The Commercial Courier 100th Issue - April 2022

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CommercialCourier

From the British Empire till today

The Malta Chamber’s history Writing in The Malta Chamber publication ‘La Borsa’, published in 2013 and edited by Judge Emeritus Giovanni Bonello, Robert Micallef emphasises that The Malta Chamber was one of the first to be established as a constituted body within the British Empire in 1848, predating the London Chamber of Commerce which was founded over 30 years later, in 1881. BY CORYSE BORG

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he Malta Chamber was created out of a merger of the Society of British Merchants (set up in 1808) and the Casino San Giorgio, which was made up of Maltese merchants. It was due to the strong wish to make Malta a spearhead of British trade in the Mediterranean by the Governor of Malta at the time, Sir Richard More O’Ferrall, that the first iteration of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise was born. His right-hand man in this endeavour, Sir Agostino Portelli, K.C.M.G., became the first President of the Chamber, with John Grant as Vice-President. It was agreed that the new institution would be housed in the old Borsa in St Paul Street, while at the same time, new premises would be erected. In 1857, today’s Exchange Building was inaugurated, also housing the Banco Anglo Maltese and the Banco di Malta. The institution received government recognition and the Commercial Code was enacted, recognising The Malta Chamber as the body representing the commercial sector.


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