MBR_Issue_27 -January 2017 low res

Malta Business Review
FINANCE & ECONOMY
CSR/MALTESE LANGUAGE
Malta Business Review
Finance Minister meets European Banking Federation
Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna
met with a delegation from the European
Banking Federation, during which he
expounded on the priorities of the 2017
Maltese Presidency of the Council of the
European Union.
The meeting focused on the Capital
Markets Union, insolvency law, the need
for educational programs to empower the
public, risk reduction measures, taxation,
and solidarity among member states.
Furthermore, Minister Scicluna stressed
that Malta has the ability to assess the EU’s
problems and challenges from a vantage
point which is different from other member
states, due to its size and geographical
position. He indicated that due recognition
should be given to the needs of the
Maghreb Region and the flow of economic
migrants from North Africa to the EU.
The European Banking Federation
delegation was led by Chief Executive
Wim Mijs, Head of Public Affairs Enrique
Velázquez and Head of Banking Supervision
Gonzalo Gasós.
Accompanying the Minister at the meeting
were Deputy Governor Central Bank
Alfred Mifsud, Permanent Secretary Alfred
Camilleri, Chief of Staff Tania Brown, and
Head of the Presidency Unit Matthew
Buttigieg. MBR
Sources: Ministry of Finance/DOI
Photo: DOI - Jason Borg
FIMBANK CSR
CLIPS ON MALTESE
LANGUAGE DESTINED
FOR SCHOOLS
The Nationalist Party
calls on Government to
act on the challenges
flagged by the Central
Bank of Malta
In its economic forecast published
recently, the Central Bank of Malta revised
downward its GDP growth projections
stating that “the most significant revision
arising in 2016. The downward revision
is mainly driven by the less upbeat
assessment for exports, taking into account
the negative surprise in goods exports
in the first half of the year and a less
optimistic outlook for foreign demand”.
Besides projecting a deceleration in GDP
growth, the Central Bank is also predicting
a slight increase in unemployment in
2017-2019.
The Central Bank report also highlights the
risks associated with sustaining economic
growth with one-off measures, as revenues
from the IIP programme are expected to
be halved over the coming three years.
This report sheds light on the economic
and financial impact of a forecasted
decrease in government revenue resulting
from this drop. To mitigate for this drop
in revenue, the Central Bank is expecting
government to place a restrain on public
sector expenditure. The Central Bank is in
this context considering the new public
sector collective agreement as a possible
risk to maintaining fiscal projections on
target.
The Central Bank has also confirmed
that disposable income, - that is people's
available cash at hand - is drastically going
down as a result of this slowdown in
economic activity.
Despite's Governments efforts at labeling
this issue as a perception, the CBM is
projecting a further drop of 37% over two
years, which is worrying in the context of
an inflationary rate which is rearing its ugly
head again.
The Nationalist Party notes that all in all,
this report tallies with and vindicates the
Nationalist Party’s view on a number of
fronts namely, that while on the whole the
economy is performing well:
• the manufacturing sector continues
to face challenges and is losing
its competitive edge, a fact
that government is refusing to
acknowledge;
• Government failed to create any new
economic activity bar the selling of
citizenship programme;
• economic growth in the past years
was fuelled mainly by one-off events
and that in the absence of such events
GDP growth is going to take a knock;
• the fast rate of growth in government’s
recurrent expenditure over the past
three years is unsustainable; and that,
• the real income of Maltese families
is being eroded by inflation. The
Maltese economy is working for some
but less so for many others who are
struggling to make ends meet.
The Nationalist Party is calling on
government to recognise and act on these
challenges. The Nationalist Party over
the course of this administration did not
limiting itself to highlighting economic
concerns but came out with concrete
proposals and alternatives. The Nationalist
Party is again inviting government to give
due consideration to these proposals in
the interest of all but not least of those
families who are not benefiting from
economic growth and those businesses,
particularly manufacturing concerns and
small and medium sized businesses, who
are seeing their competitive edge being
eroded. MBR
Creditline: PN Media Information Office
Minister for Education and Employment, the Hon. Evarist Bartolo at FIMBank’s head office in St. Julian’s
Schoolchildren attending
government, church and
independent schools will
soon have access to a series
of video clips which trace the meaning of
specific words in Maltese, and which focus
on the origin and meaning of Maltese
proverbs. These educational clips, produced
by FIMBank plc as part of its Corporate
Social Responsibility programme, will be
distributed to all primary and secondary
schools in Malta. This initiative was
announced by FIMBank Group Chairman Dr
John C. Grech, during a recent visit by the
Minister for Education and Employment,
the Hon. Evarist Bartolo at FIMBank’s head
office in St. Julian’s.
In 2015, FIMBank plc had partnered with
Public Broadcasting Services Ltd (PBS) in
an initiative which saw the broadcast of a
series of 30-second video-spots, focusing on
Malta’s linguistic heritage. The series of 100
clips, entitled ‘Kelma Kuljum’ (or ‘A Word
Everyday’), includes both Maltese words
used colloquially, as well as others which are
being utilised less frequently. Meanwhile,
earlier this year, as a continuation of this
project and as part of its CSR programme,
FIMBank launched a new series of video
clips which focus on Maltese proverbs and
their meanings, entitled ‘X’jghid il-Malti?’
(‘Maltese sayings’). The new series has
been featured extensively on PBS and the
Bank’s social media channels.
Commenting on this initiative, FIMBank
Chairman Dr John C. Grech stated that “As a
Malta-based institution we feel we owe it to
the people of Malta to help raise awareness
of our Islands’ rich cultural heritage. This
consideration has always been a mainstay
of our Corporate Social Responsibility
programme. The Maltese language is
recognised as being an essential part of
our DNA. Its uniqueness, derived from
its eclectic mix of Semitic and Romance
influences, is appreciated and endorsed
by linguists worldwide. We are proud to
be in a position to highlight its beauty and
relevance.”
The Hon. Evarist Bartolo stated that he is
"grateful that FIMBank is investing in the
teaching of the Maltese language in our
schools. Such support helps us to reach
more kids in learning their language in an
interesting way. We need more different
programmes to reach more kids as am
not satisfied that nearly half of our fifth
formers are not passing their SEC exam in
Maltese. We need different programmes
and different methods of assessment in
Maltese to reach more students."
Jason Zammit, FIMBank’s Head of
Marketing and Administration, said that
the video spots had proven to be quite
popular with Maltese viewers. He added
that “very positive and encouraging
feedback had been received after the spots
from both campaigns were posted on
Facebook and YouTube, where they were
shared extensively by users. Getting people
engaged and talking about our linguistic
wealth is precisely the main objective of our
project. This helped us to better understand
the potential of this tool for the benefit of
schoolchildren and their teachers.” MBR
For more information about FIMBank plc, visit
www.fimbank.com.
For further information please contact:
Jason Zammit, Head of Marketing & Administration,
FIMBank plc
58 59
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