per cent higher than in October 2017.

Roughly a third of small- and medium-sized enterprises surveyed trade internationally, according to a survey by polling company YouGov. The situation with regards to wages is slightly rosier and, excluding bonuses, they rose at the fastest pace in a decade in the three months to September. This is not as good as it sounds, as adjusted for inflation, they are still lower than 10 years ago.

This is partly the result of an unprecedented exodus of eastern European workers ahead of Brexit, with businesses already complaining that they were finding it hard to find qualified staff. The numbers of Eastern Europeans fell by 154,000 to 881,000, a 15 per cent drop.

What worries the Bank of England is that productivity has not been improving, which means that wage rises could cause inflation.

This is perhaps why it raised rates in August, only the second time it has done so since the 2008 crisis.

In spite of the diminishing numbers of foreign workers, unemployment rose to 4.1 per cent in the three months to September from a 43year low of 4 per cent the previous quarter. A total of 23,000 jobs were created in the third quarter, hardly impressive when you consider that 350,000 were created over the previous 12 months.

MONE Y · 47

referendum while business investment would also be sluggish as external demand for British goods slowed down.

The commission is forecasting GDP growth of just 1.2 per cent in 2019 and 2020. Analysts are more optimistic, perhaps to be expected, with the Guardian quoting consultancy firm Capital Economics saying growth could reach 2.2 per cent next year and remain around 2 per cent in 2020.

This is indeed a shame as until now, the UK actually managed to fare better than the eurozone member states over the past months. In the third quarter it reported growth of 0.6 per cent for the third quarter.

Given all the uncertainty, it is to be expected that forecasts will vary widely, depending on the agenda of those commenting. There are still business sectors that hope that the UK will stay in the EU – they obviously paint the worst possible scenario.

Given all the uncertainty, it is to be expected that forecasts will vary widely, depending on the agenda of those commenting.

The media has been regaled by stories of doom and gloom. Academics in The Conversation reported that more than 90 per cent of the fruit and vegetables and half of the meat consumed in the UK is imported. They argued that more expensive food imports could lead to changes in diets and lead to up to 5,600 diet-related deaths per year by 2027.

This, they said, would increase healthcare expenditure by £600 million.

And what about economic growth? In its regular forecast, the European Commission was gloomy. It said the UK would join Italy at the bottom of the European economic growth league next year, dropping to bottom place the year after.

Between the dry analysis of the institutions and the hysteria of the media, between the pressure on Theresa May and the political aspirations of her rivals, lies the truth. Getting a Brexit divorce deal is only the beginning of a period that will see the real figures begin to emerge.

The commission expects consumer spending to remain tepid, as it has been since the 2016

Maybe someone will then put those figures on the side of a bus.

SOCIAL MEDIA

48 · MONEY

ISSUE 52

Richard is the CEO of Switch – Digital & Brand, a marketing agency that forms part of ICOM, the world's largest network of independent agencies.

CALL-TO-ACTION As the marketing power of social media continues to grow, it’s worth taking a look at the financial rewards you can reap out of it. Richard Muscat Azzopardi analyses social media marketing and the sense it makes financially.

In November I travelled to Copenhagen with a couple of colleagues to attend the first edition of Spark - a social media marketing conference organised by Falcon.IO, a social media marketing tool we use for a few of our clients.

It was an incredible experience, but I’m not here to reminisce. Seeing that there were the hottest minds in European social media marketing, I will share the key insights we returned back to base with. There’s far too much to put down in one article so I’m going to focus on what we learnt linked to how one can make financial sense of social media marketing.

Let’s start with one assumption - social media marketing is not a choice. I can confidently

say that the majority of businesses need a planned social media presence, no matter what industry they’re in.

financial sense it makes to get your business onto social media, fast.

Customer experience

The medium (or media) you’re on, the strategy you employ, and the content you post will vary based on the business you’re in, however, if you’re not using social media as part of your media mix, then you’re missing out on opportunities. And your competitors definitely aren’t all making the same mistake, so some of them inherently have a competitive advantage.

The first, and probably most important part of the equation, and in my mind an irrefutable argument for a social media presence, is that your customers are on social media. So if you ignore social media (or if you have a haphazard approach to it), you’re ignoring a crucial touchpoint in the customer experience journey.

In itself that statement isn’t enough to convert non-believers. It’s not even enough to help believers convert their non-believing bosses, which is why I’m here to help the case with a series of arguments in favour of the

As Ulrik Bo Larsen, CEO of Falcon.IO, said in Copenhagen, we’re perfectly optimising marketing for a world that no longer exists.

We have to evolve or else we’re going to expire. This is a mistake that so many people

THE FINANCE EDITION

SOCIAL MEDIA

make over the years - think of Nokia, who came out with the first smartphones for a world that had moved past their vision of it. People did not want their phones for spreadsheets. They might have needed them for spreadsheets, but they wanted them to play music on, to take photos on, to connect to social media, to send photos of their kids to their mums.

alone, social works best when supported by and when supporting other channels. I’m not going to delve too deep into this one.

There’s tonnes of research out there that you can find with a simple Google search. I’ll just contribute one statistic - for under the price of a couple of billboards a month one of our clients regularly reaches the equivalent of the entire population of Malta 4-fold.

If you ignore social media as an integral part of your customers’ experience, or even worse if you’re ignoring your customer experience, then you are at risk of becoming irrelevant.

It’s not a financial argument to make to your boss. It’s a terrifying reality you need to highlight them to.

Consumers love brands that don’t act like one

Excellent ROI This isn’t something we learned at Spark, but it’s definitely worth mentioning, because no matter how old or how young, there is one language all entrepreneurs get: Return on Investment. Social media, when done well, has proven to offer excellent return on investment when compared to all other conventional channels. We’re not telling you to replace all other channels with social

MONEY · 49

This is as much of a recommendation as it is an eye-opener. One of the biggest pushbacks we receive from social media nay-sayers is that people don’t follow brands on social media - they follow their friends and family.

Hanne Grainger, Global Social & Content Brand Manager at Irish Distillers (Jameson

…if you ignore social media (or if you have a haphazard approach to it), you’re ignoring a crucial touchpoint in the customer experience journey.

Whiskey), says that the top 10 most followed brands on Instagram have 450 million followers. That’s as much as 19 Western European countries put together (including the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Italy).

By using the right tools to listen to what people are saying about you and your competitors you can react quickly to potential hiccups and be proactive in getting on the next trends and viral content before anyone else can.

People DO follow brands. They just don’t want to follow brands that act like brands.

We’ve been saying this since 2014 at Switch, too - Digital is Human. People want to follow brands that have personality. Brands that feel human.

Reddit, Facebook and LinkedIn groups can also be excellent ways to poll your current users for insight into your product service or offering. Instead of having to go out to a random sample of users, you can get people who actually are invested in your brand to have conversations about you in a place that feels safe. This will be far more insightful than what you can get from people who don’t know your brand or have never interacted with it directly.

Audience & Product insight

And in the end...

In Copenhagen, Sabrina Rodriguez, Global Head of Social & Content at Dentsu Aegis Network, also explained how using social media well gives you amazing insights into your audiences, your competition and your product.

So if you are having trouble justifying the investment in social media marketing, it is probably because you haven’t looked into the financial rewards that you can reap. Let’s have a chat and see how we can help you make sense of it all.

PHOTOGR APHY

ISSUE 52

Be(s)witched

50 · MONEY

THE FINANCE EDITION

PHOTOGR APHY

MONE Y ¡ 51

Switch comprises a killer bunch of creatives with a mission: to scare the hell out of your competitors! MONEY features some scare tactics of theirs‌ Switch - a full-service Digital & Brand Agency working with some of Malta's top brands to tell stories that get results, and make it look gorgeous - are gaining a repute on social media for having the craziest costumes on the island.

How does a marketing agency get such a reputation, you might ask? Well, Switch takes Halloween seriously. Same goes for Carnival, food days and movie nights. Days like these might look silly and distracting to the

outsider, but to the team, it's a no-nonsense part of agency life.

From creatives to project managers, and from writers to analysts - everyone is dedicated to telling a better story day in, day out. But when you're working to brief, you tend to miss the freedom that comes with unrestricted, unconventional creativity.

That's exactly why they insist on a year-long calendar full of themed days to keep them

fresh, limber and ready for the next creative challenge. Here's a snapshot of some of this year's Halloween costumes, to get a better idea of what it's all about...

52 · MONEY

PROMO

HARD WORK PAYS OFF If you thought hard work does not pay off, think again.

Life after graduation is made easier with BOV’s financial solutions for neo-graduates.

ISSUE 52

Graduation closes off a chapter in our lives but ushers in a new possibly more exciting one. It also brings with it a time for decisions, a time to choose our next milestone in life, filtering through our dreams and realigning our goals.

This path of following our dreams may take us many places… from building a family, travelling around the world, buying a new home, furthering our studies, to starting our own businesses. Whatever the choice, we will need the finances to achieve our goals.

Who will help me achieve my goals?

Bank of Valletta has a new package bursting with financial solutions and perks available solely to neo-graduates and those who have graduated during these past five years, focused on helping you achieve your dreams.

What does the BOV Graduates package offer?

The BOV Graduates package offers a number of products aimed at meeting your needs.

This is how it works: −

−

− −

−

You want to save for something special?

We will give you a higher interest rate on your e-account to help you save for that something special.

You love spending money or want to buy something you’ve dreamt of now? You can take up an unsecured BOV Graduate Personal Overdraft; a BOV Graduate Personal Loan or a BOV Credit Card.

You want to further your studies? Think BOV Graduate Studies Loan.

Time has come to purchase a new home?

Yes, you guessed it….there is the BOV Home Loan.

Want to own Malta’s next top business?

The unsecured BOV Graduate Business Loan is waiting for you.

What are the perks?

Bank of Valletta understands that the first year until you get settled in your new life might be a bit of a tough one, so we have slashed our charges to help you out. Here are some of the highlights:

THE FINANCE EDITION

PROMO

−

− −

− −

Your BOV VISA Classic, BOV VISA Gold Card and BOV MasterCard and 24X7 Internet Banking (including BOV Mobile Banking) will be free for the first year; No processing fees on BOV Home Loan first-time buyers package; Reduced interest rates on BOV Personal Loans, BOV Graduate Studies Loans, BOV Graduate Business Overdraft and BOV Graduate Business Loans; Moratoriums on BOV Graduate Studies Loans and BOV Graduate Business Loans; Free standing orders.

Apart from all this, we offer you convenient and safe banking through: −

−

the largest ATM fleet in Malta (through which you can withdraw and deposit funds free of charge on an unlimited basis with your BOV Cashlink or BOV Cashlink VISA); fast, secure and user-friendly internet

MONEY · 53

−

−

and mobile banking services; the most extensive branch network in Malta with fully trained, professional and friendly staff; specialised services such as our Business Centres, Investment Centres and Wealth Management that will support you throughout your journey in life.

And best of all, we offer you our expertise to assist you in your decisions to make your dreams come true! Visit one of our BOV Branches or contact our BOV Customer Service Centre on 21212020 or log on www. bov.com/content/bov-graduates-package for further information.

Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a public limited company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking and investment services in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta) and the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta).

FA S H I O N

54 · MONEY

ISSUE 52

9

STOCKING FULL OF STARS

1

A

8

Start the new year in style with MONEY’s gift list.

2

7

3

4

5

6

THE FINANCE EDITION

FA S H I O N

MONEY · 55

1. Camouflage-print wood-handle telescopic umbrella London Undercover · €75

11

2. America's cup stretch-knit high-top sneakers Prada · €550 3. 4cm dark-brown full-grain leather belt Gucci · €265 4. Trialmaster leather jacket Belstaff · €1,495

10

5. Buckley leather-panelled suede backpack Tom Ford · €2,290 6. 15-pack cotton-blend socks London Sock Co. · €205 7. Goya full-grain leather backpack Loewe · €1,850

12

8. James brushed gold-plated cufflinks Alice Made This · €280 9. Printed silk-twill pocket square Rubinacci · €93.91

14 13

10. Embossed leather cardholder Gucci · €190 11. Intarsia wool sweater Alexander McQueen · €845 12. Appliquéd checked wool-blend tweed baseball cap Gucci + New York Yankees · €400 13. Horsebit webbing-trimmed suede loafers Gucci · €495 14. H7 leather wireless headphones Bang & Olufsen · €415 All items available at mrporter.com

Avenger hurricane chronograph 50mm Breitlight and canvas watch Breitling Available from Edwards, Lowell Co. Ltd T: 2138 4503

L AST WORD

56 · MONEY

ISSUE 52

The Bluesman is a Maltese sound engineer working in New York.

In the name of honour The Bluesman speaks about the false honour of dying in battle and those who stand to gain from bloodshed.

A hundred years have passed, as most of the world commemorated earlier this month, since the end of the Great War. It was referred to as the ‘war to end all wars’ possibly with a modicum of hope that it indeed would be. Unfortunately not. Countries picked themselves up, licked their wounds and staggered on to the next destructive event.

The Mexican Revolution and the Balkan Wars were sort of contemporaneous albeit separated by an ocean. In Mexico it bubbled up from rigged election results [oh my - what a concept, nothing new] and mounting discontent escalated to assassinations.

Fifty years prior Napoleon lll had installed Maximilian, younger brother of Franz Joseph of Austria, as Emperor in an attempt at reestablishing a foothold in the Americas.

The transplant didn’t take and once the US [hitherto hampered by dealing with the Civil War] was able to take a look at what was going on, and not liking another country fiddling around in its backyard, threw support behind the Mexican Republican forces, the French whipped their army away and poor Max was left staring at a firing squad. I remember watching a movie about this as a youngster and thinking how tragic his unfortunate end was. His wife, who had already left Mexico for Belgium went insane shortly afterwards.

All this unfolding on screen to the plaintive music of La Paloma, a song later recorded by

a long list of singers including Dean Martin and Elvis Presley. Next came the Balkan Wars. Here, through the actions of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro the Ottoman Empire was pushed out of Europe, sort of.

More Balkan action, of course, was to come in subsequent years.

Intermingled with The Great War years was the Armenian Genocide by Turkey and the Russian Revolution which led to the Russian Civil War then the Irish War of Independence, and it’s still only 1921, the 20th Century was yet young. Ten years of Chinese Civil War, the beginning of the Holocaust, the Abyssinian War and the Spanish Civil War take us to WW2. It would be an exhausting read to itemize every conflict through the fifties and up to today. Conflicts shifted from the East to the Middle East, N Africa, Cuba, Vietnam another stab at the Balkans in the 1990s and currently settled as we well know in the Middle East again. Small wonder then that it has been estimated that throughout history the world has been at peace for only 8 per cent of historical time. Such a waste of lives and resources. Just in the 20th Century it has been estimated that military and civilian deaths have amounted to around 123 million through war or genocide. Who knows what brilliance has been snuffed out before fruition? Add to that figure that’s the 500,000 odd killed since 9/11 at a cost of $6 trillion and even though an American trillion has less

THE FINANCE EDITION

zeroes that is still a lot of dollars. As outlined in a Newsweek article by Tom O’Connor who was reporting on a Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public affairs report, the figure includes all direct and indirect spending and is, of course, completely unsustainable.

In January 1961, President Dwight ‘Ike’ Eisenhower, the former general who led the Allies on D-Day gave his final speech from the White House. The new President-elect, John F. Kennedy, was three days away from his inauguration. In this final speech, after two terms in office. He warned the nation that military spending would, if unchecked, grow to a ridiculous size that the country would be unable to afford. Weapons manufacturers, up to this point companies, like Ford for example who went from building cars to Jeeps, turned back to making their products after the war they supplied was over but with the increasing sophistication and complexity of technologically advanced weaponry specialised manufacturers were taking over. Eisenhower saw this coming and was concerned with the divergence of funds from schools, roads and hospitals. In fact while in office he had made cuts to the Pentagon’s budget. He was a Republican in a Party then that today’s Republicans would not recognize.

Among his accomplishments was the creation of the Interstate Highway system. He was frustrated that the Arms Race with the Soviet Union was causing this expenditure. ‘Planes that cost three quarters of a million dollars.

That’s more than a man makes in a lifetime.

What world can afford this kind of thing for long?’ he had said in one speech, and in his farewell speech; ‘we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists’.

As predicted by Eisenhower this ‘industrial complex’ has grown with US Military personnel now numbering 1.28 million. The US has 20 times more stealth planes than China. It’s a great temptation to develop itchy trigger fingers but the financial prize to companies like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman is what keeps them lobbying Congress for more and more and for them to gain public support by spreading the promise of jobs around the country. No

L AST WORD

matter what differences wars were started over through history, be it - land grabs … religious disputes … Helen of Troy … or whatever new excuse, the prime motivator now would seem to be money. It is estimated that the total annual worth of the arms market globally hovers around $60 billion and people have made millions brokering deals. The reputedly richest man in the early 1980s was arms dealer Adnan Kashoggi, uncle to the murdered journalist Jamal Kashoggi, who was worth around $4 billion in his prime as he jetted and hobnobbed with Saudi, Hollywood, European Royalty and a bevy of ‘pleasure wives’. Ironically, this merchant of killing equipment [all legal] was the son of a healer, a doctor in the service of the Saudi Court. Kashoggi had quit college after he made his first commission on the sale of trucks to Egypt. Ka-ching!

War. What is it good for?… nothing at all for those caught up in the blood, pain and loss of frontline battlefields… but everything for those who stand to gain financially.

‘War. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing’.

Sang Edwin Starr back in 1970. Absolutely nothing at all for those caught up in the blood, pain and loss of frontline battlefields nor for those who suffer the loss of their family members but everything for those who stand to gain financially.

Wilfred Owen’s poem Dulce et decorum est, published in 1920, written after the author’s experience in WW l, expressed the futility of the false honour of dying in battle. Here are the last four lines: My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.

MONEY · 57

58 · MONEY

NEWS

ISSUE 52

90 years of Ford in Malta GasanZammit Motors Ltd recently celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Ford dealership in Malta, marking this historic date with an elegant stand-up affair at the Grand Hotel Excelsior, in Floriana. The event was attended by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as well as a host of local and international distinguished guests, among them a contingency of Ford representatives who also attended the annual general meeting of Ford for Central and Eastern Europe held at the hotel the following day.

Guests were welcomed by Ms Carolyn Zammit, director, marketing at GasanZammit, who thanked all those present for attending before introducing Gasan Group chairman Mr Joseph A. Gasan. In his speech, Mr Gasan referred to the significance of the date as the very day 90 years ago that his father signed one of the first concessionaire agreements for the Ford Motor Company with Henry Ford himself and the long and successful business relationship that followed.

A fresh look for a historical office building in the heart of Valletta Oceanwood Capital, a UK company based in London and founded in 2006, approached DEX Workspaces to supply new furniture pieces to bring the Malta office, a townhouse located in Melita Street in Valletta, in line with their UK branch.

Despite what might seem to be a very simple project of supplying furniture, working with traditional Maltese houses is not as straightforward as it appears. The client was concerned with utilising the space in the office in the best way possible, without compromising on the comfort and usability of the desks. This careful balance of space and ergonomics was an integral part of this project’s story, something which was echoed by Office Manager and Executive PA Marvic Gatt. “The task was more of trial, but we got there in the end”.

DEX Workspaces offers a complete range of solutions for offices, including workstations, seating, flooring, acoustic systems and partitions. Contact us at info@dex.com.mt or 22773000, or visit our showroom at Mdina Road, Qormi.

Achieve peace of mind with Cloud ERP With the commercial landscape gravitating, more and more towards being data-centric, the larger a business grows, the greater the need for software solutions to manage data and information. If you’re constantly struggling to obtain business-critical data in real-time, then you’re probably falling behind in the race against your competition.

Through seamless integration, automated processes, and unhindered mobility – implementing a modern Cloud ERP solution will go a long way in bringing efficiency to the workplace, thus allowing everyone to focus on what’s important. To find out more about Acumatica Cloud ERP and how it can take your business to the next level, visit www.computimesoftware.com/acumatica-erp or email info@computimesoftware.com.

what

a great combination your Firm Benefiting from Membership to FinanceMalta Membership advantages include: $PNQBOZ MJTUJOH PO PVS XFCTJUF t 1BSUJDJQBUF JO XFCJOBST QPEDBTUT t 0QQPSUVOJUJFT UP TIPXDBTF ZPVS mSN t #VTJOFTT OFUXPSLJOH FEVDBUJPOBM FWFOUT t $PNQMJNFOUBSZ QBTTFT UP TPNF PG &VSPQF T NPTU JNQPSUBOU FWFOUT t 0QQPSUVOJUZ UP UBLF QBSU JO SPBE TIPXT QSFTT CSJFmOHT XPSLTIPQT t "DDFTT UP NBSLFU JOUFMMJHFODF SFQPSUT CSBOEFE NBSLFUJOH NBUFSJBMT t 5IPVHIU MFBEFSTIJQ BSUJDMFT GFBUVSFE PO PVS XFCTJUF RVBSUFSMZ OFXTMFUUFS t

more information on:

www.financemalta.org

Effective

Find us on:

FinanceMalta

FinanceMalta@

FinanceMaltaYT

|

Secure

|

Skilled

FinanceMalta

FinanceMalta - Garrison Chapel, Castille Place, Valletta VLT1063 – Malta | info@financemalta.org | tel. +356 2122 4525 | fax. +356 2144 9212 FinanceMalta is the public-private initiative set up to promote Malta as an International Financial Centre.