MBR Issue 5

Issue 5

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h re y nt witp.31 u t m e eaEconopplemnomy f iaLof Theeep ssue Eco c e k e sP Statlel-ande- Malt

pu f th ial n o c e w sp o A und r

cover story

feature

interview

taLKinG Point

Trading the Financial Markets… A Serious Matter Trading with Roberto D’Ambrosio, FXDD Global Director of Sales for Europe p.06

ERC Stories A unique feature from the European Research Council and TEDx Brussels p.13

Looking for the Best In People An exclusive interview with Sir Richard Branson p.22

Lech Walesa: Here’s How to Handle Putin A visceral interview with Polish Solidarity leader and Nobel Prize Winner Lech Walesa p.44

Issue 5

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ith e ur y nt w .31 at om me y - p fe Econ pple nom iaL The p su Eco ec of ee ese sP Statell-ande-kMalt

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pu f th ial o ec wn sp o A nd ru

cover story

feature

interview

taLKinG Point

Trading the Financial Markets… A Serious Matter Trading with Roberto D’Ambrosio, FXDD Global Director of Sales for Europe p.06

ERC Stories A unique feature from the European Research Council and TEDx Brussels p.13

Looking for the Best In People An exclusive interview with Sir Richard Branson p.22

Lech Walesa: Here’s How to Handle Putin A visceral interview with Polish Solidarity leader and Nobel Prize Winner Lech Walesa p.44

PuBlisher MBR Publications Limited ediTor Martin Vella

MBR Publications Limited

Technical advisor Marcelle D’Argy Smith sales direcTor Margaret Brincat

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arT & design Jessica Camilleri adverTising 9940 6743 / 9926 0162; Email: margaret@mbrpublications.net; martin@mbrpublications.net

cover sTory

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Trading The Financial MarkeTs… a serious MaTTer Roberto D’Ambrosio, FXDD Global Director of Sales for Europe discusses trading of financial securities, and other fungible items of value

conTriBuTors

BOV; European Research Council; FXDD; HSBC; Malta Stock Exchange; Office of the Prime Minister; PBS; PKF Accountants & Business Advisors; TIP.

sPecial Thanks

Marco Bardazzi; Diane Borg Bascetta; George Carol; Prof Jonathan Coleman; Roberto D’Ambrosio; Rupert Christiansen; Albert Frendo; Werner E Jung; Patrick J O’Brien; Prof Ulf Leonhardt; Piers Manning; Louis Naudi; Sir Christopher Pissarides; Melanie Vella; Prof Tiziana Rossetto; Ingrid Zerafa

PrinT ProducTion Printit

sPecial conTriBuTions

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a good reTurn on invesTMenT An interview with Bernard Mangion, CEO of Benestates, the Real Estate company in Malta committed to providing a top service to its clients

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ERC StoRiES – ExfoliAting MonolAyERS: opEning A gaTeWay To indusTrial soluTions Jonathan Coleman, one of the world’s leading research scientists in nanotechnology, launches this unique and exclusive feature, courtesy of the European Research Council and TEDx Brussels. We also publish stories by Tiziana Rossetto, Professor in Earthquake Engineering in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geometric Engineering at UCL, Ulf Leonhardt, Professor of Physics with the Weizman Institute of Science and Sir Christopher Pissarides, winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and Regius professor of Economics at the London School of Economics.

oFFices 41B, Wayne, Triq il-Herba, Birkirkara, BKR 2322 TelePhone +356 2149 7814 quoTe oF The MonTh “The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better”- Robert F. Kennedy

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The MalTa sMe suMMiT & B2B neTWorking ForuM A double-page photo-montage of the SME Summit held at the Portomaso Suite, Hilton Malta, and organised by MBR Publications Ltd.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, commonly known as Jack Kennedy or by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963.

Disclaimer All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied and reproduction in whole or part is strictly prohibited without written permission of the publisher. All content material available on this publication is duly protected by Maltese and International Law. No person, organisation, other publisher or online web content manager should rely, or on any way act upon any part of the contents of this publication, whether that information is sourced from the website, magazine or related product without first obtaining the publisher’s consent. The opinions expressed in the Malta Business Review are those of the authors or contributors, and are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.

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ExCluSiVE intERViEW of thE Month 22

looking For The BesT in PeoPle

An exclusive interview with businessman, investor, entrepreneur and intrepid adventurer Sir Richard Branson, as we unravel the man behind the myth

CONTENTS Focus

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BESt pRACtiCE- pARt 2 you EithER lead,FolloW, or geT ouT oF The Way Our resident business management expert and contributor Werner E Jung continues to build his exceptional case about best practice

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The secreT hisTory oF The chrisTMas carol A special Christmas narrative by famed author Rupert Christiansen about the origins of our favourite Seasonal songs

sPecial FeaTure on igaMing 33

sTaTe oF The econoMy

We present a special pull-and-keep supplement with a rundown of the Maltese economy, foreworded by Prime Minister dr Joseph Muscat, against relatively subdued global economic backdrop

Talking PoinT

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FuncTionaliTy & connecTiviTy Our annual VIP interview with Malta Stock Exchange CEO Eileen V Muscat, who talks about the largest technology project currently underway

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lECh WAlESA: hERE’S hoW to hAndlE putin An exclusive and telling with Polish Solidarity leader and Nobel Prize Winner Lech Walesa

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a neW generaTion oF leadershiP Our young, talented and resourceful contributor Melanie Vella, who writes about the new genre of business leader

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hoW To Make your Money groW saFely Ingrid Zerafa discusses investing wisely to safeguard the future

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Malta Business Review

editorial he theme of TEDx Brussels this year has been ‘The Territory and the Map’. We are somewhat proud to be associated with the European Research Council, having invited us to cover each ERC speaker who represented a different scientific field and nationality.

From oceanography to nanotechnology to invisibility, the ERC TEDx talks covered new ground at the frontiers of human knowledge. The speakers gave an insight into their research and explained how their pioneering ideas, supported by ERC funding, are being realised.

Thrilled to present a first-time report with the participation of four ERC laureates in this TEDx Brussels event is testament to the MBR’s ability to inspire minds with passionate and innovative research leaders on stage. TEDx talks are a most welcome exercise of popularising science and we hope you enjoy to a new strain of thought-provoking presentations.

At this time of year we often pause to thank a very important group of people — our customers. I encourage you to show your heartfelt thanks to another very important group of people — your employees. Without them, the success of the past year would not have been possible. They have probably helped us meet some pretty significant challenges and get some impressive wins. They have pulled through when the unexpected happened and delivered on commitments that were important to your customers, you and the company. There have been times when they have put in the extra hours and taken time away from their family and friends. While recognition programs can be important, they can’t take the place of a true, deeply felt and honest expression of thanks.

The Best Leaders are Humble Leaders! There is only ONE business publication that brings you the best, the most valuable, relevant and topical information – Malta Business Review - where we strive to create first-class leadership development content for managers at all levels in corporate business organisations. We leverage the management insight, thought leadership, and expertise of our top level authors to provide content and reading material that is a cut above the rest. This month we bring you the best interviews and stories that transform people, stories of innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship and above all stories engaging human lives. Our exclusive interview of the Month is with Sir Richard Branson, who talks about moving forward with Virgin Galactic. We also bring you a special feature entitled ‘State of the Economy, foreword by the Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat. In it we interview the Finance Minister Prof Edward Scicluna and give an overview of our economy courtesy of PKF Accountants. Lech Walesa, former Solidarność trade unionist, freedom fighter and Polish ex-President gives us a piece of his mind with his well-respected opinion in an exclusive open and scathing interview. Eileen V Muscat, CEO at the Malta Stock Exchange also falls under our interview magnifying glass. Indeed, this edition is jam-packed with premier contributions from top experts and award winning journalists, including a special feature about the Christmas Carol by Rupert Christiansen.

As you enjoy the read, I wish you and all your loved ones a merry Christmas and positive New Year.

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56 MARTIN VeLLA www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Trading The financial markeTs… a serious maTTer

by Roberto d’Ambrosio, Director of Sales – Europe, FXDD Global

Trading the financial markets is one of many ways to diversify an investment portfolio using a de-correlated asset class mitigating risks and even enhancing the possibility to profit from a bearish market

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COVER STORY

effectively, the easiness of access to such instruments may be insidious to those who do not tackle the matter with the necessary education, right mind-set and risk awareness.

Trading the financial market may be for different purposes, ranging from pure speculation to portfolio hedging, and trading decisions may be taken using different approaches: fundamental analysis, technical analysis, quantitative trading or automated trading. Every trader can find his own approach that will depend on his personal attitude, risk tolerance and skills, but, whatever his choice is, there are three main points that may, and will really make the difference: money management, mental attitude, and the choice of the right tools and partners.

When it comes to money management, the whole world of financial trading education and trainers will agree; managing risk in financial trading is vital! The need to quantify and set the stop loss and the related take profit with a reasonable risk/reward ratio for each trade is repeated over and over again as a mantra by all financial gurus and those who want to follow suit.

Indeed the discipline in setting and respecting such limits in order to deploy an effective and risk controlled trading strategy is very important. But there is another aspect that is as vital, if not more, when it comes to an effective money management strategy: the position sizing of each trade!

t is undoubtedly an effective and exciting way to deal with different markets, but, before engaging in such activity, the trader has to educate himself on market fundamentals and behaviour, fully understand the related risks, measure his own risk tolerance, and choose the right markets to trade and the right tools to deploy his strategies.

Nowadays, every trader has access to trading instruments and tools that, only a few years back, were restricted to Institutional and professional financial traders. Markets such as the forex exchange, stock indexes’ futures & options have become available to the public investor who can now invest into these products even with a relatively small amount of money.

If on one side this is an incredible opportunity to manage the financial portfolio more

Mastering the calculation of the right trade size on the base of personal risk tolerance, free trading capital and volatility of the instrument on which the trade will be deployed, as all professional and institutional traders know very well, is what really makes the difference between successful and sustainable trading and disappointing and demotivating results.

Failing to deploy an effective money management strategy, both in terms of risk management and position sizing, may harm even the best trading strategy ever as it is strongly related, especially for novice traders, to the second important aspect involved in financial trading: mental attitude.

If knowing the market and trading technique fundamentals is indeed essential to become a profitable trader, the psychology involved into trading activity is even more essential. It has been confirmed many times that trading is by and large composed of 30% knowledge and education and 70% right mental attitude.

Trading involves the need to develop very particular skills related to the peculiar kind of challenges that this activity involves. Trading the financial markets generates a whole set of emotions that

Malta Business Review

spread from fear to greed and that may only be amplified by wrong money management strategies. Especially in the early stage of trading experience, missing the position sizing will lead to an excessive level of these conflicting emotions. The consequence is that, given the psychological pressure, the trading plan will not be respected and most probably the trader will end up by closing profitable or losing trades too soon, thus affecting the risk/reward ratio of the strategy, or even closing with a loss a trade that would have been profitable otherwise. Or worse still, he may end up by not respecting the stop loss and averaging the losing position, hoping that the market will finally reverse and absorb a loss that was too great to be borne.

Trading the financial markets generates a whole set of emotions that spread from fear to greed and that may only be amplified by wrong money management strategies

Last but not least, the right choice of tools that one uses for his trading, and the choice of the broker partner, play an essential role.

Strategies may range from long term trading, to scalping and to complex strategies involving sophisticated instruments such as options. We at FXDD believe that the trader needs to feel comfortable in using a platform that really suits his trading habits and strategies and therefore we are happy to offer our traders one of the widest range of trading platforms in the market: our proprietary swordfish platform, the award winning MT4 platform in different price tiers which now also offers CFDs on index futures, the Jforex platform, Power Trader and Viking Trader, both connected to Currenex, which is one of the deepest liquidity pools available.

We also have available the OptionTrader platform, which offers the trader the possibility to use vanilla options on the forex market and allows managing both option and spot positions from the same platform, thus providing a very efficient and powerful tool for the more sophisticated traders.

For those who want to have a more investmenttype approach, or need time to learn but still want to invest through trading, we also offer automated trading platforms, which allows the investors to take advantage of the automated deployment of professional traders’ strategies onto their account, whilst still remaining in full control of their investment. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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TODAY’S DECISION IS TOMORROW’S LEGACY. Lasting success goes beyond numbers and percentages.

At HSBC we have a unique global perspective, which allows us to see the extraordinary impact that today’s business decisions can have in the future. That’s why we focus on building long-term partnerships with our clients, so that we can help them move forward in the right way. www.hsbcnet.com/growth

IT’S NEVER JUST BUSINESS

Approved and issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c.,116, Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT1444.

COVER STORY

FXDD also delivers dedicated services and tools to professional and institutional investors and traders, such as Money Managers, Financial and Investment Institutions, Asset Management companies and Hedge Funds. These clients often require specific set ups and tools which will be analysed by our dedicated teams of Support and IT professionals in order to deliver tailor made solutions. FXDD has always been at the forefront of trading technology and have consolidated relationships with the most important liquidity providers worldwide, and with the latest acquisition of Boston Technology, the leadership in Institutional Service has been further reinforced.

All this arsenal of different trading platforms and tools would be very difficult to master without a well-trained, trader oriented group of professionals ready to deliver the best support and guidance possible.

Notwithstanding the enormous possibilities that online technologies deliver to traders, having a reliable, trained and competent professional by your side is a decisive advantage. People still make the difference.

This is what FXDD offers to its Traders, along with the choice to establish its global operations in Malta.

The trading industry and the professionals working in it have a great responsibility when it comes to how they drive their offer to the investors. The market has in the past experienced very aggressive market campaigns from some financial intermediaries, which drove the wrong message around especially to those that did not have the necessary awareness of all aspects involved in financial trading, and the research for the “holy grail” at the lowest possible cost has been leveraged in a

Malta Business Review

manner to attract more investors to an area which unfortunately ended up giving these so called investors disappointing results.

applying and enforcing all regulations, thus sustaining a safe and reliable environment for financial intermediaries and investors.

If these kind of practices are reprehensible, nonetheless the investor still has to play his part in protecting himself from possible misleadings; when something is too good to be true… it is simply not true.

Choosing a regulated broker, such as FXDD Global, is strongly advisable to all traders, whether retail, professional or institutional, in order to engage and focus on the trading activity being sure that all parties involved are doing what they are bound to do and the invested resources are safe.

Having a reliable, trained and competent professional by your side is a decisive advantage. People still make the difference With the right education and training everyone can be a profitable trader, but everything must start from being fully aware of what financial trading is really about, have reasonable expectations on the outcome of the trading activity, and choosing the right tools and the right partner to deploy it.

The regulation in Europe and the US, (the rest of the world is rapidly following) has done a lot to protect the investors from all threats that may arise from improper commercial practices and to ensure a safe environment through a vast set of regulations and a constant, deep scrutiny of all regulated entities involved into the process of accessing the financial market.

To this respect, Malta, and its regulator, the MFSA, have done an outstanding job in

FXDD Global is committed to give the guidance and support to all those who entrust us with their financial trading needs, always enhancing our offer in terms of trading technology in order to deliver the best service and trading experience possible to our traders. We are always more than happy to discuss all matters that may help you in being a successful trader. MBR All Rights Reserved | Copyright 2014 LICENSING STATEMENT: FXDD Malta Limited is licensed to provide investment services by the Malta Financial Services Authority.

Registered Office: K2, First Floor, Forni Complex, Valletta Waterfront, Floriana FRN 1913, Malta HIGH RISK WARNING: Foreign exchange trade carries a high level of risk that may not be suitable for all investors.

EDITOR’S NOTE Mr Roberto d’Ambrosio has been with FXDD Malta Limited since May 2013 and today holds the role of Director of Sales – Europe.

He is a professional with more than 20 years’ experience in Financial Services, Stocks, Futures and Forex. Formerly, he served as an institutional advisor to Specialized Investment Funds and Hedge Funds, focused on automated algorithmic trading. Mr d’Ambrosio is a technical analyst, highly knowledgeable on trading systems, and a developer of money management systems.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

09

A Good Return on Investment

by Martin Vella

Bernard Mangion is Managing Director of Ben Estates Limited, now running into the 6th financial year of operation. Before Ben Estates, he was involved in the real estate sector as a property consultant. He also previously worked selling upmarket properties specialising in providing plots for development, historical palazzos and luxury seafront apartments. In his current role, Mr Mangion focuses on increasing sales and lowering costs, and growing the Ben Estates brand through trademark sales

MBR: How would you describe Benestates and how is it different to other estate agency’s?

BM: Ben Estates is a unique agency in many ways. We are reliable, honest and strive to get the best deal for both the owners and buyers. Hard selling does not exist in fact I am totally against it. We pride ourselves with strong core values such as honesty, which is implemented within our team on a daily basis and therefore brings that family bond between all agents. These 10

same values are adopted when out on the field with Clients.

MBR: What market does Benestates specialise in and what makes the brand stand out there?

BM: We work on all types of properties; however we are focused on properties ranging from 90,000 euro to 450,000 euro whilst on letting we are focused on properties between 450 euro /month and 1500/month euro.

MBR: What do you think makes Benestates so popular as a first choice Sales/Letting Agency?

BM: Real estate is probably the most competitive business that exists on the island.

We can’t afford to make mistakes or loose clients, therefore our Sales /Letting agents are highly focused to ensure that when a client has sent an enquiry, that client must have his home found as soon as possible.

Real estate

Malta Business Review

Building a brand makes it easy for people to remember you been hit by the recession and everyone around me thought I was insane opening a business during such a crisis. However, my persistence and perseverance brought me to where I am today.

MBR: How do you see the business growing and developing to keep up with the lettings market?

BM: The secret to success in real estate is to have a powerful database, meaning a large portfolio of properties that are being updated constantly and knowing which ones are coming available. Letting is so fast and competitive, that the main struggle is finding properties which are available. Our aim is to build a strong relationship with the landlords to facilitate that process.

MBR: What kinds of properties do you let out?

BM: Anything that a client seeks for.

MBR: Is letting out a property a good solution for someone who is relocating but doesn’t want to sell?

BM: Yes definitely, nowadays letting gives a good return on investment therefore one would rather own a property which gives at least a 5% ROI rather than earning a

low percentage on interest when placing money at the bank.

Also we do offer a reliable property management company which is a sub company of Ben Estates in which one can keep his mind at rest whilst he /she is abroad and can literally leave everything in our hands.

MBR: Do you see any expansion of offices in the near future?

BM: Yes definitely, my idea is to start franchising and increase the number of offices around the island. I would like to give the opportunity to young entrepreneurs who want to manage or own a Ben Estates Branch.

MBR: What is your greatest achievement and what made it so special?

BM: My greatest achievement is that I built my own business from scratch and with no one’s help. When I first registered the company end 2008, Malta had just

Well I can’t say that it was easy, as I spent the first two years working till the early hours of the morning. Due to all the stress, responsibility and pressure, many times I felt that I was about to fail. However, having a strong character helped me to keep focused and determined as I knew that my goal will be reached. I slowly but surely climbed my ladder to success. I can never say that I have reached the climax as I am still very young and there is a long road paved ahead of me. The industry is very competitive; therefore I must continue my hard work to keep growing.

MBR: What do you feel it takes to be successful in the industry?

BM: If you take care of your colleagues, in turn they will take care of your customers, thus your business will take care of itself.

MBR: How do you see the commercial real estate markets evolving in the future?

BM: Commercial real estate has exploded.

Many people and companies are always on the lookout for new ventures so that they can expand their businesses /ideas.

These in turn require commercial premises therefore that will involve the assistance of a professional real estate agent to help them find the ideal premises to suit their needs. MBR All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE Bernard Mangion is Managing Director of Ben Estates Limited.

Before Ben Estates, he was involved in the real estate sector as a property consultant. He also previously worked selling upmarket properties specialising in providing plots for development, historical palazzos and luxury seafront apartments. In his current role, Mr Mangion focuses on increasing sales and lowering costs, and growing the Ben Estates brand through trademark sales.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Feature: erC StorieS

Malta Business Review

A New GeNerAtioN of LeAdership As Europe continues to confront the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis it becomes ever-more important to fathom not only how Europe can return to productive levels of employment, but why it is failing to do so. Professor Pissarides’s ERC research examines both what kind of jobs Europeans do and future trends in employment efforts in this area, there has been little research into employment activity by sector: work which is vital if we are to better understand the effect of policy on employment patterns. We need to learn not only how many people work but also what kind of jobs they do.

Beyond univerSity

Shaping employment policieS Exploring not only the factors that influence total job creation but also the sectors that attract most jobs has obvious implications for policy-makers. The aim is to make policy recommendations based on a clearer understanding of how European labour markets function. Prof. Pissarides offers the example of Sweden which “creates twice as many jobs in social sectors like healthcare or childcare as Italy. This partly explains why Sweden has more overall employment than Italy, especially of women. Preliminary research tells us that a main factor behind this difference is Sweden’s social policy which heavily subsidises social care, whereas Italy’s subsidies are miniscule.”

The results of this research are still preliminary.

Early observations have revealed that Europeanwide patterns disguise a lot of interesting differences between countries. Women are key to these differences. The UK and the Netherlands have labour market policies which privilege parttime jobs, whereas Scandinavia subsidises jobs in health, care and education: all traditionally female dominated areas. These findings could have implications for future female employment rates because they offer a policy model for how to encourage women into work.

This research builds on previous work on European employment trends. Despite existing

Prof. Pissarides explains that this work is of great significance beyond academia because “it is about citizens’ jobs and their wages. Most citizens spend the majority of their time in their place of employment. Family welfare depends on the income generated in those jobs. Knowing how many and what kind of jobs a country can support is essential to understanding how we can improve ordinary citizens’ employment situations.”

Prof. Pissarides’s research into labour economics is driven by the desire to understand and explain problems. When he began, published work in this area said very little about how to model solutions to the problems being described: “We learned several different approaches, each with its own conclusions and policy recommendations, but we were never told which one was right and which wrong. I decided to start my research by ignoring all those, starting from a new beginning and then, when I had my tools, checking where the other approaches could be fitted.”

Prof. Pissarides describes himself as working “best in an office without music or other interruptions”: “Just an empty desk in front of me populated only by pen and paper or a laptop. The biggest threat to that ideal environment is the internet and the many things that it brings you: email and access to websites connected with work and some not so connected. Of course, I am not blind to the benefits of the internet: it is indispensable in my work. But frequently it takes more discipline than I can muster to use it efficiently before it takes over my whole being.”

the origin of ideaS Economics was not his first choice: “It was a coincidence. I never planned to do it as a young man. I much preferred sciences or architecture.

But when my parents told me that I should become an accountant I reluctantly agreed on condition that I do it via an economics degree.

When doing economics I discovered that it satisfied my curiosity for scientific discovery.

After this I stuck with it.”

Prof. Pissarides traces the origins of his current research back to the moment when he wrote “two simple equations that could represent the famous Beveridge curve (the empirical relation between unemployment and vacancies).” “I could see them working exactly in the way empirical labour economists described it and as candidates to open up the whole area of research in the study of markets with frictions: markets that do not jump to full employment in the way described by mainstream theory.”

This was the beginning of a publication cited as the origins of the research which won Prof.

Pissarides the Nobel Prize in 2010. Despite its significance, he describes it as a “eureka moment but not of the kind that makes you run naked in the street. Just as well I guess, London is pretty cold, not to mention other potential hazards.”

Prof. Pissarides characterises the effect of the ERC grant as enabling you to “focus on one big issue and providing you with the support that you need to pursue it. Every single thing that they offer contributes to the research: from the administrative support, through the assistants and collaborators, to the time release that they negotiate with your institution. I am very fortunate to have it.” MBR

EDITOR’S NOTE Sir Christopher Pissarides is the Regius Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, Professor of European Studies at the University of Cyprus and Chairman of the Council of National Economy of the Republic of Cyprus. He specialises in the economics of labour markets, macroeconomic policy, economic growth and structural change. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics, jointly with Dale Mortensen of Northwestern University and Peter Diamond of MIT, for his work in the economics of markets with frictions. Prior to that, in 2005, he was the first economist outside the United States to win (jointly with Dale Mortensen) the IZA Prize in Labor Economics. Prof. Pissarides has written extensively in professional journals, magazines and the press and his book Equilibrium Unemployment Theory is an influential reference in the economics of unemployment and has been translated into many languages. He is frequently quoted in the press on issues concerning the Eurozone and the future of European integration. He is an elected Fellow of the Econometric Society, the British Academy, the Academy of Athens, the Academia Europaea and several other learned societies, and is a Lifetime Honorary Member of the American Economic Association.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Feature: erC StorieS

Malta Business Review

The afTermaTh of a Tsunami A research background in earthquake engineering seems at first sight like an unusual fit with studying tsunamis.

But on her return from Sri Lanka in the wake of the 2004 tsunami, Professor Tiziana Rossetto discovered that very little research had been done into the effects of tsunamis on coastal infrastructure and she wanted to find out more the “Boxing Day” tsunami (2004) and the tsunami which hit Japan in 2011. In the Indian Ocean crisis, whole communities were swept away by the waves. In Japan, the tsunami caused the meltdown of three of Fukushima’s nuclear reactors. In a finding of particular relevance for this project, it was determined that the plant could have been better protected against natural disaster. It is precisely this kind of planning which interests Prof. Rossetto and her team. modelling A tsunAmi

An Ambitious exercise Prof. Rossetto looks back at the origins of her current project as the result of asking “Why not?” when told that tsunami waves could not be simulated in the lab. She was also attracted to earthquake engineering because it is a new science, and one in which an impact can be made very tangibly. She says that “it allows us to contribute to a revolution in how we design buildings. It combines engineering with seismology, structural dynamics and even the social sciences.”

Her ERC-funded research looks at the damage caused by the impact of tsunamis on buildings by modelling the horizontal force that hits buildings during a tsunami, and studying how they react.

Looking at the load that buildings can withstand should teach us more about how we can mitigate these forces. The aim is to improve sea defence systems, rather than the buildings themselves, as it is more likely that these coastal defence systems can be constructed and maintained in the areas of the world that are affected by tsunamis, which tend to be developing nations.

The devastating impact that tsunamis can have on infrastructure is illustrated in very distinct ways by the cataclysmic effects of

The difficulties of this research are compounded by the fact that there is little verified observational data on how tsunamis unfold, due to the rarity of these events. The goal of this research is both to experimentally investigate the transformation of a tsunami nearshore and, alongside this, mathematically model the permutations which cannot be physically modelled with any degree of ease. Originally Prof. Rossetto was told that it was not possible to model the tsunami waves, which are extremely long. This became a challenge, which was solved with the building of a new type of pneumatic tsunami generator, which is not limited by the piston capacity of traditional wave generators and which can reproduce the extremely long wavelengths associated with tsunamis. It is also the world’s only facility able to model trough-led tsunami waves. The tsunami generator is mounted in a 70m long and 4m wide flume at the laboratories of HR Wallingford in the UK. The flume is heavily instrumented and enables the researchers to examine the interaction between tsunami waves and coastal defence structures, individual buildings and groups of buildings: more accurately mirroring what happens in a real-life event.

experiencing disAster Prof. Rossetto’s research is both experimental and theoretical, encompassing reconstructions and calculations of the tsunami wave and its aftereffects, particularly modelling the fragility of buildings. Calculating the insurance implications of a natural disaster on this scale is a necessary part of the preparations from an infrastructure perspective but there is another side to the insurance question. In a related piece of research, Prof. Rossetto traced a global phenomenon: “how do people living in at-risk areas approach potential disasters?

They are not ignorant of the risks, but they do very little to prepare.”

The ERC backing has been of enormous help to the project, not least because of the attention it has attracted. She emphasizes: “On a practical level it has ensured that I can concentrate on the work uninterrupted. It has really opened doors because it is seen as such a seal of quality for the work. It has led to conversations with policy-makers and involvement in co-development projects: for example in research collaborations and discussion to include tsunamis in the next European building codes post-2020.”

Prof. Rossetto believes that her research will “spark imagination” at TEDx Brussels.

She observes that the combination of reallife threat and hi-tech solutions produces a narrative that should grip the TEDx audience. In the most practical way possible her aim is to “save lives, and in doing so build a safer world for our children”. MBR

EDITOR’S NOTE Tiziana Rossetto is a Professor in Earthquake Engineering in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (CEGE) at UCL where she directs the Earthquake and People Interaction Centre (EPICentre, www.epicentreonline.com ). EPICentre was founded by Tiziana in 2007 with seed funds from a highly competitive UK Research Council Grant called Challenging Engineering, and has grown to become the largest earthquake engineering research centre in the UK. Since joining UCL in December 2004 Prof. Rossetto has been PI on research grants totalling £6.3M, and Co-I on grants worth £0.74M. She set up the MSc in Earthquake Engineering with Disaster management and co-directed the UCL Engineering Doctorate Centre in Urban Sustainability and Resilience. Tiziana is acknowledged in the earthquake engineering community as an expert in the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of buildings. Tiziana was recently awarded a European Research Council grant for her project URBAN WAVES, which aims to develop new science and techniques to holistically evaluate earthquake and tsunami risks and provide engineering guidance for their effective mitigation. Prof. Rossetto is a strong advocate for earthquake engineering and is active in several professional institutions in the UK. She is currently Chair ex-officio of the UK Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT, Institution of Structural Engineers), Vice-Chair of the Society of Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics (SECED, learned society of the Institution of Civil Engineers), committee member of the Research and Innovation panel of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and sits on the British Standards Institute Committee for the application of the European Seismic Code (EC8).

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Malta Business Review

Feature: erC StorieS

Exfoliating monolayErs: opEning a gatEway to industrial solutions At Trinity College Dublin Professor Jonathan Coleman and his team are creating a ‘gateway technology’ in material science that, if successful, will open the door to a host of industrial applications. Their research focuses on producing twodimensional monolayers of a variety of materials by exfoliation. Prof. Coleman’s TEDx talk will introduce the audience to this technology and demonstrate how to make the ‘wonder material’ graphene in a kitchen blender liquid phase. So by allowing the suspended monolayers to settle out onto a surface and form a continuous film, the team are producing stacked layers of conducting, insulating and semiconducting films, of controlled thickness and with well-defined electrical and optical properties – from which a host of devices such as semiconductors and detectors can be manufactured in bulk.

And the potential of this research is not only in electronics.

Monolayers of molybdenum disulphide are 20 times stronger than steel, so it can be used to strengthen other materials, such as plastics, which are also processed in liquid solvents. Prof.

Coleman’s team have demonstrated exactly this by co-depositing a small amount of MoS2 with an everyday polymer plastic – which more than doubled its strength!

Plastics are ubiquitous in structural applications – for example as car components. So doubling the strength means that half the material is needed – reducing the amount of oil required to produce plastics in the first place, and reducing the weight, and thus the emissions from cars. This is why Prof Coleman’s research is described as a ‘gateway technology’ – if they can demonstrate industrially tractable applications, then the potential take-up is enormous.

Prof. Coleman first demonstrated how to create nanomaterials in this way by producing graphene – one atom thick monolayers of carbon with unique electronic properties. He showed that subjecting bulk graphite to sonic energy while suspended in a liquid causes carbon monolayers to ‘exfoliate’ from the graphite.

This produces a liquid dispersion of graphene monolayer flakes.

In 2010, he received an ERC Starting Grant to expand his awardwinning research and demonstrate its wider potential. Indeed, it would take the weight of an elephant balanced on a pencil to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of cling film.

In advance of his TEDx talk, Prof. Coleman said: “I am very much looking forward to sharing the latest developments in material science with the audience at TEDx. The discovery of graphene has opened a door to countless potential real-world applications and I think the people at TEDx will find the prospect of creating twodimensional monolayers of a variety of materials as exciting as I do!” MBR

Prof. Coleman’s team is now applying this technology to many other industrially important materials, for example by exfoliating monolayers of tantalum sulphide, a metallic conductor; boron nitride, an insulator; and molybdenum disulphide (MoS2), a semiconductor. These form the building blocks for nanoelectronics applications – but the significant element is that it is done in the EDITOR’S NOTE Jonathan Coleman is one of the world’s leading research scientists in nanotechnology and materials science and an internationally acknowledged expert on graphene. Often hailed as a ‘wonder material’, graphene is an engineered single-atom-thick layer of carbon which has some extraordinary properties. Graphene is made of super-tough carbon-nanotube fibres, is 100 times stronger than steel, conducts electricity better than copper, and is exceedingly light. It’s also a great capacitor with many uses in energy storage. Potential applications of graphene include aeroplane wings, flexible touch screens, bio-polymers in medicine, and 3D printing media. In 2008 he demonstrated a way of making large quantities of pure graphene by exfoliating it from graphite using ultrasound. Professor Coleman has been leading research in the field for the past ten years, he has published over 95 peer reviewed papers and is Professor at the School of Physics and the AMBER centre at Trinity College in Dublin. He was the recipient of a prestigious European Research Council Starter Grant in 2010 and his work is rated in the top 1% in the worlds of both chemistry and materials science. In 2010, Prof. Coleman received a European Research Council grant to support his research on “Semiconducting and Metallic nanosheets: Two dimensional electronic and mechanical materials”.

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Feature: erC StorieS

Malta Business Review

How to become invisible: tHe science beHind tHe fiction The idea of invisibility sounds like something out of science fiction: but could new research turn it from fiction into science?

The ambition behind Professor Leonhardt’s ERC- funded research is to trace the connections between abstract theoretical concepts, drawn from geometry and relativity, and their practical implications in fields from materials to photonics The fundamenTals of science

The ideas behind the science of invisibility seem to come from a fantastical realm outside the reach of the laboratory. Yet, the tools used to investigate this are not in themselves complicated. Prof. Leonhardt’s work explores the practicalities of invisibility: drawing on cutting-edge optical science which also has profound implications for relativity theory.

The science of The everyday This research is founded on the connection between geometry and optics: in exploring the space/time curvature for example. This kind of high-impact physics may seem remote from everyday life but the same physics governs the optics of magnifying glasses, or the displacement of objects in water. The best way to describe this process is to think of fish in an aquarium. We see the fish in places other than where they are actually located because the water has distorted the images. Our perception of space is then altered by the water, as our perception is created by the way in which light perceives the altered space.

The research team are testing this distinction by pushing it to extremes to see where it can be taken, and whether any new and intriguing ideas can be developed.

The mysteries of optics have interested scientists for over a thousand years. They have inspired research into what new technology can teach us about the intersection between physics and optics. Beyond this theoretical exploration, Prof. Leonhardt is tracing the potential practical applications: for example in the sharpness and resolution of imaging techniques, and the implications for quantum physics. The forces acting in a quantum vacuum are of particular interest for this project. Whilst these concepts seem abstract, Prof. Leonhardt explains that the vacuum is something we experience day-to-day: “These forces are what make a parking ticket stick to a windscreen.

Both surfaces are electrically neutral but they nonetheless attract each other. The forces are particularly important for micro-mechanical devices where they may cause parts of the machinery to get stuck. Our work should aid the development of frictionless devices. The quantum vacuum is also what drives particle behaviour at the event horizon, only on a cosmological scale. This research could shed light on the mysteries of dark energy, the repulsive force which energises the universe, but about which we understand very little.”

The appeal of opTics Prof. Leonhardt’s current line of research began fifteen years ago, when he was giving a lecture course on general relativity. The details of this were unfamiliar, and it prompted him to think about how to communicate it clearly, and to explore the connections between what he was teaching and his background in optics.

right they should be taken seriously, however peculiar they may seem. The significant thing is what they teach us.”

The world beyond The laboraTory Prof. Leonhardt’s research is highly imaginative, but the tools themselves are not particularly technical. He believes this is the source of his appeal to the TEDx audience.

He argues that the public can be “gripped by frontier research without even labelling it as such. They can then be made to understand that research takes time. We do not always need to think in terms of applications, though of course these can and do arise in the course of research. If we don’t support frontier research we will just carry on refining existing technologies. We may even run out of ideas.”

Discussing the TEDx event, Prof. Leonhardt is adamant that such dissemination events are vital because the science is “publicly funded and so the public should know where the money goes- that it is not wasted and that it produces interesting ideas and applications.”

The ERC funding is focused on the individual researcher, an emphasis which Prof.

Leonhardt argues ideally suits the generation of ideas. Flexibility fosters the kind of science where by definition you don’t know the answers yet. Also inspired by the relationship between imaginative literature, science and musics, he compares the science he does to an orchestra “where both the conductor and the varied musicians are necessary to complete the piece.” MBR

This project should enlarge our understanding of the world at both the small and the cosmological scale. Prof. Leonhardt emphasises that the ERC’s commitment to funding frontier research means that “ideas which may seem outrageous can be pursued. Because if they are EDITOR’S NOTE

Ulf Leonhardt joined the Weizmann Institute of Science as Professor of Physics in November 2012 after a distinguished international career. He received an ERC Advanced Grant in 2013. Ulf Leonhardt was born in Schlema, in former East Germany, on October 9th 1965. He studied physics at Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, at Moscow State University and at Humboldt University Berlin where he received his PhD in 1993. From 2000 until his appointment at the Weizmann Institute in 2012, he was the Chair in Theoretical Physics at the University of St Andrews, UK. Ulf Leonhardt also had various visiting positions: in 2008 he was a Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore and in 2011 at the University of Vienna; in 2012/13 he was an adjunct professor at South China Normal University. He is the first from former East Germany to win the Otto Hahn Award of the Max Planck Society. For his PhD thesis he received the Tiburtius Prize of the Senate of Berlin. In 2006 Scientific American listed him among the top 50 policy business and research leaders for his work on invisibility devices. In 2008 he received a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award and in 2009 a Theo Murphy Blue Skies Award of the Royal Society. In 2012 he received a thousand-talent award of China. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2012, Prof. Leonhardt received a European Research Council grant to support his research on “Transformation optics: cloaking, perfect imaging and horizons”.

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THE MALTA SME SUMMIT & B2B NETWORKING FORUM Portomaso Suite, Hilton Friday 28th November, 2014

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EvEnt of thE Month

“This mail to thank you and the team for a very, very interesting session at the Hilton last week. I really enjoyed the company and managed to meet quite a few business contacts to discuss various subjects.

I wanted to thank for the well organised event and I hope that many more like these will come to Malta.”

Flemming lippert, CeO, lippert global

“Well done for putting together a very interesting and very well attended event and workshops.”

nadine Sant, legal adviSOr

ministry for the economy, investments and Small Business

“Well done for Friday, I really enjoyed the sessions, in particular the workshop at the end.”

mandy Calleja

Coordinator: Corporate Identity, events & awareness raising Malta Communications Authority

Malta Business Review

“It was a pleasure participating in such a well organised and interesting conference.

I will definitely be attending in future. Well done for the conference, it was fantastic!”

lynSey SChemBri

Senior Statistician, PKF Accountants & Business advisors

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Business ManageMent

Malta Business Review

Best Practice -Part 2

You either lead, follow, or get out of the waY!

by Werner E. Jung

Recapitulating on part one of this article, “Best Practice is the best identified approach to a situation based upon observation from effective organisations in similar business circumstances” seems to be a common understanding. And we all live happily in mediocrity hereinafter…. Michael Porter expressed this in a more subtle but very distinct way in his landmark work “Competitive Strategy” – his words being: “Being stuck in the middle is a recipe for disaster”

J

ust to clarify things, there are places and situations where so called “Best Practices” are useful and necessary and in some cases even enforced by legislation. Examples are GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and food processing industry; or GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) along with all the ISO, DIN and SAE standards where quality and safety standards are concerned. All these “Best Practices” will not get you ahead of your competitors; they merely enable you to play with them.

Part one ended with the quote “ rethinking the past and present and reimagining the future, managers can construct a strategic narratives that enable innovation without necessarily having to break with the past.”

With strategic narratives we mean developing a vision and out of that vision constructing a strategy. Define your place where you want to be in the market with your products and services. You, as a leader, an entrepreneur need to make a story out of this strategy which can be understood and enthuses your partners, your employees and your customers; Want to get your point across? You’d better learn to tell stories. And as Porter says, a strategy is a path, not a fixed location.

We have to make a distinction between operational effectiveness, efficiency and strategic positioning.

In the past decades, thanks to such techniques like balanced scorecard, six sigma, lean management etc. the emphasis has been diverted to staying flexible, incorporating new ideas or developing core competencies, which actually have

positioned the view to internal matters, although, probably, unintentionally. I myself, with my teachings of the “Flexible Factory” ran into the danger that in the end my clients took to an internal view despite my constantly preaching that spending resources on internal improvements of efficiency was only effective if these actions meant benefits to the customers, thus improving the competitive position.

Unfortunately Best Practice has been largely identified with an internal focus. As this development is becoming more apparent, the focus is shifting more to strategy.

Spending resources on internal improvements of efficiency was only effective if these actions meant benefits to the customers Developing strategy is part of leadership and vision.

A new form of Best Practice has been developing over the past decades under such titles like social responsibility or sustainability. Today, in order to be successful in the marketplace a strategy must be compatible with the rules for socially desirable competitive behaviour, established by ethical standards and public policy. This type of development was foreseen in the late 70’s by scholars like Ed Bowman at MIT, when at the time we learned that the key objective was to maximise shareholder value. MBR To be continued…..

EDITOR’S NOTE

Werner E. Jung is active as a lecturer and consultant for international business and lean management. When he is not traveling he divides his time between Malta and the Bavarian Alps, Germany. He is a mechanical engineer from the Swiss Institute of Technology (ETH) and holds a Masters degree in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has worked as project manager and executive around the world for corporations like Sony, Daimler, Corning, Eli Lilly etc. and was the founder of several start-up companies in the US and Germany. During the past 15 years Mr. Jung has worked as an international consultant and lecturer where he advised companies like Siemens, Hyster, Yale, Flextronics, Atlas Copco, Tyco, Emerson, Bosch, Ingersoll Rand, Timken and many SMEs throughout Europe and the Middle East. He is the author Flexible Factory methodology designed for SMEs and the founder of the Flexible Factory Institute.

Term: A best practice is a method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark. In addition, a “best” practice can evolve to become better as improvements are discovered. Best practice is considered by some as a business buzzword, used to describe the process of developing and following a standard way of doing things that multiple organizations can use. Best practices are used to maintain quality as an alternative to mandatory legislated standards and can be based on self-assessment or benchmarking. Best practice is a feature of accredited management standards such as ISO 9000 and ISO 14001.

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21

Looking For The BesT in PeoPLe

by Piers Manning There’s something so friendly and identifiable about Richard Branson, it almost doesn’t add up. The intimidation factor is absent, considering his reported amassed fortune of £2.58 billion equals the GDI of several small nations. Combined.

Yet encountering the fifth wealthiest man in the UK, the emperor of the Virgin empire, it’s surprising to meet a billionaire who seems to have retained the values, ideals and personable humour of a modest, grounded upbringing.

“No matter who you are, people always have a perception that more often than not, doesn’t add up, or match,” he tells me, speaking on the phone en route to Luxembourg airport.

Knighted by the Queen in 2000, the philanthropist and auteur has always been a man of the world, extending a simple yet driven commercial blueprint into the areas of aviation, communications, and health and fitness; and across all four corners of the globe.

And naturally, for an individual of unstoppable ambition and self-belief, the world is simply not enough, and the soon to be grandfather of three, thanks to his expectant children, Holly and Sam, has set his sights squarely on conquering the stratosphere and beyond.

MBR: You are on the verge of launching Virgin Galactic, why did you laden your load with a book at the same time? Where do you fine the space in your schedule?

BRANSON: Early mornings on Necker Island, lots of notebooks that I have kept over the years that I have scribbled down in for much of my life, almost like a diary. And for the last four or five years, I have kept a diary effectively on social media, to share whats’ going on in my life on Twitter and Facebook. I have got lots of places to draw from. I am lucky enough to have had a fortunate life and learned a lot through it and you have to share it and I think it’s important to share with other people. And I have had 50 years in business- which is the most frightening notion I will tell you that – and I talk to students all the time, trying to help give them a leg up.

And sometimes it’s easier to include it in book form so it’s there forever, accessible to anyone who wants it.

MBR: The book is, in your words, an education on how to listen, laugh, learn and lead. All important lessons but what about leisure, knowing when to relax? Do you know how?

Is that an important component in the Virgin Way, especially following Virgin Galactic’s recent setback?

BRANSON: I do and you know what, I probably should have included it. Maybe I was a little foolhardy in ignoring it. I will include it in the next book. I truly believe that humanity’s greatest achievements come out of our greatest pain.

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It was a horrible day for Virgin Galactic, for commercial space travel- it’s a massive setback, but we have got to pick ourselves up and move forward. We learn to listen and laugh, but also cry, honouring the pilots for their bravery.

See I am a good listener and I have listened and taken that in. Look, for me, I have to be up in the morning, kitesurfing or playing tennis. If I am on the road I will still make sure to get on the exercise bike for an hour or if I am dictating letters, I will make sure I am walking when I am dictating and my poor assistants will be back in the hotel. I always want to do fun leisure things.

Like I recently climbed Mont Blanc with my children, kite-surfed across the English Channel.

I love training for really special events.

I truly believe that humanity’s greatest achievements come out of our greatest pain MBR: Sounds fantastic but I mean really chill out. Does Richard Branson ever just do nothing? Or is that your greatest fear?

BRANSON: I don’t fear it, that’s for sure. I don’t really have time to be fearful [laughs]. Call it what you will. I was raised by parents who wouldn’t let me watch television as a child, so I instead climbed trees and rescued cats from them, instead of watching people do it.

Operations are already well underway minus many, many setbacks and glitches for the world’s first commercial spaceflight, scheduled to be launched by Virgin Galactic in 2015. Though it was once penciled in for 2012 and lately the project was offset by the tragic accident will delay Virgin Galactic’s progress and may also result in more governmental oversight of the company and other firms that seek to launch paying customers to suborbital space.

‘Supposedly’ scheduled for a maiden voyage next Spring, which is now on hold, Branson’s Virgin Galactic fleet will travel skyward for an hour before reaching the designated distant of 15 kilometres above sea level, and for the first time in history, commercial passengers can spend a whole four minutes suspended in zero gravity, staring at the curvature of the world’s surface, before descending to earth.

Or at least that’s the plan. Speaking to MBR in support of his new book, The Virgin Way, his latest bible on how to succeed in business, simply by listening, learning, laughing and leading, Richard updates on the latest developments for his intergalactic fleet while getting personal about ageing, his lack of temper and why politics holds no interest.

MBR: So that’s a no then? You never just chill out?

BRANSON: [laughs] Every day is a new exciting day, and I love the variety of what I do, and the people I talk to and meet. My life is like one long university education, I to enjoy and do it all.

MBR: Virgin Galactic is the first of its kind, what has it been like to head up a project of this magnitude?

BRANSON: Fortunately, if we had started Virgin Galactic twenty years ago, we couldn’t have afforded to have hung on in there as long as we have clung on. Fortunately, Virgin is now is at the best of its capacity at which, if one of the components of the machine goes over budget, over schedule like Virgin Galactic has, we are able to dig deep and make sure we get the job done. What matters for Virgin Galactic, we are not just the first commercial company to take people into space, we are also launching it safely. And be sure of coming back again. For all those quizzing and asking about the delays, it’s space travel we are dealing with here. Actual rocket science, we have to make sure the entire operation runs perfectly. We have to ensure safety for all.

Getting the rockets absolutely right, so I feel comfortable going up with my children, and others feel comfortable going up with their kids in the years to come. Three months ago, the spaceship has been finished for some time, the mothership has been finished, the spaceport. We were just waiting on the

ExclusivE intErviEw of thE Month

Malta Business Review

rockets. And two teams, about a hundred people per team, luckily, both came good within a week so we had the fortunate luck to be able to choose between both. We are determined to honour the bravery of the pilots and teams here by learning from this tragedy. Only then can we move forward, united behind a collective desire to push the boundaries of human endeavor. We will reschedule a test flight into space, and then move out to Mexico, ready for our first proper flight.

MBR: Did you ever think you had bitten off more than you could chew?

Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, with models of the White Knight Two carrier aircraft (C) and the Spaceship Two (R) Photo: AFP/Getty Images

BRANSON: I never felt that, but that’s pretty normal for me. The people around me, that was a different story.

MBR: Like who?

BRANSON: People I work with; investors; I am sure some of my family. But you know, you only live once, the first ever company to take people into space, to put satellites into orbit for a fraction of what it already costs and maybe point to point travel. And maybe one day, space hotels, and maybe one day, mine asteroids and colonise planets; it’s worth biting off too much.

It’s worth going for it. It’s been hard work as I have genuinely said before but we are finally on the cusp.

MBR: Are you a worrier by nature?

BRANSON: No! If something’s going wrong, I will throw myself wholeheartedly into trying to save it or correct it. Or, get a balloon across the ocean or whatever. If I fail, at least I have done everything I can do to avoid disaster. And put it behind me. If you ask me about the worst moments in my life, I actually forget them because I put them behind me. I am somebody who is very positive, thinks positively and look for the good in everybody.

MBR: Getting older, do you not question your mortality?

BRANSON: I think, growing older is simply a fact of life. But, you can delay the inevitability, like I try to by kite-surfing and playing tennis and doing fun ways to do it. I’ll do it.

MBR: As a dedicated family man, it must have killed you over the years when you missed key moments while out on the road?

BRANSON: Fortunately, I didn’t. As I said in the book, delegation is critical for any leader so when the kids would be off school, we would go on holiday together. Yes, I would work but was lucky enough to buy a barren island in my twenties so I would be able to pack my bags and work from there. I was always around, and I have always worked from home. The kids grew up this way, I was having meetings with them around my feet. They have been trained since they were in nappies and now they’re very capable in helping dad out now that they’re no longer in nappies.

The Virgin Galactic Team with Sir Richard in the middle

I have spent time travelling around the world with the Global Drug Commission to try to get the laws changed around the world, to treat drugs as a health problem, not a criminal problem MBR: Have you ever considered a career in politics?

BRANSON: I have been approached but it’s not something I thought about. I speak out strongly against the issues I feel passionate about. For instance, I have spent time travelling around the world with the Global Drug Commission to try to get the laws changed around the world, to treat drugs as a health problem, not a criminal problem.

Places that are, like Portugal are getting on top of the problem, and not imprisoning people. There’s a lot of issues in the world, conflict resolution, species protection or global warming issues that I spend a lot of time on. But I’m not interested into getting involved in party politics.

MBR: Can I ask who approached you?

BRANSON: Ehh, let’s just say I wasn’t interested.

MBR: Which part of your empire do you treasure the most?

BRANSON: I love new babies, and the birth of a new child, obviously so Virgin Galactic is the new baby for the next few months.

But I have tremendous love for Virgin Atlantic. She was once a new baby, but has now grown up, 30 years old daughter, who was once bullied at school by British Airways but has since grown up to be delightful and has been a great success all around the world.

MBR: In the book, you speak about your propensity to give second chance and always offer the benefit of the doubt to someone, to your employees? But can you talk about an instance where you lost the head, and do you have a temper?

BRANSON: I don’t, only because it would be counterproductive to oneself. My parents never thought ill of anybody. As a child, they would get us to stand in front of the mirror for five minutes because it said it reflected so badly on yourself. So from that, you look for the best in people, and want the best for people. And it’s much more productive all round. MBR All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2014 Courtesy: TIP

EDITOR’S NOTE Entrepreneur Richard Branson launched Virgin Records in 1973. Today Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies in more than 30 countries. Richard Branson struggled in school and dropped out at age 16—a decision that ultimately lead to the creation of Virgin Records. His entrepreneurial projects started in the music industry and expanded into other sectors making Branson a billionaire.

His Virgin Group holds more than 200 companies, including the recent Virgin Galactic, a space-tourism company. Branson is also known for his adventurous spirit and sporting achievements, including crossing oceans in a hot air balloon. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Forthcoming EvEnt

Malta Business Review

MALTA’s PREMIER MARKETING & B2B NETWORKING CONVENTION The ImporTance of markeTIng & InvesTIng In growTh for smes

Powered by:

Date: 27th February, 2015 | Venue: MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE CENTRE, VALLETTA, MALTA

Whether it’s building customer loyalty, increasing sales, improving lead generation, or driving greater consumer engagement, the Marketing & B2B Networking Convention has been specifically designed to help attendees develop their audience and build traffic, create brand awareness, improve customer service, and develop better use of digital tools internally to drive more productive business outcomes.

As any person involved in marketing knows, knowledge and insight are critical to successful marketing and people performance.

Marketers, marketing and sales executives, top level executives and DMUs from various Corporate Organisations, together with leading marketing experts, politicians and marketing graduates gather at the Portomaso Suite, Hilton on the 27th February, 2014, to share knowledge and insights during the Marketing & B2B Networking Convention sponsored by Malta Enterprise.

We invite anyone involved in marketing and this also includes innovators, senior marketers and branders, entrepreneurs, digital executives and professionals, web and mobile strategists, designers and web project managers, business leaders, business developers, agency executives and their teams and anyone else who operates in the digital community will attend to learn and leverage digital, mobile, and social media marketing.

This event will be attracting participants from a wide variety of the marketing and corporate business community, managerial and entrepreneurial ranging from Financial Services, Business Services to Retail to Hospitality, to ICT, as well as manufacturing, including SMEs and also higher educational or vocational colleges. More than half of the attendees

are senior directors, CEOs, business owners and DMUs hailing from Malta’s key business management, financial and economic sectors.

A broad mix of high profile keynote speakers from different walks of the business community, including guest speaker from LEGO, two Ministers from the Government of Malta, including a Parliamentary Commissioner, a German senior lecturer, topmost SME experts, business owners and senior executives will be attending during the conference.

ICT companies, exhibitors and sponsors will be on hand to provide a showcase of latest technology, including robotics from MITA and also a dedicated Marketing booth with latest graduate courses, events, opportunities and developments, which will allow interested learners find tailor made courses for their business management and marketing solutions to meet their needs. Exhibitors at the event will include a microcosm of the Maltese corporate landscape.

Participants at the summit will be informed about the latest developments in marketing, marketing issues and marketing educational matters. Business owners from several leading SMEs in Malta, will be invited to take centre stage as speakers during the morning conference sessions and afternoon workshops designed as a crucial resource for senior business management and professionals working in small to mid-size businesses. Topics will also include: •

New Markets- New Customers

•

Internationalisation - Development of Export initiatives for SMEs, Brokerage and Networking Events

•

Digital Agenda & Social Media

•

ERDF - Research and Development Grant Scheme MBR

PROGRAMME 08:00

Registration & Welcome Coffee

09:00

Welcome Address by Conference Chairman Dr Mario Vella, Chairman Malta Enterprise

09:20

Address by the Hon Minister for the Economy, ICT, Investments & Small Business The Hon Dr Chris Cardona Digital Agenda & Digital Marketing & Enterprise Europe Network -

09:30

Speech by the Hon Minister for Education Dr Evarist Bartolo Malta Education Overview on Marketing Education and Developing of Marketing Education and Skill Sets for SMEs (Special Guest Speaker: Prof Edward DeBono*)

10:00

Presentation and Synopsis by Benjamin Duve, LEGO Role and Importance of Market Research - How it has influenced and is utilised in LEGO today.

10:30

NetworkiNg MorNiNg Coffee Break

11:15

A presentation by Honorary Professor Louis Naudi,

11:35

Presentation by Keynote Speaker Anamaria Magri Pantea (TBC), Chief Officer External Relations, Malta Communications Authority Advancing eCommerce and Innovation in Communications in Malta

11:15/20

Cain Grech, Manager (Policy Administration), Malta Enterprise Making the Choice: How to Develop a Winning Growth Strategy with Business First

11:30

Paul Gauci - Training and Development Professional The Right Marketing Mix for SMEs in manufacturing and exporting

12:00

NetworkiNg LuNCh By pre-BookiNg

13:30

David J Dingli, Workshop 1: The Importance of Marketing Research in SME organisational success Workshop 2: BEST PRACTICE: The Entrepreneurial Journey – Probability of Success and How to Avoid Pitfalls

13:30

CLosiNg reMarks By ChairMaN www.maltabusinessreview.net

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SMEs

n this day and age where market variables are changing constantly and competitive pressures keep piling, specialisation is a must. Thus, the Bank invested in a network of regional Centres that are fully dedicated to support small and medium sized businesses through the provision of value-added financial services.

The Business Centres are aligned to its customer-centric vision that sees the Bank focussing strategically on developing long-term working relationships with its customers. Having an intimate knowledge of its clients has always distinguished Bank of Valletta. This is why branches are generally found in the square, only a few metres away from the village church, where locals congregate regularly. And this is why the Bank developed a network of six regional Business Centres, trying to get as close as possible to its customers.

Set up ten years ago, feedback received from clients shows that the Bank’s Business Centres have been successful in achieving their set objective of reaching out to the business community whose needs have outgrown general banking services. They currently handle around €430 million in exposures, catering for more than 2,700 clients and sole traders, spread across a variety of economic sectors.

Malta Business Review

BOV Business Centres the stepping stOne fOr sMes

by Albert Frendo

Positioning itself as the ‘Bank of Choice for SMEs’ is much more than a statement for Bank of Valletta. It is an in-depth commitment that cuts across the organisation; starting from the executive management team and cascading across the Bank to include each and every employee. It requires the Bank to adopt a lean model of operation which permits it to swiftly translate thorough screening of the marketing environment into product designs and a workforce that has an intimate knowledge of both the solutions available and the customer needs.

Every Centre hosts a small nucleus of professionally trained relationship managers, so every client has a designated person to follow his progress over the years, putting them in a unique position to guide the client through the whole context, seeing their business plan in the light of market trends, of product development cycles, of macroeconomic developments, cash flows and overall profitability and sustainability. This is particularly true for SMEs who constitute the lion share of the Business Centre customers. Their size rarely allows them to have dedicated marketing and accounting executives. In addition, the Bank is able to guide them towards specialised areas like trade finance and EU funding, also through the support of its Representative Office in Brussels.

Speaking about the Bank’s Business Centres, Albert Frendo, Chief Officer Credit at Bank of Valletta, describes the Centres as hubs which provide SMEs with the necessary day-to-day support necessary for them to achieve their growth potential. The Bank is very much aware that SMEs are at the heart of Malta’s economic generation and they have their own particular needs which can only be satisfied through the provision of a specialised focus and skills set together with a suite of products which are particularly tailor made for the sector.

“This is what lies at the core of Bank of Valletta’s tag line – your success is our goal. The Bank does not promote short term quick fixes. Instead it offers tailor-made solutions to ensure a best fit to each and every business customer whilst maintaining a prudent approach in managing the risk factor for both the Bank and the customer. As bankers, we are continuously undertaking a ‘balancing act’ – balancing our customers’ enthusiasm and dreams with their long-term interest and viability. The latter may, in instances necessitate financial discipline and possibly taking a clinical approach in respect of the fundamentals underpinning the initial business idea. This is, however, a critical factor which will ensure that an entrepreneur’s vision is transformed into a robust reality and that the business remains sustainable in the longer term.” MBR Albert Frendo is BOV’s Chief Officer Credit Issued by Bank of Valletta p.l.c. Zachary Street Valletta Bank of Valletta p.l.c. is a credit institution authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority. www.maltabusinessreview.net

27

The Secret History of the Christmas Carol

by Rupert Christiansen

Begun By pagans, kept alive By peasants – RupeRt ChRistiansen tRaCes the suRpRising oRigins of ouR favouRite seasonal songs

E

very December in my distant childhood, my snobbish aunt Delphine would visit from Bordeaux and cast a generally sceptical eye over our preparations for Christmas. She didn’t approve of turkey or tinsel, insisted that presents should be exchanged on Boxing Day and found the pantomime repellently vulgar. What she objected to most, however, was our repertory of carols.

She had her own chants de Noël, mostly turgidly sentimental, and she bored me rigid by intoning all verses of Les Anges dans nos campagnes and Il est né, le divin enfant at my bedside. Don’t you know God rest ye merry, gentlemen? I would ask her. “Mais non, c’est quelque chose affreuse et Protestante,” she retorted. But she knew Silent Night, which she sang tremulously as Nuit paisible.

This was my first lesson in the complex history of a remarkable corpus of songs that vary and intersect from country to country, according to religious persuasion and often transmitted orally rather than in print. In Britain, carol singing seems part of an essentially Victorian tradition that we take for granted. But its origins are more ancient and obscure, and not necessarily much to do with Jesus’s nativity at all.

Even the word itself is a mystery. Scholars can’t decide whether “carol” derives from the Greek choros (chorus) or the Old French caroler (to sing), and until the last century it was often used without a Christmas connotation to describe any folk song associated with a religious festival.

Carols don’t even have to be Christian.

Many of them, such as The Holly and the Ivy, have their roots in pagan fertility myth, and because they also might serve to stoke riotous dancing and debauchery, ecclesiastics have often been sniffy about admitting them into their services. Until 1782, While Shepherds watched their Flocks was the only carol officially sanctioned for singing within the Church of England.

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So an important distinction needs to be to be made between Christmas songs and Christmas hymns. The former category ranges from I saw three ships and Here we come a wassailing to Jingle Bells and the latest chart-busting Christmas number one – these may refer to Christian themes or imagery but fundamentally, they are just to be sung for fun.

The latter stretches back to the meditations on the nativity written by Franciscan friars and such evocative medieval masterpieces as Adam lay y-bounden and the Corpus Christi Carol, all the way up to Once in Royal David’s City and Away in a Manger – both of which were first published in the mid19th century and which feature verses that often sentimentally depart from biblical orthodoxy (pace The First Nowell, none of the gospels mention shepherds who “looked up and saw a star”, and Christina Rossetti is positively heretical when in In the Bleak Midwinter, she asserts that “Our God, heaven cannot hold him”).

A church service which began in the late 19th century, and which is staged, most famously, in the chapel of King’s College Cambridge, every Christmas Eve Antiquarians began researching and preserving carols in the early 19th century, but nobody has done more to try to sort out the muddles than the great composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1874-1958), a gentleman of romantic socialist principles who was deeply fascinated by the interlinked history of English church and folk music.

Either bicycling or on foot and often bearing cumbersome wax-disc recording machines, he and colleagues such as Cecil Sharp,

Percy Grainger and Gustav Holst, intrepidly trawled southern England’s villages, pubs, farms and churches in search of peasants bearing witness to an oral musical culture that was in danger of being lost.

In his collection The English Hymnal, which he then edited with Percy Dearmer for the Church of England, Vaughan Williams used some of what he found in an attempt to select the best and most authentic carols and standardise their tunes and texts.

This pioneering work had its fruit in the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, a church service which began in the late 19th century, and which is staged, most famously, in the chapel of King’s College Cambridge, every Christmas Eve. This concert of music and bible readings, broadcast by the BBC, always opens

Christmas Feature

with the haunting sound of a lone choirboy singing Once in Royal David’s City and includes a newly commissioned carol; the lessons are read by college members and local dignitaries.

But, despite the popularity of both the King’s College broadcast and Carols for Choirs, a definitive collection of carols beloved by choirs up and down the country, there has, in general, over the past several decades, been a debasement of communal and church music. With church attendance in decline, music lessons disappearing from many primary schools and local councils promoting multi-ethnic “winter” festivities rather than Christmas, the question has to be asked: does carol singing have a future?

Andrew Gant believes our society would be the poorer without them. An Oxford-

based choirmaster and former director of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, who sang at the Royal Wedding in 2011, he has just published an entertaining and informative history book, Christmas Carols: From Village Green to Church Choir.

It is a paean to the power of carols to, as Gant puts it, “summon up a special kind of midwinter mood… a kind of magic.” He acknowledges that outdoor itinerant singing is a dying tradition, today manifesting itself most commonly in groups collecting for charity in shopping malls and station forecourts. But he is nevertheless, relatively sanguine about the survival of the carol.

Schools, for example, should not have a problem with carol singing, however multicultural they might be. “Carols aren’t

Malta Business Review

doctrinally exclusive or the sole domain of middle-class Anglicans,” he says.

His book points out the many variations that exist of some of our most popular carols.

There are, for instance, 40 different “musical settings” for Away in a Manger. Tunes and words we think of as being as British as a Beefeater are just as likely to have originated in the Basque country, Poland or the Appalachian Mountains as an English cathedral close.

“The point is that carols reach across all divides and unite everyone with their underlying Christmas message of peace and goodwill to all,” says Gant. “And I suppose that is the thought that inspired me to compile this book.” MBR All Rights Reserved | Copyright 2014 Source: TIP/ The Daily Telegraph Continues Page 47 www.maltabusinessreview.net

29

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special feature: state of the economy

creating sustainable growth in an uncertain world

MALTA’S STRONG ECONOMIC GROWTH AT 3.8% CONTINUES TO LEAD IN EUROGROUP The latest published figure of 3.8% real growth by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Eurostat confirm, yet again, the robustness of the Maltese economy.

Special Feature

Malta Business Review

Malta’s Strong and Thriving Economy Foreword by the Hon. Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat 23 November 2014

M

alta has achieved encouraging results which are among some of the best we have ever had. The EU said that we are smooth sailing in choppy waters. The best credit rating, for me, comes from the people who are at home.

As I said recently, I pledge to never put my head in the sand and I shall ensure we never rest our laurels to improve the quality of life in Malta.

Twenty one months ago, Labour got to work on its plan to achieve economic growth, putting more people to work, creating more wealth and reducing the deficit. Back then we were accused of promising pie in the sky and pursuing a course that could even lead to a bailout.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Last year proved that our economic plan is working. Malta is succeeding and families are being rewarded for their hard work.

Our focus for 2015 is to cement these achievements and set the bar even higher. The Budget for next year is focused on long-term reforms that successive governments failed to tackle. They cover several areas, including energy, health and transport, among others.

Most importantly, we are not taking the easy route of relying on one-off initiatives to achieve growth and cut the deficit.

We have the highest employment levels ever recorded. We have historic low levels of unemployment. We will not stop here. Next year’s drive to get people off social welfare and into employment will mark a culture change. We want fewer people on benefits and even more people working and contributing to our growing economy.

Free childcare, the youth guarantee, and the introduction of active labour market policies in 2014 paved the way for these results.

More women are working, while inactive young people have been encouraged to take up work. These first steps reaped results, but are not enough. Driving people into work not only helps our economy.

It gives a sense of personal dignity and improves society in general.

All major social reforms, I believe, start from the basic idea of having more people actively contributing to society.

I, for one, will not accept a situation where people sit on their couches waiting to get paid for doing nothing. Social welfare is there as a last resort safety net. For all those who can contribute, the only option is to work to a living. This difficult route will in the end achieve one of Labour’s biggest targets as a progressive party: closing the gap between those who have fallen behind and those who are forging ahead in life.

We are not doing this by keeping people who are well-off from moving forward. Rather, this is a bottom-up approach, moving people up the ladder through a carrot-and-stick approach. For some families there will be a payment of up to €1,000 per child, a substantial top-up when both parents are working. While doing this, we are also making sure people are not burdened by rising

costs. For the second consecutive year the price of electricity for families remains 25 per cent lower from the time we took office.

From March 2015, the reduction will be extended to businesses.

That is a further €50 million injection into the economy, lowering costs and providing a stimulus for enterprises to expand. This Budget gave a major boost to the concept of public-private partnerships.

The government is committed to working with the private sector to improve the quality of services and kick-start projects.

Being among the best in Europe is not a tagline anymore, it is becoming a reality. We are among the top-ranking EU countries for people in work. Our growth figures are going up and our deficit is going down. The European Commission and credit rating agencies have had words of praise for our country, recognising that Malta is moving in the right direction.

There will be mistakes along the way because this government is not infallible. I am happy with the general direction of most decisions being taken, but mindful that it easy to err.

As a progressive government we believe that we do not have to choose between having a strong economy or a fair economy. We can have both. We will work together to achieve long-term progress.

Joseph Muscat

Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta Courtesy: DOI | Special Thanks: OPM Speech and contents also available online at: https://www.facebook.com/josephmuscatdotcom?sk=notes www.maltabusinessreview.net

33

Encouraging Effort and invEstmEnt

by Martin Vella

Following Finance Minister Prof Edward Scicluna’s 2015 budget presentation, we sit down with the Minister, who tell us his budget is a vision statement that is aimed at encouraging effort and investment, and has further extended the ‘make work pay’ principle into new policy areas such as social welfare. Speaking to MBR in an exclusive interview, Prof Scicluna said that it’s a directional budget aimed to uphold the fiscal deficit target for this year as set by the government

MBR: How have the previous annual budgets influenced the current budget?

with a spending total target in compliance with these operative fiscal rules.

ES: Nowadays due to the European Semester, the budget process is completely different from that of a few years ago. It is more medium-term oriented, more pinned within an economic framework, and much more subject to surveillance.

Apart from the commitments required by the EU, the budget also builds on the previous one in terms of policies and political direction. Whereas, the budget from 2014 aimed to ensure stability, instil confidence, launch a series of reforms, and institute the ‘make work pay’ principle to encourage labour participation (especially among women), the budget for 2015 moves a further step forward by encouraging effort and investment, and has further extended this ‘make work pay’ principle into new policy areas such as social welfare.

In fact following the European financial crisis, EU budgetary surveillance systems have been strengthened, and a new budgetary timeline for the euro area has been introduced. The rules, introduced through the so-called “Six Pack” and the “Two Pack” laws, are intended to help Member States deliver on their budgetary and reform commitments.

It is against this background that the 2015 budgetary targets are formulated. They are built upon a rolling three-year mediumterm budgetary framework for expenditure commitments and revenue targets, together 34

MBR: What is the main focus of the budget 2015 and how do you intend to reduce expenditure so as to bring down the fiscal deficit?

ES: First of all, we should define what this budget is not. It is not an accounting exercise.

It is, instead, an economic budget which offers people opportunities to improve their standard of living, and rewards hard-working people. It also aims to remove obstacles to local businesses and enterprises, while at the same time assisting lower income earners.

Strengthening the skill and educational levels of the workforce will also be given priority.

A number of fiscal consolidation measures are envisaged in order to mitigate the pressure of higher expenditure commitments A number of structural reforms, particularly in the transport and energy sectors, are expected to exert a notable impact on public

IntervIew wIth FInance MInIster

finances. On the other hand, a number of fiscal consolidation measures are envisaged in order to mitigate the pressure of higher expenditure commitments, especially in the health and education sectors. The fiscal targets in the 2015 Budget will also be supported by a range of structural economic policies, as outline in this year’s National Reform Programme. These include the implementation of a number of supplyside policies aimed at raising the country’s potential growth whilst ensuring responsible environmental management and social cohesion.

This Government is also determined to reach the declared fiscal targets. However, unlike the previous administration, it is doing this with a well-defined plan. Surely, we are not being complacent. As part of this plan, a comprehensive spending review (CSR) was launched last year as a primary part of the Government’s mediumterm framework.

MBR: How will the budget engage to abolish social benefit abuse, promote hard work, and introduce unprecedented private sector partnerships?

ES: The Budget for 2015 is based on the principle of ‘making work pay’, which was first introduced in last year’s budget, and is being expanded further in this budget. This will be achieved by ensuring that the social security system positively incentives work effort and discourages dependency, while introducing a set of measures to support families on low income. Families on benefits will not be penalised for taking up employment, but instead will be rewarded.

An unprecedented number of measures in this regard have been announced. Among them the In-Work Benefit which is directly linked to work effort. The tapering of social benefits for single mother was also introduced, whereby single parents who become employed can retain 65% of their social assistance in the first year, 45% in the second year and 25% in the third year.

The Youth Guarantee was also strengthened in such a way that new claimants under the age of 23, will take up this scheme if they want to receive benefits. For 2015 alone, more than 700 traineeships and 200 work trails will be financed.

Budget 2015 also embodies the Government’s determination to facilitate access to work for women, through measures such as the free childcare centres that will encourage women to join the workforce while also addressing obstacles that prevent or discourage them from doing so.

Furthermore, the Budget 2015 aims to enhance the competitiveness of the Maltese economy through a number of public-private partnerships, reduction in utility tariffs and other incentives to encourage entrepreneurship.

Currently Malta has the lowest tax wedge on labour amongst EU Member States

MBR: Further revenue in indirect taxation equivalent to 0.3% of GDP will be placed on consumer goods and services, and 0.06% of GDP will come from a revision in fees on market output, to compensate for the revenue lost due to the lowering of income tax bands. The Chamber of Commerce expressed its worry over these indirect tax increases and interprets this as a potential increase in Excise Duties and other indirect taxes on top of the increases already effected at the last Budget. Do you agree?

ES: Modern economic thinking, and as supported by international policy advice, is in favour of reducing direct taxation on labour and private enterprise and shifting it on consumption.

Furthermore, this budget seeks to make more use of environmental taxes. Up to now, environmentally-based taxes in Malta represented by the system of ecocontribution taxes had serious operational shortcomings. This resulted in a situation whereby environmental taxes have a negative notation. This budget seeks to readdress this by starting a reform in these taxes whereby local operators are not put at a disadvantage.

Malta Business Review

Currently Malta has the lowest tax wedge on labour amongst EU Member States, and we are determined to ensure that this remains so. This is contributing to more job creation.

MBR: How does the budget focus on issues of stability and growth, and how is it protecting and promoting the interests of the working class, creating new jobs and business opportunities, improving roads, arresting over-development, protecting the environment, strengthening healthcare and reforming education?

ES: During the last year, Government’s commitment to achieving macroeconomic stability and to ensuring a higher level of certainty for local and foreign investors has paid off in terms of growing business activity, job creation and higher consumption. This stable environment will be maintained by further decreasing the cost of utility tariffs and through the further involvement of the private sector.

Economic growth wets the appetite of private investors and in turn contributes to further growth. Higher public revenues in turn, can sustain a higher standard in education and in public health care.

MBR: Those individuals that had never owned immovable property in Malta and who purchased this property as a residence during 2014 were being offered a onetime concession. How is this concession being extended through the Malta Budget 2015 up to the 30th of June 2015 and how will it work?

ES: In the 2014 Budget, the Government gave a one-time concession whereby firsttime buyers that have never owned an immovable property before 1st of January 2014, and that were going to finalise their contract in 2014, were exempt from paying the 3.5 per cent duty on the first €150,000 of the residential property bought.

This measure proved to be very successful as it boosted the construction industry and helped first-time buyers to access the property market as the latter saved up to €5,250 on their first residence.

Having reached its intended positive consequences, the scheme will come to a close by the end of June 2015. MBR All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE Hon. Professor Edward Scicluna is a member of Parliament and Malta’s Minister for Finance. Last year Prof. Scicluna assumed the chairmanship of the European Investment Bank Board of Governors (EIB), and vice-chairmanship of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Until 2013 he was a member of the European Parliament (MEP), served as Vice-Chair of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, and a member of the European Statistical Advisory Committee (ESAC). Prof. Scicluna graduated from the University of Oxford with a Diploma with distinction in politics and economics, from the University of Malta with a First Class Honours BA degree in Economics, and the University of Toronto with a Masters and Doctorate in Economics. Previous appointments include that of Professor and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Malta, Chairman of the Malta Financial Services Authority, Chairman of the Malta Council of Economic and Social Development, Board Director of the Central Bank of Malta, and Electoral Commissioner. Internationally he carried out consultancy work for the European Commission, UNESCO, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), and the Governments of Albania, Croatia, Libya and Turkey. He also served on the Council of Europe Development Bank Auditing Committee. He was frequently sought for economic advice by the IMF annual Article IV mission to Malta and the Rating Agencies FitchIbca, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s. Prior to Malta’s entry into the Eurozone he was appointed as a Euro expert for Malta by the EU Commission. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Budget 2015 SuMMary HigHligHtS: ► Economic growth is projected to reach 3.0 per cent in 2014 and accelerate further to 3.5 per cent in 2015. ► The Maltese economy is expected to continue growing over the 2016-2017 period, rising by 3.4 per cent in 2016, and slowly converge to its potential and reach 2.9 per cent in 2017. ► Employment growth is expected to maintain a strong momentum and rise by an average of 2.0 per cent in 2014 and 2015. ► Inflation should remain relatively low during this year at an average of 0.7 per cent but is expected to increase moderately to 1.5 per cent in 2015 ► After bringing the deficit down from 3.7 per cent in 2012 to 2.7 per cent of GDP in 2013 the Government is aiming to reach a deficit target of 2.1 per cent of GDP for this year, and to continue on this path of fiscal consolidation and further reduce the deficit to 1.7 per cent of GDP in 2015. ► A number of structural reforms, particularly in the transport and energy sectors, are expected to exert a notable impact on public finances.

► A number of fiscal consolidation measures are envisaged in order to mitigate the impact of higher expenditure commitments. The fiscal targets in the 2015 Budget will also be supported by a range of structural economic policies as presented in this year’s National Reform Program. These include the implementation of a number of supply-side policies aimed at raising the country’s potential growth whilst ensuring responsible environmental management and social cohesion. ► The Budget for 2015 is based on the strategy of making work pay. This will be achieved by ensuring that the social security system positively incentivises work effort and discourages dependency, while introducing measures to strengthen social cohesion and reduce poverty for families on low income. Strengthening the skill and educational levels of the workforce will also be given priority. ► The Budget for 2015 aims to enhance the competitiveness of the Maltese economy through a number of public-private partnerships, reduction in utility tariffs and other incentives to encourage entrepreneurship.

MacroeconoMic review and outlook ► The Maltese economy continued to grow by an average rate of 3.2 per cent in real terms in the first half of 2014. Strong increases were registered primarily in the service sectors, including the professional, scientific and technical activities, the administration and support services activities, and the information and communication activities. ► Compensation of employees increased by 5.6 per cent (or €93.4 million) as growth in employee compensation was recorded in all sectors of the economy, with the exception of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector. ► Gross operating surplus and mixed income increased moderately by €26.7 million or 1.7 per cent during the same period. Meanwhile, taxes 36

on production and imports increased by an average rate of 11.9 per cent, while subsidies on production and imports increased by 19.3 per cent. ► Labour market developments strengthened markedly during the first half of 2014, as gains in employment were coupled with a falling unemployment rate. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) recorded an employment rate of 61.6 per cent in the second quarter of 2014, a 1.0 percentage point increase when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2013. ► The official harmonised unemployment rate stood at 5.9 per cent which is lower than the rate prevailing in 2013 and the rates recorded in the Euro Area (11.6 per cent) and the European Union (10.3 per cent).

Special Feature: State oF the economy

Malta Business Review

econoMic ForecaSt The Maltese economy is expected to retain the positive momentum in the second half of 2014. Overall growth in 2014 is expected to reach 3.0 per cent in real terms, and will continue to be supported primarily by positive developments in the domestic sector of the economy. Indeed, private consumption is expected to increase by 2.1 per cent in real terms, sustained by robust growth in employment and real disposable income, the latter driven by an appreciation in wages, lower energy prices, and lower income tax rates.

During 2015, economic growth is set to accelerate, growing by 3.5 per cent in real terms, with domestic demand remaining the main driver.

However, the negative trade gap forecasted for 2014 is expected to be reversed, with net exports contributing positively to economic growth.

Domestic demand is expected to be supported by a positive performance in both private and public consumption expenditure and gross fixed capital formation. Positive external developments are expected to be primarily underpinned by favorable exchange rates developments, whilst the foreseen recovery in imports is largely reflecting strong domestic conditions. The macroeconomic forecasts

for 2015 and beyond are based on a no policy change approach.

The Maltese economy is expected to continue growing over the 20162017 period, rising by 3.4 per cent in 2016, whilst growth is expected to slowly converge to its potential and reach 2.9 per cent in 2017.

Potential Growth and CyCliCal Conditions The average potential output growth stood at 2.1 per cent during the period 2006 to 2013. Over the forecast period 2014 to 2017, potential output growth is expected to exhibit a gradual increase. In fact, average potential growth is expected to hover around the 2.9 per cent level, mainly underpinned by positive developments in the labour market through higher participation rates, improvements in investment and improvements in the total factor productivity.

The output gap is expected to remain negative in 2014. However, in 2015 the output gap is expected to turn positive and to remain so over the forecast horizon with the Maltese economy registering a rate of economic growth that is above potential over the 2015 and 2016 period, with growth reverting to potential in 2017.

FiScal review and outlook ► Fiscal deficit: 2012 – 3.7 per cent of GDP 2013 – 2.7 per cent of GDP

The Government is committed to continue on a path of fiscal consolidation and further reduce the deficit to 2.1 per cent of GDP this year and to 1.6 per cent of GDP in 2015.

Despite the reduction in the deficit, a strong economic recovery, and the attainment of a primary surplus, the national debt ratio increased to 69.8 per cent of GDP on account of a debt-increasing stock-flow adjustment.

This is expected to stabilize the increase in the debt ratio in 2014, which is then expected to embark on a downward trajectory reaching 69.0 per cent of GDP in 2015.

► Sustainable Public Finances The sustainability of public finances is seen by the Government as a prerequisite for attracting investment and for supporting the Government’s role in the economic, social, health and environmental dimensions

► Expenditure and Revenue Targets for 2015 - 2017 During 2015, the general Government deficit is projected to decline by a further 0.5 percentage points of GDP from 2.1 per cent to 1.6 per cent.

► Budgetary Developments and Targets

► Debt Levels: Developments and Targets

The Government has upheld its commitment to reach a deficit target of 2.1 per cent of GDP by the end of this year, as stated in the Update of the Stability Programme of April 2014, and the Draft Budgetary Plan of October 2014.

During 2014, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to increase to 70.1 per cent from a level of 69.8 per cent registered in 2013. In 2015, the debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to fall by 1.1 percentage points of GDP mainly on account of a positive primary surplus.

a Sound FiScal FraMework leading to tHe 2015 Budget - Expenditure Ceilings and the Medium - Term Budget Framework- Comprehensive Spending Review - National Medium-Term Fiscal Plan - October 2014 Draft Budgetary Plan for 2015 - Updates of the 3-year Medium-Term Fiscal Plan to the 2015 Budget

► Structural Budgetary Conditions and the Medium-Term Objectives In 2014, a fiscal consolidation effort of 0.6 percentage points is supported by a structural effort of 0.3 percentage points of GDP. In 2015, the structural effort is projected to be 0.2 percentage points. It is however pertinent to note the higher equity injection in Air Malta in 2015 equivalent to 0.34 per cent of GDP. This equity injection partly offsets the fiscal consolidation measures undertaken in 2015.

Main Budget 2015 MeaSureS Many different measures are introduced in the Maltese Budget 2015, for example; ► With effect of the 1st January 2015, the 35% of Capital Gain Tax will be replaced by an 8% Final Withholding Tax (FWT) applicable to traders and nontraders alike. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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C

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Providing development opportunities that empower young people to create

positive change in

our communities.

info@jci.org.mt www.jci.org.mt

#FeedYourDreams #FollowYourPassion

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HigHer education

Malta Business Review

COURSES STARTING SOON The eie Institute of Education is now 14 years old. The eie acronym stands for – Excellence in Education. Excellence is confirmed by the student and graduate testimonials that eie regularly receives from satisfied customers. eie has grown into an established organisation both in Malta and internationally. Apart from locals, the institute hosts foreigners who choose Malta and eie as a place to further their education.

One can opt to follow part-time, distance

learning or lecture based programmes, which are carefully designed to be both enticing and versatile – what our working students require while studying and coping with their busy lives. Our education will help students reach their goals as a highly qualified professional individual to play important roles globally both in commerce and industry. All academic programmes are approved by the NCFHE, as per local regulations governing tertiary educational programmes.

EIE Institute of Education is licensed by the Ministry of Education as an Institute of Further and Higher Education - (License Number: 2005-TC-001) MBR

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Advanced Diploma (MQF Level 6), Diploma (MQF Level 5), Certificate (MQF Level 4) in Accounting & Finance (Covered by Get Qualified Scheme)

Strategic Management- 16 sessions of 3 hours each

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Organisational Behaviour- 16 sessions of 3 hours each International Trade & Transport- 12 sessions of 3 hours each Maritime Security & Safety Management- 12 sessions of 3 hours each Buyer Behaviour & Consumerism- 6 sessions of 3 hours each Financial Decision Making- 16 sessions of 3 hours each Structure of Tourism & Travel- 16 sessions of 3 hours each Programming- 16 sessions of 3 hours each Journalism- 8 sessions of 3 hours each

A certificate of attendance will be presented to those students who attend at least 90% of the lectures.

To guarantee individual attention, classes are limited to small numbers, so early booking is recommended.

We invite you to call eie on 21332804 or 21332805 or email us on info@eie-group.com for any assistance.

Diploma (MQF Level 5), Certificate (MQF Level 4) in Journalism

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39

MBR: Can you begin with an overview of your current operations?

EVM: Legislative, regulatory and the many operational developments that have taken place over the course of the 23 years since the Malta Stock Exchange commenced operations have ensured that today the Exchange operates an internationally recognized regulated market which successfully fulfills its primary role as an effective venue to raise capital.

The Exchange provides a structure for admission of financial instruments to the two listing boards, which then may be traded on a fully electronic order book, regulated, transparent and orderly secondary market through authorized Members.

The Exchange also offers a very comprehensive range of backoffice services to Issuers, Members and investors through its post-trading infrastructure, the Central Securities Depository, including clearing and settlement, maintenance of share and bond registers and custody services as well as acting as the National Numbering Agency for Malta which provides for the issuance of International Securities Identification Numbers, or ISINs as they are better known. Earlier this year, the Exchange also started to provide services to facilitate the reporting of relevant trades in accordance with the requirements of the European Market Infrastructure Directive (EMIR) by leveraging on its current infrastructure and international relationships.

MBR: Your Index performance this year is slightly lower than last year. How does this reflect in the total market capitalisation and what implications, if any, does this have on trading?

Eileen Muscat

Functionality

& connectivity

By Martin Vella

Malta Stock Exchange reports that last year’s trading levels have not only been sustained but indeed are already exceeded and market turnover stands at €791 million as at the end of October 2014. In an interview with MBR, MSE CEO Eileen V Muscat, says that trading has remained very strong in Government Stocks but has also been spurred by the number of new bond listings during the year. Judging by the current performance of the market and also that new bonds are still being processed and will come to the market before year end, Eileen believes that the MSE will see around 10% increase in market turnover value, indeed another record year.

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EVM: Throughout the year we have seen significant movement in the Index with peaks and troughs registered as the market responded to companies’ news and financial results. We can perhaps say that as the years have passed, investors are becoming more aware and more responsive to changes in the fortunes of their investments which of course results in changes in equity prices and the Index. The Index itself is an indication of overall performance of the equity market but of course may not be indicative of the performance of a particular equity. Trading volumes are therefore not really related directly to the value of the Index but more to the individual performance of companies.

The lower equity prices registered this year in comparison to the 2013 have of course slightly decreased Index values as well as market capitalisation values for equities. However, looking at the market as a whole, market capitalisation now exceeds €10 billion, as a result also of the significant number of new corporate bonds that have come to the market.

MBR: What technology based projects will you be taking on board and how do you view your move as one of the first CSDs moving to the pan European clearance and settlement systems?

EVM: Given our considerable dependence on technology for our operations you can say that all developments undertaken by the Exchange are technology based. Even the proposed SME market will comprise a significant technology implementation to ensure fast, efficient and transparent procedures. As mentioned, the largest technology project currently underway and which will go live on 22 June 2015 is our migration to Target-2 Securities, the pan European settlement system spearheaded by the ECB. As a pan-European system involving over 30 CSDs and their NCBs, you can appreciate the complexity of such a project. The purpose of T2S is to create a secure, cost-effective and efficient solution to cross-border settlement. As the strategy of the Exchange increasingly focuses on international business, we believe that this functionality and connectivity will be an important cog as a business enabler to support this strategy.

IntervIew wIth a CeO – FInanCIal PersPeCtIves

Malta Business Review

Malta Stock Exchange

The largest technology project currently underway and which will go live on 22 June 2015 is our migration to Target-2 Securities, the pan European settlement system spearheaded by the ECB MBR: Is increasing international business an important strategy for the exchange?

EVM: As we have stated on several occasions, the MSE has hitherto been a domestic and highly retail market which has carved out for itself an important niche within the economy. We have managed to sustain growth and our profitability over the years of our operations, however, as one can appreciate, because of our size and population, domestic growth is finite and we have to broaden our horizons to attract more business.

The framework of EU legislation supports cross-border growth and we should make the best of the opportunities afforded by this legislative and regulatory regime. Certainly, the MSE, while fully supportive and committed to the domestic market and cognisant of the particular needs of such a small marketplace is nevertheless also focusing on broadening its international footprint by seeking to provide the right elements to attract international business to Malta. Over the past three years the Exchange has invested heavily in technology, most notably the trading platform, links with other CSDs and now of course T2S, precisely to support this strategy to provide connectivity through common platforms that makes it simpler, and more cost effective for international players to access our market. Indeed, over the past years we are starting to see such investment bear fruit as we register an increase in our custody business and also international listings.

We should also mention the Exchange’s investment as both shareholder and service provider in EWSM, the market established in Malta between the Exchange and the Irish Stock Exchange to provide an alternative venue for listing of wholesale instruments. This innovative joint venture is also growing as we now see a number of listings with several more in the pipeline for 2015.

MBR: On the 28th November 2014 you participated in Malta’s 1st SME Malta Summit & B2B Networking Forum, held at the Portomaso Suite,

Hilton. This event attracted participants from a wide variety of small and medium enterprises, and was Malta’s largest forum for SMEs during 2014, aimed at providing business opportunities, solutions, suppliers, and network to further strengthen their business. What is your message to SMEs, including the manufacturing and industry sectors?

EVM: It is acknowledged as even demonstrated in the raft of EU regulations catering specifically for their needs, that SMEs are the backbone of the EU economy and every effort should be made to support these entities which have particular needs and of course in that way support economies. The EU, National Governments, regulators and other bodies are giving particular attention to this sector of their economies. I believe now is the time for SMEs to take full advantage of the opportunities on offer. I have no doubt that all the developments taking place in this area may be confusing and it is precisely for this reason that events like the 1st SME Malta Summit are important as these are targeted specific participants from a particular sector and afford the opportunity for all interested stakeholders to come together, debate and listen to each other’s plans and needs. The list of speakers at the event, which includes the Minister for the Economy, ICT, Investments and small business, is an indication of the important and focus being given, even at a national level to these entities and the efforts being made and opportunities being provided to support them and help them position themselves for their future growth. MBR All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE Eileen Muscat moved to the newly-set up Malta Stock Exchange in 1991 and has held various posts within the Exchange during her career with this organization. She also held the post of Secretary to the Board and Company Secretary for a number of years. Ms Muscat was also General Manager for a period of 9 years prior to her appointment as Chief Executive in September 2010. Ms Muscat represents the Malta Stock Exchange on a number of Committees both locally and overseas including the Management Committee of the Federation of European Stock Exchanges, the Working Committee of the World Federation of Exchanges, is Alternate Director on the Board of Directors of the European Central Securities Depositories Association and also represents the Exchange on the Advisory Group of the Target-2 Securities Project.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

41

Lech Walesa: Here’s How To Handle Putin

by Marco Bardazzi

The Polish Solidarity leader and Nobel Peace Prize Winner offers a combative vision for how Europe can stand up to Moscow. He speaks from experience. background

L

ech Walesa likes provocations. If you ask him, for example, what politics in the 21st century needs, he’ll smile beneath his famous moustache and tell you all that is needed is “a microchip.”

A microchip? “Absolutely. Everyone in politics must agree to be implanted with a microchip that records everything they do – complete transparency. And if you try and deceive voters, you and your family will be banned from politics for 50 years.”

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At 71, the former president of Poland and leader of the Solidarnosc (Solidarity) party – who was awarded the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize – has no more public roles in a country he led away from communism.

But still he remains a global icon and well- respected voice, despite some of his eyebrow- arching ideas.

Walesa’s office is still in Gdansk, overlooking the Dlugi Targ, the “Long Market,” the ancient heart of the port city where Solidarity emerged in August 1980.

This former electrician who became a national hero sports a black Madonna of Częstochowa brooch on his lapel, creating a strange contrast with his garish ties.

Just two words, “Ukraine” and “Putin,” bring out the old fighter in him, which seems slightly unusual for a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. These words explain the deep concern of the Poles, and indeed all Eastern European countries, to what is happening nearby: “We need missiles to aim at Russia.”

Politics: ExclusivE intErviEw

Malta Business Review

The unionist freedom fighter during a Solidarnosc Rally in Gdansk

lEch WalEsa fact filE Ex-PrEsidEnt of Poland In office: 22 December 1990 – 22 December 1995 Preceded by: Wojciech Jaruzelski Succeeded by: Aleksander Kwaśniewski chairPErson of solidarity In office: 14 August 1980 – 12 December 1990 Preceded by: Position established Succeeded by: Marian Krzaklewski PErsonal dEtails Born: (1943-09-29) 29 September 1943 (age 71), Popowo, Poland Political party: Solidarity (1970–1988) Solidarity Citizens’ Committee (1988–1993) Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms (1993–1997) Christian Democracy of the 3rd Polish Republic (1997–2001) Civic Platform (2001–present) Other political affiliations: Solidarity Electoral Action (1997–2001) Spouse(s): Danuta Gołoś (1969– present) Children: Bogdan, Sławomir, Przemysław, Jarosław, Magdalena, Anna, Maria Wiktoria & Brygida Religion: Roman Catholicism Signature

MBR: Which missiles are you referring to, Mr. President?

LW: If Putin threatens us saying: “Beware, I have nuclear weapons,” NATO must be ready to respond: “We have twice that many.” Putin is irresponsible and wants to create havoc in Poland, just as he did in Ukraine. So, we want NATO to lend us the best missiles at its disposal, install them here and point them in the right direction.

MBR: How would these missiles would be used?

LW: We won’t start war, we won’t invade anyone.

But, anyone thinking of setting foot on Polish soil will know that we are ready to ward them off. We will defend ourselves. If Gdansk gets invaded one day, we will attack Moscow. It’s self- defense, but in consultation with NATO obviously. But we will never allow them to defeat us – They need to know that!

MBR: Isn’t this going back to the Cold War? LW: What other choice do we have? We love Russia, but it has to stop bullying. We need Russia, but a civilized Russia. They always need an enemy, purely for internal reasons. Capitalism, the U.S., Europe.

Now they’re choosing smaller enemies but this is a mistake.

We love Russia, but it has to stop bullying. We need Russia, but a civilized Russia MBR: Which one?

LW: They did not think there would be so much resistance in Ukraine. They chose an enemy that was too strong and they don’t know how to get out. And to think they got another chance…

MBR: To what are you referring?

LW: We were lucky, it could have been different. I said this 25 years ago, I was convinced that Russia would stir up aggressive minorities in the Eastern Bloc. It takes a long time to make reforms, they could

have relied on these minorities riding discontent and winning parliamentary elections, and then annexing countries. They could rebuild the Soviet Union, but now they have chosen to take up arms and that was a mistake. One that is doomed to fail.

MBR: Do you have any hope for democracy in Russia?

LW: Yes but they are 30 years behind, according to my calculations.

MBR: What do you think of the Obama administration’s role in this crisis?

LW: A superpower has a duty to help organize the world order. They should organize peace for Ukraine and Russia. They shouldn’t wage war but help us find a solution. And pay for some of the missiles for us and for Ukraine!

MBR: Twenty- five years ago the Berlin Wall was about to fall. If you look back at the past quarter century, are you proud or disappointed?

LW: If someone had told me that I would live in times like these, I would not have believed them.

We closed the divisions in Europe, reunited Germany and removed boundaries. Now we are in another moment of transition, where generations will stop thinking in terms of state and nation. Our country is Europe.

MBR: But Europe is in crisis and is struggling to find its way. Does this not worry you?

LW: Of course, I’m worried because there are forces that want to blow up the Union. I’m glad that a Pole as capable and intelligent as Donald Tusk is now president of the EU council; I believe he will do everything to save the Union. But, we cannot just maintain the current one. We must find an agreement with common fundamentals.

MBR: In terms of a European Constitution?

LW: I would like to have a secular version of the Ten Commandments, where we find ten things that everyone respects (one of them being solidarity), and we work from there. MBR All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2014 Courtesy: TIP / La Stampa

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Christmas Feature

Malta Business Review

The Secret History of the Christmas Carol The Holly and the Ivy

One of the most mysterious and pagan of all carols, rich in symbolism that connects to ancient fertility myths linking the male with holly and good, and ivy with the female and evil. Druids regarded holly as sacred, associating it with the winter solstice; for the Celts, ivy represented the binding tendrils of friendship. But it’s odd that after the first line, everything is focused on the holly with no further mention of the ivy, suggesting that other verses have been lost along the way. Some scholars think that this carol had its origins in a ritual mating dance, possibly native to the Cotswolds (where Cecil Sharp found the tune in 1909), but nobody has traced the text back further than a broadside sheet of 1710. The rather incongruously sentimental refrain “O the rising of the sun/And the running of the deer,/ The playing of the merry organ/Sweet singing in the choir”, is believed to be a later interpolation. Several other more obscure carols use holly and ivy imagery. One of them is found in a Tudor collection, set to a tune attributed to Henry VIII: “Green grow’th the holly/So doth the ivy?/Though winter blasts blow ne’er so high,/Green grow’th the holly.”

Good King Wenceslas

A carol not for Christmas but Boxing Day, “the feast of Stephen”, the first Christian martyr. Wenceslas was a 10thcentury Roman Catholic Duke of Bohemia, also known as Vaclav the Good. Murdered by his wicked brother Boleslaw the Bad, he is buried in a cathedral he built himself, St Vitus’ in Prague, and commemorated today as the patron saint of the Czech Republic. The text is the work of J M Neale, the prolific Victorian hymn-writer (also responsible for Good Christian Men, Rejoice and Christ is Made the Sure Foundation). First published in 1853, it reflects a tradition of charitable giving on Boxing Day now sadly supplanted by a rush to the sales. Pedants have often wondered why Neale shows Wenceslas taking pine logs to a peasant who lives in a forest; they also note that the significance of the footprint in the snow in the final verse is never explained. Although Vaclav-Wenceslas was known for his benevolence, the tale told here is entirely without foundation in fact. The tune, selected by Neale comes from a collection entitled Piae Cantiones published in Finland in 1582. It is clearly intended to accompany vigorous stomping dancing.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

On Christmas Eve 1865, a resourceful young American Episcopalian priest called Phillips Brooks rode alone from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, determined to reach the Church of the Nativity for midnight service. He arrived in time, and the experience made such a deep impression on him that two years later, back home in Philadelphia, he was inspired to write this touching carol for the children at his Sunday school. Rev Brooks was 6ft 6in, sweet-tempered and famous for preaching at the rate of 200 words a minute. Later he became Bishop of Massachusetts and built the pseudo-Romanesque Trinity Church that remains one of Boston’s most impressive Victorian edifices. Brooks was a great favourite with the young: when she heard the news of his death, one bereft little girl in the diocese gasped: “O how happy the angels will be.” Brooks’s carol was an instant success in the United States, but only caught on in England at the start of the 20th century, when Ralph Vaughan Williams and Percy Dearmer published it in The English Hymnal, attached to the traditional tune Forest Green, which Vaughan Williams had heard sung by a farmer in Surrey in 1903.

Silent Night

On Christmas Eve in 1818, Joseph Mohr, the Roman Catholic curate of Oberndorf village near Salzburg, was in despair. Mice had chewed away the mechanism of his church organ and there was no way it could be immediately repaired. Mohr’s congregation needed something to sing at midnight mass, so Mohr penned these simple verses, inspired by a visit he had made earlier that day to a woman and her sick baby. Mohr then ran round to his amateur musician neighbour Franz Gruber and asked him if he had anything that fitted the words.

Gruber dug up this gentle lullaby and Silent Night, perhaps the most famous carol in the world – translated into more than 200 languages and sung across the trenches in the legendary Christmas truces during the First World War – received its premiere in Oberndorf church that evening, accompanied by Gruber on his guitar.

The man who later came to repair the organ was so impressed by Mohr and Gruber’s home-grown effort that he made a copy of the tune and words and passed them to the popular Strasser family, a precursor of the von Trapps. At least, that’s how the story goes.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

As originally written in 1739 by Charles Wesley, the brother of John Wesley, the founding father of Methodism, this lusty carol opened with the lines “Hark, how all the welkin rings/Glory to the King of Kings”.

In 1753, for theological reasons that remain unclear, the Wesleys’ rival George Whitefield altered the text to its more familiar form, cutting several verses, including the baffling final couplet “Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring seed, /Bruise in us the serpent’s head”. Many clergy have subsequently lamented Whitefield’s changes, and when Percy Dearmer and Ralph Vaughan Williams published their scholarly collection The English Hymnal in 1906, they reproduced Wesley’s first version in the hope of re-establishing it. But by that time the affection of congregations and carol singers had become wedded to Whitefield’s revision, set to a tune adapted by W H Cummings from the second movement of an otherwise forgotten cantata by Felix Mendelssohn, composed in celebration of the quarter-centenary of Gutenberg’s invention of movable type.

Continues Page 27

by Rupert Christiansen

www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Business Review

Christmas traditions

Foreign Twist on

The Traditional

by Melanie Vella

The Maltese Islands are becoming a multi-cultural haven, attracting foreigners and their cultures. Melanie Vella traces the Christmas and New Year traditions that are seeping across borders and colouring our festive season

M

agdalena Alfvegren from Poland lives in Malta with her husband Patrik. They will celebrate their fifth Christmas together in Malta with Patrik’s two daughters, Mindy and Nadine, Magdalena’s mother, Ela and her sister, Ola.

Christougenna

“Christmas is my favourite time of the year, I love indulging in a big Christmas feast with my family. My father passed away when I was five years old, so I grew up with my sister and my mother. Christmas was the one time in the year we would visit my grandmother and reunite with our extended family of 25 aunts, uncles and cousins. This is why Christmas has always been a warm, magical time spent with family.

I start shopping for decorations, food and presents from weeks before Christmas and I fill the house with Christmas spirit. The actual holiday lasts three days from Christmas Eve until Boxing Day and it’s a food and festivities marathon.

Wigilia, the Star Supper, is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Everyone eats a piece of oplatki, Communion-like wafers, and we share wishes for health and propserity with everyone at the dinner table. We wait until 6 or 7 o’clock, when the first star appears in the sky, because traditionally we believe this signifies that Baby Jesus was born.

Then comes the typical Wigilia feast of thirteen traditional nonmeat dishes, traditionally representing the Apostles and Christ.

The main ingredient in most dishes I cook is a typical Karp fish found in Polish lakes. I don’t usually find Karp in Malta so we use different fish that we have here.

Melomakarona

These variations include barszcz, beetroot soup with dumplings, grzybowa, wild mushroom soup, galareta, which is a mix of karp fish, karp jelly and vegetables, a Greek-inspired version of karp, which my mother cooks the best I’ve ever tasted. We also make pasta mak, which is sweet pasta with poppy seeds and raisins and is popular with our non-Polish relatives because they find the unusual combination surprisingly scrumptious. The meal prolongs until midnight, when we go to midnight mass.

Christmas day starts with an abundant breakfast, and now meat is included. We place straw under a white linen tablecloth, as a reminder of Baby Jesus’ birth in the stable. Typically the mothers and grandmothers are honoured with the task of preparing this meal, with a variety of pork, beef and Polish hams that are always accompanied with copious amounts of vodka and wine. We usually spend this day visiting family, eating and playing games.

The head of the house usually decides when we can open the presents under the Christmas tree. On the third day, we visit another family member’s home to share breakfast together.

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Continues on pg 59

Tourism

Malta Business Review

Mediterranean Tourism Forum 2014 Entitled

‘ThE GrEaT STory’

by George Carol

‘Mediterranean tourism destinations have to realize that their competitors are not their neighbours, but destinations around the globe’ The Minister for Tourism Dr. Edward Zammit Lewis stated that the Mediterranean is one of the most important tourism regions in the world. Malta is registering record figures in this sector that contributes practically one third to its total GDP

D

r Zammit Lewis added that according to the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Europe registered a growth rate of 5% for the first half of 2014, with Southern Mediterranean Europe performing even better at a growth rate of 7%, but Malta’s results alone are even better as the latest statistics published by the NSO show that tourist arrivals between January and September this year increased by a staggering 9% compared to same period last year, and total tourist expenditure stood at almost €1.1 billion Euros for the first 8 months of the year.

Another aspect that is proving an achievement for our tourism industry is increased air connectivity. The accessibility to and from our Maltese Islands is key to this sector’s success. Minister Zammit Lewis explained that air-route expansion is also being achieved through the national airline, Air Malta that also operates routes that may not be so commercially attractive when seen alone in the short term but certainly of strategic importance to the tourism industry in the longer term.

The Minister for Tourism said that Malta is shifting from being solely a pure sun-and-sea destination. We also have a very rich cultural offer as we are blessed with a 7000 year unbroken line of human development and activity. Cultural tourism is a very important cornerstone of our tourism strategy that delivers us quality tourism in the off-peak months.

It need to be noted that the reduction of utility bills in March 2015, as previously announced by Government, will boost the tourism sector further given that such tariffs alone account for approximately 9% of the overheads incurred by Hotel. This will lead to savings from operational costs that can be directed towards crucial investment in upgrading our product.

The Malta Tourism Authority is also working on the Eco-friendly initiatives front. This is not just to meet the 2020 European Union targets, but also to increase the attractiveness of our country and for the respect of the environment.

Tourist arrivals between January and September this year increased by a staggering 9% compared to same period last year The Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) will improve the synergies between the Government and the private sector with the majority of new investment in our industry originating from Maltese private investors.

Minister Zammit Lewis thanked all the private investors for their prompt response as this demonstrates that they believe in the Government’s strategy and in our product

on offer. This will also lead to an increase in quality jobs on offer. The Minister for Tourism remarked that he is very confident that Malta will reap full benefits from this initiative.

Mediterranean countries need to work together to increase efficiency and competitiveness, and we aim to form strategic alliances for cooperative marketing efforts in order to maintain a competitive edge in the globalised tourism market.

Although each Mediterranean state traditionally has viewed its tourist product as competing with that of neighbouring states, Mediterranean countries need to also look at their traditional competitors as possible partners within the ambit of regional collaboration. This will secure us a stronger position in the globalised competitive market, and is one of the main objectives set by the EU for tourism. A forum such as this surely facilitates this process, Dr. Edward Zammit Lewis remarked.

Minister Zammit Lewis concluded by stating that these are all the different and important components of a renewed Tourism Policy for Malta and a strategic vision that will take us to 2030.

Mayor of Beyoglu in Istanbul Ahmet Misbah Demircan, the Hungarian MEP for Transport & Tourism Committee Istvan Ujhely, the Chairman of Humanica in Turkey Dr. Barbaros Kon, and a representative of Mayor of Assisi in Italy Matteo Fortunati also participated in this panel discussion during the Mediterranean Tourism Forum. MBR www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Business Review

AnniversAry

The fall of The Iron CurTaIn The reunificaTion beTween wesT and easT

by Astrid Veld

“It will take us longer to tear down the Wall in our heads than any wrecking company will need for the Wall we can see” – Peter Schneider

The year of 2014 will remain as an indelible remembrance by the Berlin citizen as the year they celebrated their 25 years of reunification. For years the German capital was separated by an impressive wall. In fact it was divided between the West and the East side, a decision the East German government enforced as law in 1961. Nowadays, the leftovers of the wall attracts a high amount of tourists to the capital of Germany, Berlin. The celebration of the fall of Berlins wall 25 years ago, was arranged by the use of several located events as well as an art project, which produced thousands of balloons filled with Helium gas placed on the line the wall stood. The balloons were released as a symbol of freedom during these celebrations.

After the second world war, which ended in 1945, Germany was inevitably separated into two states, a result of Soviet influence and domination over East Germany. The western Federal Republic was under Capitalist and democratic Western influence, while the Eastern Democratic Republic held on to the Communist oppressive rule. Although an agreement about this division was made between the Allies, mainly the USA and the USSR, together with Great Britain, the Democratic Republic lost several citizen to the more prosperous Federal Public. The Eastern citizens of East Germany were escaping the persecution of the Communistic regime supported by the Russian government. In the night of 1961 the Communist leaders pulled on a barrier between West and East. In first place barbed wire was used but was immediately replaced by a massive iron wall which separated the citizen and their families for several decades.

Since recent decades one of the most important political and economic events was the fall of the Berlin wall on the 9th of November 1989, after dividing East and West Germany for 28 years. During the controversial and testing time of the fall of the wall, East Berliners were not allowed to cross the line which was marked by the Wall. After the Wall felt down the unification of Germany reunited together two populations that had develop in distinct ways during the years. The citizens of the Eastern side had lived under the communist regime with a disastrous political and

50

economical way of living. The difference between the Eastern and the Western societies disappeared following the reunification of East and West Germany. The level of their knowledge was increased in a different way throughout the years. The Eastern citizens, were noticed as hard workers working under scrutiny and tight grip- the opposite of the more liberal, self-employed Western citizen. The note “The Wall in our heads” implies also the blemish in the entire political order between the two sides. It became clear that the reunification of two for long time divided societies would cost more than breaking down a realistic wall. The wall inside of their head, is where the citizen keep going on with the thought about “theirs” and “ours”, was left over to time to dissolve. Although the happiness of freedom was overwhelming, both sides had to deal with their psychological damages they suffered throughout the years of separation.

[It became clear that the reunification of two for a long time divided societies would cost more than breaking down a realistic wall] Nowadays, the German nation still remembers the remnants of the separation between the West and East. However, the reunification between West and East Germany also effected the rest of Europe.

It also started the process which contains the reunification of the entire European nation. MBR All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE This year on the 9th of November of 25 years ago, the East European government was overruled by his citizen and had to remove the barriers that divided a nation and Europe- the Berlin Wall. The reunification between the East and the West had finally started.

There was a high amount of happiness and expectations of joy those days. Certainly, it was hard to reunite again after years of separation.

Berliners had to adapt to each other, after years of spying on one another, to rebuild the national feeling of the opposite ends and to go back to their lives living as one whole nation.

OpiniOn

Malta Business Review

In business, manners still matter, don’t they?

by Patrick J O’Brien

Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot

I

n a culture where many seemingly have no time for courtesy, minding your manners when others have forgotten theirs can get you a job, a promotion, or even a date. The word “etiquette” gets a bad rap nowadays. For one thing, it sounds stodgy and pretentious. And rules that are socially or morally prescribed seem intrusive to our sense of individuality and freedom.

But the concept of etiquette is still essential, especially now and particularly in business. New communication platforms, like Facebook and LinkedIn, have blurred the lines of appropriateness and we’re all left wondering how to navigate unchartered social territory.

While recently having brunch with some business associates, I noticed that some mobile devices took over the table, flashing audisay as they do. It prompted me to raise an etiquette question to my guests: Is it bad manners to keep your cellphone out during lunch or completely acceptable?

Today’s workplace etiquette is tricky, and most of us still are trying to figure out the rules. Between relaxed dress codes, use of technology, and blurred boundaries, navigating the crucial distinctions between professional and social courtesies has become complicated.

Once I put the question out there though, each of guests chimed in with differing views some utterly embarrass by my question. Some cited possible family emergencies as a reason to keep the phone in sight; others cited clients’ expectations of quick response. Overall, the consensus was that putting your cell on the table and checking it during the meal is acceptable when lunching with colleagues or friends, not with clients or potential customers.

I understand that workplace etiquette does change and adjust to certain situations. Today, some of the etiquette rules are different.

Others just are disobeyed more flagrantly. Because the rules change over time, many of us don’t intend to offend. Yet there are high costs, even with seemingly inconsequential actions: Our etiquette breaches create bad impressions with clients, ruin job prospects or set back our careers.

Most workers will confirm that the big slips that create most resentment arise from our being more distracted than ever by technology. I was recently aghast when my dentist took a call on his mobile while examining me. I could hear the conversation and it was his wife asking him to collect the kids after work.

Of course, the smartphone addict typically doesn’t think he or she is being rude by staring at a screen or zipping off an email during a team meeting or one-on-one interaction, and may actually consider himself being responsive to customers’ needs in real time. That’s no excuse: “with you is rude.” Sometimes, prefacing a meeting by announcing you are expecting an urgent call helps buffer the interpretation of bad manners. Regardless you are sending the message that the person or people you are with are not worth your attention.

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe manners still say a lot about a person, it’s like telling who you are in a straight way, some of the most influential people in today’s society are those who have mastered this talent When confronting a colleague about an etiquette blunder, ask him or her to view the actions from other people’s perspective, experts suggest.

“Were you aware that your loud personal conversations are distracting your co-workers?” You might even suggest other ways of handling a situation.

Experts say most workers don’t intentionally want to be rude to their co-workers and office hierarchies typically reward those who use common courtesy. Tolerance for bad behavior has disappeared. MBR

Young workers often step into a minefield on the job after years of parents and teachers encouraging them to “be themselves”. At work, they might interpret that to mean posting their emotions on social networks, neglecting to wash the coffee pot, or writing an email in text speak. When entering the business world, one needs to learn to be someone else. It is called having a professional identity For all workers, staying professional even as the workplace becomes more casual requires reading cues. You don’t want to address the boss by his first name if the rest of the staff calls him Mr. Smith.

A recent survey found though that managers often draw the line at cussing at work, wearing revealing clothing and having repeated loud personal conversations. The survey deemed a foul mouth is the most punishable of all workplace faux pas, finding that the majority bosses have issued a formal warning and have fired an employee for swearing. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Business Review

HealtHcare

ARe you ReAdy foR the woRld’s Biggest killeR? If you’ve ever watched a TV medical show, you’ve probably seen someone on the brink of death shocked back to life by a doctor who yells ‘clear’ just before delivering a jolt of electricity to the chest

T

his type of procedure is not limited to the hospital. It can be followed in your home or office if you have an automated external defibrillator (AED). Home AED’s are available without a prescription.

Did you know that 140,000 people die from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) each year, In the UK? It is the world’s biggest killer and can happen to anyone, anywhere and at anytime?

Only 5 per cent of SCA victims survive outside of a hospital, often whilst waiting for an ambulance to arrive?

SCA is an electrical problem with the heart and should not be confused with a heart attack, which is a pumping problem. Sometimes a heart attack, which may not be fatal in itself, can then trigger a sudden cardiac arrest.

increased from less than 5 per cent to over 70 per cent.

Thirty four per cent of those who have installed an AED have used their defibrillator at least once to save a life The lifeline series of AED’s are the simplest AED’s to used and have been designed by physicians so that anyone can save a life.

The only proven way to treat SCA is by delivering an electric shock to the heart. This is called defibrillation and can make the difference between saving a life and having a victim die.

Life-saving shocks can now be given by any member of the general public using an AED.

We show and tell. Other AED’s tell you what they’re doing. The lifeline VIEW, with its full colour, detailed, interactive videos also shows you. It delivers clear text and corresponding videos that reinforce the voice instruction and aid comprehension – especially in noisy environments where voice prompts alone might be difficult to follow.

Thirty four per cent of those who have installed an AED have used their defibrillator at least once to save a life. Studies have shown survival rates in places that have had an AED installed

This Christmas celebrate by giving your friends, employees and co-workers the greatest gift of all life. Have a Lifeline VIEW AED installed in your place of work. MBR

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Travel

Malta Business Review

TrAnsylvAniA

A Time-TrAvel

experience

by Louis Naudi

My wife and I had always wanted to visit Transylvania in Romania to record its amazing history, architecture and people, particularly its northern region of Maramureş.

Dutchman Michael van Langefevald’s door

W

The tallest church tower in Romania and the magnificent equestrian statue of Matthias Corvinus

e flew from Luton direct to Cluj Napoli, commonly known as Cluj, a vibrant modern city, the heart of Transylvania steeped in Hungarian and Romanian history, culture and Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic architecture.With its bohemian cafe society and back streets animated with bon viveurs and subterranean bars, you understand why Cluj exudes youthfulness and progress and, in 2015, is the European Capital of Youth.

1956 were the dominant ethnic group. The statue comprises the King on his horse surrounded by 4 staff and won first prize in the 1900 Paris International Art Exhibition. After that, we were hungry and thirsty and found plenty of eating places and coffee shops famous for their cakes on Piata Unirii itself with very reasonable prices. The square is surrounded by rest areas, loads of shops, money exchange shops and plenty to see nearby.

For the second part of our adventure, we travelled to Maramureş, and what a contrast amid some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in Europe with oak and beech forested Carpathian Mountains, rolling hills and green river valleys. It is rich with history, culture, craft industries and village life in a state of medieval isolation; life has little changed and time has almost stood still. Cluj is Romania’s second largest city and in no time you’ll be infected by it its history and culture; the city will certainly not disappoint if added to your travel itinerary. Head first to the tourist office by Unirii Square for free city maps, brochures and information. (www.visitclujnapoca.ro)

One particular attraction was the 18th century baroque Banffy Palace, housing weaponry and Romanian art collections of the Art Museum, considered the best example of baroque style in Transylvania, nominated as European Museum of the Year in 1996. Walking down the smaller streets around the Square, we found splendid inner courts, old houses, isolated churches and the Tailors’ Bastion, dating from 1550, the only medieval wall still standing from the medieval fortified city.

Our first stop and a huge part of the city’s history in the very heart of Unirii Square, is Saint Mihail Roman Catholic Church with the tallest church tower in Romania and the magnificent equestrian statue of Matthias Corvinus in front of it; a must to see. The church was named after the Archangel Michael, Cluj’s patron saint, built in the Gothic style of the end of the 14th century. This Gothic architecture piece is one of the most valuable in Transylvania and Its murals date from the 15th century.

Matthias Corvinus, we discovered, was considered the greatest Hungarian king, born in Cluj, venerated by Hungarians which until

Next, Avram Iancu Square which includes several palaces but it was the National Theatre and Opera House which I wanted to visit; the most prestigious in Romania, famous for its productions and built in a neo baroque style by Austrian architects-a must to see. If you like museums, Cluj has over twelve of them including the University Museum of Speleology (study of caves). However, the National Museum of Transylvania caught our attention; it features a large collection of arts, crafts and textiles detailing Romanian history and culture from prehistoric times, the Dacian era, medieval times and the modern era as well as the outdoor National Ethnographic Park. This contains actual 18th century Transylvanian Romanian and Saxon buildings relocated from the countryside in an effort to preserve them. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Business Review

motoriNG

15,000 more trees for the PeUGeot-oNf forestry carboN siNk iN the amazoN

In line with the commitments made during the “Kick it to Brazil” operation, the brand campaign carried out by PEUGEOT in March and April 2014 that followed the journey made by a football from France to Brazil, passing through many countries and several continents on the way, 15,000 new trees are to be planted at the PEUGEOT-ONF forestry carbon sink at Fazenda Sao Nicolau, the site of the project, in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil. These saplings will join the 2 million trees of more than 50 different species already introduced to the project site, a project that started in 1998 and is planned to continue until 2038 An environmentAl plAn And A commitment met in full PEUGEOT wanted to give an environmental dimension to the “Kick it to Brazil” operation, by committing to planting a tree for every physical contact made by a person with the “Kick it to Brazil” football on its travels round the world, as well as by offsetting the carbon footprint for the journey in full by purchasing certified credits (VCS – Voluntary Carbon Standard carbon credits) from the PEUGEOTONF forestry carbon sink, reinvesting them in full in the ecological, scientific and socio-economic activities of the project.

SuStAinAble fArming procedure & And innovAtive choiceS of SpecieS Perfectly in tune with the pioneering spirit that has guided the development of the PEUGEOT-ONF forestry carbon sink project, the two partners wanted to take advantage of this occasion to achieve the planting using an ecologically sound growing procedure and to use innovative locations for planting.

Precisely 15,500 seeds were planted in the nursery between July and November, so as to be ready for planting, which has to be done during the rainy season (approximately November to April in the Amazon Basin). This number is greater than the 10,000 physical contacts with internet users made during the “Kick it to Brazil” football’s journey. The substrate used to germinate the seedlings uses ecologically sound forestry farming practice. The soil was enriched with a mixture that came from carbonisation of rice husks (the natural protective shell) and household waste. Rice husks are generally not 54

used and are discarded by farmers. They then ferment, giving off methane, a greenhouse gas twenty times more serious than CO2. By carbonising the rice husks (CO2 emissions) to include them in the mixture in which the seeds are planted for germination, the emissions of greenhouse gases are reduced by a factor of 20, avoiding emissions of methane.

Furthermore, the choice was made to plant the trees in groups, in areas where access is difficult (slopes, ravines), the ground sometimes needing enrichment so as to limit soil erosion.

Finally, the species used have been chosen carefully so as to contribute towards the development of sustainable local industries, aiming for diversification with species that have medicinal qualities, provide sources of food (fruit trees) and building timber (wood with a high financial value for sawmills) which is best suited to climatic changes with species that are more resistant to drought (*List of species in the appendix).

The PeUGeOT-ONF FOresTry carbON siNk, iNvOlved iN aN “UPsTreamdownStreAm” ApproAch to controlling greenhouSe gASeS With the PEUGEOT-ONF forestry carbon sink project, PEUGEOT is the only automobile brand in the world to have thought of putting in place an integrated “upstream-downstream” policy on controlling greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide in the main) by successfully working on emissions at source, in its core automobile activity and by financing and leading a major reforestation project with the aim of carbon sequestration in the Brazilian Amazon.

For the upstream aspect, cumulatively up until September 2014, PEUGEOT has the lowest CO2 emissions average of any broadline automobile brand in the European market with CAFE CO2 of 110.4 g/km (CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy), compared to an average CAFE CO2 of 124.2 g/km in Europe, the fruit of continuous investment in technologies that have resulted in powerful and efficient engines (BlueHDi engines, PureTech 3-cylinder turbo and naturally aspirated petrol engines, HYbrid 4 etc.)

For the downstream aspect, since the start of the project back in 1998, the PEUGEOTONF carbon sink initiative is responsible for the planting of two million trees which have absorbed over 385, 000 tonnes of CO2 during their growth (measurement made following the VCS protocol). MBR Contacts presse www.peugeot-pressepro.com List of species planted Additional planting of 15,000 trees From December 2014 to January 2015 - Stryphnodendron adstringens = antiseptic properties of the bark extract - Enterolobium maximum = timber for small furniture pieces - Byrsonimacrassifolia = for the edible fruit - Protiumsp. (Amescla) = everything is used (bark, sap/honey, wood, edible fruit) - Hymenaea courbaril = edible fruit, viscous resin for the manufacture of varnish or incense - Bauhinia macrostachya = medicinal properties against parasites (leaves), and antidiarrhoeal (roots)

Travel

Malta Business Review

In our travels throughout Romania and Europe, discovering this part of Transylvania, largely untouched by the 20th century, we stepped back in time and beyond the grasp of the whimsical traveller On a Sunday, we drove to the village of Szek with its largely Hungarian population, famous for its ethnographic especially valuable traditions and costume culture.

I photographed villagers (9661) walk to church in local costumes and men with their distinctive straw hats (www.eliznik.org. uk › costume). Szeki dance, folk music and the worldwide famous costumes exist thanks to the dance movement. ( h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / playlist?list). I Knocked on Dutchman Michael van langefevald’s door and he was very happy to show us around the restored dance house, mini museum, collection of 500 boots (9527) and guest house (www.csipkeszegfoundation.eu ).

Viorica particularly wanted to visit the region of Maramureș, the heart and soul of rural Romania epitomising all that rural lifestyles encompass; rich with history, and village life, famous for its distinctively traditional unchanged way of life, well-preserved wooden villages and churches, culture and traditions, a lifestyle of a mediaeval peasant past.

Crossing the Carpathian Mountains with stunning views, the forests were ablaze with yellows, browns, reds and greens.

We descended into the valleys where rural traditions unfolded before us with some very well preserved villages, as we stepped back in time and beyond the grasp of the whimsical traveller.

Traditional villages are all built of woodhouses even churches. Today, only 42 wooden churches, built during the 18th and 19th centuries, can be seen; 8 are UNESCO World Heritage sites. People of Maramureş, the Moroşeni, are famous for their hospitality and several invited us into their homes for a glass or two of home made plum or apple palinka, the local home made drink which can be 100% proof.

We travelled on a Saturday, market day, to the picturesque village of Sacel at the foot of the highest mountain peak in Rodna Pietrousul Peak-2303m (google: sacel Maramureș-images) I was surprised by the number of horse and carts transporting logs, grass, vegetables, even families; still a very important part of village life.

On our last Sunday, we visited the 16Th C Birsana Monastery surrounded by brand new churches, chapels, dormitories, shrines, bell towers, dining halls and visitor centres all made in traditional Maramures timber. Glimmering with gold finished frescoes, the basement of the church is where a priest gives daily services to resident sisters and visiting Romanians.

I photographed villagers arriving for church dressed in striking local costumes; nowhere in Europe does such dress persist so strongly with men wearing felt hats, elderly women wearing boldly striped aprons made from cloth from the water powered mills, intricately designed blouses and sleeveless braided back jackets worn by both sexes or bright green and red flowery skirts and head scarves by younger women.

In the afternoon, we drove to a remote village called Sapanta, about 3 kilometres from the Ukrainian boarder to visit the famous Merry Cemetery.

It’s called the Merry Cemetery because of its 600 colourful wooden crosses, its atmosphere of fun, the down-toearth or realistic verses to be found here and its hand-painted depictions of the deceased that capture the wit, work and daily life of a rugged and traditional peasantry. Everyone from the local barber, lumberjack, shepherd and gamekeeper to the village drunk are kept alive through carved and brightly painted pictures and earthy, sometimes witty, epitaphs.

In our travels throughout Romania and Europe, discovering this part of Transylvania, largely untouched by the 20th century, was a time-travel adventure, an amazing experience not to be forgotten. MBR Photographs by Viorica Naudi who is a Malta Arts Scholarship holder studying advanced photography techniques in the Uk for a year; these photos will be exhibited in Chester in January 2015.

Text written by Louis Naudi. He is an Honorary Professor who writes on, mentors and teaches Entrepreneurship and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Visited Transylvania from the 24th October to November 4th.

Saint Mihail Roman Catholic Church

Homes are still fronted with traditional giant, ornately-carved wooden gates

The 16Th C Birsana Monastery

GETTInG ThERE: Wizz air or Air Malta via London, Bucharest or various European cities; no direct flights from Malta.

WhERE To sTAy: From classic to special unique styles (www.cluj.com/cazare) Food: International but Hungarian meatball or Goulash soups, Goulash stew or Romanian Mititei were my favourites(9916, 17,18). Cabbage A La Cluj is a local speciality but menus can be heavy on meat. Try the delicious Transylvanian pancakes with chocolate! The only downside is that smoking is permitted in restaurants. Dinner for 2 cost us less than €20 per night.

CAR hIRE: Cluj Napoli Airport; check insurance excess details and breakdown policy

www.maltabusinessreview.net

55

A New GeNerAtioN of LeAdership

by Melanie Vella

There’s a new hype about ‘the best places to work’ with places like Google, Virgin and Mind Valley topping the charts. What is it that makes people drool when they get a peak into the offices of these seemingly Charlieand-the-chocolate factory-esque work spaces, besides the colourful meeting rooms and the smiling faces?

It’s the new adaptation on leadership skills - a new genre of business, headed by a new type of leader

S

teve Mercieca, the CEO of Quicklets Malta is a real estate agency with a progressive work ethic. Their core values are founded in efficient customer service within a fun yet professional environment. Quicklets was established as a one-man startup in January 2013. Within its short lifespan the company has grown consistently into a young, dynamic team of ten employees.

they sell a product they believe in,” he says.

Quicklets does not set and chase targets, but they set global goals, which they motivate each other to achieve as a team.

The funky Quicklets office exudes a fresh working environment. It is complete with a ‘bell of awesomeness’ that is rung every time a team member reaches a big goal and the team celebrates success together.

“When I worked in a bank, we were trained on force selling tactics and reaching targets, which I found unethical and eventually made me lose interest in what I was doing, so I left to start my own business and do it differently. ‘Work Smarter not harder’ as Steve Jobs would say,” explains Mercieca.

We were trained on force selling tactics and reaching targets, which I found unethical and eventually made me lose interest in what I was doing

“Our company style promotes comfort and friendliness within our team. When a person feels comfortable, they are more genuine when dealing with clients and

“The office is an open plan space and all desks, including my own, are in placed in a

56

circular manner. I want to be approachable and easily accessible to the team so that whenever there is a problem or a mistake has been made they feel at ease to tell me so we can act on it together,” he says.

“I strive to be a leader, as opposed to a boss, rather than giving orders, I work alongside my team and lead by example.”

Agents share about their week and issues they’d like to discuss at the weekly ‘buzz’ meetings held in the recreational sofa and TV area. This keeps everyone in sync with each other.

This leadership requires maturity from colleagues because you are giving someone flexibility as well as responsibility for themselves and their work. “Above all, respect for the culture we are trying to integrate is crucial. People thrive in their jobs and show loyalty when they feel supported and authentically valued,” says Mercieca.

Business & Branding

Steve Mercieca

Yasmin de Giorgio, founder of The Grassy Hopper vegetarian café, founded in 2013, strives to create a business culture where both the product served and the team’s work ethic aim to help people reach their highest potential.

Inspiring businesses bring people together to create and maintain a common vision “The Grassy Hopper is all about food. We want to help people eat better so they can feel better and therefore be better. Our food fuels us to be the best that we can be and we hope we can inspire our customers to feel the same.”

Asked who inspires the style of leadership she aspires towards, de Giorgio refers to author Horst Rechelbacher, who advocates business as a resource that can be used to heal the planet, and not just focus on the bottom line. Vishen Lakhiani, founder and CEO of Mindvalley, who promulgates happiness through finding meaning in your work as the basis for productivity. “Both theories focus on personal development as a core foundation for business. Inspiring businesses bring people together to create and maintain a common vision. At The Grassy Hopper, we have a set of core values, which we practice on a daily basis thereby threading them into the roots our company. Values such as responsibility, and transparency.”

Ms de Giorgio explains that whenever a new team member joins, they are asked

Malta Business Review

Yasmin de Giorgio

to write a list that plants a seed for a meaningful year. 1. Anything they want to manifest in their lives 2. New skills or experiences 3. Ways they would like to contribute to society.

The goals can be anything, even not work related. Included in one person’s aims was the intention to attend the World Cup final in Brazil. He was motivated to achieve this goal and all the team encouraged him and celebrated when he fulfilled his dream. “ Witnessing each other setting and achieving goals is inspiring and also creates a special bond as we share life’s special moments.”

Communication is vital within the organisation, and not just from a bottom down perspective. All members of the team are encouraged to discuss their thoughts and ideas, and are made to feel safe to question or debate any of the company’s ways.

“To set goals such as integrity and full transparency, there must be a playful culture as we can never live up to them fully. It is also challenging to come into work place where importance is placed not just on your technical skills but also on your interpersonal skills. But everyone in the team strives to have an attitude of learning, and this is reflected in how we deal with mistakes. We place a high value on communication without blame, leaving one who has made a mistake to take responsibility for themselves. This means that mistakes become points of growth and expansion.”

The Grassy Hopper team meet every two months for half-day team building activities where customer service skills and personal

development skills are intertwined with subjects like effective communication, mindfulness and self-development. “These activities fuel the team’s motivation and commitment, they align each of us with our shared vision for the company and reaffirm our excitement to bring this to our customers,” says de Giorgio.

In the short term this may involve investments of time and effort, costs which may not provide instant output. “This type of employee engagement has proven successful through low sick leave rate and low employee turn-over, issues notorious in the catering industry, and high staff productivity. I think health, happiness and fulfillment play a big part in that.” MBR All Rights Reserved / Copyright 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE

Working in an international business environment, Melanie Vella’s background as a qualified lawyer and experience in the business field, combined with extensive travel spurs her to write about leaders and companies that are involved in the value creation and development of products and services that meet both social needs and business goals. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Have a traditional

Golden Christmas

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Banking

FIMBank sponsors Dar talprovIDenza annIversary concert

Malta Business Review

AFM Band

FIMBank is sponsoring a concert as part of the activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of Id-Dar tal-Providenza.

The concert will be held under the patronage of H.E. The President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Apostolic Administrator Mgr Charles J. Scicluna. The concert, which takes place on Monday the 15th December at 7.30pm, at St John’s Co Cathedral in Valletta, will feature the band of the Armed Forces of Malta. .

Tonio Bonello from RTK 4 Charity confirmed that Id-Dar talProvidenza requires €3.5 million per year in order to provide its Continues from pg 48

services, and depends on the generosity of the Maltese people for these funds. He stated that the anniversary concert “will therefore also serve as a fund-raiser for Id-Dar tal-Providenza, where the general public will be invited to give donations”.

Commenting on FIMBank’s sponsorship of this event, Jason Zammit, Head of Public & Media Relations, stated that the Bank was “proud to support the precious work being undertaken by IdDar tal-Providenza”. For more information about FIMBank plc, visit www.fimbank.com. MBR

My annual Christmas tradition is to bake a substantial batch of my favourite melomakarona, honey and walnut cookies. My Alexander also loves them as we enjoy sharing these delicious treats with family and friends. I also enjoy sharing recipes and try to give a touch of Greek cuisine to our holiday meal. From everyone’s reactions, I think Greek food blends well with traditional Maltese Christmas meals.

On Protochronia, New Year’s Day, at midnight after the countdown it’s a Greek custom to exchange gifts, instead of on Christmas day.

This is because we believe that Ayios Vasilis, or St Basil, the Greek Santa Claus, delivers our gifts on this day. On New Year’s Day we cut a Vasilopita, St Basil pie, between family and friends, which contains a hidden coin inside the cake. Whoever bites into the coin is said to have good luck for the rest of the coming year.

Wigilia cena

Half of my family is from Poland and the other half is from Sweden, so I make an effort to celebrate both my husband’s Swedish traditions and add Swedish elements to the Christmas table like ham and cheese and lots of eggs with sauces. We also make Swedish glogg, mulled wine with spices and raisins, which is very warming.

Patrik’s daughter Mindi and Nadine are accustomed to celebrating Christmas day only, so they really enjoy the Polish tradition of stretching out the festivities for three days.”

Eleni Sourvermezoglou from Hellas or Greece, will spend this Christmas in Gozo with her partner Alexander. She has celebrated Christmas in Malta with family and friends for the last six years.

“The Greek name for Christmas is Christougenna, which translates into ‘Christ’s birth’. We love decorating the Christmas tree, although this is an imported tradition. Traditionally in Greeks would, and still do, decorate a small boat due to Greece’s close affiliation to the sea and its long marine history.

Christmas is celebrated a little bit differently in Malta than how we celebrate it in Greece, but Malta is my second home and of course, I enjoy the Christmas spirit here. Both Greece and Malta have distinct holiday traditions and I cannot choose which I prefer more. I always take the opportunity to mix and match the traditions, so let’s call it a Hellenic-Maltese Christmas celebration.”

Merve Artar, from Turkey, has been living in Malta for the past three years with her husband Tacettin and their 15 year old son, Can. “Christmas in Turkey is not the same as traditional ideas of Christmas Celebrations.

New Year’s Eve however is one of the biggest festivals in Turkey.

I will cook a traditional large family dinner. The main course is traditionally roasted turkey, which is stuffed with chestnuts as Turkish people superstitiously believe that eating chestnuts guarantee good luck for the year ahead. Another tradition that spurs off our superstitious heritage is that women receive red underwear also as a symbol of luck. So I’ll be wearing my good luck charms and wishing ‘Yeni yliniz Kutlu Olsun’ to all my family and friends in Malta and around the world. “ MBR www.maltabusinessreview.net

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investments

Malta Business Review

How to make your money grow, safely

by Ingrid Zerafa

In a world economic situation where people can rely much less on state help and have to be financially stable and self-sufficient until the final years of life, finding the most efficient way to make money work and grow has become a priority, and a headache for many who do not fully understand the variety of ways available to save, invest and protect themselves and their loved ones, and who they can trust to do this work for them This could be the reason why bank deposits remain the number one, preferred option for people to save money, especially those with less financial knowledge, despite repeated advice that this is the least efficient way to make money grow.

On opening a recent seminar for small and large investors on how to invest safely and wisely, organised by FinanceMalta (FM), in collaboration with the Malta Funds Industry Association (MFIA), and the support of the Malta Financial Services Authority, the Malta Stock Exchange, Bank of Valletta, MSV Life and Valletta Fund Management, FM and MFIA Chairman Kenneth Farrugia said: “The event addressed typical investments considered by investors such as deposits, bonds and shares. The panel discussions organised during these events also addressed the various ways one could possibly invest in such assets through either collective investment schemes, authorised financial intermediaries or brokerage firms as well as through online trading platforms. The event which is planned to be organised on an annual basis was very well received by the investors present at this conference.”

This is when panic generally strikes in among those who would like to take this advice but do not know who to trust to make informed decisions about the complex financial transactions and/or managing significant pension or invested assets. Most do realise that gone are the days when you hoard money under the floor tiles and live in financial security for the rest of your life.

SO whErE dO yOu STArT FrOM? First, if you are not knowledgeable enough to have the peace of mind of relying on your own resources to have financial plans built on solid foundations, seek sound financial advice.

Like you wouldn’t consider building a property without enlisting the help of professionals such as an architect, builder, plumber and electrician, why should you rely on dIy when it comes to financial planning?

There are many bodies, listed in the box accompanying this article, who you can refer to, to ensure you are being guided by the right

financial planner. Once you have identified who you are comfortable entrusting your money to, the expert will consider your financial circumstances and objectives and put in place a plan based on the information provided. Along the way, your attitude to risk is assessed and then you are recommended a suitable portfolio of investments based on your risk tolerance, investment horizon and specific requirements.

Many people have the misconception that the purpose of a financial planner is to guarantee a certain level of investment return. Like everyone else, financial planners can’t predict the future, nor can they give any guarantee on investment returns. what they can ensure though is that your monies are invested in a well-diversified portfolio of investments that suits your attitude to investment risk. This will, in turn, give you a better chance of achieving your goals and objectives.

diversifying reduces your risk and this is the key: you don’t diversify to maximise performance, but to achieve the best balance between return and risk

risk. In the meantime, always make sure your money is invested in funds that reflect your attitude to risk.

Final word of caution: Just because a lot of people are investing in a particular way doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right way to invest. The majority can easily be wrong. MBR

whErE TO LOOK FOr hELp Investors need to be informed enough to be able to decide which investments are available and the risks attached to each type of investment. Furthermore, the investor compensation scheme is limited and therefore, investors need to invest wisely, spreading their risk in contrast with putting all their eggs in one basket. For further information, refer to the following financial bodies: • FinanceMalta www.financemalta.org/, 2122 4525 • Malta Funds Industry Association mfia.org.mt/, info@mfia.org.mt • College of Stockbrokers collegeofstockbrokers@gmail.com • Consumer Complaints Unit, Malta Financial Services Authority http://www.mymoneybox.mfsa.com.mt, 2144 1155 • Association of Insurance Brokers www.aibmalta.com/, 2123 5606 • Malta Bankers’ Association www.maltabankers.org/ , 2141 2210 / 2141 0572 • Malta Stock Exchange www.borzamalta.com.mt/ , 2124 4051 • Malta Association of Small Shareholders mass.org.mt/ , 2157 6411

The next important question an investor should ask themselves is: “Am I diversified enough?” with it comes the science bit of balancing return and risk. different types of investments are affected in different ways by factors such as economics, interest rates, politics, conflicts, even weather events. what’s positive for one investment can be negative for another, and when one rises another may fall. diversifying reduces your risk and this is the key: you don’t diversify to maximise performance, but to achieve the best balance between return and risk.

To facilitate this, without needing an investor to do it themselves or constantly rely on a manager to keep tabs on investment performance, there are plenty of ready-made, multi-asset solutions that aim to deliver the highest possible return for a given level of www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Business Review

BuILDInG & ConsTruCTIon

If you are on the brink of a large home improvement project, remodel or new build, you will likely want to hire a general contractor. You would need professionals to manage all aspects of the job to ensure it’s completed on schedule and to your satisfaction. Whether you are looking for building contractors for a new construction, or home improvement contractors to spruce up your existing place, it’s important to know exactly what role they will play in the project Established in 2007, AGF turnkey contractors is a team of dynamic workers with one vision in mind- they strive to build up a good relationship throughout each and every job.

AGF Turnkey Contractor’s motto is “ Client satisfaction, on time, everytime”.

Director Jevon Gatt comes from a background of building contactors where he worked as Foremen, works manager and site supervisor for many years.

AGF Turnkey contractors are known for tehir ability to fast track construction projects while at the same time bringing them in on budget and insuring that they are built to the highest quality standards. At AGF Turnkey Contractors, Jevon’s team are focused on exceeding expectations, emphasising trust, collaboration, technical competence, and value in every aspect of our construction service.

AGF Turnkey Contractors have the experience and know-how to take on any kind of project, ranging from the finishing of a shell apartment to the total construction of a villa, or a block of flats, and anything that comes under the umbrella of the construction and finishes industry.

Jevon Gatt promises customers, “To deliver the highest-quality, cost-effective projects on time by empowered, educated, performance-oriented, and motivated teams. We are focused on building lasting relationships by practicing integrity and honesty in our dealings with all employees, clients, vendors, and partners.

We are committed to exceeding expectations by providing the highest level of professionalism, safety, service response, and quality workmanship. We take pride in our accomplishments and reputation, and will continue to build on this success.”

Why Choose a Turnkey ConTraCTor Turnkey refers to the middleman between the owner of a property, that needs work done. It is considered to be the most efficient way for a project to be finalised in the shortest time and at the most cost-effective price! The main advantage is that you would be dealing with only one contractor, who manages the various jobs. The project manager in charge would deal with all the necessary preparations, permits, schedule of works, timing, plans, materials involved and subcontractors.

Why aGF?

our serVICes ProJeCT ManaGeMenT Project management is the process and activity of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources, procedures to achieve specific goals. It is therefore vital in ANY project.

ConsTruCTIon Construction – Be it a small residential unit or a block of apartments to a villa or commercial unit.

We offer: General contracting Demolition and excavation Project management Cost estimating Site analysis And value engineering GyPsuM soFFITs Dry lining, gypsum soffits and coving, Bulkheads, shadow gaps, floating, ceiling, Rockwool insulation, Cement boards, Wedi Boards. We install any design needed. eLeCTrICaL anD PLuMBInG serVICes Flooring, bathrooms, pools, feature walls.

our VaLues Living AGF Turnkey Contractors values every day is why the majority of their business comes from repeat customers.

InTeGrITy You can always rely on AGF Turnkey Contractors to be dependable and honest.

CoMMITMenT It takes dedication to bring each and every project to successful completion. AGF Turnkey Contractors partner with their clients to insure quality, value and timely completion.

TeaMWork AGF Turnkey Contractors partner with our clients and vendors to insure quality, value, and timely completion.

Throughout the years, AGF Turnkey Contractors have taken various projects in hands that have enables them to be able to say YES they now have enough experience to be able to guarantee clients satisfaction all the time. They also know that the highest standards of workmanship need to be undertaken and that is surely a label that AGF is known for. MBR

PerForManCe AGF Turnkey Contractors goal is to consistently meet client expectations and get the job done right.

Josmar Complex, Triq id-difsa civili, Mosta, MST 1743, Malta Contact numbers 2141 7115/9945 0232 Emails: Jevgatt@maltanet.net, jevgatt@gmail.com

saFeTy It’s a priority for every aspect of every project.

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serVICe Clear communication from beginning to end and comprehensive management to insure that every detail gets done.

HSBC Water Programme

Students of Gozo College San Lawrenz Primary receiving their refillable water bottles by Séverine Coutel as they can now drink safe and healthy running tap water without the need to bring disposable water bottles to school

Malta Business Review

HSBC support leads to saving of 6,500 water bottles a year

Students of Gozo College San Lawrenz Primary School will be reducing the weight of their schoolbags by some 6,500 water bottles per year. The school has received a reverse osmosis filtration system as part of the HSBC Water Programme’s Catch the Drop campaign

H

SBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop campaign also distributed re-usable water bottles to a number of students who can now stop carrying a disposable water bottle, generally weighing 500gm to 700gm. The distributed bottles are of the highest quality and are BPA (bisphenol A.) free, making them safe for children to re-use. They were distributed by HSBC Foundation for Education France Secretary General Séverine Coutel during her recent visit to Malta and Gozo.

Séverine Coutel said: “The initiative helps students to carry lighter schoolbags as well as save them unnecessary expense of purchasing disposable water bottles. This will naturally lead to diminishing financial costs as well as the environmental cost. Disposable water bottles also use a lot of processed water so having a permanent water bottle reduces the overall rate of water consumption in the long run.”

During a ceremony held on the occasion, students presented special water-related songs and poems. Afterwards, the student council members showcased their exhibition of water-related artwork. Those present for the occasion included representatives from HSBC, the Ministry for Gozo, Eco-Gozo, Ekoskola, and San Lawrenz Local Council.

Installed in the school kitchen, the reverse osmosis system will filter the incoming water from chlorine, silt, rust, and contaminants

such as nitrates, pesticides and other pollutants. The resulting potable water will be stored in an under-sink tank for distribution to students by means of a special tap.

The extra waste water rejected by the system will be captured and utilised for the school’s restrooms.

The school officials calculated a total of approximately 6,500 bottles a year based on their students bringing disposable water bottles daily during a scholastic year.

HSBC Water Programme - Catch the Drop campaign is beginning to leave its mark on the ecological footprint of Malta as well as on the young students whose imagination the initiative aims to capture. MBR EDITOR’S NOTE The HSBC Water Programme is a five year, US$100m partnership with Earthwatch, WaterAid and WWF, three NGOs that rank amongst the world’s most respected environmental and sustainable development organisations. The programme also funds charities managing local water projects proposed by HSBC employees. These partnerships provide the necessary scale to deliver the powerful combination of water provision, protection and education; benefiting communities in need, enabling people to prosper, and driving economic development and growth. www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Business Review

EntrEprEnEur AchiEvEmEnt

Maltese entRepReneuR elected on JcI InteRnatIonal BoaRd of dIRectoRs by a Special Correspondent Friday 28th December 2014 – Leipzig, Germany

J

onathan J. Borg, the current Immediate Past President for JCI Malta, was elected to form part of the 2015 Junior Chamber International Board of Directors during the 2014 World Congress in Leipzig.

Junior Chamber International (JCI) is a worldwide federation of young active citizens aged between 18 and 40 with the aim and purpose of creating positive change in the world while fostering young responsible leaders. The organization, active in over a 100 countries, carries out its mission with various projects and programmes related to entrepreneurship, leadership, training and community services. JCI Malta, established in 1994, is the local affiliate of JCI. Over the years the organization has strived to be the leading global network of young active citizens, and 2015 marks its 100th anniversary. The 2015 JCI Malta board of directors will be joining the rest of the other chapters around the globe to lead several projects which are focused around entrepreneurship and community activities with the aim to create sustainable solutions for the communities around us.

Over 4,600 delegates from more than 106 countries attended this year’s World Congress event held in the month of November.

Jonathan J. Borg is the third Maltese to be elected in this prestigious post, the others being Marvin Cuschieri in 2012 and Ms Mariella MacLeod (née De Battista) in 2001.

As a JCI Vice President to Europe, Mr Borg has been assigned eight countries including Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, 64

Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, where he will be furthering the JCI 2015 plan of action in the assigned countries.

“The post of Vice President on the International board, is an achievement in itself, and this is one of the many opportunities which active members within the organisation can aspire to further achieve,” said Mr. Borg. Since joining JCI Malta in 2010, he has been an active sub-committee member for several projects and also served on the National board as Deputy President in 2012 and National President in 2013. He has also been the representative for JCI Malta on the MCESD Civil Society Committee representing “Youths & Students” where he has been presenting several policy issues to be implemented within our society which effect this sector.

In his professional life, Mr Borg is a Director for a research & development company focusing on renewable energy solutions, Smart Light Systems (M) Ltd, winner of the “Most Entrepreneurial Company of the Year” at the MSV life Entrepreneur awards earlier this year. He also forms part of a consultancy group focusing on company restructuring and business start-ups.

“JCI Malta, has given me the opportunity to apply what I have learnt academically into practice in a safe environment which has in turn helped me develop soft skills to get me to where I am today,” said Mr. Borg, “I strongly recommend any person between the ages of 18 and 40 to get involved in JCI as the long-term rewards are truly for life.” MBR

AccountAncy

Malta Business Review

Euraaudit intErnational annual CongrEss

by Diane Borg Bascetta Hon. Prof Edward Scicluna (Minister for Finance), CSB Group CEO Michael J. Zammit, Interlegal President Jose Antonio Miguel Neto

Location Malta, Radisson Hotel CSB Group, the business and commercial services specialist, was tasked with hosting the EuraAudit Annual Congress in Malta in October 2014, soon after being accepted as a corporate member of EuraAudit International, an audit and accountancy group bringing together more than 150 independent and professional firms.

All EuraAudit members offer a variety of services in accounting, tax, finance, human resources and general management, and are supported by specialists registered with professional organisations.

Assignments carried out by member firms include assurance, tax advice, payroll, wealth management advice, management training, working capital management as well as outsourced payroll and accounting. ‘‘CSB Group’s involvement with EuraAudit allows the group to actively participate in the evolving global accounting landscape’’

CSB Group chief financial officer Jean-Claude Cardona explained. ‘‘Representing EuraAudit in Malta allows us to offer local and international clients alternatives in specific areas such as tax advice, in conjunction with our fellow members,’’ he added.

You maY aLso be interested in: Bookkeeping and Management Reporting Payroll Services in Malta Company Liquidation Support Corporate Tax and Personal Income Tax Internal Audit Services Audit and Assurance Coordination Preparation of your Value Added Tax-VAT-Return Cash Management, Cashflow Budgets and Forecasts Raising Finance and Business Banking in Malta Corporate Restructuring Services

historY of the organisation:

Who are euraaudit?

EuraAuditInternational* is a federative umbrella organisation and partner of CharterGroup with over 150 accountancy firm-members worldwide, all of them perfectly integrated in their respective economic and institutional environments.

The grouping has been able to grow and maintain its dynamic outlook thanks to a set of shared values: the independence of its member firms, their trust in the power of collective synergy, the key to its success and sustainability, empathy and an atmosphere of friendly cooperation based on respect and equality.

The senior partners in each firm, all of whom are chartered accountants registered with the Chartered Institutes or Societies in their respective countries, offer a multidisciplinary** range of skills, and the intervention of specialised associates whenever particular assignments require it.

EuraAudit International is also a publisher of reference works, including “Taxes in Europe”, an indispensable annual publication that analyses and compares the different European tax systems. The organisation also publishes specialised guides, such as the “The IAS Standards”, as well as offering partner companies and institutions training days and events for managers and specific functions.

The organisation was created in 1986 by a group of founding members from France, Switzerland and Belgium in order to support a clientele that was increasingly looking to expand on international markets, by pooling professional resources and sharing ever more specialised knowledge. This strategic vision proved to be right and EuraAudit rapidly grew across Europe and French-speaking Africa. Today the organisation covers more than 60 countries (Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, North, South and Central America, etc.).

main areas of competence and services: Auditing, chartered accountancy, bookkeeping, cost and budgetary accounting and strategic business advice. Consultancy in business organisation, taxation, business law, company law and employment law.

For more information about Malta Accounting Services, Cash Flows, Corporate Accounting, Malta Payroll Services and Corporate Tax Restructuring, contact us by email at accounting@csbgroup.com and we will contact you within 24 hours to better understand your requirements. MBR Source/Courtesy: PKF Accountants & Image Courtesy of DO www.maltabusinessreview.net

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Malta Business Review

NEWSMAKERS

JuNIOR EuROvISION SONG CONTExT 2014 Excellent Recognition from RAI President Mrs Anna Maria Tarantola underlining the excellent relations between RAI and PBS, and Italy and Malta, with great appreciation for the fantastic organisation of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Mr Tonio Portughese, Chairman of PBS, said in a PR he is proud to share with all Maltese the special Italian recognition, and also invitation by RAI to be a keynote speaker on 11/12 at RAI’s head office in viale Mazzini,Rome in a conference for the Italian media communities in the Mediterranean, to address common areas of interest to Italy and Malta with particular emphasis on our common role in disseminating the Italian language and culture in the Mediterranean as an energizer through the public media service for peace and solidarity between the Mediterranean countries.

“We are more than proud on one hand to take full satisfaction of Italy’s gratitude and also to keep nurturing these special ties of collaboration in particular in the public service media’ s challenges,” stated the PBS Chairman, adding on, “For sure this is an outstanding certificate from our RAI counterparts led by its President Mrs Anna Maria Tarantola. and special.” MBR

MEDAC CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF TRAINING DIPLOMATS

WINNER OF ThE hSBC SELFIE COMPETITION FOR STuDENTS ANNOuNCED

Matthew Aquilina receiving his prize from Paul Steel, as (from left) Sergio Bellizzi and George Micallef from HSBC RBWM Marketing look on

Matthew Aquilina, an eighteen year old University student from Zabbar, has been declared the winner of the HSBC You and Jack Selfie competition. The competition, held during University Fresher’s Week, was open to holders of HSBC’s YES4Student accounts who had to take a selfie with Jack, the skeletal character involved in HSBC’s Student Campaign and submit it along with an appropriate slogan for judging. The prize was a €750 voucher from SCAN Malta.

A large number of good quality entries were received and it was a difficult task for the judging panel to establish the winner but ultimately, Matthew’s selfie with Jack, along with the slogan “HSBC Student offers are to die for” was declared the winning entry by the panel of judges. Fulltime students attending the higher forms of secondary schools, MCAST, 6th Form, University or any other established post-secondary and tertiary academic institution can enjoy tailor made services through the Bank’s Yes 4 Students 13+, 16+ and 18+ packages. MBR More information about HSBC’s Yes 4 Students packages is available at www.hsbc.com.mt/yes4, by calling Customer Service on 2380 2380, or by visiting any HSBC branch in Malta and Gozo.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. George Vella, delivered the keynote speech at the start of an International Conference to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies. The Conference debated the theme “The Mediterranean in Transition”. In his speech Minister Vella spoke of Malta’s commitment towards the Mediterranean, declaring that “Malta will continue to support Mediterranean initiatives, it will continue to be an advocate for the region and it will continue to stress that there can be no stability in Europe without stability in the Mediterranean”. As the current situation in the Mediterranean continues to be fluid with conflict in Libya and Syria and a resurgence of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, the Mediterranean retains its significance in Europe and beyond.

MEDAC was established in 1990 as a joint undertaking between the governments of Switzerland and Malta and the University of Malta.

Support over the years has been forthcoming from Italy, the European Union and the Commonwealth Secretariat amongst others. Germany currently funds a Chair in Peace Studies and Conflict Prevention. The conference was attended by around a 100 delegates including the Diplomatic Corps, contributors to MEDAC for the past 25 years, current students of the Academy as well as a number of alumni. Dr. Joe Borg, former EU Commissioner and current MEDAC chairman and Professor Stephen Calleya, MEDAC director welcomed the delegates. Three panels discussed the Mediterranean in transition, Euro-Mediterranean Relations and Regional Dynamics in the Emerging Mediterranean respectively.

Speakers included Dr. Michael Koehler, Director, EU Neighbourhood Policy, DG DEVCO; Professor Bichara Khader from the University of Louvain; Professor Ludger Kuhnhardt, from the University of Bonn and Dr. Noha Bakr, from the American University in Cairo.

The Conference was also addressed by Ambassador Giancarlo Kessler, Ambassador of Switzerland to Malta and Ambassador Klaus-Peter Brandes, ambassador of Germany to Malta. MBR 66

PROMOTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASuRES

The Sustainable Energy & Water Conservation Unit has hosted a seminar during which the obligations and opportunities arising out of the Energy Efficiency Directive were explained by the technical team to Non-SMEs. The seminar is one of a series of initiatives by the unit to promote energy efficiency in the business community.

Speaking at the opening of the seminar, the Minister for Energy and Health Konrad Mizzi said that despite being an EU requirement with which large businesses have to comply, the Energy Efficiency Directive, coupled with the utility tariff reductions to be implemented as of March 2015, have to be seen as an opportunity for further energy costs reductions. The energy audits that large businesses have to undertake are a first step to assess the measures that need to be carried out so that Malta reaches its targets.

Minister Mizzi commended the various energy efficiency initiatives that have been undertaken by businesses which reduce the amount of energy generated, and stated that the Unit will be assisting the business community in its undertakings to honour the obligations of the Energy Efficiency Directive.

The seminar discussed the harmonisation of energy audits and explored that various energy efficiency technologies available on the market. MBR

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