Malta Insights

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E-COMMERCE GENERATES €2.1 BILLION IN 2020

Turnover from e-commerce sales rose by 6.4 percent in 2020 compared with the previous year, reaching a total €2.1 billion. Figures by the Nationals Statistics Office show that eight in ten web orders last year were placed on the business’ own websites or apps while the remaining sales came through online marketplaces. The share of companies conducting business online grew from slightly under 24 percent in 2019 to 26.2 percent in 2020, outpacing the average across the EU where around a fifth of businesses report e-commerce options.

The highest increase observed in the accommodation and food service sector, rising by 4.7 percentage points year-on-year. On the other hand, companies in the manufacturing and energy sector and the construction sector reduced their e-commerce activities by 1.6 percentage points and 0.8 percentage points, respectively. More than one in eight businesses in Malta have their own website, a higher rate than the EU average of 77 percent. The most common website features are description of products and price lists, found in 92.5 of all sites, and links to social media pages, present 77.5 percent of the time. Just over 40 percent of websites incorporate tools for online ordering, reservation or booking.

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TOURISM PLUMMETS BY THREE-FOURTHS IN 2020

Total inbound tourism reached 658,567 between January and December 2020, a 76.1 percent decline from the preceding twelve months. Figures by the National Statistics Office show a total of 5.2 million nights spent, registering a 73.0 percent decrease from 2019. Holiday trips amounted to nearly nine in every ten visits, comparable to the year before, while business trips made seven percent of all inbound tourism.

The total number of repeat tourists dropped by 72.3 percent from 2019, but its share rose from 25 percent of all incoming trips to 29 percent in 2020. EU travellers remained the largest market, contributing to 68.2 percent of all visits. The share of non-EU tourists, however, grew from 16.3 percent in 2019 to 31.7 in 2020.

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MALTA’S MINIMUM WAGE CLOSE TO EU AVERAGE

Malta’s minimum wage (€785 a month) ranked in the middle when compared to other EU countries, Eurostat reported. As of 1 January 2021, 21 out of the 27 Member States of the EU have national minimum wages.

In January 2021, ten Member States, located in the east of the EU, had minimum wages below €700 per month: Bulgaria (€332), Hungary (€442), Romania (€458), Latvia (€500), Croatia (€563), Czechia (€579), Estonia (€584), Poland (€614), Slovakia (€623) and Lithuania (€642).

MOODY’S PREDICT STRONG ECONOMIC REBOUND BUT GOVERNANCE ISSUES REMAIN

Credit rating agency has left Malta’s classification at A2 Stable, indicating that it expects the Maltese economy to recover from the pandemic without significant lasting scars and public finances brought under control. Among the country’s strengths, Moody’s listed Malta’s track record of strong economic growth, elevated wealth levels and a moderate government debt burden.

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On the other hand, it said that “institutional challenges related to the rule of law, control of corruption and money laundering supervision remain,” while acknowledging some reforms on the matter. It said that it expected those reform efforts to be maintained, with systemic risks from the financial sector, “including those related to money laundering and the financing of terrorism” to be contained. The report found that the pandemic and measures taken to halt its spread caused the Maltese economy to contract by 9.9 per cent of GDP year-on-year in the third quarter of 2020, a somewhat better performance than the 16.1 per cent year-on-year contraction in the second quarter.

PRIVATE CARS MAKE THREE-FOURTHS OF ALL VEHICLES

The number of registered cars reached a record of 400,586 in the third quarter 2020. Figures by the National Statistics Office show a rise of more than 5,000 vehicles from the previous quarter, equivalent to a net average increase rate of 56 new cars per day. In the first and second quarters, the daily rate of new cars experienced a decrease.

Passengers cars made 67.7 percent of all new registrations, amounting to 3,490 vehicles. Of these, 55 percent were newly licensed used cars and 45 percent brand new models. Motorbikes made 17.6 percent of all new registrations with lorries, buses, and agricultural and special purposes vehicles making the remaining 15.3 percent.

Compared with Q3 2019, the total number of registered vehicles increased by 14.5 percent. By the end of September 2020, passenger cars excluding garage hire, lease, taxi, or self-drive stood at 73.8 percent of total licensed stock the biggest single vehicle group. Commercial vehicles including goods-carrying cars made 14.6 percent. There were 448 route buses in the third quarter last year, including 30 newly licensed ones.

Passengers cars made 67.7 percent of all new registrations, amounting to 3,490 vehicles. Of these, 55 percent were newly licensed used cars and 45 percent brand new models.