MBR Issue 26 Dec- LOW RES (1)

Issue 26 – December 2016

cover story

the importance of corporate

events

Jonathan Pace tells us just why

TIPICO events are significant, relevant

to the company and employees

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH

Accomplishing the Entrepreneurial Drive

Interview with Nikolai Livori, CEO of Yobetit

christmas narrative Papa Panov’s Special Christmas

A wonderful Christmas tale by Leo Tolstoy

mANAGEMENT Why I love Entrepreneurship

An inspiring story about entrepreneurship by Sir Richard Branson

Newspaper Post

Malta Business Review

FOR SOME,

THE NEED TO GROW

JUST KEEPS GROWING.

§75,000,000 MALTA TRADE FOR GROWTH FUND

Successful businesses aren’t satisfied by the here and now.

They prefer to ask ‘Where next?’

With nearly 150 years of global trade experience HSBC has

long believed in businesses willing to push the boundaries

and cross borders.

That is why HSBC has introduced a §75 million Malta

Trade for Growth Fund to help Maltese businesses to trade

internationally.

As your business seeks growth opportunities the Malta Trade

for Growth Fund can help you make it possible.

See how we can help your business grow.

www.business.hsbc.com.mt/75million

Terms and conditions apply. This fund will support Structured Trade and Receivables Finance business. Approved and issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c. 116, Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT1444 which is regulated by the Ma

Malta Business Review

lta Financial Services Authority.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

PuBLisher

MBR Publications Limited

editor

Martin Vella

teChniCaL advisor

Marcelle D’Argy Smith

saLes direCtor

Margaret Brincat

design

Jacqueline Muscat, Gyorgy Vertes

advertising

Call: 9940 6743 or 9926 0163/4/6;

Email: margaret@mbrpublications.net

or admin@mbrpublications.net

ContriButors

Jane Addams; Viktor Almquist, Press Officer,

LIBE Press release, Justice and home affairs, EP;

Richard Branson; George Carol; Laura Daly;

Jonathan Pace; Giulia Paravicini; Martin Vella;

James Vella Clark; Leo Tolstoy

sPeCiaL thanks

AirMalta; DOI; EU/EP; Hugo Boss; HSBC;

LinkedIn; Malta Gaming Authority; MPS;

Parallels; PoliticoPro; TIPICO; UKIP; Virgin Group

Digital; WageIndicator; Wikipedia; Yobetit

Print ProduCtion

Printit

offiCes

Highland Apartment - Level 1,

Naxxar Road,

Birkirkara, BKR 9042

teLePhone

+356 2149 7814

COVER STORY

6 The Importance of Corporate Events

Jonathan Pace tells us just why TIPICO events are significant, relevant to the

company and employees

PERSPECTIVES

10 Italy Referendum Latest…

From demolition man to demolished- Renzi’s plebiscite gambleECIAL

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH

14 Accomplishing the Entrepreneurial Drive

MBR Editor goes head-to-head with Nikolai Livori, CEO of Yobetit

CHRISTMAS NARRATIVE

18 Good to Great

Exceptional Interview with Nikolay Dobrovolskiy, the vice-president of Parallels

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

22 Why I love Entrepreneurship

An inspiring story about entrepreneurship by Sir Richard Branson

OUR GOLD PARTNERS

quote of the month

The people who are crazy enough to think they

can change the world are the ones who do.

Steve Jobs

Disclaimer

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.

your perfect atmosphere

Continental Cars Ltd.

Malta Business Review

CONTENTS

SPECIAL FEATURE:

MALTA’S BEST IN BUSINESS AWARDS

24 Chance Favours the Prepared Mind

MBR Talks with Dr Vincent Micallef and Dr Andy Ellul, Partners

Micallef & Ellul Advocates

26 Leading Through Innovation

MBIBA Interview with Martin Vella, Managing Director, HALMANN

28 Drive and Motivation

Dean Gera Haircare Ltd pick up Malta’s Best-in-Business Small to

Medium Size Business Award

30 Integrity, Trust and Professionalism

BILOM Group get recognised and rewarded for excellence in

project delivery

34 Committed to making work-life

Balance a reality employees

Interview with Sylvana Brannon, Director, Stem Cells Malta Ltd.

36 The Power of Innovation

David Abela, Managing Director is interviewed by the Malta

Business Review

38 Then. Now. Forever GINAPULA VILLAGE

Matthew Degiorgio, Managing Director, GIANPULA VILLAGE

EDITORIAL

2016 is drawing to a fast end. And what

a year it has been! It has been one of

the most fastest transient year I have

ever experienced. The Oxford English

Dictionary may have made post-truth its

word of the year, but the events of 2016

were not a rejection of knowledge. Are

we now living in a post-truth, post-factual

society? Is 2016 set to become known

as the year when authorities, and the

evidence they wield, were sent packing?

Admittedly it looks that way. The UK’s

former justice secretary Michael Gove

attempted to play the crowd in the last

days of June’s EU referendum campaigning, with the retort that “people in this

country have had enough of experts.” His contention was widely challenged, as

were the misleading claims about an extra £350m (€410m; $440m) a week for

the NHS that would be saved by exiting the EU, and the wave of immigration

that would be prompted by Turkey’s fictitious EU membership plan. Then the

proponents of these statements triumphed in the referendum. And in December

2015, Donald Trump won the US fact-checking organisation Politifact’s Lie of the

Year, cited among other things for claiming “whites killed by blacks–81%” (it’s

16%); less than a year later he won the presidential election!

Cue much handwringing and demoralisation among people who advocate

for better use of evidence in public life. They fear that we have entered a

world where everyone has their own reality, the truth has little purchase, and

demagogues and soundbite writers rule. But horrifying as it may be to witness

the appeal of people who trade in prejudices and make things up, to see lies and

misinformation exposed but still seemingly embraced, it is wrong to conclude

that the public doesn’t care for truth. We should not rush to this diagnosis for

three reasons.

In the first place, the place of expertise and evidence in recent events was

limited— too small a part of the picture to conclude that people have rejected

them. Many people in public life have learnt this year what clinicians have long

appreciated: that facts can be close to useless if you don’t engage with context

and lived experiences, whether to challenge them or to appreciate them, or

both.

Which brings me to the second reason why evidence advocates should not be

packing their bags. In so far as experts and evidence have played a role in these

debates, it has looked like an alternative to engaging with people. It seemed in

Malta, for example, that pro-debate politicians on the Panama Papers, fearing

they couldn’t manage a sensible discussion about the realities of institutionalised

corruption and the best ways to handle it, instead produced expert statements

about many other issues, other than the issue itself! Certainly, we need public

discussion to account for the facts, for evidence, even for expert opinion when

it’s not over-reaching, and we should insist on it.

So here is the third and vital reason. Evidence, expertise, truthfulness, facts,

knowledge… these are public goods. We should not forget that other events

this year have been defined by the public’s quest for truth and a cry for more

transparency and justice. Evidence and expertise have too often looked like

counsel to the knowing, rather than what we could be making them: the means

by which the less powerful can call the world to account.

So as the year dithers to its end, I wish all our readers, advertisers, supporters

and partners all the best which Christmas may bring with it, peace, fraternity,

solidarity and a better, prosperous 2017.

Enjoy the read.

Martin Vella

Malta Business Review’s editorial opinions are decided by its Editor,

and besides reflecting the Editor’s opinion, are written to represent a

fair and impartial representation of facts, events and provide a correct

analysis of local and international news.

Agents for:

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

COVER STORY OF THE MONTH

The Importance

of Corporate

Events

by Jonathan Pace

Tipico is known to be a pioneer

within the online gaming industry

and is now well renowned for

investing in employees throughout

the year. The company invests in training

and development, benefits, good salaries

and more. However, the company invests

also on corporate events to align the

team behind Tipico & Partners with one

mission and vision, together with fun and

corporate social responsibility events in

December.

Tipico invests time and money to produce

an annual Tipico and Partners Conference,

where colleagues from foreign offices are

also invited to Malta. The objectives behind

the conference are quite a few. Sharpening

the saw (your skills) is always of utmost

importance, coming out with new ideas

and approaches, creating effectiveness

and efficiency at work. Uniting the team

from foreign offices is a sought after

approach for this event. Furthermore, new

tips and tactics are given to employees,

strengthening decision making situations

at work. The conference is also there to

show the progression achieved over the

previous year and to present the plans

for the upcoming year, which continues

to show consistency levels for improved

progression.

Tipico and Partners left the conference

with a fruitful day and was followed

by the Christmas Party in a brand new

venue having Mdina, the old capital

city, as a background setting. The venue

was carefully decorated to detail inside

and out, creating a sense of belonging

to Tipico for everyone. With a twist

approach compared to the day event,

everyone is engaged in a fun way through

entertainment, projections, band, DJs, a

Volkswagen Beetle as a photo booth in the

middle of the dance floor and much more.

This was complemented with mouthwatering

food stations, sweets sections

and fine beverages all night.

The marathon didn’t stop there; it was

then time to give away some of everyone’s

time to community work and collect funds

through corporate social responsibility

events. Over ten CSR events were chosen,

varying from sports related activities,

maintenance works in various places, tree

planting, helping elderly people for the

day among others.

The trip for the employees from foreign

offices and the series of activities for

all ended with two activities; Poker

tournament and Tipico Song Contest.

Following a delicious dinner in a 5 star

COVER STORY OF THE MONTH

Malta Business Review

From top left to right corporate events:

Christmas Party 2016, CSR – ZAK Maintenance, CSR – Bingo, CSR - Football, CSR - Cat Sanctuary, CSR – Tree Planting

venue, everyone was led to their respective

chosen activity. Poker tournament, having

over 200 players, lasted overnight with

attractive prizes for those who lasted,

while the Tipico Song Contest brought out

the natural talent of a few who tend to

keep their voices closed in silence the rest

of the year!

Events are highly important for Tipico as

they are a key factor in improving employee

moral, a critical piece of the marketing

strategy, reaffirm values and transform

employees into agents of its brand. The

team strives to continue improving on

such events, making them more engaging,

worth while, relevant to the company and

employees, together with leaving a nice

brightful memory chipped to everyone’s

mind.

Tipico would like to wish everyone a

wonderful Christmas and a Happy New

Year!

MBR

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

debate

The Cost of Division

by Jane Addams

Erodes Trust

Builds Barriers

Decreases Collaboration

Limits Growth

Keeps People Up at Night

Retaliation and revenge are powerful

motivators. We want to right the

real or perceived wrong. Swiss

researchers discovered that the mere

act of contemplating revenge triggered

the portion of our brain that processes

rewards. No wonder there’s the concept

that revenge is sweet. However, giving

in to the negative feelings doesn’t end

the matter. Behavioral scientists have

found that indulging the desire to get

even creates a cycle of retaliation that

perpetuates the downward spiral of

hostility and distrust. Payback doesn’t pay.

Ann Macaskill, professor at Sheffield

Hallam University, explains how we think

about revenge, “When individuals are

attacked in some way that feels unjust, they

go through three psychological stages: a

shock phase, an adjustment phase and

a reaction phase. In the reaction phase,

they will either decide to forgive, hold

a grudge but do nothing, or take or plot

revenge. Those able to forgive rather than

seek revenge are, it would seem, better

developed than most.”

So how can we as leaders be “better

developed” and do the wicked, hard work

of rising above the desire to fight back?

As much as I love the paradoxical “power

of and,” I see the work of supplanting

discord with tolerance and acceptance as

an either/or scenario: either we surrender

to intolerance, or we decide to create

environments where people feel valued.

Intolerance isn’t acceptable; maximising

and leveraging differences is. To accept

that different is merely different, not

wrong, leaders must lead themselves.

Leaders have to be self-aware enough to

making people feel valued, respected, and

part of “we” is a foundational element

Issues grow in magnitude,

year after year and decade

after decade...

Destroying Lives,

Organisations, Communities

& Nations

for building tolerance and acceptance

and for rejecting divisiveness. There’s an

extraordinary snowball effect at play—

people who feel respected are more

likely to show respect, be tolerant, be

willing to participate, and be less willing

to punish or disparage others. Tolerance

is not the absence of prejudice but

rather emphasizes forbearance and not

begrudging other people their own ways.

~Maykel Verkuyten, professor Utrecht

University.

Behavioural scientists point to the

existence of four conditions required for

people to feel that they are treated fairly.

Firstly, People must have the opportunity

for real and meaningful participation.

They want a voice and want to know that

their voice matters. Secondly, believe

the decision making process is fair, open,

and interactive. Stanford professor John

Ousterhout notes, “If a collection of smart

people all look at the same problem with

the same information, and if they have

the same goals, then they are likely to

reach the same conclusion. A decision

with strong consensus is more valuable

than one without consensus: it is more

likely to be right, and it is more likely to

get implemented effectively because

everyone believes in it.” Thirdly, have

no doubt that they will be treated with

dignity, and fourth accept that those in

authority are trustworthy. All we have to

do is appreciate the validity of differing

points of view.

“Peace does not mean an absence of

conflicts; differences will always be there.

Peace means solving these differences

through peaceful means; through

dialogue, education, knowledge; and

through humane ways.” ~Dalai Lama XIV

When leaders are self-aware and do these

four things, we are enabling ourselves—

and others—to transcend finger pointing

and friction, move past the limitations

of who is right and who’s wrong, and to

focus on the greater good. The good we

secure for ourselves is precarious and

uncertain until it is secured for all of us and

incorporated into our common life. MBR

Sources: LinkedIn; Wikipedia

EDITOR’S

Note

Jane Addams (September

6, 1860 – May 21, 1935)

was a pioneer American

settlement activist/

reformer, social worker, public philosopher,

sociologist, author, and leader in women’s

suffrage and world peace. She co-founded,

with Ellen Gates Starr, the first settlement

house in the United States, Chicago’s Hull

House. In an era when presidents such as

Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson

identified themselves as reformers and

social activists, Addams was one of the most

prominent reformers of the Progressive Era.

She helped America to address and focus on

issues that were of concern to mothers, such as

the needs of children, local public health, and

world peace.

VOLVO XC90

R-DESIGN

at €79,000

EFFORTLESS SAFETY Our idea of luxury

VOLVO XC60 YOURS FOR €36,995

D3 DIESEL AUTOMATIC

GasanZammit Motors Ltd.,

Mriehel Bypass, Mriehel BKR3000

Tel: 27788225 email: volvo@gasanzammit.com

www.volvocars.com.mt

Malta Business Review

PERSPECTIVE

ITALY REFERENDUM LATEST …

From demolition man to demolished, by Giulia Paravicini

Matteo Renzi announces his resignation during a press conference

| Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images[Frontex]

Resigning as PM is not enough for some

members of his party.

ROME — After Matteo Renzi announced

his resignation as prime minister of Italy,

following voters’ rejection of his proposed

constitutional changes, many — even

within his own ranks — now wonder if he’s

still fit to lead the center Left.

By calling the referendum, Renzi hoped to

consolidate power and heal a split that’s

bedeviled the Democratic Party (PD) since

its inception in 2007. Instead, he has

further fractured the party, which isn’t

even able to agree on whether he should

keep the reins or resign as chairman.

The outcome of Sunday’s vote, widely seen

as a referendum on Renzi’s government,

suggests that the prime minister and

his party have lost voters to the antiestablishment

5Star Movement as well as

minor parties on both the Right and Left.

Renzi’s opponents won 60 percent of the

vote and 17 out of Italy’s 20 regions. High

voter turnout of more than 68.5 percent

made it an even more conclusive defeat

for the former mayor of Florence.

The Democratic Party of Renzi

Renzi may be paying the price for an original

sin: hijacking the PD as an outsider. Several

party elders, who openly campaigned

against Renzi, are now demanding his

resignation as head of the PD, accusing

him of having fomented divisions.

“First of all Renzi needs to resign as party

secretary and allow the PD to choose

its new leadership,” Luigi Manconi, a

PD senator, told POLITICO. “Then the

Democratic Party will have to rethink

its position and its political and cultural

identity. Because of him, we lost teachers,

blue-collar workers and trade unions

along the way.”

Several critics within the party say Renzi

surrendered core PD values, such as

social justice and defending workingclass

interests, to pursue his own political

agenda. They even have a term for it:

“PDR, the Democratic Party of Renzi.”

“He transformed a referendum into a

plebiscite, and tragically damaged the

party in so doing,” said Paolo Corsini, a PD

member. “But the truth is he lost, not the

party. And so he has to go.”

MEANWHILE…

Italian President Sergio Mattarella on

Monday asked Matteo Renzi to delay

his resignation as prime minister until

the country’s 2017 budget has been

adopted.

ITALY REFERENDUM REACTIONS …

European Greens: “Not a vote against

Europe but against Renzi.”

Marine Le Pen said the result was a

rejection of the “absurd politics of

ultra-austerity.” (Renzi argues against

austerity, in fact).

Eurogroup: No sympathy from finance

ministers, who insisted that Italy

isn’t doing enough to meet its deficit

reduction commitments.

Markets: Italy’s ailing Monte dei Paschi

bank is staring down the barrel of a €5

billion “precautionary” recapitalization,

for which it currently lacks an anchor

investor, reports POLITICO’s Morning

Exchange. The bottom line: the bank is

still at risk of failing.

EUROPE’S BLURRED LINES BETWEEN

POPULISM AND MAINSTREAM:

Normally it’s populists who want

radical change and cast themselves as

outsiders. But in Austria, the populist,

far-right Freedom Party has been at

the center of political debate for 60

years. Matthew Karnitschnig on the

increasingly upside-down world of

European politics.

This is a hammer blow to the euro

and the pro-EU establishment

Responding to Italian referendum result

and resignation of Mr Renzi, UKIP MEP

UKIP MEP Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage said:

“This is a hammer blow to the euro and

the pro-EU establishment who have

given the Italian people more poverty,

unemployment and less security

because of mass immigration.

The EU is lurching from one crisis to

another.

Quick elections look necessary so

that the Italian people would have

the opportunity to get rid of their

pro-EU establishment.” MBR

Creditline: POLITICO SPRL; EU/EP; UKIP

Corporate Interview

Malta Business Review

Leading by Example

The Malta Business Review interviews Colin Gregory, Managing Director at Equiom Malta Limited

By Martin Vella

MBR: How do you think Equiom fits in

with Malta’s economic model?

CG: I think Equiom and Malta really

complement each other. Working in an

agile economy has enabled Equiom Malta

to expand beyond trusts, foundations and

corporate services and introduce soughtafter

specialist services including property,

eBusiness, family office, Maltese yacht

leasing, Tax and VAT as well as residency,

immigration and citizenship advisory

services. Malta is an ideal location for

Equiom and has been since we opened

our office in 2012. I’m proud to bring over

20 years’ financial services experience to

the table, enabling me to steer Equiom

Malta forward and drive the growth of

the business.

Our culture is focused on

building long - standing

trusting relationships with

our clients

MBR: Malta has gone from something that

was typically offshore in its nature, where

there was a lot of work done with nonresidents,

to a very modern and vibrant

international finance centre within the

EU. Where do you see further growth in

Malta’s economy and opportunities for

Equiom?

CG: We are constantly identifying areas

of growth for our Malta office and it

certainly helps to operate in such a proenterprise

environment with a progressive

government and approachable regulator

that recognises and supports growing

industries. With Brexit on the horizon,

we anticipate that there will be increased

interest from certain territories that will be

exiting the EU and looking to move some

of their structures to an EU jurisdiction –

and Malta is very well placed to take this

business on.

From an Equiom perspective, we are keen

to further grow the funds and pension areas

of the business. As we expand globally and

add new service lines as a result of our

acquisitive strategy, we are able to introduce

new services and expertise across all our

offices, and this directly benefits clients of

the Malta office.

MBR: What does leadership look like

today in the trust and financial services,

where trust (faith) has been so badly

damaged?

CG: Equiom has spent a long time

establishing a reputable position within the

industry. As a business, we have decades of

experience and when you combine a leading

reputation with hard working people, trust

amongst your peers comes naturally. Our

culture is focused on building long-standing

trusting relationships with our clients - this

has always been our approach to business

and it ensures we stand head and shoulders

above our competitors.

MBR: What is Equiom’s growth strategy?

CG: Equiom has a twin track approach

incorporating growth through acquisition

and solid year-on-year organic growth.

We’ve worked hard to establish a leading

reputation and this is a driving force behind

our organic growth. Acquisitive growth has

seen Equiom expand substantially recently

and we now have a presence in nine

jurisdictions – the British Virgin Islands,

Guernsey, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man,

Jersey, Malta, the State of Qatar, Singapore

and the United Arab Emirates.

Across all these locations, we have people

on the ground with the relevant expertise.

As a business we recognise you’re only ever

as good as your people – and good people

are at the heart of Equiom.

In terms of our global growth goals, we aim

to be operating at the top level of trust and

corporate service providers within all our

jurisdictions and we plan to have an even

split across Asia, Europe, the Isle of Man

and the Channel Islands.

MBR: What’s your personal approach to

leadership?

CG: Leading by example is always the

best approach to management. Career

progression is a key focus across the

business and I personally ensure our

Malta staff are given the confidence to

reach their potential. Regular, structured

appraisals allow me to highlight areas of

personal development within the team and

this in turn helps me to create the ideal

environment for individuals to succeed in.

I am also a keen advocate of empowerment

and coaching rather than applying an

authoritarian-style of management.

Empowerment is about trusting employees

to make decisions in certain situations,

which in turn makes employees gain a

stronger sense of ownership and worth

when entrusted to make important

decisions. This results in staff feeling

more productive in their roles, and helps

them grow within the business, ultimately

benefiting our clients. MBR

EDITOR’S

Note

Colin Gregory is responsible

for the overall operation

and performance of

Equiom (Malta) Limited and for ensuring that

business performance is in line with group

strategy. With a seat on the Equiom (Malta)

Limited Board, Colin has full responsibility

for the business, focusing on building and

maintaining client relationships as well as coordinating

day-to-day office management for

Equiom’s Malta office.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Analysis

Mandatory checks at EU external borders:

deal done by MEPs and ministers

By Special Correspondent

All EU citizens and third country nationals entering or leaving the EU will be checked

against databases, e.g. of lost and stolen documents, under a draft law informally

agreed by MEPs and EU ministers recently.

A Frontex operation at sea. [Frontex]

Background

The draft regulation is a response to the

rise in terrorist threats in Europe, such

as the attacks in Paris, Copenhagen and

Brussels in recent years. It also aims

to combat terrorist “foreign fighters”,

many of whom are EU citizens, irregular

migration and human trafficking.

This initiative to amend the Schengen

Borders Code (SBC) was presented by

the European Commission in December

2015. The amendment will also align

member states’ existing obligations

to do systematic exit checks on third

country nationals, to ensure that they

do not present a threat to public policy

and internal security.

These checks, designed to improve

security inside the EU, would be

mandatory for everyone. A key goal for

Parliament’s negotiators was also to

make it possible to ease the new rules

at airports, should they slow the flow of

traffic there too much.

Parliament’s rapporteur Monica Macovei

(ECR, RO) said: “Terrorism is hate without

limits, and destroying human life is at

the core of hate. Every person has a

right to life and every democracy has the

right to its values. We want security in a

changing world.”

”Crises such as the terrorist threat require

a rapid and coordinated crisis response.

Securing the external borders of the EU

can stop the movement of terrorists,

weapons and substances of mass

destruction. We must do our outmost”,

she added.

The agreement still needs to be formally

endorsed by the full Parliament and

the Council.

EU-wide databases

MEPs and ministers struck a compromise

on using EU-wide databases as much

as possible when doing border checks,

in particular the Schengen Information

System, the Interpol database on stolen

or lost travel documents and other

European databases.

Nevertheless, the agreement still allows

member states to consult national

information systems and Interpol´s other

databases if they wish.

Relaxing checks at airports

The EU Commission proposal says that if

systematic checks cause too lengthy border

delays, sample checks could be introduced

at EU land and sea borders instead.

MEPs managed to include airports too, by

granting national authorities a transitional

period of up to six months to adjust

their air border infrastructure, plus, if

necessary, an additional 18 months under

exceptional circumstances. Thereafter,

the checks should be systematic.

According to the agreed text, member

states wishing to ease airport checks

would have to demonstrate that this

would not lead to risks for internal

security, public policy, international

relations or public health.

Next steps

The informal deal will be put to a

confirmation vote in the Civil Liberties

Committee on a date to be decided later.

If approved in committee, the deal will be

put to a vote by Parliament as a whole and

the Council of Ministers. All dates for these

votes will also be decided later. MBR

Creditline: Viktor Almquist, Press Officer, LIBE Press

release, Justice and home affairs, EP

FEATURE INTERVIEW

Malta Business Review

You’re

welcome

La Valette Club

Join us at the La Valette Club. We are

here to ensure that you start and end

your trip in luxury, style and comfort.

Malta International Airport plc.

Luqa LQA 4000, Malta

Tel: (+356) 2369 6292 / 6016

Freephone: 8007 6666

Email: info@lavaletteclub.com

www.lavaletteclub.com

www.maltabusinessreview.net 13

Malta Business Review

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH

Accomplishing the Entrepreneurial Drive

By Martin Vella

All businesses are

built on relationships;

of course they have

to be relevant ones with

key stakeholders - providers,

employees, customers, regulatory

bodies - people of power, people

of knowledge like experts. Nikolai

Livori, CEO of Yobetit, believes that

every relationship has value. Let’s

find out why he personally

values knowledge over

power.

MBR: You are known as an

iGaming veteran, how did it all

start?

NL: My education background

is in maths and computer

science, particularly focused

on A.I. After venturing into the

iGaming world over a decade

ago, I have worked with a variety

of well known international

companies eventually leading

to positions in executive management.

Through MathEPIC, I am heavily involved

in start-ups; my own and those of others. I

am working on setting up an ecosystem to

facilitate mentoring, financing and general

early stage support.

I was an employee myself, and was given

opportunities to advance in my career. I

have the support of those that believe in my

ideas. I too believe in people; in investing in

them, their passions and their ideas. I want

to give that same opportunity to others that

show tenacity, passion and entrepreneurial

spirit. That is part of my long-term strategy.

MBR: Looking back, are you surprised

by how much sports have been a part of

your life?

NL: The real surprise is probably that I am

not a football and sports fanatic, I don’t

even have a favourite team. I approach the

sports betting industry with the mind-set

of a mathematician; focusing on numbers,

mathematical models, algorithms.

It is a misconception that iGaming and

sports are two sides of the same coin. In

content, you may be betting on sports

events, but the concept of gambling can

be applied to almost anything. Sports

feeds into my business, it fuels its engine

however I could just as easily apply the

models and proprietary technology to

other types of trading industries such as

forex or commodities

Transparency and sharing

your ideas at an early stage

really is key

I also have ties with game development

companies and we do not like to blur the

lines between pure entertainment games

and gambling. As such, I believe that the

term iGaming is misleading and should

be named iGambling. You can find more

information on my LinkedIn.

MBR: Would you discuss the importance

of communicating your vision to

the people at Yobetit early on and

having them understand the broader

opportunities?

NL: A vision cannot become reality

without the buy-in from key players and

employees. And I have come to understand

that it is not enough to have a compelling

vision, because oftentimes people have

to buy into the leader before they are

willing to buy into the vision itself. You

must engage with them, have one-on-one

conversations, and listen, to create energy

around the concept. Everyone wants to

belong, they want to contribute and fit

into the bigger picture. Transparency and

sharing your ideas at an early stage really is

key. That way, one can provide just enough

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH

Malta Business Review

boundaries for creativity to thrive and flow

without losing sight of the ultimate goal.

MBR: How hard is it to make a longterm

investments when there is so much

pressure for short-term results?

NL: As a Managing Director, I have the

privilege of being able to instill a solid

balance between long-term investments

and short-term results. I am also able

to better direct any efforts that are

undertaken for the ultimate success of the

company. I have seen countless examples

of the bottom line being the only KPI for

success or failure in a business. Racing

against time to produce good short-term

results while losing the overview may

jeopardise the capability for survival in the

longer term. And even more importantly,

without the right people with the right

skills in the right positions, you are not

going to be making profit for long.

MBR: It seems you like to fix and drive

growth. Do you enjoy the process as

you’re building?

NL: Being an entrepreneur is a calling, a

vocation if you will. It can be a blessing and

a curse at times, because there is a sense

of urgency in everything you do. Inactivity

will make you feel restless however it is a

process and one has to set clear goals and

pursue them tirelessly. Seeing a business

come to life, from idea generation to

incorporation, to growth stage is very

satisfying. Once you have started one

company, you will want to start more. You

crave being involved in the early stages.

You are compelled to create again and

again - and so I run and am involved in

multiple projects and businesses, and help

others to realise their entrepreneurial

vision and dreams.

As an entrepreneur, you work for yourself.

You build your businesses around your

strengths and compensate for your

weaknesses by surrounding yourself with

the right people. You chart your own

path and when you have a setback, you

regroup and reimagine. I consider an

entrepreneurial drive a personal asset;

you plan, you strategise, you solve, and

you work with alternatives - your goal is to

always find a way.

MBR: Can you tell us the significance

of market movements within sports

betting?

NL: As a bettor, understanding the

significance of market movements is

a strategy for those hoping to predict

winning outcomes. The flow of money can

be a pretty accurate way of determining an

outcome of a future event. As a business,

our automated engine monitors these

market movements and takes a position in

the market at set intervals. It allows us to

offer surebets as well as highly competitive

Last Minute Bets prices.

I find that the best way

to respond to anything

threatening your business

model or goals is to be open

to new opportunities

There are a number of bookmakers to

watch to understand the betting market

sentiment. We always look to sharp

bookmakers as they operate with high

volumes and low margins, and therefore

their prices are very close to the “fair” or

actual market price. Additionally, they are

the first to move their prices, initiating

general movement within the market.

MBR: Would you say there is a

tremendous opportunity for innovation

in iGaming both on the product side and

across the industry?

NL: Although I do believe that there is

tremendous opportunity for innovation

in iGaming, it would seem as if we have

reached a plateau in recent years. Overall,

I feel that there is a sense of complacency

on the part of industry giants, but I am

from the school of thought that we should

always embrace curiosity and question the

status quo. I do appreciate that demand is

the driver, however I feel that efforts and

progress, or lack thereof, is being driven

mainly by industry providers and operators.

If we were to be curious about what

the customers want, they may welcome

something entirely different. Many iGaming

start-ups and fairly new companies embrace

this to a larger extent. Yobetit Surebets is

for me the epitome of wanting to bring

about change and innovate. It enabled

me to bring together mathematics, data

mining and iGaming. The concept of

surebetting is nothing new but it had not

yet been applied in a bookmaking fashion.

This innovative product appeals to a niche

audience, which makes me certain there

are more niches to explore. No one size

fits all, it is a matter of having the courage

to do things a little differently.

Recently, there has been a lot of attention

on the MGA licensing regime from an EU

perspective. It presents both threats and

opportunities, but as an entrepreneur you

need the determination to find alternatives.

I find that the best way to respond to

anything threatening your business model

or goals is to be open to new opportunities.

This particular threat has made me look to

Asia for new ideas and possibilities, as well

as branching out of the industry altogether.

MBR: For somebody who is known to get

deep into the business operations, do

you find it harder to get as engaged as

you would like?

NL: I certainly have a tendency to get deeply

involved into the mathematics, technical

and research parts of the businesses, so I

have to constantly work to find a balance

in my involvement. I engage with the

teams; I am aware of their victories and

their shortcomings. As a leader, one needs

to know when to take charge and when

to follow. Surrounding myself with people

I trust personally and professionally has

taught me to occasionally give up the reins

before it becomes detrimental to business

and health.

MBR: What are the key priorities in

your role and how will you measure the

success of your efforts?

NL: The key priority in my role is driving

growth; creating forward movement. There

is no finish line. It is my responsibility to

search for change and improvement, figure

out how to respond to it and use it to create

opportunities for my team and businesses.

I believe that the success of my efforts

is measured by the level of passion and

motivation in my team, and by how people

respond to my businesses or ideas. If they

are either excited or incredulous about it, I

know I am doing something right. MBR

EDITOR’S

Note

Nikolai Livori is a

successful Maltese

entrepreneur within

the IT, online casual

games and iGaming industries. Through

a solid educational background in

mathematics, computer science and AI, as

well as business acumen, he has dived into

different areas such as game development,

e-learning and iGaming as well as data

mining and gamification for marketing

and innovation purposes. As a director,

investor and mentor, Nikolai is involved

in multiple local and international startups

and ventures.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Christmas Narrative

Papa Panov’s Special

Christmas

By Leo Tolstoy

Over the years, Christmas has inspired many authors to write about its spirit and significance. The spirit

that embodies charity, forgiveness, friendship, unselfish love and generosity. In the stories that follow, you

will find many examples of what makes the Christmas Spirit so unique and special. Though most of these

stories have been written for children, readers of all ages will enjoy these skillfully told tales.

Old Papa Panov, the village

shoemaker, stepped outside

his shop to take one last

look around. The sounds of

happiness, the bright lights and the faint

but delicious smells of Christmas cooking

reminded him of past Christmas times

when his wife had still been alive and his

own children little. Now they had gone.

His usually cheerful face, with the little

laughter wrinkles behind the round steel

spectacles, looked sad now. But he went

back indoors with a firm step, put up the

shutters and set a pot of coffee to heat on

the charcoal stove. Then, with a sigh, he

settled in his big armchair.

Papa Panov did not often read, but tonight

he pulled down the big old family Bible

and, slowly tracing the lines with one

forefinger, he read again the Christmas

story. He read how Mary and Joseph, tired

by their journey to Bethlehem, found no

room for them at the inn, so that Mary’s

little baby was born in the cowshed.

Bless my soul! said Papa

Panov. It’s Christmas Day!

“Oh, dear, oh, dear!” exclaimed Papa

Panov, “if only they had come here! I

would have given them my bed and I could

have covered the baby with my patchwork

quilt to keep him warm.”

He read on about the wise men who had

come to see the baby Jesus, bringing him

splendid gifts.

Papa Panov’s face fell. “I have no gift that I

could give him,” he thought sadly.

Then his face brightened. He put down

the Bible, got up and stretched his long

arms t the shelf high up in his little room.

He took down a small, dusty box and

opened it. Inside was a perfect pair of tiny

leather shoes.

Papa Panov smiled with satisfaction. Yes,

they were as good as he had rememberedthe

best shoes he had ever made. “I should

give him those,” he decided, as he gently

put them away and sat down again.

He was feeling tired now, and the further

Christmas Narrative

Malta Business Review

he read the sleeper he became. The print

began to dance before his eyes so that he

closed them, just for a minute. In no time

at all Papa Panov was fast asleep.

And as he slept he dreamed. He dreamed

that someone was in his room and he

know at once, as one does in dreams, who

the person was. It was Jesus.

“You have been wishing that you could see

me, Papa Panov.” he said kindly, “then look

for me tomorrow. It will be Christmas Day

and I will visit you. But look carefully, for I

shall not tell you who I am.”

When at last Papa Panov awoke, the bells

were ringing out and a thin light was

filtering through the shutters. wHe stood

up and stretched himself for he was rather

stiff. Then his face filled with happiness as

he remembered his dream. This would be

a very special Christmas after all, for Jesus

was coming to visit him. How would he

look? Would he be a little baby, as at that

first Christmas? Would he be a grown man,

a carpenter- or the great King that he is,

God’s Son? He must watch carefully the

whole day through so that he recognized

him however he came.

Papa Panov put on a special pot of coffee

for his Christmas breakfast, took down the

shutters and looked out of the window. The

street was deserted, no one was stirring

yet. No one except the road sweeper. He

looked as miserable and dirty as ever, and

well he might! Whoever wanted to work

on Christmas Day - and in the raw cold and

bitter freezing mist of such a morning?

Papa Panov opened the shop door, letting

in a thin stream of cold air. “Come in!” he

shouted across the street cheerily. “Come

in and have some hot coffee to keep out

the cold!”

The sweeper looked up, scarcely able to

believe his ears. He was only too glad to put

down his broom and come into the warm

room. His old clothes steamed gently in the

heat of the stove and he clasped both red

hands round the comforting warm mug as

he drank.

Papa Panov watched him with satisfaction,

but every now and them his eyes strayed

to the window. It would

never do to miss his

special visitor.

“Expecting someone?”

the sweeper asked at

last. So Papa Panov told

him about his dream.

“Well, I hope he

comes,” the sweeper

said, “you’ve given

me a bit of Christmas

cheer I never expected

to have. I’d say you

deserve to have your

dream come true.” And

he actually smiled.

When he had gone,

Papa Panov put on

cabbage soup for his

dinner, then went

Leo Tolstoy - Yasnaya Polyana estate in May 1908.

to the door again,

by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky

scanning the street.

He saw no one. But he was mistaken.

Someone was coming.

The girl walked so slowly and quietly,

hugging the walls of shops and houses,

Sudden thought flashed through Papa

Panov’s mind. He remembered the little

shoes he had looked at last night. But

he had been keeping those for Jesus. He

that it was a while before he noticed her.

looked again at the cold little feet and

She looked very tired and she was carrying

made up his mind. MBR

something. As she drew nearer he could

see that it was a baby, wrapped in a thin

shawl. There was such sadness in her face

EDITOR’S

and in the pinched little face of the baby,

Note

that Papa Panov’s heart went out to them.

“Won’t you come in,” he called, stepping

Leo Tolstoy, or Count

outside to meet them. “You both need a

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy

warm by the fire and a rest.”

(September 9 1828 –

November 20 1910), was a Russian writer

The young mother let him shepherd her

widely regarded as among the greatest of

indoors and to the comfort of the armchair.

novelists. Tolstoy’s further talents as essayist,

She gave a big sigh of relief.

dramatist, and educational reformer made

“I’ll warm some milk for the baby,” Papa

Panov said, “I’ve had children of my own-

I can feed her for you.” He took the milk

from the stove and carefully fed the baby

from a spoon, warming her tiny feet by the

stove at the same time.

“She needs shoes,” the cobbler said.

him the most influential member of the

aristocratic Tolstoy family. Papa Panov’s

Special Christmas was originally written

in French by Ruben Saillens, and then

translated into English by Tolstoy. This is a

very thoughtful story, based on the Bible text

‘I was hungry and you gave me food, I was

thirsty and you gave me water’ which Jesus

used to make us understand how we should

But the girl replied, “I can’t afford shoes,

serve him by serving each other. The story of

I’ve got no husband to bring home money.

Papa Panov is an excellent way to introduce

I’m on my way to the next village to get

young chldren to the principles of kindness.

work.”

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

IT Interview of the Month

Good to Great

By George Carol

When you start a new business or create an innovative product, you are very often faced with the choice to move

direction. And if you don’t copy someone’s idea doing something really new and unique, you should rely only on your

own intuition. In his interview for Malta Business Review, Nikolay Dobrovolskiy, the vice-president of Parallels, spoke

about avoiding mistakes while making the first steps.

Thea Saliba, Lawyer & TV Personality Show Host, presenting an award to Nick during MBIBA 2016

MBR: Your company became worldknown

about ten years ago. Can we say

that the appearance of your key product,

Parallels Desktop for Mac, is a simple

luck?

ND: The great American swimmer Michael

Phelps was once asked how many of his

victories were influenced by luck. He

answered that the more he trained, the

more often he was lucky to win. In our case,

everything is the same. Before becoming a

world leader in software production, we

worked on our Parallels Desktop project

for more than five years. Sometimes, there

were cases when the whole Team didn’t

receive any salary for several months.

MBR: What is the secret of success?

Why have you succeeded in making a

world-class project, while hundreds of

thousands of other programmers have

not?

ND: In my opinion, the main components

of any successful startup are a clear vision,

a good team and a focus on the product.

Initially I got a feeling that

there would be no deal

while we were talking to

Philip Schiller

MBR: Do you think that others don’t

have them?

ND: Quite often I see the picture of a

young team or a startup being united by

an interesting idea. People begin to do

something, but one or two years later

they abandon it without achieving results

and start a new project. Then the story

repeats itself. Finally, 10-15 years later,

those people find themselves in the same

situation as the one they started with.

Time, efforts and energy are lost, but the

result is absent. If you believe in your idea,

you shouldn’t give up after the first failure.

MBR: How important is the idea?

ND: In my opinion, people overestimate

the importance of their ideas. Some people

think that everyone wants to steal their

invented unique know-how. But it is much

more important to implement the idea

than just to invent it. Did social networks

exist before Facebook? Yes, of course. Still,

only Mark Zuckerberg managed to make

his project really global, uniting billions of

people on the planet.

MBR: How important for your success

was your meeting with Steve Jobs?

ND: Such meetings can be categorized

as amazing ones. We met him at Apple

headquarters in 2007. Being already

known around the world, we wanted to

IT Interview of the Month

Malta Business Review

The Parallels Team led by Nick during Malta’s Best in Business Awards 2016

put Parallels Desktop into the Apple’s

business channel. Initially I got a feeling

that there would be no deal while we were

talking to Philip Schiller (Apple’s senior vice

president of Worldwide Marketing) and

Bertrand Serlet (The “Father” of macOS

and Senior Vice President of Software

Engineering at Apple). They gave very

vague answers to our direct questions.

Suddenly, Steve Jobs walked in. He asked

us to introduce ourselves and tell him

about our ideas. Further, he asked several

clarifying questions and told his reports

to do it. After that our conversation

continued in an absolutely different way.

By the way, our products are still available

in all Apple shops and corporate channel

worldwide.

the main components of any

successful startup are a clear

vision, a good team and a

focus on the product

MBR: Let us return to the topic of

choosing the right path and successful

development. What is more important

for the company, presence of a captain

like Steve Jobs or the ability to make

right decisions collectively?

ND: A lot of things depend on corporate

culture specifics. In Parallels, many issues

are resolved in the team. We are used to

being interested in everyone’s opinion.

The employees are greatly involved in

achieving common results. Generally, we

are like a big family. Of course, if we have

no consensus, it is necessary to make the

decision personally, but usually everyone

is motivated by the opportunity to be a

part of our common future.

MBR: But it is impossible to create

a common vision for the company

consisting of hundreds and even

thousands of people, isn’t it?

ND: In fact, it is possible. In the case of

Parallels, we know that the programs

created by us must meet our users’ needs.

Our products must be intuitively clear,

simple and convenient. It is no accident

that one of the key metrics for us is NPS

(Net Promoter Score). The probability of

our users recommending our software

determines the correctness of our chosen

way and the future development of our

company. We understand that if we do

not hear and listen to the users, our future

will be foggy. Another component of our

development is constant improvement.

MBR: What do you mean? It is impossible

to re-invent the bicycle, isn’t it?

ND: Did you see electric motorized

bicycles? Gyroscooters? Tesla cars? You

may agree that their basic functions are

the same, but the technologies used in

each of them made revolutionary steps

forward. I consider the history of Nokia,

Polaroid and Siemens Mobile. These giants

seemed to be inviolable, but they lost

their superiority within several years. For

this reason, Parallels constantly develops,

looks for perspective niches, creates new

products and technological solutions. For

us, it is not enough to be just good, we

strive to become a great company. MBR

Corporate

Brief

Parallels is a global leader in crossplatform

solutions which make it

possible and simple for customers

to use and access the applications

and files they need on any device or

operating system. We help customers

take advantage of the best technology

out there, whether it’s Windows,

Mac, iOS, AndroidTM or the cloud.

Parallels solves complex engineering

and user experience problems by

making it simple and cost-effective for

businesses and individual customers

to use applications wherever they

may be local, remote, in the private

datacenter or in the cloud.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

igaming

The MGA Publishes its Interim Performance

Report for the Gaming Industry for the

Period January to June 2016

By Malta Gaming Authority

The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) has

published its interim performance report

for the period January to June 2016. The

report reviews the performance of the

gaming industry under the governance

of MGA in terms of economic value

added, employment, number of licensed

operators and tax revenue together with

developments in demand trends and

in the supply capabilities of operators.

The report includes an introductory

section highlighting the key performance

indicators for the first half of 2016 as well

as a medium term outlook into the future

followed by a detailed report explaining

key statistics for land-based and remote

gaming sectors. Some key indicators

include:

»»

During the period under review, the

gaming industry directly contributed

12.0% of the total economic value

added generated in the Maltese

economy with employment in the

gaming industry rising by 31% year

on year. Furthermore, Gross Value

Added for the first six months of 2016

increased by 11.9% compared to Jan

to Jun 2015,

»»

Land-based activities generated over

250 new jobs when compared to

the second half of 2015 whilst new

jobs in the remote gaming business

increased by eight times as much,

»»

Tax revenues amounted to €28

million during the first half of 2016,

which represented 4.6% of the total

indirect tax intake of the Maltese

Government,

»»

As at the end of June 2016, there

were 250 registered remote gaming

operators, holding 490 licences

collectively,

»»

The Authority developed a regulatory

framework for games of skill,

»»

MGA continued to work with the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit

(FIAU) on the implementation of

the new 4th Anti Money Laundering

Directive set to come into force next

year,

»»

Remote gaming regulations

were amended to strengthen

consumer protection and promote

administrative simplification,

»»

MGA continued with the work on a

regulatory overhaul which should

strengthen and future-proof the

gaming industry in Malta (to be

brought into force in 2017),

»»

The gaming industry in Malta is

expected to continue growing

robustly in 2017.

The MGA will publish a full year industry

performance report in May 2017 when it

publishes its Annual Report for the financial

year ending 31 December 2016. MBR

Malta Business Review

What has established our global

reputation in the gaming industry?

At the Malta Gaming Authority, our regulatory philosophy, organisational principles

and culture are focused on player protection. Malta’s transparent legal framework and

experience in regulating gaming has developed into a world class eco-system providing

effective, innovative and efficient regulation.

Our regulatory framework provides assurances both locally and internationally

that fairness and transparency are at the core of everything that we do.

To this effect, our licensees are associated with the highest

levels of integrity and efficiency.

Proudly recognised as a world class authority in terms of

innovation, governance and diligence.

MALTA GAMING AUTHORITY

Building SCM02-03, Level 4, SmartCity Malta, Ricasoli SCM 1001, Malta

T +356 2546 9000 E info.mga@mga.org.mt

www.mga.org.mt

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Entrepreneurship

Why I love entrepreneurship

By Sir Richard Branson

Image from Virgin StartUp

The greatest thing about entrepreneurship

is that it’s open to everyone. It doesn’t

matter where you went to school or

who your parents are, it all boils down to

having a good idea and being resourceful

enough to turn it into a reality.

I was thrilled to receive the letter below

from Mohsin Muhammed – one of the

first people in Scotland to receive a loan

through Virgin StartUp. When Mo moved

to the UK at age nine, has was unable to

speak English. Nine years later he was

diagnosed with dyslexia. But he didn’t let

that stop him from pursuing his dreams

to start a business, and what’s more,

become a doctor.

A Dyslexic Teenager’s Dream

Imagine you moved to Scotland from a

deprived country when you are 9 years old,

you do not know any English apart from:

A is for Apple and B is Banana… Well,

that was me in late 2004.

Fast forward to June 2013, I

found out that I am dyslexic.

When I heard this “bad

news”, I thought, this

was the end of my

world. I can never

conquer the highest

mountains. I can

never become a

doctor. I can never

make money in

life. I can never live

a life that I want to

live! These were

just a few negative

thoughts that

went through my

head back then.

But things started

to change when I

was introduced to

dyslexic celebrities who

have changed the world.

One of the celebrities that

stood out to me was Sir Richard

Branson. Why? I studied Business

Management in high school and I

struggled to understand the difference

between Gross Profit and Net Profit; so who

helped me understand the difference? It

was Sir Richard Branson, another dyslexic.

He too struggled to understand this ‘simple

concept’ until someone told him in a

meeting. ‘Gross Profit is all the fish in the sea

and Net Profit is all the fish that you catch in

the net and take home with you.’ -something

along these lines. It worked for me!

I could dream again! Since then, I have learnt

a lot from Sir Richard Branson by reading his

books. My favourite book is ‘Screw it, Let’s

do it.’ Sir Richard Branson is my favourite

teacher. The only teacher that taught me

anything is possible and that business is not

rocket science. With him acting as a mentor

through books, I managed to achieve a lot

for a dyslexic - please read the following: I

have managed to get into medical school

against all the odds - I received 7 refusals

before starting at University of Glasgow. I will

be starting my 3rd year of MBChB this year,

September 2016. Apart from medicine, I have

a huge interest in business. I want to change

lives! I want to deliver happiness! How am I

planning on doing this? Well at the moment

through Happiness Delivered Ltd. This year,

this company is launching LoveSweets.com.

LoveSweets is an online sweet subscription

service company. The only way this company

is able to launch is because of Virgin StartUp.

Sir Richard Branson and everything that he

has setup came to help me once again in my

life.

He’s helped me get into medical school. He’s

helped me start a business. Even if it was

indirectly. The very most that I would like to

request is 2 minutes to pass on my sincere

gratitude to him. I have bought a ticket to an

event where I can be given the opportunity

to meet him. Which event? Virgin Disruptors

2016 on the 3rd October 2016. I have paid

for this using my money that I had saved up

for my trip to France. In addition, I will have

to miss 6 very important lectures to be there.

I can always catch-up on my lectures and can

always make more money to fund a trip to

France but I may never get the opportunity

to meet my mentor in person ever again.

So what am I requesting for? My Virgin

StartUp Mentor Mr David Christie has

helped me a lot in starting this business and

now I am requesting him to help me find

someone who can arrange even 30 seconds

so that I can meet Sir Richard Branson on the

3rd October 2016 at the event. I will try my

best to catch his attention on the day but

if that does not work, I must at least try to

arrange a Plan B for such a great opportunity.

And I could not think of anything better than

asking for help from Mr David Christie. To

whoever is reading this, I hope you see how

much meeting Sir Richard Branson to thank

him would mean to me. MBR

Image from Virgin StartUp

Special Feature: mbiba 2016

Malta Business Review

Malta's Best-in-Business

Awards 2016

Castello Dei Baroni, Friday, 25th November, 2016

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Chance Favours

the Prepared Mind

By Martin Vella

MBR talks with Dr Andy Ellul and Dr Vincent Micallef, founding partners of Micallef & Ellul

Advocates, considered as one of Malta’s leading multi-disciplinary firms, winners of Malta's

Best-in-Business Law Firm of the Year Award

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

MBR: What is the secret to the success of

Micallef & Ellul Advocates?

VM: Micallef & Ellul Advocates believes

that the values of commitment, reliability

and excellence form the basis upon which

every success story is built. However,

whilst keeping these values at its core,

the firm believes that the key to success

in its profession is client satisfaction.

This is fully achieved by listening and

comprehending to the clients’ needs

so as to find the best possible tailormade

solution. It is precisely that

customer satisfaction which attracts

more clients. Clients retain and

recommend the firm’s services, thus

becoming the firm’s ambassadors in this

increasingly competitive industry. From its

inception, the firm realised that placing its

clients at the centre of its activities was

significant for its establishment in the legal

community as we know it today.

MBR: How do you define what your

focus is today?

AL: Our focus at Micallef & Ellul Advocates

is very much based on the prevalent

modern ideology that being successful

does no longer depend on the size of

human or physical resources, but is all

about having a solid and reliable network

which delivers. The firm’s aim is not to

compete with other law firms on the basis

of employing more and more resources.

On the contrary, the firm is focused on

remaining a boutique law-firm albeit with

a difference, that is by expanding the

practice through extensive outsourcing

and networking arrangements with the

right individuals. With this in mind, the

firm has started to promote its legal

services abroad, such as in Dubai, Lebanon,

Jordan, China and South Africa. The quest

to constantly seek alternative channels

of doing business and the ability to seize

the opportunity when it presents itself,

reflects itself in the internationalisation of

new services being offered by the firm.

MBR: Does Micallef & Ellul Advocates

have a specific sector expertise or do

you have broad expertise across all

sectors when it comes to delivering legal

solutions and advice?

AL: Whilst understanding that nowadays

law firms may be better off when

specialising in a particular field of law,

thereby enhancing the competitive

advantages applicable to that specific field,

Micallef & Ellul Advocates has purposely

chosen to position the firm as a boutique

law firm in such a way as to create value to

its clientele - thus differentiating the level

of service from that of other larger and

longer established law firms.

MBR: Do you consider the recent

prestigious award as ‘Malta's Best-in-

Business Law Firm of the Year Award’

as a recognition of the Micallef & Ellul

Advocates business model?

VM: The firm’s professional approach

together with the values it upholds,

coupled with the constant drive to further

improve its already reputable standards,

makes Micallef & Ellul Advocates a lawfirm

worthy of the recognition it received.

This recognition will undoubtedly serve

as a further incentive towards the firm’s

strategic direction, that to become one of

the island’s premier legal and consultancy

firms. We intend to continue doing what

we do best, like we did 10 years ago when

planning for where we are today! The

‘Malta’s Best-in- Business Law Firm of the

Year Award 2016’ was definitely a moral

boost to all of us. MBR

The Management and team of Micallef & Ellul Advocates at the

Malta Best-in-Business Awards

Corporate

Brief

Established in 2007, Micallef & Ellul

Advocates is a multi-disciplinary law-firm

based in Malta. It operates from Valletta,

Malta’s Capital City, and the firm’s mission

is to provide its clients with pristine service.

The practise ranges from Consultancy

services to Litigation, and each of the firm’s

department is manned by Legal Consultants

of the highest calibre. The firm prides itself

in having a number of reputable local and

international partners. Its mission is to

remain as a boutique law-firm and not to

compete with other law firms on the basis

of employing more and more resources.

On the contrary, the firm aims to continue

enhancing its practice through extensive

outsourcing and networking arrangements

with the right people.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Leading Through

Innovation

By George Carol

Malta’ s Best-in-Business Outstanding Industry Contributor Award is bestowed to companies who have

contributed significantly to the local industry over a period of years through dedicated work and to driving

the industry forward. This year this award went to HALMANN Vella, recognised for their leadership and

participation in multiple projects, including the award winning design and green management concepts.

The HALMANN VELLA Team

MBR: Can you share your feelings

after having been bestowed as Malta’s

Best-in-Business Outstanding Industry

Contributor Award 2016?

MV: Winning an award, which recognises

how far we have come since the company’s

inception over 60 years ago, is a great

feeling isn’t it?! It is an honour to be

commended by local business experts for

business excellence. Business growth, whilst

maintaining the spirit of a family business

and not losing focus of the customer, has

always been our goal, and still is.

MBR: What are the main factors that

have made the difference to convince

the judges to give you such a prestigious

award?

MV: I believe that Halmann Vella stood out

in terms of a number of factors. One being

innovation, an aspect on which we place a

lot of value. We constantly invest in new

machinery, in order to be able to innovate

both in terms of production processes

as well as in the final product. This

enables us to fulfill our brand promise

of quality. We also seek to import the

most innovative surfacing materials, most

notably engineered surfaces such as

Dekton and Silestone.

Halmann Vella stands out also as a

company that puts a strong emphasis

on sustainability and Corporate Social

responsibility. In 2014, a 400kWH solar

panel system was installed in one of

the company’s factories. This system

contributes to an average annual reduction

of 52 tons of Co2. The company is currently

finalising another additional installation

of a 480kwH solar panel system. Water

which is also an important factor in the

production process. Systems installed in

both our factories make it possible to filter

and reuse at least 200,000 litres of water

per day. Halmann Vella also supports

a number of charitable institutions as

well as local heritage. For instance the

company has made great efforts to revive

the art of patterned tiles whilst preserving

the traditional method of production. In

conjunction with the Deaf Association

Malta, we now employ three people with

hearing impairment within our Patterned

Tiles Production team, whilst also making

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

Ms Miriam Theuma, CEO at Agenzija Zghazagh presenting the award to Mr Martin Vella, GM, Halmann Vella

a donation per tile sold to the Deaf

Association Malta.

All of this wouldn’t be possible without

our employees and the collective

entrepreneurial spirit which is fostered

and encouraged throughout the company.

In the past decade the company has gone

through a process of change and growth

and thanks to this collective spirit, we have

managed to maintain the flexibility of a

small company whilst being able to handle

opportunities, projects and production of a

much larger scale and growth.

Halmann Vella stands out

also as a company that

puts a strong emphasis on

sustainability and Corporate

Social responsibility

MBR: How inspiring is it to see what you

have accomplished together with the

HALMANN team?

MV: It is very inspiring. It is definitely a

motivator to continue aiming towards more

ambitious accomplishments together.

MBR: How important do you consider

such awards are and what significance

do they have vis-à-vis business growth in

Malta?

MV: In an increasingly competitive

market, awards are a great way showcase

business success and stand out against

the competition. They increase awareness

and market leadership. Winning awards

also provides a number of opportunities

for marketing and publicity and is a vote

of confidence to our employees. Awards

also increase confidence in the local

business community.

MBR: What sets you apart from

competition?

MV: We provide our customers added

value, through the quality of our products

and our service. We are innovative and a

socially responsible company. We pride

ourselves on surfacing Malta’s most

beautiful spaces, and some of Malta’s

most iconic buildings and commercial

establishments are a true testament of

the quality of our products. Amongst our

most notorious projects, one can mention

Renzo Piano’s Valletta City Gate, Smart

City, the Portomaso Project, Life Sciences

Malta, and the Tigne Project.

MBR: Do you think that being an

authentic leader has helped you in your

aspirations leading to this prestigious

award which the judges bestowed?

MV: Whilst good leadership is important,

as stated earlier, this award would not

be possible without the joint effort of all

our team.

MBR: Do you consider this award as a

recognition of the HALMANN business

model?

MV: This award is a true testament to

our business model which drives our

company’s success. Our business started

as a small family run business by two

brothers and has since then grown

to employ over 200 employees. Yet

very little has changed in our business

philosophy…our business and our people

are our family, and together we strive to

innovate and keep on meeting the needs

of our customers.

MBR: Can you give us your feedback

on the organisation, and how you will

remember Malta’s Best Business Awards

2016

MV: I am very glad to have been part of

this year’s award ceremony. The event

was well organised and it was a wonderful

evening for all of our team. MBR

Corporate

Brief

Halmann Vella is locally synonymous with

the supply and production of natural stone

products . These include marble and granite,

terrazzo, travertine and Maltese traditional

patterned tiles. It also supplies other surfacing

products such as ceramics, parquet and

quartz. The company has also been involved

in the supply of material and/or general

contracting services in a number of large

projects such as Renzo Piano’s Valletta city

gate, BOV’s House of Four Winds, Verdala

Palace, Smart City Malta, Skyparks, the Tigne

and Portomaso Projects and a number of

hotels such as Hilton, Fortina and Radisson

Golden Sands.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

SPECIAL FEATURE: MALTA’S BEST IN BUSINESS AWARDS

Drive and

Motivation

By Martin Vella

Glitz and glam came to Castello dei Baroni during Malta’s Best in Business Awards 2016. Dean Gera

Haircare Ltd once again celebrated the very best in successful hair care salon business by picking up Malta's

Best-in-Business Small to Medium Size Business Award

Kevin Portelli, Marketing Manager, M.A & A Ltd presenting

Malta’s Best-in-Business Small to Medium Size Business Award to Dean Gera

MBR: How do you define the role as an

artist or a hair care/fashion leader today?

DG: Being a leader in any industry is a

challenge. When striving to be a leader

in a field as fast paced as fashion it is

important to keep one's team motivated

to be creative in order to be at the top of

its game.

MBR: When you created DEAN GERA

HAIRCARE Ltd, the need for innovation

and renewal. What initiatives have you

taken and new ventures which you can

mention?

DG: I created Dean Gera Hair Care with

the intention of creating a brand where

people knew exactly what to expect before

even walking into a salon. I did not want

to put a face behind the business set-up.

I wanted each member of the team to

adopt the Dean Gera Hair Care philosophy

in order to provide clients with a similar

experience each time they entered a

salon, even when visiting different Dean

Gera Hair Care salons.

MBR: What are the core issues that

motivate you and can you define the

team characteristics of at DEAN GERA

HAIRCARE Ltd?

DG: My main motivation is for the company

and the brand to grow. We have created a

platform whereby employees can build a

career rather that just have a 9 to 5 job.

MBR: What is your strategy to attract and

retain talent?

DG: Our main strategy is investing

heavily in all forms of training for all

team members, including technical and

management training. Furthermore, our

remuneration is well-structured, including

commission, bonuses and profit sharing.

The harder one works, the greater the

benefits reaped, both for the individual

and for the company.

MBR: What would you highlight as

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

The Dean Gera Haircare Ltd Management Team

DEAN GERA HAIRCARE Ltd’s biggest

achievement during 2016?

DG: Our greatest achievements this year

were the opening of a fifth hair salon

in Paola and the takeover of another,

in Ibragg, which brings our current

total number of salons to six. We also

expanded and refurbished our Valletta

establishment, including our head office,

board room and The Spa Room.

MBR: Do you think that being an

authentic leader has helped you in your

aspirations leading to this prestigious

award which the judges bestowed DGHC

as Small to Malta’s Best in Business Small

to Medium Size (SME) Business Award?

DG: Yes, I believe the platform we have

created is quite unique in a country as

small as Malta. Seeing what we have

accomplished so far is something that we,

as a company, are very proud of.

MBR: How inspiring is it to see what

you have accomplished with DEAN

GERA HAIRCARE Ltd and how will such

accomplishments have a positive fallout

on you, as well as DEAN GERA HAIRCARE

Ltd’s?

DG: I have always been an optimist and I

had always hoped the brand would move

in the direction that it has. The results

we have achieved keep me motivated

and hungry for future growth. As long as

our foundations remain solid I foresee

ongoing growth of our brand. If you are a

young business without much marketing

spend, then entering awards can be a

cost-effective way of generating positive

marketing and PR, because you’re thrown

into the spotlight. It also offers a seal of

approval. Potential customers can look at

that and think ‘I’m happy to do business

with this company because they have that

recognition. Experience has shown that

an award gives massive credence to our

business, particularly when talking to new

customers and vendors that have not dealt

directly with us in the past. With existing

partners, it reinforces the fact they have

made the right choice to work with us.

MBR: Do you consider this award as a

recognition of the DEAN GERA HAIRCARE

Ltd’s business model?

DG: Yes, it is very satisfying to have been

recognised as a business and not just as

hairdressers. Awards are one of the most

powerful and cost-effective marketing

tools and winning a prestigious Best

Business Award will help one’s business

organisation to stand out from the crowd,

send a positive message to your existing

customers and attract new business.

MBR: Would you support future

entrepreneurial events and awards, and

why? What would you do differently?

DG: I would support them as I think that

opportunities such as these, whereby

companies can be recognised for their

achievements, are important to increase

the drive and motivation of all staff

members. MBR

Corporate

Brief

The first Dean Gera salon was launched in

2007. Today, the company has established

itself as the industry leader. With its

headquarters and training academy situated

in Malta’s capital city, Dean Gera operates

through 6 salons and a day spa and boasts a

team of over 40 individuals. The company’s

strategy is built on the foundations of

teamwork and always delivering the fivestar

Dean Gera experience from all salons.

In order to achieve its long-term vision for

the brand to expand overseas and ensure its

successful implementation, three strategic

priorities have been identified: Train –

Inspire – Outperform.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

SPECIAL FEATURE: MALTA’S BEST IN BUSINESS AWARDS

Integrity, Trust,

Professionalism

By Martin Vella

BILOM Group get recognised and rewarded for excellence in project delivery

Marina Lomakina, Arts & Culture Representative from the Russian Federation handing the

BILOM GROUP representatives with Malta’s Best-in-Business Building and Construction Award

BILOM GROUP has won the award for

Malta’s Best-in-Business Building

and Construction Award during

Malta’s Best in Business Awards. The

prestigious accolade seeks to highlight

an organisation which has identified a

requirement for an innovative building

and construction concepts, combined

with green-tech products successfully

brought in to the market.

The awards recognise organisations

that demonstrate enterprise-wide

success through employee learning

and development. BILOM GROUP was

the only construction and real estate

company to receive this year's award.

"This award demonstrates the

commitment of our organization to

employee development and continuous

performance improvement, which puts

us in a better position to serve our

customers," said Mr. Michael Bugeja,

Managing Director of BILOM GROUP.

For the 2016 Best in Business Awards,

four companies were considered and

shortlisted for the final list. These

organisations submitted quantitative

and qualitative information to the Board

about their achievements, CSR, business

strategies, best practice and business

development practices and progress.

Applications were assessed in a blind

review by members of the judges panel

and Board of advisory committee, a

select group of experts in their respective

fields. The purpose of the competition

is to honour construction projects

that are distinguished for the quality,

organisation and timeliness of the work,

use of technology, and influence on the

Maltese economy.

All companies excelled in creating

innovative, vibrant learning cultures

that clearly aligned with strategic

business goals," said Jean Paul Abela,

judges-elect representative and Investor

Relations Officer, Bank of Valetta. "They

proved their commitment to workplace

learning and development by doing so

in an economic climate that saw limited

resources, reductions in budget cuts, and

business growth."

BILOM GROUP focuses

on the following pillars: the

passion for excellence, the

drive to innovate and the

hard work that accompanies

every successful enterprise

The Awards, held for the second

successive year, honour achievements

of dynamic corporate companies, SMEs

and entrepreneurs in Malta. Nominees

included up-and-coming businesses and

blue-chip local companies, operating

in various sectors, including IT,

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

The BILOM GROUP Management Team

Banking, Finance, iGaming, Insurance,

Aviation, Manufacturing, Buidling and

Construction, real estate, architecture,

legal, financial, banking, commercial

and Maritime. The companies were

identified, selected and chosen based on

experience, reputation, integrity, quality

and trust by a judging panel that was

tasked with reviewing and giving a score

to all submissions.

The award was presented during a

reception held in at Castello dei Baroni,

Wardija. In recognising BILOM GROUP,

the advisory committee cited the quality

of BILOM GROUP as leaders in the real

estate market, presently engaged in

various large projects sited at prime

locations on the island, proving year after

year a spirit of innovation, dedication to

our customers, a willingness to improve

day after day and its approach to

developing emerging leaders.

"It has been a consistent team effort,

starting with the vision and resources

provided by our senior leadership and

culminating with our employees who

embraced learning and apply it back on

the job," Mr. Bugeja said. He said that as

the company builds up on this success,

“BILOM GROUP focuses on the following

pillars: the passion for excellence, the

drive to innovate and the hard work

that accompanies every successful

enterprise.”

BILOM GROUP has built up an

impressive portfolio of buy-tolet

properties and are active in the

upmarket real estate properties. The

company's full time staff is known for

professionalism, confidentiality, integrity

and commitment. “While all of the

expmployees have widely divergent

backgrounds, all of them are highly

experienced knowing not only their

jobs, but also having a knowledge of the

territory and demographics. People come

to work at BILOM GROUP for its reputation

but stay here for the high level of work

ethic and the same reasons customers

keep coming back: appreciation, deep

embedded professionalism and integrity,

special and detailed attention to each

demand,” commented Mr. Bugeja.

BILOM GROUP strive to exceed the

needs of their customers, satisfy the

investment aspect of the properties and

provide the highest standard of quality.

The company’s goal is to continue work

for our customers at the high standards

we set for ourselves, personalising their

services for each customer, adding new

departments and services as the market

changes and grows. Their quest for

excellence continues. MBR

Corporate

Brief

BILOM GROUP was founded in 1995 in

Malta and has expanded to become one of the

largest privately owned, property negotiators

on the Island. Bilom Group provides a fully

service in any property deals including

project projections, valuations of property,

real estate consultancy, letting and sale of

properties. BILOM GROUP has emerged

over the last years of existence as one of the

leaders in the real estate market, presently

engaged in various large projects.

EDITOR’S

Note

All winners can request feedback from the

judges about why they won for use in press

releases, marketing material, brochures,

advertisements, on their website etc. This

service is included in the entry fee so there is

no additional cost.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

SPECIAL FEATURE: MALTA’S BEST IN BUSINESS AWARDS

Motivation, Safety

and Job Satisfaction

by George Carol

At The Resin & Membrane Centre, the Management have dedicated themselves to cultivate a business atmosphere to take

care of their employees, suppliers, and customers as if they were their own family. One stand-out employee is a gentleman

by the name of Antoine Bonello, who is the director of the Resin & Membrane Centre. I had the opportunity to sit down with

Antoine and ask him a few questions regarding the company’s recent success during Malta’s Best in Business Awards and his

experience with The Resin & Membrane Centre.

MBR: How does it feel to be awarded

the judges top accolade as Malta’s Best

in Business Best Product / Service Range

Award?

AB: We at the Resin and Membrane Centre

are synonymous with waterproofing for

quite some time, our awards usually

consists in customer satisfaction and

their recommendations, which is the best

possible certificate of quality. The Award

received at the Malta’s Best in Business

means lot to us. It is the tangible proof

of our hard work and dedication. This

confirms that our expertise and high quality

workmanship combined with our NAICI

product line are proving a success and are

settling a standard which is way too high

for our competitors to achieve. The Award

also confirms that NAICI products are the

result of constant innovation and research,

this was proved with the Fibro Guaina S

Reflex thermal insulation waterproofing

membrane, and besides waterproofing it

now also stops heat intake inside buildings

by 92%. Our Motto is We Are Quality and

we always make sure that every project is

carried out at its best.

MBR: How did you come up with your

business idea?

AB: It all got started a while ago at a

charity dinner in Italy, during which I met

a prominent producer of waterproofing

materials, that is NAICI. I did not put much

weight on it at the time but slowly slowly

I became convinced that his high quality

products are tailor made for the Maltese

climate. Waterproofing started when men

started to dwell in houses, I don't consider

our line business as an original concept. It

is a need that we started to service after

eventually a lot of market research was

carried out. This together with proper

product application and training held

abroad. Learning and research is our

forte; we make sure that the most modern

materials are brought over and their

implementation is properly mastered.

We do this very gladly because we love

our work and we know the customer will

benefit the most.

MB: What market need is your business

addressing and what were your goals in

starting the company?

AB: Our business addresses a vast type

of exigencies from small homes with

infiltrations problems to large factory

roofs. We did not set any particular

goals when we started our activity; our

policy was and will remain quality over

quantity. People nowadays are fed up of

cheap plastic based materials that can last

only a year or two leading to repetitive

unwanted yearly routine expenses. Many

people are now opting for a permanent

solution that is also pro-environment. Our

award winner the Thermal Fibro S Reflex

is outclassing all existing solutions; it is

resistant to UV rays, Stagnation and traffic.

Its request for installation almost doubled,

over 50,000 sq m was surfaced by us with

this material alone and this excludes the

material supplied from our showroom for

the DIY sector.

The only thing we outsource

is knowledge and for this we

constantly bring over prominent

foreign experts in the business

to train our personnel

MBR: Have you outsourced any portion

of your business? Has that worked for

your business and can you tell us what

are your main areas of focus?

AB: The only thing we outsource is

knowledge and for this we constantly bring

over prominent foreign experts in the

business to train our personnel. We take

nothing for granted we like to do things at

best. Many customers call us to redo their

roof repairs following bad interventions by

unqualified, inexperienced and presumed

self-thought installers; this saddens us

a lot. Unfortunately this happens all the

time in our sector of works and there

is no control by the authorities on the

matter. Our personnel are all members of

the Malta Professional Waterproofing and

Resin Flooring Association, this to assure

our customers of quality and competence.

All this made us best in the trade. Unlike

others we are not the jack of all trades, we

just do and focus only on waterproofing.

MBR: Social marketing is consistently

being written about in the small business

space. Has it worked generating business

for you?

AB: Social marketing is of utmost

importance especially for us who always

introduce new waterproofing products and

implementation concepts. In Malta were

everyone knows each other the word of

mouth is still considered the best possible

publicity, a satisfied customer usually end

up praising your works with all his family

members and friends, This rolling effect

eventually generates a continued business

and product awareness that helps us when

implementing our work. Our constant

developments and the will to always

implement modern application modalities

are continuously creating a concept that is

being envied by many.

MBR: What have you done that has been

very effective in helping to grow the

business?

AB: We have a showroom where people

can find qualified personnel who can trust

and listen to their waterproofing needs,

and advise them with the best possible

solution. The one product fits all is just

but a fairy tale, especially when it comes

to waterproofing, with so much constant

change in the building industry you need

to make sure that you are buying the right

product for the right solution. We also do

site inspections and help our customers

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

Antoine Bonello receiving the award for Malta’s Best in Business Best Product / Service Range Award

from Martin Vella, MBR Publications Ltd’s Managing Director

implement the product should they opt

for the DIY. We do this free of charge just

to make sure that works are carried out

accordingly.

MBR: Can you share your experiences

and feedback regarding the gala awards?

AB: The Gala Dinner proved to be a

platform for the young and not so young

entrepreneurs that are proud of their

work and achievements in Business. It also

proved to be an evening to share ideas and

make new acquaintances. Personally, I am

happy that our company was nominated

and eventually won Best Product and

Service Range. In the end everyone had

his own opinions about the winners which

gave subject to discussion and created a

lovely evening for everyone to enjoy.

MBR: How important do you consider

such awards are and why would these

be significant if you had to keep in mind

that such awards recognise leaders who

contribute toward the growth of their

business and our economy?

AB: Winning an award does not mean that

you made it to the top. For us this award

is the result of team work and as such it

should be seen in this context; there is

no I in a winning team. This award was

achieved thanks to every single person

that works with our company. We need

to keep focused and stay with both feet

on the ground; we need to work harder

to help our company in setting higher

quality standards for the benefit of our

customers. It is no secret that everyone at

the Resin and Membrane Centre is proud

of this recognition for our hard work.

This proves that we are working in the

right direction towards a steady growth.

We will keep directing our resources in

purchasing the latest machineries, but

most of all in increasing our workforce,

making sure it receives the best possible

product training, motivation, safety and

job satisfaction. We now know for sure

that ever more reputable people and

companies are speaking very highly of us

and our work. MBR

Corporate

Brief

The Resin and Membrane Centre are

leaders in waterproofing and resin floorings

solutions. We use NAICI professional

materials to ensure that all our projects are

carried out at its best. RMC also caters for the

DIY at our showroom in B’Kara.

RMC are also Certified Installers by the Malta

Professional Waterproofing Association.

Quality, product knowledge and high

standards is what distinguishes us from the

rest.

This year we have introduced the

Thermal Waterproofing Membrane. This

revolutionary membrane reduces heat

intake inside buildings by 91%, therefore

less usage of cooling and heating devices

Our products are VOC low and CE Certified

and can be used safely anywhere. Visit www.

theresincentre.com or Facebook to see our

impressive portfolio of products and works.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

SPECIAL FEATURE: MALTA’S BEST IN BUSINESS AWARDS

Committed to making worklife

balance a reality for

its employees

by George Carol

Interview with Sylvana Brannon, Director, Stem Cells Malta Ltd., who have been demonstrating exemplary

vision and leadership in Maltese biotechnology The company creates organ cells from skin cells, revolutionising

the production, growth and manufacture of newborn umbilical cords

Antoine Bonello, Marketing Manager, The Resin & Membrane Centre

presenting the award to Sylvana Brannon

Of all the awards that were

presented on the day, this was

the one I mostly wanted to win. At

Stem Cells Malta we have been offering a

very innovative service to our clients, in

the form of banking stem cells from their

newborns’ umbilical cords as a form of

life insurance. However, our innovation

extends to our relationship with those I

consider our most important customers

of all – our employees.

There is a lot of talk about creating familyfriendly

measures to help working mothers

achieve a satisfactory work-life balance

and increase their contribution to the

local economy. However I feel that a lot

of local employers are scared of offering

such measures to their employees. A

talented woman has much to offer the

economy, even more so by virtue of being

a multitasking mother, as this in itself

presents a healthy role model to the future

generation of both men and women.

At Stem Cells Malta, we encourage team

members to create their own work

schedules and methods, after agreeing on

the tasks and priorities as a team. Then,

no proposal for alternate work methods

or schedules is impossible, and the words

“no we can’t let you work that way” are

never uttered. Instead, we offer our team

members the tools they need in order

to make the alternative options work for

them. A happy employee is a productive

employee, and the best ambassador for

the company.

It can be challenging for all of us to

consider the creative options that

women come up with to enable them

to chase their career goals without

neglecting their most important job of all

– that of raising the future generation of

productive members of society. Whether

it is taking breastfeeding or expressing

breaks, or bring their baby to work, or

wear their baby all day at work in a sling,

or turn a corner of the office into a play

area, or contribute to childcare costs,

or work remotely, or work at 2am, or

on weekends, or take time from their

own sick leave instead of vacation leave

to care for a sick child – we have never

been a company to wait for legislations

and committees and billboards in

order to introduce such measures. We

have always been on the forefront of

promoting family-friendly measures, and

have learned a lot from the process.

The best decisions in the company have

always been the ones taken as a team,

involving all members no matter how

“small” they consider their role in the

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

The Stem Cells Malta team at the Malta Best-in-Business Awards 2016

company to be. I am only one person

and one brain, with my perceptions, my

set of skills, my limitations. When this is

combined with the skills and experience

of my team, the results are much more

creative and effective than when I try

to make decisions by myself. As their

leader, I feel it is my responsibility to

carry the burden of any decisions taken

as a team should these decisions not give

the desired result – and then to change

plans accordingly. Otherwise they will

not be eager to contribute ideas in the

future, and that will be of no benefit to

the company as a whole, or to the team

members individually.

Such awards give recognition to the often

unnoticed efforts being done daily in

small companies. I do not do what I do in

order to be rewarded for it, as my reward

comes daily from being surrounded by a

happy, productive group of people who

look forward to coming to work every day

and are ready to go to hospital at 11pm

on their son’s birthday to deliver a kit to

a mother in labour. However, it gives me

great satisfaction to be recognised in this

way, and I felt very proud picking up the

award on behalf of my team! The event

was very professional and classy, and it

was easy to see the hard work invested in

it by the organisers. I was really pleased

to be accompanied by people who really

matter to me and who support me daily –

the women on my team who put up with

my moods, disappointments, challenges,

struggles, and outrageous ideas on a

daily basis; their partners who support

their wives and their career aspirations;

my dad who brought me up to believe

that nothing is impossible and who has

supported me through every day of 45

years; and my partner who gets to listen

to my frustrations and always has words

of wisdom and clarity to offer me and

bring me back to earth.

I believe that if you do what you love, you

will do it with passion and hence cannot

fail. It is important to recognise your

limitations and give up control in those

areas to others who are more competent

there. The words “I cannot” and “I don’t

know how” have to be eliminated from

the vocabulary and replaced with “I can

learn”. Mutual respect is crucial, and

there should be zero tolerance for gossip

and bad vibes about team members. A

person’s skill and ability to effectively

contribute to a team is not measured

by a CV or a degree. Taking the time to

get to know a team member personally,

no matter her background or previous

experience, will definitely uncover areas

of expertise that cannot be outlined in a

CV or in any University qualification. MBR

Corporate

Brief

Stem Cells Malta is Malta’s premier stem

cell bank, celebrating 10 years since storing

the first samples of umbilical cord blood

stem cells from Maltese babies, in its UK

laboratory. Since then, Stem Cells Malta

has maintained its position as Malta’s leader

in private stem cell storage, focused on

bringing the life-saving potential of stem

cells from cord blood and teeth to families

nationwide. Since its’ inception, Stem Cells

Malta has worked relentlessly to increase

the acceptance and awareness of the value

of stem cell storage. The company continues

its programme of educating and informing

the public, to help ensure that all expectant

parents are aware of the options available

to them and the opportunity to store their

child’s stem cells.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

The Power of

Innovation

by George Carol

David Abela, Managing Director of

Eurobridge Shipping Services Ltd

is interviewed by Malta Business

Review following the company’s

recent accolade as Malta’s Best-in-

Business Outstanding Industry

Contributor during Malta’s Best in

Business Awards 2016

MBR: Would you discuss your vision in

creating EuroBridge Shipping Ltd and the

opportunity that you see for the growth

of the company?

DA: I would differentiate between the

company pre-April and the one post-April

2014. During that month, I realised that

the model on which the company was

operating was leading us nowhere, with

the probability that within a few years, or

perhaps even months, it would have to

close its doors. At that juncture, I realised

that we needed to change and adapt

drastically. Therefore, we rebranded with

an innovative model never seen before in

Malta. We adopted it and my vision is to

continue making sure that we remain to

have a competitive edge in our extremely

cutthroat market, whilst offering the best

Kevin Portelli, Marketing Manager, M.A.&A. Services Ltd

presenting the award to EuroBridge Staff

one-to-one service afforded to all our

valued customers.

MBR: Would you provide an overview

of EuroBridge Shipping Ltd strategy and

what differentiates EuroBridge Shipping

Ltd in the market?

DA: Our strategy is a very simple one.

We always make sure that at the time

our customers receive their goods after

rewarding us with their transport; they will

have absolutely no doubt that there will

only be one forwarder they will be using

in the future: Eurobridge Shipping Limited!

The difference between our competitors

and Eurbridge Shipping Ltd is that we

have direct communication channels

between both the consignee in Malta

and the supplier abroad, thus reducing

greatly the risk of misunderstandings and

time-wasting, and the result is a fast turnaround.

Of course, we had to invest greatly

in personnel but this gets compensated by

the reduction in cost of operating with

foreign outsourced partners.

MBR: Would you provide an overview of

EuroBridge Shipping Ltd’s portfolio?

DA: The firm was setup in 1995 to cater

for imports from Italy but nowadays

it has a network covering all Europe

with collaborations with transport

powerhouses such as Rhenus Logistics

and DSV. Nowadays, it owns and manages

22 trailers of both curtain-sider and box

type, and we can transport all type of

ambient cargo. Our clients vary from

Pharmaceutical companies to Food and

Beverage Importers, and moving all types

of cargo from furniture to electronic

goods.

MBR: How difficult has it been to gain

brand awareness for you and does it

mainly come via word of mouth?

DA: Although the company has been

operating for 21 years, we were largely

unknown and the few who knew about us,

knew us as being competitive from Italy

but not much else. Over the last couple of

years, we have promoted our company and

the services we offer more and more to

bring more awareness about our company.

Our location on a secondary street in

Marsa has not helped, but thanks to great

word of mouth, combined together with

heavier presence in publications such as

the Malta Business Review, and the social

media we are making great advances. The

transformation will be complete as soon as

we move into our new offices on a main

road in Qormi early next year.

MBR: What have been the keys to the

firm’s success that have allowed it to

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

The EuroBridge team at the Malta Best-in-Business Awards 2016

remain so strong and respected over the

years?

DA: I always say it has been a mixture

of hard-work and vision from my side

together with the level and dedication of

our employees that brought us where we

are today. It has not always been an easy

ride but thanks to the backing of my family,

I remained steadfast in making sure to be a

success in business and have managed to

translate this determination to my staff who

remained loyal and stuck with me through

thick and thin.

The most prestigious award

we can get is always a nice

‘thank you’ or compliment

from one of our customers,

but these kinds of awards are

special and make us feel we

are finally making a statement

MBR: How do you define the practice

area strengths of EuroBridge Shipping Ltd

and how have you maintained the firm’s

competitive advantage?

DA: Our strength is definitely the fact

that we treat every single customer in

an individual way. It is a procedure in our

company not to have one where customer

care is concerned since we know everybody

and every company has different needs

and requests so we adapt every single

time to them. This policy together with

our continual monitoring of the shipments’

journey to Malta have helped us greatly in

developing our business to what it is today.

Furthermore, we are always on the look out

to try new technological advances to make

us more efficient, but at the same time more

economic in our ways. We simply never

think we have arrived at our destination and

keep on innovating.

MBR: Do you consider the recent

prestigious award as Malta's Best-in-

Business Outstanding Industry Contributor

as a recognition of the EuroBridge Shipping

Ltd business model?

DA: Of course we do! This is our first proper

award we have won and we are extremely

proud of it! Hopefully there will be more

to come in the coming years. The most

prestigious award we can get is always a

nice ‘thank you’ or compliment from one

of our customers, but these kinds of awards

are special and make us feel we are finally

making a statement in the local business

environment, as it is handed by our peers

who are aware of the improvements we

have made over the years.

MBR: Can you give us your feedback on the

organisation, and how you will remember

Malta’s Best Business Awards 2016?

DA: Unfortunately, I could not attend the

awards ceremony as I was abroad but we

had almost all the staff attend in my stead!

One could see that they were very excited

about the evening and were preparing fully

for it. The feedback I got from them was

that they enjoyed it thoroughly and would

not hesitate to attend again! Since we were

nominated for four awards and we won the

last one for which we were nominated, they

got very tense and as soon as our name was

announced, they all jumped out of their

seats with joy and relief! I sincerely hope

that we will be nominated again next year,

so I may attend this time! MBR

Corporate

Brief

Established in 1995, EuroBridge is nowadays

one of the leading Trailer Operators in

Malta owning no less than 22 trailers. Their

services include door-to-door Groupage, Full

Trailer & Container, Airfreight and Courier.

They also act as Insurance intermediaries for

customers who want to insure their cargo

during transport. With a dedicated staff of 13

and ever increasing, they will soon be moving

into a state-of-the-art office that will help

them give an even better customer-service

than ever before. EuroBridge is also looking

into expanding its services to be able to offer

a total logistical solution for the Maltese

market and beyond.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Then. Now. Forever

Gianpula Village!

Matthew Degiorgio, Managing Director, GIANPULA VILLAGE, talks to

MBR after being awarded Malta's Best Entertainment of the Year Award,

telling us that Malta’s Best in Business Awards offer a new platform which

recognises and awards the talents and inspirations which are not often

acknowledged by mainstream media and Awarding platforms.

MBR: Can you tell us about your reaction

after winning Malta’s Best Entertainmnet

Entrepreneur of the Year Award and

what does this mean to you?

MD: Obviously it was very rewarding to win

Malta's Best Entertainment Entrepreneur

of the Year Award. It was great to receive

recognition for strategic planning,

pioneering and every day hard work that

goes into making Gianpula Village the

success that it is. This is a collective effort,

lead by myself, but with a committed team

Matthew Degiorgio, Managing Director Gianpula Village, awarded

Malta’s Best Entertainment of the Year Award

by George Carol

behind me, so recognition to everyone

who contributed to making Gianpula

Village an outstanding success.

MBR: What motivated and inspired you

to participate in Malta’s Best in Business

Awards and what’s your feedback on the

awards?

MD: 2016 has seen significant changes

at Gianpula, as well as key areas of

development. In 2016 Gianpula realised

it's vision to become a complete

entertainment village, providing night

clubs, and day clubs, to cater for every

individual. The Gianpula Village brand

became synonymous with quality

entertainment for all ages and tastes.

Also in 2016 Gianpula Village launched it's

Corporate Events Business. This includes

two new venues: The Club House, which

is a purposely converted 16th century

hunting lodge - now an outstanding events

venue, and The Vaults; a spectacular

subterranean venue like no other in Malta.

These venues, along with a committed

team, offer events packages tailored to the

client's needs.

MBR: What has been your biggest

challenges so far in your line of duty and

how did you overcome these challenges?

MD: Recent challenges have seen Gianpula

face a change in its long term management

structure. Whilst this impacted the

business significantly, this also provided

the opportunity for management team

members to step up, as part of their career

development, and assume new roles and

responsibilities.

In addition to this, 2016 saw three of the

key players in the industry move on to new

venues, again, this required adaption - and

provided the opportunity for new, fresh

and younger talent to take a leading role in

the entertainment industry.

MBR: To what do you most attribute

your success after being awarded as

Best Entertainment Company of the Year

Award? What would say are the five

key elements for starting and running a

successful business?

MD: First and foremost, the success

of Gianpula can be attributed to an

outstanding management structure,

supported with 100% backing from my

partner over the past five years, who

had understood the requirements and

restrictions of running an entertainment

business .

The five key elements which have proven

to be vital in creating and developing

Gianpula Village are:

• A long-term understanding of the

Business and Marketplace

• A Solid Management Structure

• Leading the field, not following others

• Adapting constantly to the market

trends

• Seeking new opportunities

MBR: In one word, what characterises

your life as an entrepreneur?

MD: Vision MBR

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

Growth &

Success

MBR Interviews

MYC Managing

Director, Simon

Attard, following

the company’s recent

achievement on being

awarded Malta’s Best

in Business Strategic

Design & Creative Award

by George Carol

MBR: What has been central to

your strategy for success?

SA: MYC opened its doors in 2012.

The direction was to provide a

service in online marketing and

communications. It was a tough start

becasue back in 2012, most businesses

where still realising the importance of

GOOD ONLINE EXPOSURE. This has led

me to setup different departments.

I have soon established a great

relationship with printing partners in all

around Italy, invested in all the equipment

and Human resources required to

provide more communication services

other than online. Four years later, we

are a team of six, capable of providing

all requirements in relationship with,

Marketing strategies, online Marketing

such as Social Media content and

advertising, Google advertising and SEO,

Web Development and hosting services,

Printing, Photography and Audio visual

Services, event organising and designing

- setting up of stands in various fairs.

Our business philosophy is

based around our clients, and

the way we provide a service

All of this leads me to the answer to

your question. I say that the most

crucial capability towards a successful

business, especially in it's early stages,

is to have the courage to see threats

as opportunities and not to be afraid

to take drastic measures. Being on the

lookout for opportunities, aiming for

growth, and believing in oneself are

crucial, especially in the early stages of

a business.

Mr John Paul Abela, Bank of Valletta Investor Relations Officer, presenting the

Malta’s Best in Business Strategic Design & Creative Award to Mr Simon Attard,

MYC Managing Director

MBR: Can you tell us about your reaction

after winning Malta’s Best in Business

Strategic Design & Creative Award and

what does this mean to you?

SA: I was already happy to have MYC

acknowledged for it's work by being

nominated. Though winning an award

means that our clients actually see and

appreciate what we do and how we

execute our work. We are a growing

business amongst many established

ones, making ours quite an interesting

adventure.

Yes, winning a prestigious award,

motivates us to keep improving on

what we specialise on, that is providing

successful campaigns, and amazing

branding projects to our clients.

MBR: Do you have a business

philosophy?

SA: Our business philosophy is based

around our clients, and the way we

provide a service. We take pride in giving

immediate response to our client's

requests. Whether we are designing a

corporate brochure, a logo, a mobile

friendly website, or handling the launch

of a business, a brand or any other

campaign, we guarantee to take full

responsibility of each and every little

detail, assuring the outcome of any other

successful story, well handled by MYC

MBR: What is the main driving factor

which motivates your team at work?

SA: I am extremely blessed for being

surrounded by a group of passionate

individuals. I can confirm that the

greatest motivation we are all driven by is

seeing our work in action, but most of all,

seeing our clients smile and sharing the

same enthusiasm towards the project.

We cultivate strategic and creative

ideas so that our clients communicate

successfully, and differently from their

competitors. Every successful project is

our ultimate satisfaction.

MBR: To what do you most attribute

your success?

SA: My team, Absolutely. There is only

so much one can do on his/her own.

But how much can one do when a team

shares one vision, that is growth and

success?

MYC is consists of six experienced people

and I owe every day, every project to their

dedication. Thank you guys!

MBR

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Clear Vision, Energy &

Perseverance

by Martin Vella

Martin Vella meets entrepreneur in marketing, fashion and travel blogger Grazielle Camilleri to learn more about her

after being bestowed with the Best Start-Up Company of the Year award during Malta's Best in Business Awards

held at Castello dei Baroni on Friday 25th November, 2016 for her marketing business Grazielle Camilleri.

MBR: Describe how your work and

personality have helped your start-up

company transcend the boundaries of

your primary field of work, and has it

opened new areas in online and web

development?

GC: I’m a very approachable person. With

a positive energy and can-do attitude, with

the help from my team, month after month,

we achieve great results online. I’ve always

been interested in sales and marketing and

I’ve worked passionately for over a decade

with leading hospitality, and retail sectors in

Malta and in London so launching my own

Marketing and PR business a few years ago,

focusing on online marketing, social media

and a fashion blog seemed like a natural

career step for me to do. Online marketing

has increased drastically in the past decade

and I have decided to focus my expertise

into that sector. Nowadays, everyone is

online, constantly on their phones and

laptops and that is where I want to be too.

MBR: Is Thought Leadership Marketing a

key component of your entrepreneurial

success?

GC: Gone are the days when marketing

meant putting out some advertisements

and hiring a copywriter to rave about how

great your brand is. By publishing articles,

videos, research, or any other form of

original content regularly, potential clients

and members of your industry may begin

associating your brand with insight and

authority. When the time comes to hire a

company, yours will be at the top of their

mind. That’s why many entrepreneurs are

interested in the new value of thought

leadership which is about providing genuine

eye-catching content to your customers.

The idea is that people are more willing to

invest in you if they are confident that you

really know your stuff.

MBR: What is the key ingredient to being

a successful entrepreneur?

GC: There are so many keys to be successful.

Clear vision, energy and perseverance are

my top three.

MBR: How do you motivate people to

build and create something, and to share

in the success?

GC: I am a firm believer in the power of

great team work. It is with the combined

talent of selected individuals in each project

that results are achieved. I continuously

encourage persons who work with me to

feel involved and important, no matter

what job they are employed to do. Even

though I lead the team, I value everyone’s

opinions and ideas. I always make it a point

to congratulate them all for work done and

they share the success with me.

MBR: Is it important to have awards such

as Malta’s Best in Business Awards to

recognise business achievement and what

is your feedback of this year’s event?

GC: Highlighting excellence through Awards

is important to any business or service.

How often do we find ourselves looking

for third party endorsements before we

purchase something new? An award

from TripAdvisor for example, can have a

positive impact on a hotel or restaurant

and bring new business. It is crucial for any

organisation, in Business or the Arts to gain

recognition for its products and services.

Winning an award at any stage of your

business, be it a start-up or an established

firm with hundreds of employees, allows

you to distinguish your company from

competitors and ensure that as many

potential customers as possible are aware

of your titles.

I really enjoyed the event at Castello dei

Baroni. As I have written in my blog, it was a

well-organised, prestigious event and I was

so pleased to have been a part of it. Thank

you! MBR

Madame Anchelique Caruana presenting the award of

Best Start-Up Company of the Year to Grazielle Camilleri

Special Feature: Malta’s Best in Business Awards

Malta Business Review

A ‘Whole Job’ Approach

by Martin Vella

“This a sought after accolade of

achievement, an endorsement of

your hard-work, determination

and enterprise in business,”

exclaimed a beaming Karl Ebejer,

Managing Director of ME

Architects after being awarded

with Malta’s Best in Business Best

Corporate Social Responsibility

and also Most Socially &

Environmentally Responsible

Company of the Year at the MBIB

Awards 2016.

“Winning an award that recognises your

business offers exceptional marketing and

PR opportunities, as well as increases your

credibility and standing in the eyes of your

peers and your customers,” told us Mr

Ebejer.

So it’s celebration time for Karl and all

the team at the ME Architects offices on

winning the Best in Business awards for

Malta’s Best in Business Best Corporate

Social Responsibility and also Most Socially

& Environmentally Responsible Company

of the Year at the recent prestigious awards

gala dinner, hosted by the MBR Publications

Limited and the Malta Business Review at

Castelo dei Baroni, over a clear November

sky filled with stars and glitz!

This year’s Malta’s Best in Business Awards,

hosted by Thea Saliba and Colin Fitz, were

well organised, with floral arrangements

over each immaculately dressed dining

table in fine banquet style. The awards

ceremony, sponsored by the M.A.&A.

Services Ltd, as well as The Convenience

Shop and Western Union, is beyond any

doubt Malta’s largest and premier events

in the business calendar. It was sold-out

weeks in advance and attracted more than

390 guests.

“It was a fantastic night and very well

run event. Atitudes toward the impact of

design on profit are changing. Business

corporations and entrepreneurs are

beginning to recognise the benefits of a

thoughtful, well-executed workplace or

business environment. Today, business

excellence is a growing movement, as

indicated by the range of this year's nine

winning companies,” commented Mr

Ebejer.

“I am so pleased to be here tonight

celebrating the successes of the business

community in the Malta, after going

through a lot in learning how to become

more socially responsible. ME Architects are

delighted to receive these great awards - a

certificate for our hard work and sacrifices.

I know a lot of businesses say that customer

service is important but we really do pride

ourselves on listening to the client and

providing a first class service within Malta

and beyond”

“Congratulations to all the finalists and

winners on the night including Best in

Business Company of the Year Vodafone,

and to all the other colleagues in our

business and architectural community. This

has been a fantastic night and well done to

the organisers MBR Publications Ltd.”

“We have a unique offering and after all

the hard work the team put in to ensure

we provide a ‘whole job’ approach to

our customers to win this award is just

wonderful. One of our main project

with regards to CSR, which gave us a

lot of satisfaction was the design and

refurbishment we did at Caritas.” said Karl.

“We offer a complete service from design,

to build to installation and to support and

to receive this accolade from the judges we

are proud to enjoy as this is a great boost to

everything we do.”

“Tonight’s Awards were a celebration of local

companies in Malta who we can champion

together for the wide range of goods,

services and products that are available in

our country,” Karl concluded. MBR

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

FOCUS: MED FORUM

OUTCOMES OF MED FORUM 2016 PRESENTED IN VALLETTA:

Malta backs the outcomes of MED FORUM 2016 on the eve

of assuming the EU Presidency

• The outcomes of last month’s “landmark forum” for Mediterranean Dialogue (23-25 October 2016) reaffirm the centrality

of the ANNA LINDH FOUNDATION as a credible long-term institutional player in the face of unprecedented regional

challenges.

• MED FORUM participants’ survey, carried out in November 2016, provides evidence that the Forum has been a catalyst

for youth and civil society mobilisation underway for intercultural action, and confirms an “appetite” and commitment

for enlarging north, south partnerships to counteract conflict, extremism, unemployment, and the public discourse on

migration and a refugee crisis.

• The Forum has been a “defining event and process” for the forthcoming Maltese Presidency of the EU which is backing

a series of actions initiated by the Anna Lindh Foundation and partners to scale-up and widen the participation of

intercultural action across the societies of Europe and the southern Mediterranean region, and to shift the policy discourse

“beyond extremism” to addressing long-term underlying causes.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta,

Dr George W. Vella, has backed the

outcomes of last month’s landmark

Anna Lindh Foundation MED FORUM. Dr

Vella was speaking in the last days at a special

event in Valletta to present the FORUM

outcomes, exactly one month on from the

regional gathering and on the eve of Malta

assuming the Presidency of the European

Council.

“Med Forum has truly been a watershed

moment in bringing the Anna Lindh

Foundation and its mandate for intercultural

dialogue to the centre of the political

debate on how to address common

challenges of security and migration across

the Mediterranean,” stated Minister Vella.

“We have witnessed first-hand how the

Anna Lindh Foundation represents today

a true north, south partnership, and the

Foundation has demonstrated on the global

stage its unique capacity as a credible,

serious and committed actor with a defined

long-term strategy and unique mandate for

dialogue action.”

Minister Vella also underlined that last

month’s MED FORUM, which resulted from

18 months of preparation undertaken by

the Foundation and partners, was conceived

from the outset as a far-reaching process

to bring cultural relations and peopleto-people

cooperation to the heart of

the policy rethink on how to effectively

construct relations between Europe and its

southern Mediterranean neighbourhood

and has been a “defining event for the future

Presidency”.

These remarks were echoed by the Executive

Director of the Anna Lindh Foundation,

Ambassador Hatem Atallah, who presented

the outcomes of MED FORUM alongside

Minister Vella at the Ministry for Foreign

Affairs in Valletta. “The Forum marks a

turning point for the Anna Lindh Foundation.

There is today a global consensus for the

centrality of intercultural dialogue to address

common challenges of conflict, extremism,

unemployment, and certain media and

political narratives on migration and a

refugee crisis. There is equal consensus for

the long-term approach for working through

a grand coalition of partnerships, investing

in a new generation of actors, and shifting

strategic focus to new domains such as

cities, media and enterprise.”

Ambassador Atallah also highlighted the

global reach of MED FORUM, evidenced

by the high-level institutional backing

now secured including the UN Secretary-

General and EU High-Representative for

Foreign Affairs, and the unprecedented

communication impact of the process

to date, with MED FORUM LIVE globally

trending during the main three-day global

gathering in Valletta and evidence of an

emerging media movement.

Advancing the policy outputs of MED FORUM

already began on 28th October in Marseille

with a group of youth sector leaders from

the Forum presenting the conclusions

to Foreign Affairs Ministers at the “5+5

Dialogue” which backed the expansion of

Young Mediterranean Voices. Next, on the

8th December, the League of Arab States

will host the next of the inter-institutional

steering group meetings with the ALF and

partners, the EU, League of Arab States,

Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat,

MEDAC and the Maltese Ministry for Foreign

Affairs.

Among the key conclusions of MED FORUM

presented in Valletta:

Taking a long-term approach and investing

in a generation. Investing in a generation of

intercultural actors is the only viable, longterm

root to promote mutual understanding

and prevent conflict and radicalisation.

Shifting strategic focus to intercultural

cities and reaching communities. The

FOCUS: MED FORUM

Malta Business Review

establishment of a “Mediterranean Capital

for Dialogue” was recommended as a first

operational step to increase visibility and

bring together existing city-to-city networks

around an intercultural dialogue agenda

Reach impact and growth through

enabling partnerships. MED FORUM called

for sustainable and effective partnerships.

According to the Forum participants’ survey,

carried out in November 2016, 57.3% of the

delegates are in the process of establishing

collaborations through partnerships

with other Forum delegates, and 60.6%

recommend the Anna Lindh Foundation to

focus its activities on partnerships and policy

advocacy.

Media is a crucial sector for the Anna

Lindh Foundation. Preliminary results from

the latest Euro-Med survey on intercultural

trends and perceptions highlight there

is scope to invest in more research and

analysis, dialogue, exchanges and mentoring

of journalists to counter negative media

narratives.

Young Med Voices can be a catalyst for

a real north-south partnership. Building

on “Young Arab Voices”, it is the first time

such a Pan-Arab programme extends to

Europe, reshaping the traditional Euro-Med

dynamics, as highlighted by the EU High-

Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica

Mogherini: “This is not only a geographical

expansion, but opening up new channels for

youth-led agency.”

Mobility remains the central challenge,

right and opportunity. At the heart of

the Forum debate was how to ensure an

exponential increase of opportunities for

young people to communicate exchange

and collaborate across all kinds of borders –

physical or cultural.

Dialogue requires competences and

a capabilities approach. There are

competencies required to ensure dialogue

is effective. A capabilities approach offers

a valuable analytical lens for exploring the

challenge and complexity of intercultural

dialogue in contemporary settings.

Key actions underway through MED FORUM

which could be advanced through the

Maltese EU Presidency and beyond:

Shifting the policy and media narrative

“beyond extremism”

• Policy Outreach. The Anna Lindh

Foundation will now partner with the

United Nations on the inter-agency

steering group for the Progress Study

on UN Resolution 2250 (Youth, Peace

and Security) which will provide a global

platform for public policy outreach.

• Major debates with next-generation. The

analysis of the latest intercultural trends

report commissioned by the Anna Lindh

Foundation will be the basis for launching

through the Maltese Presidency a series

of major debates with next-generation

influencers as well as policy-makers,

thinkers and decision-makers in the

current ‘authority’ generation.

• Youth-led Campaigns. The trends data

presented in Valletta provides evidence

that investment in youth-led initiative

is the most effective way to challenge

extremist narratives. The strategic

partnership with Facebook launched

at MED FORUM, along with newly

established media partnerships, will be

the basis for launching a region-wide

programme of “innovation labs” aimed at

empowering youth sector leaders with the

tools to run large-scale communications

campaigns.

Launching a new era of young

Mediterranean voices

• Youth Platform. The launch of “Young

Mediterranean Voices” at MED FORUM

2016 represented a major milestone. The

programme has now received financial

backing by the European Commission, the

World Bank Group and Member States

such as the Finnish Government, and

will be roll-out from January 2017. It will

provide a platform for enhanced youth

debate and dialogue action.

• Mogherini Dialogue. As announced in

Valletta, the EU’s High-Representative

for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy,

Federica Mogherini, will invite to Brussels

in the first quarter of 2017 delegates

from Young Mediterranean Voices. The

purpose of the meeting will be “to start

a conversation, and to bring about real

change” with a focus on policies which can

be advanced at the regional level.

Working through a new partnership with

media

• Media analysis. The latest survey on

intercultural trends points at a new line of

activity with senior media executives and

policy makers, which could initiate policy

changes required to significantly influence

the media narratives when reporting on

the ‘other’. In this regard, the milestone

10th edition of the Anna Lindh Foundation

Journalist Award, to be organised in 2017,

will put a strong emphasis on media

coverage of issues related to migration

and the refugee crisis.

• Partnerships for media networks. MED

FORUM secured a commitment among

large scale media networks to enhanced

cooperation, support media advocacy and

invest in areas of mentoring. Among them:

COPEAM, the European Broadcasting

Union (EBU), ASBU and the Euro-Med

Media Network (EMMN).

Ensuring the Mediterranean legacy

• MED FORUM has been a catalyst for

embedding institutional partnerships in

Malta for the Anna Lindh Foundation. For

example, leading to a new cooperation

agreement between the Foundation

and the Mediterranean Academy for

Diplomatic Studies (MEDAC) aimed at

reaffirming the MED FORUM connections

between youth, civil society, institutions

and policy-makers. Joint action in 2017

will lay the ground for an annual event in

Malta.

• City recognition. One of the large-scale

initiatives proposed through MED

FORUM has been the establishment of

a first Dialogue Award for Cities through

the new collaboration with Valletta

2018 Foundation with the aim of raising

visibility and embedding best practices on

intercultural dialogue. The criteria for this

award scheme will be pioneered as a basis

for a regional programme.

• Estonian Presidency. Discussions are being

initiated with the Estonian authorities

and Anna Lindh Foundation’s civil society

network regarding the preparation of

the Presidency of the European Council

to follow Malta in the second semester

of 2017 to ensure the “Mediterranean

legacy”. MBR

Source: Department of Information, Malta

Corporate

Brief

MBR

MED FORUM 2016 gathered 640 delegates from 50+

countries, including representatives of civil society

organisations, youth leaders, media networks, and

policy-makers. The Forum followed an 18-month

strategy and programming process initiated in April

2015 by the Anna Lindh Foundation and Ministry

for Foreign Affairs of Malta, in partnership with the

main regional institutions working for dialogue in the

Mediterranean. The main aim of the strategy was to

reaffirm the centrality of intercultural dialogue in the

face of unprecedented regional challenges. This is a

direct response to the call of the EU Foreign Affairs

chief Federica Mogherini and institutions for collective

action. The reach and impact of MED FORUM was

significantly higher compared to the previous editions,

with more than 15% increase in requests for self-financed

delegates (1224 CSOs from 42 countries competed to

participate in the initial call). The media outreach (MED

FORUM LIVE) reached an unprecedented level of

people and communities world-wide: #MedForum2016

was a global trending topic during the three main days

of the Forum, with 2,805,141 Twitter accounts reached

and 12,375,744 impressions (potential reads). The event

formed on a unique participatory process involving,

on the one side, the 4500+ local branches of the Anna

Lindh Foundation, representing civil society, cities and

local authorities, cultural bodies, artistic and youth

organisations, media networks; and, on the other side,

an inter-institutional steering group involving for the

first time together, the Foundation’s Secretariat and its

partners, the EU Central and External Action services,

the League of Arab States headquarters, the UfM-

Secretariat, MEDAC, and the Maltese Ministry for

Foreign Affairs (MFA).

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

ANNIVERSARY

HUGO BOSS

celebrates the 5th year anniversary of the first BOSS store in Malta

luxury ready-to-wear and

non- apparel. Today, we

are happy to reconfirm

the IMOCA 60. We wish Alex and his team

best of luck as he is currently racing in the

Vendeé Globe.

that our strategy has been

“We are proud of our partnership with

successful. We strive to

HUGO BOSS. A German engineered fashion

distinguish ourselves, by

house, professional in all aspects of the

focusing on a heightened

customer experience.

business, from the product itself, through

When you offer high-end

brands you are dealing

its Marketing, and Visual Merchandising”

concludes Michelle Farrugia.

Michelle Farrugia, Managing Director Fashion Retail Division

with a more sophisticated

VFGroup with colleagues and models

HUGO BOSS is one of the world market

clientele. In luxury retail, leaders in the premium fashion and

n December 8th 2016, HUGO BOSS

you are serving a more luxury segment of the apparel

celebrated its five year

presence in Malta with the first BOSS

store. Esteemed clients enjoyed an

exclusive private dinner, prepared

by the renowned executive chef

Joe Vella. More than 100 invited

guests, consisting of BOSS clients,

market. It focuses on developing

and marketing luxury men’s and

women’s fashion. Headquartered

in Metzingen with a presence

in 124 countries, the company

generated with almost 14,000

media representatives, Maltese

employees net sales of EUR 2.8

celebrities as well as international

& local models, attended the gala

dinner at the new Hilton Malta

Hotel. The dining experience was

Boyana & Lauren welcoming guests at the Oceana Hilton

Malta at the Hugo Boss 5th Anniversary dinner

billion in fiscal year 2015, making

it one of the most profitable

listed apparel manufacturers in

the world. The fascinating brand

accompanied by international London

sophisticated market. I take great pride

world of HUGO BOSS comprises the

based blues singer Jenessa Qua.

VF Group represents the two BOSS stores

in the store ambience and

service that our clients

collections of BOSS and HUGO.

MBR

in Malta, located on Ross Street, St. Julian’s experience, when they

and the Departures lounge at Malta

International Airport. The launch of BOSS

in Malta was an important milestone for

the local fashion industry with the store

becoming another successful ambassador

for VF Group’s portfolio of maisons and

fashion houses.

shop in our stores. This

level of service, is second

to none and can only be

experienced in stores”.

“In the past five years

we organized a series of

events for our clients. One

“Five years ago we had a vision of placing of the most memorable

Malta on the international map of luxury one for the local sailing

HUGO BOSS Staff – Carl, Michael, Tony and Claudio

goods”, said Michelle Farrugia, Managing

Director of VF Group. “We decided to

invest in a location which was new to

enthusiasts, was hosting Alex Thomson

and his team, when in 2013, he competed

at the Rolex Middle Sea Race, on board

If you have any questions, please contact:

VF Group: VFGMALTA, Tiziana Gauci,

Marketing, tizianagauci@vfgmalta.com

EUPATI

Malta Business Review

Malta to hold conference on

rare diseases next March, as

part of the EU Presidency 2017

Speaking during a seminar on innovative

medicines and patient involvement

organised by the Bioethics Research

Programme in collaboration with the

Malta Health Network and the European

patients’ Academy (EUPATI), Minister for

Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil

Liberties Helena Dalli spoke of the difficulties

that small countries encounter when it

comes to prompt access to innovative

medicines. In particular, this is due to their

small unattractive markets.

Minister Dalli remarked that this concern

is being discussed throughout Europe as a

major issue that impacts on the public health

of patients and warrants immediate action.

She stressed the importance of accessibility

to medicines and noted that patients should

be treated equally beyond the realm of sex,

race, orientation and beliefs.

Minister Dalli announced that during the

EU Presidency 2017 next March, Malta will

be hosting a conference on rare diseases

by EURORDIS which is the European

Organisation for Rare Diseases. This has

been possible thanks to an initiative taken

by the spouse of the Prime Minister, Mrs

Michelle Muscat, the patron of EURORDIS.

Dr Dalli explained that through assistance

of the Malta Medicines Authority, this

conference brings together important

entities such as the Innovative Medicines

Initiative (IMI) and the Committee for

Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) to

discuss rare diseases. MBR

Creditline: THE MINISTRY FOR SOCIAL

DIALOGUE, CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND

CIVIL LIBERTIES

Photo - DOI - Jason Borg

www.apexlifts.com.mt

PANORAMIC / HYDRAULIC & TRACTION LIFTS • CAR LIFTS / GOODS LIFTS

DUMB WAITERS • PLATFORM LIFTS • CHAIR LIFTS • STAIR CLIMBERS

ELECTRIC WHEELCHAIRS • SCOOTERS • POOL LIFTS • STEP LIFTS

14, St. MIcheal Str, Rabat RBT 2440 • T. 2145 5051 • F. 2145 0395 • info@apexlifts.com.mt

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

HIGHER EDUCATION

eie educational group

eie Educational Group

Commited to Providing the Best

Education Learning Experience

Learning a language or obtaining an

academic qualification is more important

than ever in the global economy. eie

Educational Group provide students with

a first-class educational teaching and

training service at a fair price. Students ask

for an excellent teaching environment so

that they quickly progress through their

course, but also that they will want to

enjoy themselves whilst studying. At eie

Educational Group, you will have a fantastic

studying experience. eie encourage social

interaction trough regular, fun and varied

leisure programmes, as this improves a

learning experience.

eie Educational Group, was established in

January 2000 and their success is built on a

long-standing commitment to the specific

needs of local and international students.

eie constantly expands its worldwide

networks, partners with established

renowned organisations, invests in its

facilities and in social commitments. The

eie Educational Group is redefining the

landscape of modern education.

The eie Educational Group aims to

develop the appropriate competencies

and knowledge needed in planning,

evaluation, research and development

tasks in education and related fields in the

midst of societal changes, both on local

and global levels. This network gives eie

the key to be competitive and to share

the collective experience and continuous

professional development with their

cilients.

In a fast moving world, challenges are

demanding and change is constant.

Tomorrow’s future depends on today’s

knowledge.

Through its companies, the eie Educational

Group is able to offer the following

services:

• Academic programmes - Certificate,

Diploma, Bachelor, Master degrees

in various subjects for young and

mature adults are offered through

eie Institute of Education (Licensed

by the NCFHE as an institute of

Further and Higher Education –

License Number 2005-TC-001);

• Training programmes - Business

courses, thematic seminars for

business excecutives offered

trough eie Mangement Centre;

• English Language courses - English

courses at Beginner, Elementary,

Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate,

Upper-Intermediate, Business

English and Advanced levels are

offered through eie Languages

Centre (Licensed by the EFL

Monitoring Board – License

Number 282/MB42)

• Student Accommodation - Provision

of quality accommodation around

Malta ideal for students offered

through eie Residences

• Internships – Organisation of

Work placement and Internships

for international students offered

through eie internships. MBR

eie Mission

To enhance the level of Academic

training and Tuition of both pre and

post graduate levels by:

• Contributing actively towards the

propagation of equal opportunities

for all.

• Continually engaging in the pursuit of

excellence.

• Continually investing in its own

people.

• Striving to afford the best service to

all our clients.

• Establishing itself as a leader in the

international education field.

• Contributing towards the social

welfare of the community.

For more information about eie’s degree

programmes, English language courses

or other business related courses you can

e-mail at info@eie-group.com, phone on

+35621332804/5

iGAMING

Malta Business Review

eie educational group

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

The eie educational group

is an acknowledged leader in international education

We specialise in providing

* Higher Educational courses - eie Institute of Education (NCFHE License Number 2005 - TC - 001)

* English Language courses - eie Languages Centre (EFL License Number 282/MB42)

* Executive and Business courses - eie Management Centre

* Internship services - eie Internships

* Student Accommodation - eie Residences

* International Educational services - eie International

eie educational group,

Tel: +356 21 332804/5 info@eie-group.com

www.eieEducationalGroup.com

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

HEALTHCARE

Long overdue

dental treatment!

Extra-oral after treatment

Intra-oral after treatment

Extra-oral before treatment

Intra-oral before treatment

The importance of your smile cannot be

underestimated. Your smile is the first thing

that people will pick up leaving a lasting

impression on strangers and friends alike.

It also plays a key role in your confidence

and self-esteem. Minimally invasive

procedures make a huge difference.

Procedures of this nature include:

1. Ceramic inlays: Conversion of metal

fillings and/or old stained fillings to

porcelain inlays/onlays

2. Tooth straightening: Braces or

ceramic veneers may easily adjust the

position of teeth. Adjustments include

rotations, bringing teeth out, pushing

teeth in, widening or narrowing of

teeth.

3. Tooth whitening: Laser tooth whitening

together with home maintenance kit

may drastically improve the colour of

your teeth.

4. Replacing missing teeth with fixed or

removable prostheses

Planning:

Patient contact: Following a detailed

consultation including a radiographic

examination potential clients receive

options for treatments including

advantages/disadvantages, timeframes

and costs.

Stage 1

Patient arrives at clinic and is

interviewed. Reconfirmation of

treatment plan and execution of initial

treatment phase (3-4hours)

• Periodontal/gum treatment planning

• Implant planning

• Tooth preparation for crowns and/or

veneers

• Safe removal of amalgam fillings

using safe protocol as indicated by

the international academy of oral

medicine and toxicology

A Case Study

• Digital impression taken with CAD-

CAM technique (Computer-aided

design/manufacturing)

• Laser tooth whitening of remaining

untouched teeth and immediate

fabrication of night white trays given to

patient to use for 1-4days for increased

whitening.

• Smile design using CAD-CAM software

Stage 2

Smile design approved by patient

• Confirmation of new tooth shade

following laser and overnight tooth

whitening

• Milling of veneers, inlays and onlays

• Final touches to veneers

• Try-in and fitting of new dental

restorations.

Stage 3

Preparation and execution of dental

implantation. Implants are placed

then left undisturbed until complete

healing and integration with the bone

(2-4months). These would then be

restored with new implant crowns/

bridges.

Review and set-up of maintenance plan

This is the conventional sequence

of events when dealing with a smile

makeover. Technicians work hand in

hand with clinicians ensuring that the

expected planned results are achieved

with no delay or mix-up.

Improving your smile is one of the greatest

investments that you can make. With

today’s technology and complete focus

of the clinical team, many treatment

modalities may be completed with relative

ease and great satisfaction. The high

caliber world-recognized dental materials

come with guarantees, as does the clinical

work delivered by clinics, which cater for

such clients. Ask your dentist! MBR

Dr Jean Paul Demajo

Dental and Implant Surgeon, Trained in

London working in private practice in Malta

Patient complaints: colour, tooth position, small volume of tooth visible on smiling.

Age: 39years old

Treatment plan includes:

• 14 ceramic veneers and crowns

• Removal of pathological benign cyst

• Simultaneous laser tooth whitening and home whitening maintenance kit.

• Placement and restoration of 4 dental implants and 5 implant retained teeth.

Malta Business Review

MBR Publications Ltd

initiative to donate to

Puttinu Cares

MBR Publications Limited Managing

Director Martin Vella presented to Puttinu

Cares representatives a donation of over

€1,800 raised during the Company’s

prestigious event Malta’s Best in Business

Awards, following an initiative conceived

by Mr. Vella himself to help the Children’s

Cancer Foundation, as part of MBR

Publication Limited’s CSR philosophy. Mr.

Vella also confirmed that MBR Publications

Limited will be developing a Mobile App

for Puttinu Cares in order to help the

organisation in its promotion of events

and initiatives.

Mr. Vella stated that MBR Publications

Limited will continue offering its support

to Puttinu Cares, “The Company and its

employees firmly believe in Puttinu Cares’

right cause and we are confident that

through the development and inclusion

into our new mobile application, the

general public will be able to get closer to

Puttinu Cares and better understand its

important role in our society”.

MBR Publications Managing Director Martin Vella handing over cheque to Dr Andrew Decelis

Dr. Andrew Decelis, Director, on behalf of

Puttinu Cares thanked MBR Publications

Limited for their initiative and all those

companies who contributed with their

donation and continuous support during

Malta’s Best in Business Awards. Mr Decelis

said, “Puttinu Cares Foundation funding

relies mainly on the annual Football

Marathon and also on the generosity of

its benefactors and the public donations

it receives to live up to its mission. All

income received by the Puttinu Cares

Foundation and all expenditure incurred

is annually audited and submitted to the

Commissioner of Voluntary Organisations.

Puttinu Cares Foundation funding relies

mainly on the annual Football Marathon

and also on the generosity of its

benefactors and the public donations it

receives to live up to its mission.”

MBR Publications Limited supplemented

its donation by additional funds raised

this year through various other activities

organised by the Company. MBR

Publications Limited has been supporting

various organisations among which are

L-Istrina and the Malta Community Chest

Fund for the past five years. MBR

Web: www.daikin.com.mt Email: info@maa.com.mt Tel: 2385 0400

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

TOURISM

Sustainable development of tourism is

not a choice for us but a clear necessity

partnership. This model will ensure drastic

cost savings through economies of scale,

procurement benefits and extensive

network synergies that will allow our airline

to become competitive and stronger in

both the short and long term in today’s

highly aggressive aviation landscape. This

will also ensure that our airline will become

an even more important strategic asset for

our tourism industry. I must be clear here

- I am definitely not interested in applying

quick fixes that simply postpone the

problems. I want a solution that ensures

the long term viability of our national

airline for the good of its employees and

the tourism sector. Even if this process

may take somewhat longer than expected

given the many complexities involved, I am

very clearly resolute in pursuing this path”.

Photo - DOI - Stephen Busutill

While addressing the BOV-Deloitte Tourism

Performance Seminar organised by the

Malta Hotels, Restaurants Associations

MHRA, the Minister For Tourism Edward

Zammit Lewis said that Malta has been

enjoying an uninterrupted period of yearon-year

growth in tourism since 2010, and

he is pleased to note that the current year

will be yet again the seventh consecutive

year of record growth for our tourism

sector. Tourist volumes, expenditure

as well as overnight stays, increased.

The tourism season have extended and

achieved a growth from a healthy mix of

core, secondary and totally new source

markets.

Minister Zammit Lewis pointed out that in

his speech in Parliament last month for the

Budget Estimates, he declared his clear

objective to attain and surpass the two

million tourist arrival mark for 2017. This

important milestone for the tourism sector

would mean that during the term of this

legislature alone, we would have managed

to increase the number of visitors by

half a million, with all the derived direct

and indirect economic benefits on a

national scale. The Minister for Tourism

emphasized that this growth is not

happening by chance. It is the fruit of hard

work and effective cooperation of all the

public and private stakeholders involved

and therefore expressed his gratitude and

appreciation to all stakeholders as this

success is clearly owned by everyone.

Minister Zammit Lewis pointed out that

during this legislature, the Government

have implemented key measures that

have enhanced the competitiveness of

this sector, particularly the 2014 reduction

in utility tariffs that without doubt has

contributed to improve the sector’s

competitiveness and profitability. The

same can be said for the height limitation

adjustment policy, which was long awaited

by the private sector.

The Minister for Tourism said that clearly,

air connectivity remains one of our

foremost strategic priorities. Over the past

months the Government worked together

with all stakeholders to further increasing

connectivity particularly during the less

popular winter months. “The islands’

connectivity and the topic of Air Malta

clearly go hand in hand. We believe that

Malta and Gozo can only maintain these

tourism flows if we ensure a sustainable

and competitive national airline”, stated

the Minister.

“Within a global and European airline

industry that is constantly consolidating,

we believe that Air Malta cannot survive

alone and requires an effective strategic

During his speech the Minister for

Tourism said that if tourism is to continue

supporting Malta’s development on

the current scale, we need to continue

pursuing the issue of seasonality. Minister

Zammit Lewis insisted that Malta and

Gozo cannot afford to permit more

development merely to satisfy the peak

summer demand, but ensure better

and more utilisation of already existing

resources within the leaner months. As a

matter of fact the Minister was pleased to

note that the Government’s persistence

and work in this regard is clearly paying off,

as today Malta is one of the least seasonal

destinations within the Mediterranean.

In his concluding remarks the Minister for

Tourism said he will ensure that during

our forthcoming term of Presidency of the

Council of the European Union, tourism

will feature prominently on the EU agenda.

The Minister announced that UNWTO

Secretary-General Dr Taleb Rifai will visit

Malta in May 2017 for two important

events that the Ministry for Tourism and

UNWTO will be organising.

Finally, the Minister for Tourism thanked

MHRA, for recognising the need to conduct

a periodical evaluation of the performance

of the local hospitality sector, and for

investing resources in the provision of

such critical intelligence that will surely

contribute to the continued success of this

important sector. MBR

Sources: THE MINISTRY FOR TOURISM/DOI

fff news snippets

Malta Business Review

Malta News

Malta Stock Exchange announces

the formation of a Blockchain

Committee

The Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) have

announced the creation of a Blockchain

committee and think tank to assist in

the formulation of a strategy geared

towards addressing the emerging

technology. The Committee will consist of members

of the MSE, its Chairman and CEO as well as a range

Changes to VAT obligations for non-EU

vessels in EU Water

European Commission predicts

Malta’s GDP as the highest in the

Eurozone

of outsider experts. MBR

In May 2016, the EU made significant changes to

the law which governs the VAT Obligations of non- In the last five years, Malta’s economy has

EU private vessels in EU waters. Prior to this date, gone from strength to strength. Last year

a non-EU private vessel would stay for 18 months in EU waters without paying any EU Import VAT, but could saw a GDP growth rate of 6.2% and this

then opt to extend the stay by bonding the vessel. Now the rules have changed and it is no longer possible year, credit agency Standard and Poor’s

to bond the vessel to extend the 18month no-VAT period. Once this 18 month period is complete, she must upgraded its rating from BBB+ to A-, the

either pay EU Import VAT or exit EU waters. If neither of these conditions is met, EU VAT will be applicable with first change in over 20 years MBR

no exceptions. To find out more about how this could impact you, please contact tfenech@fff-legal.com MBR

From January, tenants will

Maltese Parliament

not longer require a landlord’s

Should a Court be able to prevent the identity of a

unanimously approves permission to change their utility tariff

convicted criminal from being made public?

Cohabitation Bill

After a six-year struggle, it has been announced that as

One of the most high-profile cases in 2016 involved a sports

In today’s constantly of January 2017 both Maltese and EU tenants will no

coach of a girls-only volleyball team who admitted to having

evolving society it’s longer have to obtain the permission of their landlord

spied on his students by placing a camera in their changing

important to acknowledge in order to change their home electricity tariff.

room. An extremely controversial and anger-provoking parts

of the case included the fact that the perpetrator, who both

the fluidity of people’s

admitted the offence and was sentenced for it, has been able to

personal relationships

benefit from anonymity as the courts have placed a ban on the

whilst recognising that the decision not to get married or partake in a civil partnership

publication of his name MBR

shouldn’t negatively impact those individuals, instead there should be legislation in

place to protect their interests. MBR

Study shows that IP is boosting the European economy

The European Patent Office and the EU Intellectual Property Office has

released the

results of OECD announces 1000 bilateral crossborder

agreements to help combat tax

their second

study which

evasion

explores the

contribution In a world where

of intellectual cross-border activities

property and globalised

rights (IPRs) business has become

to the EU the status quo, it

economy. MBR is imperative that

countries respective

tax authorities

work together to ensure that the right

amounts of tax are being paid to the right

jurisdictions. MBR

Is Brexit Unconstitutional?

On June23rd 2016, members of the

British public voted in favour of Britain

leaving the European Union and this

unexpected and controversial result has

led to months of political upheaval marked

by the resignation of Prime Minister

David Cameron, the resignation of over

fifty parliamentary members, and cries

of foul play and dishonest campaigning

techniques on both sides. MBR

Firm News

Fenech Farrugia Fiott at the

annual ABL Conference in

Miami

ABL delegates from across the

world gathered again for the

34th General Assembly Meeting

in Miami, Florida in November.

Representing FFF Legal was

Senior Associate Austin Sammut

and Associate Neil Chetcuti.

They attended a series of talks,

seminars and debates as well as networking

events where they had an opportunity to

build working relationships with firms from

all over the world. FFF Legal is the exclusive

Malta member of the ABL Global network

which brings together over 900 lawyers

from 34 different jurisdictions.

Uber drivers win a

landmark case to be

considered as employees

EU and Beyond

What legal issues present themselves

if an individual is cryogenically

preserved?

One of the most unusual items in today’s

news is the tale of a 14-year-old girl who has

won the right to have her body cryogenically

preserved after her death. MBR

Last week a UK employment tribunal ruled against the American worldwide

online transportation network company Uber Technologies Inc. in what could

be a landmark decision, affording drivers working for the tech company the

right to be classified as employees rather than self-employed contractors. MBR

MBR

Fenech Farrugia Fiott- Proud sponsors fo the world-famous

RC44 Valletta Cup

FFF Legal was on site at the Grand Excelsior Hotel for a press conference

heralding the start of the prestigious RC44 Valletta Cup. The racing series

is celebrating it’s 10- year anniversary and its second appearance in Malta

and FFF Legal are proud to be sponsors and partners of this year’s event.

FFF Legal Contributes to the Malta Chapter of the Transport Finance Law

Review

Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal are proud to announce the

publication of the Malta chapter in the prestigious publication-

The Transport Finance Law Review. The publication is

international in scope and is designed to provide industry

insights to transport finance in each of the key jurisdictions

in which ships, rolling stock and aircraft are financed. MBR

Courtesy: Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

HIV/AIDS

WORLD

AIDS DAY

World Aids Day is celebrated

globally on the 1st of

December of each year. This

worldwide event raises awareness about

HIV, promotes prevention measures,

encourages testing, and supports people

living with HIV.

As one of the Maltese Presidency of

the European Union of the Council’s

initiatives, a technical meeting will

be held between 30-31 January to

bring together leading experts on HIV

prevention and control from across the

EU to discuss how Europe can improve its

response to HIV and achieve the targets

outlined in the Sustainable Development

Goals, that is, the actions agreed upon

at the UN high-level meeting on HIV/

AIDS, and those adopted in the Global

Health Sector Strategy at the World

Health Assembly. The experts will discuss

practical evidence-based interventions

and strategies, share achievements and

examples of good practices, and identify

solutions to common challenges. The

priority areas on which EU Member

States agree that they should scale

up their efforts will be discussed, and

the proceedings of the meeting will

be translated in a technical Malta

Declaration.

Since the beginning of the epidemic, more

than 70 million people have been infected

with the HIV virus, and about 35 million

people have died of HIV. Globally, 36.7

million [34.0–39.8 million] people were

living with HIV at the end of 2015. Almost

30,000 newly diagnosed HIV infections

were reported by the 31 European Union

and European Economic Area (EU/EEA)

countries in 2015. Although there have

been impressive results in reducing the

number of AIDS diagnoses during the

last decade, the burden of HIV infection

remains unacceptably high in Europe.

In Malta, over a 10 year period, from

2004 till October 2014, 300 new cases of

HIV were identified. In 2015, there were

61 new cases, and in 2016 till the end

of October there were 58 new patients;

these include 56 cases of HIV and 2

cases of AIDS. Prevention efforts focus

on the promotion of safer sexual health

practices and training of professionals to

support people in prevention, including

encouraging youths to act as peer leaders.

Testing is encouraged, including at

community and GU clinics. People affected

with HIV are offered free treatment by

specialists at the HIV clinic. MBR

Creditline: Ministry for Health/DOI

ict: software

Malta Business Review

Parallels became a key Partner of The Faculty

of ICT at the University of Malta By Dmitry Smirkin

Parallels, an international IT-Company,

became a Gold Partner of the Faculty of

Information & Communication Technology

(FICT) of the University of Malta (UM). The

Company would like to help the academic

development of students within FICT

through the provision of the best tools to

software developers.

Co-founder and Vice president of Parallels

Mr. Nick Dobrovolskiy met with Professor

Ernest Cachia, Dean of the Faculty of ICT,

and Head of the Department of Computer

Information Systems.

development like Parallels Desktop for Mac

that they can improve their potential and

join our global Team. Our developers in

different locations create the state-of-theart

modern and functional software for

personal and business use. We currently

collaborate with leading Universities in

Estonia and Russia and are very pleased

to have UM as our new partner.» - Nick

Dobrovolskiy, Vice President of Parallels.

«The Faculty of ICT gladly welcomes

investment in its students’ potential and

thanks its partners for their interest, trust

and support. This sort of positive initiative

can only help strengthen the ties between

the Faculty and industry as well as serve

as a motivator for the nation’s future ICT

professionals. In this respect, on behalf

of the Faculty of ICT of the University of

Malta, I thank our partner Parallels for

their valid contribution. » – Ernest Cachia,

Dean, Faculty of ICT. MBR

Parallels Company donated 60 Licenses

of Parallels Desktop for Mac Professional

Edition to the UM for everyday use by

staff and students. The UM and Parallels

also discussed long term partnership and

mutual cooperation potential.

«We are an innovative and ambitious

Company with a Development Center

in Malta and a technically strong local

team. Our aim is to provide Maltese

students with the best tools for software

About Parallels

Parallels* is the global leader in cross-platform solutions which make it possible and simple for customers

to use and access the applications and files they need on any device or operating system. We help

customers take advantage of the best technology out there, whether it’s Windows, Mac, iOS, Android or

the cloud. Parallels solves complex engineering and user experience problems by making it simple and

cost-effective for businesses and individual customers to use applications wherever they may be—local,

remote, in the private datacenter or in the cloud. Visit www.parallels.com/about for more information.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

GENDER PAY GAP

Best clauses from Collective Agreements to help

vulnerable workers throughout the EU

In volatile European labour markets

where flexibility is in high demand, special

attention must be given to the most

vulnerable workers in precarious jobs.

This is the major recommendation from

an expert meeting at the University of

Amsterdam, which concluded a two-year

project focusing on gender pay gaps in the

EU and innovative means to reduce those

gaps.

Vulnerable workers are more than average

female, and/or belong to ethnic minorities

and migrant groups, the experts concluded.

These groups lack career perspectives,

job security and affordable child care

arrangements. Many find temporary work

only through employment agencies and

are confined to low skilled menial jobs in

retail, cleaning and care in particular. Their

wages are lower end. Exhausting working

hours leave them little time to recover, let

alone to study after work. Moreover they

are confronted with structural pay gaps

that contribute to the perpetuation of

their plight. The pay gap does not stop at

the male/female divide, the experts found,

but confronts all those disenfranchised in

their working lives.

Secondary working conditions

reveal gender gaps too

Part of the research carried out by

the project-team was to conduct an

unprecedented analysis from surveydata

on secondary working conditions.

The data was collected by means of the

permanent online survey fielded by the

WageIndicator Foundation through its

national websites in all participating

EU-member states. The data collection

allowed for an in depth analysis of topics

such as company benefits, allowances,

emoluments, compensation, facilitated

participation in child care and pension

schemes and the like. The focus of this

analysis was on gender, i.e. are the national

gender pay gaps found reflected in the

secondary working conditions prevailing

in the country? The overall outcome

was that the secondary conditions to a

large extent mirror the gender pay gaps

found in each labour market. There are a

few exceptions to this rule however, i.e.

Slovenia and Poland in particular, where

women have seen fit over last decades

to come alongside their male colleagues

in terms of these additional sources of

income, both moneywise and otherwise.

Best practices from companies

across borders

One of the remedies found by the

experts was that trade union negotiators

throughout Europe could exchange clauses

from the Collective Agreements which

they conclude with employers. Such cross

breeding of best practices might improve

the efficacy of their work in defence of

those most vulnerable groups in particular.

One such outstanding best practice would

be to include in each Collective Agreement

a monitoring clause on the implementation

of specific measures on contracts, pay,

promotion, information, job certification

and co-responsibility for child care. A

monitoring plan for the implementation

of such clauses, jointly supervised by trade

union and the company human resources

department, is a proven 'best practice' in

some sectors already. The final report of

the Gender Pay Gap-project includes a list

of more 'best practice'-clauses from across

EU-member states.

Database to facilitate borrowing

of best clauses

WageIndicator, participant in the Gender

Pay Gap-project of which the main results

are presented here, over the last few years

initiated and elaborated a database of

Collective Agreements. Currently it contains

annotated, i.e. easily retrievable clauses

from some 700 Collective Agreements and

a wide variety of sectors and countries.

The database is freely accessible through

its national websites and therefore easy

to consult by negotiators from both

employers and employees organisations.

In it the clauses and best practices may be

found referred to above. It is WageIndicator

policy to continue broadening, enriching

and detailing this Collective Agreement

database for the free use of all to whom it

may be of concern. WageIndicator invites

all parties concerned to contribute the

agreements they conclude to its database.

The expert group consisted of University

of Amsterdam, Wageindicator, Dutch

Confederation of Trade Unions (FNV), CCOO

Servicos Spain, MSZOZ Hungary. MBR

More information about Gender Pay Gap in Malta

http://www.mywage.org/malta/home/salary/

genderpay-gap-in-malta

Creditline: WageIndicator.org or

WageIndicator.org/genderpaygap

corporate business

Malta Business Review

Sheila Dean named in eprivateclient’s

‘50 Most Influential 2017’

By Laura Daly

Sheila Dean, Equiom’s Global Chief

Executive Officer has been named in

eprivateclient’s ‘50 Most Influential 2017’

list, which recognises the private client

industry’s top practitioners.

Released by eprivateclient, a wellrespected

news service, the annual listing

highlights people who are leading from

the front within the private client industry,

delivering innovative services in order

to meet the varied and ever-changing

demands of high net worth individuals.

This is the third time Sheila has featured

in eprivateclient’s 50 Most Influential list,

having previously appeared in 2013 and

2016.

Sheila said of the news: ‘To be recognised

for the third time is fantastic and I accept

this honour on behalf of the entire

Equiom family. We’ve been on an amazing

journey so far and as we approach our ten

year anniversary, I couldn’t be prouder

of everything we’ve achieved. My whole

career has been within the private client

industry so I fully understand just how

competitive and fast paced it is.

‘The business has grown a lot recently,

having completed four acquisitions this

year alone so I appreciate this accolade

more than ever because of how hard

we’ve worked to expand our services

without losing focus of our core offering

in our existing jurisdictions. As always, it’s

a pleasure to be in such great company

alongside some of the industry’s key

personalities.’

Individual nominations were submitted to

eprivateclient before 20 October and the

list of finalists was agreed by a panel of

judges. Sheila is also currently shortlisted

in two categories for the Citywealth

Powerwomen Awards 2017.

MBR

Sheila Dean, Global CEO of Equiom

Sanya Health & Wellness EcoSpa

Official Launch

Sanya to open and change the

landscape of holistic health services

in Malta.

At Hilltop Gardens in Naxxar, Sanya, will

be officially opening and changing the

landscape of the holistic health and

wellness scene in Malta. Sanya offers

a variety of services that support and

encourage a healthy and nourishing

lifestyle. Sanya focuses on the benefits

of eating clean organic food, practising

yoga, pilates & meditation, using natural

medicine for ailments and health related

problems, and taking the time to stop the

flow of stress, unwind and relax in-order to

improve your quality of life.

At the launch the public are invited to view

the Sanya facilities and learn more about

their philosophies and offerings. It will

be the last chance to take advantage of

their introductory offer of 20% off all spa

memberships and massage treatments.

Many of the practitioners and instructors

will be there to answer questions and

explain more about their work. The

Sanya Organic Juice Bar will be serving a

selection of healthy organic refreshments.

Free and abundant parking is available

at the facility’s car park at all times when

visiting Sanya.

Sanya's ecoSpa includes a beautiful indoor

heated pool, jacuzzis, saunas, eucalyptus

steam rooms & thermal showers. Focusing

on 100% natural local products made

by Soap Cafe, Sanya's beauty therapists

offer massages and treatments that

are designed to relax you and nourish

your body and skin. Malta's first 100%

organic juice bar serves a variety of juices,

smoothies & snacks, including a delicious

specialty organic coffee.

The clinic's holistic practitioners use

natural functional techniques and

medicine to treat and support a variety

of health issues. You can practice yoga,

meditation & pilates at Sanya's Yoga hub,

where many different styles of classes are

held in one of the biggest yoga studios

in Malta. As well as the Spa, Clinic, Juice

bar and Hub, the space contains many

peaceful relaxation areas including a cosy

lounge with a library full of inspirational

books on health and wellness. MBR

Sanya ecoSpa can be found at the Hilltop

Gardens, Triq L-Inkwina, Naxxar, NXR2641.

Website: www.sanyamalta.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sanyamalta

Phone: +356 21436936

Email: hello@sanyamalta.com

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

AVIATION

Air Malta to Appoint New

Chief Commercial Officer

Air Malta is seeking to appoint a

new Chief Commercial Officer

to continue on the path of

innovative commercial developments

launched by Ursula Silling, Air Malta’s

Chief Commercial Officer. She was

engaged by the airline specifically to

lead this transformation and through

her direction, in the last 18 months, Air

Malta has become a more dynamic,

commercially driven and customerfocused

airline.

Ms Silling will be leaving her post at

the end of the month but will however

continue supporting the airline in the

interim period and with future projects.

She joined Air Malta in February 2015 for

a definite period until March 2016 but

her contract was extended to ensure the

realisation of a number of key projects.

“Ursula has brought radical change in

the thinking and the running of the

Commercial Division. Through her

resourcefulness she has spearheaded the

digital transformation of the airline with

projects like the re-design of the website

with its mobile friendly features, fronted

the airline’s digital communication and

promotional initiatives, and directed

customer-focused investments in new

technology within commercial. She has

also been instrumental in reducing costs

by finetuning Air Malta’s route network in

conjunction with the airline’s fleet plan

initiative,” said Joseph Galea, Air Malta’s

Acting CEO.

“Last year she has also driven a radical

transformation of Air Malta’s product

offering with the launch of the new

product range that gives customers a

choice of three tiers in Economy and three

tiers in Business class. This was a very

important development and a significant

milestone for Air Malta,” added Mr Galea.

Before joining Air Malta Ms Silling has

worked with both low cost and network

airlines, IT systems providers and tour

operators in different countries and held

senior executive management positions

with Lufthansa, British Airways, Virgin

Express, Brussels Airlines, the TUI group

and Aerosvit Ukrainian Airlines.

“I feel privileged to have worked and

assisted the airline as Chief Commercial

Officer in these challenging times and ever

changing aviation environment. In these

last few years we have accomplished so

much by being innovative, resourceful

and flexible whilst reducing our costs.

With the launch of our “We Care More”

campaign we have actively demonstrated

our commitment to put the customer

at the heart of everything we do. I am

proud of the accomplishments of the

whole team and look forward to continue

working with them to achieve further

milestones,” commented Ms Silling.

The process to recruit a new Chief

Commercial Officer has started and Ms

Silling is supporting the airline in the

process. In the interim period acting

Chief Executive Officer Joseph Galea,

who was the Deputy Chief Commercial

Officer until his recent appointment,

will be overseeing the running of the

Commercial Division.

Creditline: AirMalta

MBR

Ursula Silling, Air Malta’s Chief Commercial Officer

DIGITAL CLUSTERS

Malta Business Review

Malta Digital Cluster Launched at Malta

Life Sciences Park

By James Vella Clark

The Malta Digital Cluster was launched

at the Malta Life Sciences Park by Life

Sciences CEO Ing. Joseph Sammut and

Edwin Ward, Chairman of Paragon

Europe. The role of the cluster is to

create collaboration between academia,

researchers, private sector entities and the

public sector to take advantage of growth

and new opportunities in digital.

The Malta Digital Cluster is being housed

at the Malta Life Sciences Park and will

become a member of the European

Cluster Collaboration Platform. Members

of the Malta Digital Cluster will gain the

opportunity to join the EU ecosystem of

digital clusters to network, share best

practice in a European and global context,

find partners and financing, as well as to

identify funding programmes, research

funding opportunities and EU-funded

projects in which the cluster members can

participate.

The Malta Digital Cluster was introduced

by Malta Life Sciences Park CEO Ing. Joseph

Sammut. Ing Sammut explained how the

Digital Hub is contributing to attracting

foreign direct investment and bringing

new kinds of digital businesses to Malta.

Mr Edwin Ward added that this is an

opportunity to make Malta’s digital

business more competitive for cluster

members to collaborate and to grow the

digital industry further.

Mr. Ward outlined some of the larger EUfunding

programmes such as Horizon2020

(H2020) which have a wide variety of

funds available for digital projects such as

ICT, IoT, cybersecurity, big-data, cloud and

storage . Significant funds are also available

for applications development and ICT

projects. Within Big-Data alone more than

€2.5BN has just been released via H2020

to cover data visualisation software and

devices, data analysis infrastructure, data

processing infrastructure, data storage

infrastructure as well as transport and

network infrastructure. A further €2.5BN

has just been made available for Research

Infrastructures under the Excellent Science

programme.

The Malta Digital Cluster will be networked

with international partners from blue-chip

digital companies, leading universities and

digital clusters elsewhere in the EU and

beyond. There are many international

donors, the EU, NATO, the World Bank, for

example, who require service provision.

The Malta Digital Cluster will represent

and introduce Malta’s platform to these

donors on service provision in tenders and

contracts.

MBR

For further information visit http://projects.

paragoneurope.eu/digitalcluster.php or call

+356 9920 7677

Creditline: Corporate Identities

FIMBank welcomes Fitch

Ratings upgrade

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Malta-based

FIMBank's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating

(IDR) to 'BB', from 'BB-', and its Support

Rating to '3' from '5'. In its report, the

rating agency also confirms the outlook

for the Bank as being ‘Stable’. The agency’s

report highlights the fact that the upgrade

takes into account the demonstrated

record of capital and funding support

provided to FIMBank by Kuwaiti-based

Burgan Bank, and its sister bank, Bahrainbased

United Gulf Bank, as well as the

increased management and operational

integration of FIMBank with Burgan Bank.

Commenting on the news of FIMBank’s

upgrade by Fitch Ratings, Group CEO

Murali Subramanian explained that

“Strong and demonstrated parental

support as required, for the funding and

capitalisation of FIMBank, is the main

reason Fitch have cited for this ratings

upgrade. While we welcome this decision,

we believe the best is yet to come. We

have unrelenting focus on delivering the

kind of performance which is expected to

progressively render ever stronger returns

to our shareholders. It vindicates our

strategy based on a series of organisational

restructuring, operational review, and cost

controlmeasures,whichwe have been

implementing over the past 18months”.

He added that “As a result of this strategy,

2016 has been a turnaround year for the

Group, and this is also reflected in the

improved profitability of our operations.

Moreover, legacy misadventures of prior

years are being dealt with firmly, and will

be fully behind us in 2017”.

Noting the dynamic process of

transformation being undertaken at

FIMBank, and its anticipated positive

effect on the Bank’s profitability, the Fitch

Ratings report concludes by stating that

“a successful restructuring of FIMBank

and a strong recovery in its financial

metrics could result in FIMBank's VR being

upgraded”. MBR

For more information about FIMBank plc, visit

www.fimbank.com.

www.maltabusinessreview.net

Malta Business Review

newsmakers

People in Malta and Australia benefit from the warm relations between

the two countries

Commissioner to Malta, Jane Lambert, at the

Party Headquarters.

Australia is, for many in Malta, a second home,

and it feels like a natural extension of our

family. Nationalist Party Leader Simon Busuttil

said so as he welcomed the Australian High

Simon Busuttil said that the warm relations

between Malta and Australia need to translate

into concrete benefits for the people of both

nations. These relations have also to be

considered in the context of the European

Union. Simon Busuttil said that a Free Trade

Agreement between the EU and Australia would

open new opportunities across all levels of

society not just the wealthy.

The Leader of the Nationalist Party said that

it was a great pleasure to meet Jane Lambert

who, in the past four years has witnessed a

change in government as well as the first results

of the current administration. Simon Busuttil

congratulated the High Commissioner on her

fruitful work and her commitment to strengthen

the relations between the two countries.

Jane Lambert, on her part, expressed her

pleasure in meeting Simon Busuttil again

and agreed with him that the Malta and

Australia enjoy a special relationship. The High

Commissioner said that she is particularly

encouraged to see linkages develop among

young generations of both countries especially

in the areas of sport, science, and human rights.

Jane Lambert ended by thanking Simon Busuttil

for his support to an EU-Australia Free Trade

Agreement and for his positive work since

becoming leader of the Nationalist Party. MBR

Maltese and German Finance

Ministers meet in Berlin

Yesterday, Minister for Finance Edward

Scicluna held bilateral talks with German

Federal Minister of Finance Wolfgang

Schäuble in Berlin as part of the preparations

for the 2017 Maltese Presidency of the

Council of the European Union.

Minister Scicluna and Minister Schäuble

discussed areas of common interest including

the Capital Markets Union, taxation,

budgetary issues, and the future of the

Monetary Union in the context of improving

fiscal and economic performance by the

eurozone within the current international

context.

Earlier, Minister Scicluna delivered a lecture

Minister Helena Dalli wins the Hero

of the Year at this year’s European

Diversity Award

Dr Helena Dalli, Minister for Social Dialogue,

Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties won the

prestigious Hero of the Year Award during the

6th edition of the European Diversity Award

that was held in London last night. Among

those nominated in the various categories were

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, and

Italian Undersecretary of State Ivan Scalfarotto.

The ceremony which took place in the London

Museum of Natural History, was attended by over

500 participants working in the field of equality

and diversity across Europe, and amongst

others Minister Dalli received congratulations

from officials from the Office of the UN High

Commissioner on Human Rights and the Council

of Europe.

The award is given to politicians, journalists,

athletes, companies and publishing houses that

act as trailblazers in the enhancement of equality

in European society.

In her acceptance speech Minister Dalli said that

we must work hard so that the advancements

made will not get undone, referring to the

particular point in time we are living in where

threats to equality are increasing. She also

pointed out that democracy must never become

a tyranny of the majority and attention to

entitled ‘Malta: A Mediterranean Success

Model in the Euro-Zone’ at the Europäische

Bewegung Deutschland, in Berlin. The

audience included members of the

diplomatic corps, officials from the Bundestag

(the German Parliament), officials from the

German Foreign Office (including Malta Desk

officer and Head of Unit on Finance policy),

as well as representatives of the German

Chamber of Industry of Commerce and the

Association and the Association of German

Banks (BdB).

The Minister also met with a number of

political and financial correspondents of

well-known publications such as Politico, Die

Welt, Bild, and Bild am Sonntag at the Berlin

headquarters of Axel Springer SE, which is

the largest publishing house in Europe.

Minister Scicluna was accompanied by the

The Nationalist Party’s proposals

are designed to help start-ups

The Nationalist Party is set to support business

start-ups with innovative policies. Party

Leader Simon Busuttil said so during a visit to

Creolabs, a start-up in Microsoft Innovation

Centre at Skyparks Business Centre.

Simon Busuttil said the Party wants to

encourage start-ups with financial guarantees

and low-interest rates on loans in order to

help entrepreneurs develop their business

ventures.

The Nationalist Party Leader presented the

recently-launched Policy for Retailers to

Panayiotis Ioannou, Country Manager for

Microsoft Malta, and Joseph Woods, Director

of Creolabs. He said that the proposal to offer

a reduced income tax rate of just 10% for

small businesses is aimed also for start-ups.

minorities should be high on the agenda of every

government.

On the national level, finishing touches on the

Equality Bill and a Human Rights and Equality

Commission Bill aimed at mainstreaming

equality for all persons in all spheres of life are

now underway – after a wide consultation

process - with the intent of presenting the Bills to

Parliament shortly. MBR

Photos Credit: MSDC

THE MINISTRY FOR SOCIAL DIALOGUE,

CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Maltese Ambassador to the Federal Republic

of Germany Albert Friggieri, Permanent

Secretary Alfred Camilleri, and Chief of Staff

Tania Brown. MBR

Credit/Photos: MFIN/DOI

Simon Busuttil was accompanied by

Spokesperson for Small Businesses, Retail and

Self-Employed Robert Arrigo, Spokesperson

for Financial Services, IT and Gaming Kristy

Debono, and new candidates Alex Mangion

and Amanda Abela. MBR

Malta Business Review

EXCEPTIONAL PROPERTIES. EXCEPTIONAL CLIENTS. EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE.

159, Il-Gebla, Labour Avenue, Naxxar. Malta

223, Republic Street, Valletta. Malta

Tel: 00356 23 88 00 26

Mob: 00356 79 00 82 87 | 00356 79 44 60 72

6, Chemin du Repos, 1213 Petit-Lancy, Geneva, Switzerland

Tel: +44 796 15 50 68

www.maltabusinessreview.net

www.simonestates.com | info@simonestates.com | Facebook: SIMON Estates | Skype: simon.estates

M A L T A ' S F I R S T F U L L Y A U T O M A T E D

INTERNET PAYROLL

W W W . S A L A R O O . C O M

MAINTENANCE FREE

SEPA COMPLIANT

S O F T W A R E S Y S T E M S

sales@dakarsoftware.com

www.dakarsoftware.com

T +356 2137 4078

F +356 2137 4090

MBR Issue 26 Dec- LOW RES (1)

Don't wait! Try Yumpu.
Start using Yumpu now!

products

Features

Resources

Developer

Company

Pro Features

Help & Support

Integrations

Plans & Pricing

Company

MBR Issue 26 Dec- LOW RES (1)

Delete template?

Save as template?

Don't wait! Try Yumpu. Start using Yumpu now!

products

Features

Resources

Developer

Company

Pro Features

Help & Support

Integrations

Plans & Pricing

Company

Don't wait! Try Yumpu.
Start using Yumpu now!