MBR_Issue_29 -March 2017 ALL

MALTA 

BUSINESS REVIEW 

ISSUE 29 MARCH 2017 

COVER STORY 

EVERYBODY IS A LEADER! 

Kevin and Jeff Buttigieg who tell us just why 

RE/MAX are ahead of the curve 

06 

16 

33 

40 

DEBATE 

Who is afraid of the Twitter Man? 

Werner E Jung’s dissertations on the tweeting President 

iGAMING FEATURE: THE EMPLOYMENT BRANDING TOUR 

LeoVegas - The Lion’s Den 

Europe’s fastest and most user-friendly mobile gaming platform 

DIGITAL CURRENCY TRADING 

The Biggest Major Bitcoin Crashes in the Last 10 Years 

Scarlett Anderson gives us an update on the bitcoin trading ecosphere

OUR NETWORK 

CONNECTS YOU 

TO THE WORLD. 

IMAGINE THE 

POSSIBILITIES. 

With an extensive global network, you could 

make things happen wherever you’re looking 

to take your business. 

At HSBC, we have experienced teams on the 

ground in over 70 countries, where 90% of 

the world’s trade and capital flows originate. * 

This means we have both the expertise and 

connections that could help your business 

grow in today’s most important markets. 

Talk to us today to see where our global 

network could take your business. 

Call 2380 8000 or visit 

www.business.hsbc.com.mt 

*Source: HSBC network analysis, Global Insight (2015) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2014). Approved and issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., 116 Archbisho

p Street, Valletta VLT 1444 which is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority.

Malta Business Review 

CONTENTS 

March 2017 

23 FOCUS: BAHRAIN 

NEW RULES PROVIDING 100% FOREIGN OWNERSHIP 

WILL BOOST INVESTMENT IN BAHRAIN 

Nbail Khoury brings us the latest comprehensive changes 

which Bahrain is making to its corporate laws 

26 ICT 

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION 

PARTNER CAN MAKE OR BREAK YOUR PROJECT – AND 

YOUR BANK 

Darren Sammut discusses IT software project implementation 

33 iGAMING SPECIAL FEATURE 

LEOVEGAS- THE LION’S DEN 

We find out why LeoVegas runs Europe’s fastest and most 

user-friendly mobile gaming platform 

06 

34 THE EMPLOYMENT BRANDING TOUR: CATENA 

MEDIA 

Jackie Porsche writes about the most successful online lead 

generation companies within the iGaming industry 

36 EXCELLENT NETWORKING FOR BTOBET IN 

GEORGIA 

We follow the multinational igaming software provider BtoBet 

in the Georgia Gaming Congress in Tbilisi 

06 COVER STORY 


Interview with Kevin and Jeff Buttigieg who tell us just why RE/MAX 

are ahead of the curve 

12 EU ANALYSIS 

FUTURE OF THE EU 

MEPs discuss five EU future scenarios set out by Jean Claude Juncker 

14 TALKING POINT 

THE BIG DATA 

Denise De Gaetano probes why business and institutions have 

become deeply focused on Big Data 

14 

16 ANALYSIS & DEBATE 

WHO IS AFRAID OF THE TWITTER MAN? 

Werner E Jung makes several comparisons and dissertations on the tweeting President 

42 

39 CORPORATE INTERVIEW 

PARAGON EUROPE WITH AN ACTIVE ROLE DURING IN MALTA’S EU 

PRESIDENCY 

Edwin Ward, Chairman of Paragon Europe speaks to the Malta Business 

Review about his company’s involvement in upcoming EU Presidency 

conferences 

40 FEATURE: DIGITAL CURRENCY 

TRADING 

THE BIGGEST MAJOR BITCOIN CRASHES IN THE LAST 10 YEARS 

Scarlett Andreson gives us a speedy update on the bitcoin trading ecosphere 

58 

60 

Our Golden Partners 

Continental Cars Ltd. 

42 FEATURE REPORTS 

4 WAYS TO BECOME A PAPERLESS BUSINESS 

Laurie Leiker, PandaDoc team, discusses how they can help your business cut 

your paper use completely. 

50 CYBERCRIME MALTA CONFERENCE 2017 

Microsoft is Platinum Sponsor of the CMF, which will deal recent trends in 

cybercrime and cybersecurity technologies 

58 RESEARCH DATA 

GIVING CONTEXT TO RESEARCH DATA 

A powerful data insight by Rebecca Zammit, Director of MISCO International 

Limited 

your perfect atmosphere 

60 BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION 

WHY CONSTRUCTION CLIENTS SHOULD INVEST IN HEALTH & 

WELLBEING 

Katia Knox tells us why buildings influence the health, wellbeing and 

productivity of their occupants 

4


EDITORIAL 

The pressure on business leaders to meet or exceed 

short-term performance expectations continues and 

can, result in actions that may damage long-term value. 

Dynamic leaders will not allow that to occur. They have 

the vision, courage and motivation to stay on the path to 

building long-term, sustainable value for their business. 

The individuals appearing on the cover are committed to 

branding, growth and providing superior services which 

create long-term and lasting customer value. 

PUBLISHER 

MBR Publications Limited 

OFFICES 

Highland Apartment - Level 1, 

Naxxar Road, 

Birkirkara, BKR 9042 

+356 2149 7814 

EDITOR 

Martin Vella 

TECHNICAL ADVISOR 

Marcelle D’Argy Smith 

SALES DIRECTOR 

Margaret Brincat 

DESIGN 

Jacqueline Muscat 

ADVERTISING 

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

Email: margaret@mbrpublications.net 

or admin@mbrpublications.net 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Jean Paul Abela; Scarlett Anderson: Antoine 

Bonello; George Carol; Reza Deghati; Denise De 

Gaetano; Jean Paul Demajo; Werner E Jung; 

Nabil Khoury; Katia Knox; Laurie Leiker; Dean 

Lomax; Cezary Lewanowicz; Jackie Porsche; 

Olga Saliba; James Vella Clark; Rebecca Zammit 

SPECIAL THANKS 

Demajo Dental; DOI; HSBC; Farsons Simonds 

Cisk plc; LinkedIN; Ministry for Finance; Ministry 

for Tourism; POLITICO Brussels Playbook & 

Brexit Files, POLITICO SPRL 

PRINT PRODUCTION 

Printit 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH 

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a 

follower.” 

Disclaimer 

Steve Jobs 

All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by copyright may 

be reproduced or copied and reproduction in whole or part is strictly 

prohibited without written permission of the publisher. All content 

material available on this publication is duly protected by Maltese 

and International Law. No person, organisation, other publisher or 

online web content manager should rely, or on any way act upon 

any part of the contents of this publication, whether that information 

is sourced from the website, magazine or related product without 

first obtaining the publisher’s consent. The opinions expressed in the 

Malta Business Review are those of the authors or contributors, and 

are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. 

Change is a constant occurrence but now, with most 

business organisations of size operating globally and 

dealing with new markets, the pace of change has 

accelerated at what many consider lightning speed. 

The explosive ingenuity of technologists, and the innovations that stem from that, has 

rendered past operating methods obsolete and future actions more challenging and 

uncertain. In other words, “what works well tomorrow may no longer come from the 

experiences of yesterday.” In such a rapidly changing environment, strong and decisive 

leadership becomes all the more critical in order to take on the strategic, tactical and 

structural issues required to win in tomorrow’s struggles and contests. 

We believe that Kevin Buttigieg, CEO / Managing Director at RE/MAX Malta, is precisely 

on target when he talks of “the right leadership talent at the top that is committed to 

constant innovation, constant reinvention of the business, and continuous and persistent 

investment and training”. The real estate industry has led in technology innovation and 

Buttigieg recognised early that RE/MAX “had to become a tech savvy company”. This 

required a “structural change” and a “resetting the mindset of everyone in the company”. 

Jenny Arnell, Catena Media, stresses that, “Management recognises its workforce as its 

biggest asset, and says it’s the prime success factor of the company. Diverse, creative 

and innovative people holding an ‘outside the box’ mentality is what the organisation 

promotes in order to deliver the best solutions for their clients.” When we view how 

politics often stymies getting things done, we appreciate the clear and decisive words 

and actions of ex-New York City’s mayor Michael Bloomberg who believed that “Mayors 

are expected to deliver results, not engage in endless debates; and we’re expected to be 

pragmatic problem solvers, not partisans”. Most leaders have an intuitive sense of the 

importance of behaviour in business performance. They know from experience that it 

all comes down to not only what their people do or don't do but—just as importantly— 

what's expected of them and what corporate habits motivate their actions. 

Can firms systematically and rigorously develop and manage behaviour to achieve 

predictable and superior performance? The short answer is yes, and the field of 

applied behavioural science (ABS) reveals how. ABS offers compelling insights into 

what actually influences human behaviour. It shows that any behaviour—what people 

say or do—is prompted by antecedents and then powerfully reinforced or undercut by 

the consequences of those actions. When the right behaviours become habitual, when 

they are consistently modelled by leaders, and when they are reinforced by policies and 

adopted by all, they create the kind of human willingness to perform great things. 

Martin Vella 

Editor-in-Chief 

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. 

Talk to us: 

E-mail: martin@mbrpublications.net 

Twitter: @MBRPublications 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaltaBusinessReview 

Agents for: 

www.mbrpublications.net 

5


COVER STORY OF THE MONTH 


by Martin Vella 

After being nominated two years in a row , Kevin and Jeffrey Buttigieg 

came home from the RE/MAX R4 International Convention in Las Vegas, 

Nevada with the coveted trophy of “Global Region of the year”. 

6



Background 

RE/MAX LLC. was founded in 1973 in 

Denver, Colorado in the USA by Dave and 

Gail Liniger. RE/MAX is world’s largest real 

estate operator, with presence in over 100 

countries, with over 7000 offices opened 

accommodating 110, 000 plus agents . In 

2004 Malta was the 45th country to join the 

worldwide brand and today has 23 opened 

offices and over 350 sales and letting 

associates covering Malta and Gozo. 

Over their 13 years with the company, Kevin 

and Jeffrey have received the “European 

Award of Excellence” and “European Region 

of the Year” whilst they have also received 

awards for their office achievements. The 

RE/MAX Malta CEO and COO respectively 

met with MBR publications at their new RE/ 

MAX Headquarters in Portomaso Marina to 

discuss this milestone: 

MBR: RE/MAX Malta affiliates have 

recently scooped various prestigious 

awards at the international convention 

Las Vegas, USA. What is the significance 

behind this achievement? 

KB: One of the big significance for us 

is that winning these awards was done 

on merit and won on accomplishments 

reached by our team. It is not easy to win 

such awards. Actually, we finally won one 

of the award categories, namely “Global 

Region of the Year” after two years being 

nominated. To be honest with you we had 

our disappointments as well, where we 

thought we were going to win an award 

and we did not. However, this year has 

secured the fact that we won it and it is 

not just based on commissions ; it has been 

a momentous year for us, culminating in 

these awards. 

MBR: What has contributed to this 

meaningful achievement? 

KB: : We won these awards because of what 

is happening and what RE/MAX is doing in 

Malta. Besides our growth in operations, 

per capita income and community service, 

RE/MAX LLC also take note of the valuable 

input that we put into the European and 

Global markets through assisting other 

regions. This year I shall be speaking at 

three of the other regional conventions. I 

just delivered a presentation in London, I 

shall be speaking at the Greece Convention 

and last year spoke in Romania. Most likely 

I shall be speaking in the Spanish and Italian 

Conventions, and also at the RE/MAX Europe 

Regional Owners meeting, taking place in 

Malta next May. These involvements have 

a significant contribution towards reaching 

such milestones. 

MBR: What can you tell us about the 

RE/MAX delegation that went up to Las 

Vegas? 

JB: The RE/MAX Malta delegation 

consisted of fifteen team members. We 

invite any agent who wants to make the 

trip, registering them and most of these 

agents are the ones who have won awards 

and have been singled out for outstanding 

achievement. The most noteworthy of 

these has been Cherton Caruana. She 

has won the Global Award for most 

transactions done by an individual agent. 

That is a top accolade, although it is not 

the first time we had agents win a top 

global award, albeit it is remarkable. Malta 

is a small nation, yet it’s heaving up quite a 

punch In the Real Estate biosphere and in 

the RE/MAX world we were recognised on 

a global stage. 

MBR: How many delegates does this 

event attract, and how does it feel for a 

team of fifteen people? 

KB: 7,000 world-wide delegates and over 

the thirteen years that we have been 

participating we are neither the quietest, 

nor the shiest of delegates. Everybody 

knows us. The biggest thing that I enjoy 

is that everybody is very happy for us. 

There is no animosity and people share 

your joy, even to the point of stopping, 

congratulating and hugging us for our 

achievements. All RE/MAX associates 

offer a toast and its great fun. Obviously, 

it is an outstanding achievement that no 

other real estate company in Malta has 

ever managed to achieve! 

Malta is a small nation, yet it’s 

heaving up quite a punch in 

the Real Estate biosphere and 

in the RE/MAX world we were 

recognised on a global stage 

JB: Our per-capita earning rates are 

the highest. Our initiatives from a 

community point of view are well known. 

Our strategy and input throughout the 

European regions has been acclaimed and 

established to the point that other foreign 

regional owners come down to see how 

we operate. We always love to share our 

ideas and also learn from other regions all 

the time. 

MBR: How do you recognise and appraise 

your team of achievers? 

KB: Firstly, being taken to Las Vegas is 

already a huge acknowledgement to the 

team. Within our group we try to run and 

manage this business as a family. One 

thing for certain is that from the beginner, 

to the smallest achiever, up to the biggest 

achiever; we treat them all equal. We are 

always listening to people and encouraging 

them. 

MBR: In 2016 you registered another 

record year with an overall turnover 

of €600M. What are the key factors 

attributing to this and what is the 

winning strategy here? 

KB: Our main attributes to this is training 

our agents to understand what they need 

to do, setting up the right management 

structures, following up and being always 

involved because every single one of us 

is enmeshed in sales on a daily basis, we 

all get our hands dirty, we have a great, 

great management team, and in which 

over the years we have nurtured them 

to grow their own businesses. Therefore, 

our main attributes to this is that within 

RE/MAX you have an opportunity to grow 

with the company, you can manage your 

own business with the company, and 

you can become a leader with RE/MAX, 

as everybody is a leader! The property 

market is in a so called boom at the 

moment, with various different elements 

attributing to this boom, where we service 

a lot with first-time buyer and cover 

the whole market. We are the largest 

wherein foreign investors are concerned, 

the biggest in buy-to-rent and the reason 

why we lead on every single section of 

the real estate market boils down to the 

fact that we have people focusing on the 

Cherton Caruana, Letting Associate, winner of 

most transactions as an individual 


7



different clusters and market segments. 

Combined with our marketing, the RE/ 

MAX brand and a cocktail of specialists, 

we generate a unique selling perspective 

to our customers. 

MBR: Thirteen years of non-stop 

operations and continued growth, 

together with the recent launch of an 

expansive, modern and comfortable 

offices set out in a prime location at 

Portomaso. How does this position the 

RE/MAX brand for further growth and 

what advantages does it offer to your 

customers? 

KB: This office has been my brainchild, 

perhaps for many selfish reasons! Spending 

a major part of my time here at Hilton 

and at the Business Tower in Portomaso 

creating synergies with customers even 

when our offices were in Sliema, for me my 

life has become a lot easier! The location 

of this office has allowed us to hold much 

more intense, intimate meetings with 

our management team and has proved 

to also offer easier access and parking to 

our staff and associates. In view of easier 

parking facilities, today we can organise 

meetings at short notice. The ambience 

and surroundings also give an aura of 

relaxation and serenity to both customers 

and also our affiliates. All the people 

involved with us, from the accountants to 

the IT persons are much more happier and 

smiling now, then they were at the other 

office. This is a corporate office with a 

quantum leap. 

JB: Probably the most important aspect 

of our new office is that we have a stateof-the-art 

training facility, one which 

management may supervise and also join 

in and take part in training from time-totime. 

One thing we have here at RE/MAX 

is that the top management are handson, 

listen in on training and the questions 

asked so we understand even deeper 

where we stand in terms of education. 

MBR: What challenges did you face to 

open these brand new offices? 

KB: Making a move is always a huge 

challenge. Obviously, there is a big 

expense to relocating over 25 people but it 

was a total non-brainer. We certainly have 

did the right thing, in fact, the general 

atmosphere and morale is very high! 

MBR: Three important elements in 

the RE/MAX success story: Brand, 

Distribution and Training. How do 

you successfully leverage these three 

elements? 

KB: We leverage the brand by making it 

successful through having it well positioned 

and marketed comprehensively. Our 

Kevin Buttigieg, CEO, Cherton Caruana, Letting Associate & Jeffrey Buttigieg, COO 

brand is a non-brainer, since it is the 5th 

most widely recognised logo in the world 

apart from being immensely popular 

brand. It is also the 8th most popular 

franchise on the Entrepreneur 500 survey. 

There are no other real estate companies 

in the top 100. The RE/MAX offices are 

strategically located throughout Malta, 

making our brand visible everywhere you 

go, including Gozo, where we are the only 

real estate company that will have opened 

two offices in Gozo. 

JB: We were among the first to expand 

the advertising and portray our brand 

in the media strategically. Today we see 

competition doing the same and we are 

always at least one step ahead. 

MBR: Your franchise approach is 

incredibly efficient- can you tell us why? 

KB: Firstly, it is a great driver for growth 

and success. Our franchise approach is 

incredible because we look internally first, 

we empower our associates and managers 

making them understand that they too 

may be our partner in the future. In fact, 

the majority of our franchise owners have 

worked within RE/MAX as an associate 

or manager for a certain amount of time 

before they are ready to take on the 

challenge. It’s quite hard to believe, but I 

turn down three to four franchise requests 

a month. Our brand is not for everybody. 

We are very careful with our brand 

because we know we have to take care 

of over four hundred families that rely on 

this brand. We want to stay strong, remain 

healthy, get the right people on board and 

keep on performing the right due diligence 

upon engaging people. Our mantra has 

been: Real Estate Maximums. MBR 

All rights reserved © 2017 

8

A Global Force in Trade Finance 

FIMBank is a leading provider of trade finance, 

factoring and forfaiting solutions. We optimise 

business performance and support business 

growth by developing tailor-made trade finance 

solutions that provide exporters with accelerated 

receivables and importers with extended credit. 

Contact us to find out how your business can benefit. 

+356 21322100 fimbank.com 

FIMBank p.l.c. is a licensed credit institution regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority and is listed on the Malta Stock Exchange.


PRIVATE EQUITY 

MEDITERRANIA capital partners 

raises €250 million for third fund 

7 March 2017, Malta/Barcelona. 

Mediterrania Capital Partners, the 

regional Private Equity firm focusing on 

growth investments for companies in 

North African and Sub-Saharan countries, 

announces its plans to raise €250 million 

for its third fund, Mediterrania Capital III 

(MC III). 

Through MC III, Mediterrania Capital will 

maintain its focus in North Africa while 

expanding into selected Sub-Saharan 

countries such as Ivory Coast, Senegal and 

Cameroon. The firm is planning to continue 

investing in strong core sectors that 

benefit from the favourable demographics 

of the region, a growing middle class with 

increased purchasing power and rapid 

urbanisation trends. 

The first closing of MC III is scheduled for 

Q4 2017 with full deployment of the funds 

planned to be completed within three to 

four years of the closing. 

Through offices in Abidjan, Algiers, 

Barcelona, Casablanca, Cairo, Tunis and 

Valletta, Mediterrania Capital Partners is 

currently advising two funds, Mediterrania 

Capital I (MC I), which closed in Q2 2008, 

and Mediterrania Capital II (MC II), closed 

in Q4 2013 and with 80% of the funds 

deployed as of today. 

MC I’s and MC II’s investor bases both 

consist of corporate and public pension 

funds, funds of funds, family offices and 

development finance institutions from 

the US, Canada, Europe, Middle East and 

Africa. 

Mediterrania Capital Partners’ current 

portfolio include companies in a wide 

range of sectors such as financial, 

pharmaceutical, education, consumer, 

industrial, transport and logistics, support 

services and telecommunications. 

“Our unique, repetitive Value Creation 

model is allowing portfolio companies to 

deliver excellent results, outperforming 

the markets in which they are operating 

and setting the right foundations for 

the future,” said Albert Alsina, CEO and 

Managing Partner of Mediterrania Capital 

Partners. 

Until December 2016, Cumulative EBITDA 

of MC II´s portfolio companies reached 

€53 million, up 64% on 2014; Cumulative 

Revenues came to €340.8 million, a 63% 

growth rate; and Cumulative Net Income 

CAGR amounted to €24.5 million, a 42% 

growth rate, in the same period. 

“MC III is the natural step forward for 

Mediterrania Capital Partners. Since 

2008, we have witnessed Africa’s steady 

evolution, economically and politically, 

and an increasing number of SMEs with 

strong growth potential. In fact, the 

prospects of our third fund look very 

encouraging, with several solid projects 

that could benefit from our hands-on 

Value Creation approach already in the 

pipeline,” concluded Albert Alsina. 

With MC III, Mediterrania Capital Partners 

aims to continue delivering superior 

returns to its investors and partners 

while having a positive impact in the 

region through sustainable and socially 

responsible investments. 

1Office under creation. 

2For a full list of Mediterrania Capital Partners’ 

portfolio companies, please see: www.mcapitalp. 

com/portfolio-companies. MBR 

CORPORATE 

Brief 

Mediterrania Capital Partners (www.mcapitalp.com) is a dedicated Private Equity firm focusing 

on growth investments in SMEs and mid-cap companies in Africa. The company started its 

operations in 2008 under “Fons Mediterrania Capital” and since 2013 is an independent General 

Partner Structure. Consistent with its strategy, Mediterrania Capital Partners continues to seek 

North African and Sub-Saharan-based SMEs with an equity value of €25 million to €400 million. 

The firm is a regulated financial investment manager licensed by the Malta Financial Services 

Authority (MFSA). 

For more information, please contact communications@mcapitalp.com. 

Website: www.mcapitalp.com 

YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UCmBxa-EDilIWakYJr1_J6SQ 

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/mediterrania-capital-partners 

10


EU: ANALYSIS 

Future of the 

EU: MEPs 

discuss five 

scenarios 

set out by 

Jean-Claude 

Juncker 

By Cezary Lewanowicz 

Debate with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude 

Juncker on the White Paper on the future of the EU© EU 2017 - EP 

Lead MEPs from Parliament’s political groups reacted to the Commission’s Future of Europe White Paper, 

presented by its President Jean-Claude Juncker to the full House. Some MEPs welcomed the Commission’s 

decision to outline five possible paths for the EU to take in the coming years, while others criticized it for not 

picking a clear preferred path or providing concrete examples. 

Opening the debate, Parliament’s 

President Antonio Tajani urged that the 

“future of Europe” debate, begun by 

the three reports voted at Parliament’s 

previous plenary session, “must go on”. He 

stressed that the upcoming Rome Treaty 

60th anniversary celebrations must be “an 

opportunity for the institutions to listen 

more closely to citizens, in order to address 

their concerns” 

European Commission President Jean- 

Claude Juncker presented five possible 

replies to the question “ Quo vadis Europa“, 

stressing that this means a “Europe of 27”. 

“Our task today is to show what Europe can 

and cannot do”, he said, pointing out for 

example that “Europe alone cannot be held 

responsible for fighting unemployment”. 

“We cannot offer the moon. In some cases, 

all we can do is offer a telescope“, he said. 

Mr Juncker listed five scenarios: 

1. “carrying on”, 

2. “nothing but the single market”, 

3. “those who want more do more”, 

4. “doing less more efficiently”, and 

5. “doing much more together.” 

”I shall not tell you my absolute preference 

today, because it is not up to me all to 

take this decision”, he said, inviting the 

European Parliament, national parliaments, 

governments and citizens to contribute 

to the debate. The Commission will go 

on listening until September, when in the 

annual State of the Union address and 

having consulted the European Parliament 

rapporteurs, a conclusion may be drawn. 

Esteban Gonzales Pons (EPP, ES) thanked 

Mr Juncker for choosing to present his 

White Paper in Parliament and underlined 

that the House must be “fully involved” 

in the subsequent debate. He agreed 

with Mr Juncker that we have to “align 

expectations with reality” and urged 

member states to “stop blaming Europe 

for what Europe cannot do because it does 

not have the tools”. “This is a wrong and 

dangerous game and Brexit is one of its 

consequences”, he concluded. 

S&D leader Gianni Pittella (IT) told Mr 

Juncker “Your paper includes five options, 

and I believe that by putting these five 

options on the table as realistic scenarios, 

you are playing into the hands of all those 

who want to weaken the European Union 

or even get rid of it”. (…) “You put five 

options on the table, but I can only see 

one: to work together as Europeans and 

do much more together”, he added. 

Ulrike Trebesius (ECR, DE) said that past 

hopes in Europe and the Eurozone have 

fallen victim to centralism and delusions 

of grandeur. The EU should concentrate 

on fewer policy areas and become more 

efficient, e.g. in fighting terrorism and 

protecting its borders. "Times have 

changed, we need more flexibility and to 

adapt our institutional set-up", she said. 

Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE, BE) stressed the 

need to start a further inter-institutional 

reflection on the future of Europe. He 

also said that the EU currently lacks real 

capabilities to address many of today’s 

challenges, and urged EU countries to 

stop using the unanimous vote rule to 

block vital efforts to move the Union 

forward. “But how convince EU leaders at 

national level to take the steps that we so 

desperately need?” he added. 

“We need to listen to the citizens”, 

stressed Patrick Le Hyaric (GUE, FR), calling 

for another, “bottom-up” scenario, which 

takes account of people’s aspirations for 

justice, equality, solidarity, environment 

protection and public health. “Otherwise, 

we’ll fail to meet the challenge”, he 

warned. 

Philippe Lamberts (Greens, BE), urged 

the Commission to consider proposing a 

radical change of direction, so as to halt 

the explosion of inequality. "To reconquer 

citizens' hearts and spirits, we need to (...) 

ensure peace and shared prosperity, and 

abandon fiscal and social competition", he 

added. 

For the EFDD group, Gerard Batten (UK) 

said that the White Paper recognizes 

the problems facing the EU, “but fails 

to understand that many of these were 

created by the EU in the first place”. 

For the ENF group, Vicky Maeijer (NL) 

said that the EU is collapsing. “We in the 

Netherlands said no to the European 

constitution, no to the trade agreement 

with Ukraine, and it is time we said no to 

Europe.” 

MBR 

Cezary LEWANOWICZ is a EP Press Officer 

Credit: EP/Plenary/REF. : 20170228IPR64287 

12

Cittadella - Gozo 

Surfacing the most beautiful spaces 

The Factory, Mosta Road, Lija. T: 21 433636 www.halmannvella.com


TALKING POINT 

The 

BY DENISE DE GAETANO 

With one of the top spots retained 

for the request of Facebook 

personal data per capita by the 

Maltese government, it is becoming more 

evident that Malta is adjusting to the big 

data revolution. We no longer can keep 

much of our lives personal. With every 

supermarket transaction, Facebook and 

Twitter login and discount card usage, 

our personal data, buying habits, posts, 

photos, likes and chats, we reveal our 

lives to help companies and governments, 

achieve the two Ms: Monitoring and 

Monetization. 

Businesses and institutions, have become 

deeply focused on big data to drive profits 

on customer insights. The more data, that 

data scientists and statisticians can take 

up, the more precise the forecasts over 

specific algorithms will be. Such forecasts, 

can communicate something of value and 

potential. Hence, client data is an asset to 

any company. Nowadays, more companies 

are realizing that they cannot continue 

being competitive if they cannot put good 

data to use. Whereas before, analytics 

was run under the business intelligence 

branch, focusing on reporting, it is ever 

more important to concentrate on a more 

personalized service and product. To 

this end, asset surveillance is of utmost 

importance and the process of managing 

such assets to maintain client privacy is 

audited thoroughly. There is currently no 

big data code of ethics, though, there are 

controls over who can access the data 

and how they can use such data. Privacy 

regulations should not only be put in 

place at the national level, but also at the 

industry level. The main challenge faced 

is that online data, comes in so quickly 

that in some cases, there may be a lag 

between when data comes in and when 

such regulations are put into place. 

The reality is that proper 

collection of such data and 

sieving through it, can reap 

more benefits 

With the constant advancement on the big 

data front, comes an every changing range 

of different technologies, which enable 

the storage, manipulation and forecasting 

of big data. Although such technology is 

still in its initial stages with the utilization 

to its full potential in Malta, we have 

a number of international companies, 

employing these technologies, with the 

help of more data scientists. Getting into 

the big data game is not as easy as it may 

seem. Many companies fail to recognize 

that the collection of large quantities of 

data alone, is not the answer. The reality 

is that proper collection of such data and 

sieving through it, can reap more benefits. 

Companies and firms that are looking into 

the monetization on Big Data, should look 

beyond the simple data and more into the 

economic questions that can be answered 

with such data. Often times, data can 

help answer very specific questions, 

pertaining to the particular business about 

the risk, future and current value, risk 

of a specific asset or product. Data will 

provide information about the market and 

how customers behave in general. Such 

information is of extreme importance to 

market participants. Companies should 

start with understanding the business 

challenge and gather the information, 

specifically in relation to this challenge, 

as it is more likely to provide the 

most valuable insight. Investment in 

technologies and the skills to use them, 

such as predictive analytics, smart data 

discovery solutions and advanced naturallanguage 

generation, will help attain the 

true value from the data the company has. 

Such companies, looking at getting into 

the big data company, should therefore 

have to their availability, large quantities 

of readily available data and information, 

access to advanced analytical tools, such 

as Hadoop and NoSQL and the human 

workforce capable of putting these tools to 

work. Big data is not just to be considered 

as another technology fad, as this won’t 

help anyone get the most out of such data, 

but rather, this has to be embedded into 

every department, where the employees, 

can understand the significance of data 

at hand to the whole company. It is a way 

forward, to understand that, should data, 

information and insights be shared, these 

can help recognize synergies between 

different departments and help scale up 

the benefits that analytics and forecasting 

can provide. The Big Data boom has 

effected all of us, sometimes, without even 

realizing. It’s an exciting revolution and 

one which we shall hear more about in the 

years to come. It can easily be considered 

as the current future. 


14


ANALYSIS & DEBATE 

Who is afraid Of thE 

TWITTER MAN? 

Hopefully complacency will not gain the 

upper hand over time, meaning that we 

will all soon be getting used to this type 

of madness. The sixties have shown that 

“democracy is in the streets” – it is now 

time for a revival, so it appears. 

There is, however a big difference: In 

‘68 the objective of the younger (postwar) 

generation was to bring down the 

entrenched establishment which formed 

the post-war times. The objective was 

to generate a new set of ideas and a 

progressive outlook at the world. At that 

time the world was still being defined 

by a generation heavily traumatised by 

their experiences during the war and 

many of them were still convinced that 

By Werner E. Jung 

While there is a lonely man in the White house disseminating his wisdom 

via Twitter to the hostile world around him, (bad, very bad media) there 

are more and more people in the US taking to the streets in protest. One 

can only hope that these opposition movements and the protests will go 

on and that especially the younger generations keep pushing ahead. It 

is time for civil disobedience and for damage control. 

“not everything was bad” under the 

Nazis. The 60’s and early 70’s could be 

characterised as a time of “creative 

destruction” as defined by the economist 

and political scientist Joseph Schumpeter 

in order to propagate innovation and 

entrepreneurship. In utter contrast 

to that, the mastermind in the White 

House, Steve Bannon, has a declared 

objective of “complete destruction” of 

all “evil developments” since the 60’s. 

Bannon sees all evil stemming from the 

60’s (r)evolution and wants to return to 

a world of proper white fences around 

the lawns of rural white America, where 

religion, family, work ethics and discipline 

were still in place. 

So, what should be the answer? I have 

to admit that it has taken me some time 

to regain my stance after the election 

of the Twitter-Man; the conviction that 

lamentations will not really get anybody 

ahead has taken the upper hand. We 

have all enjoyed a long period of growth 

and growing prosperity – at least “on 

average” despite some recessions and 

financial crises, caused primarily by greed. 

While most of us have been lulled by the 

“on average” statistics, some people, 

over time, developed a gut feeling that 

somehow the average was not working for 

them. They realised that, over time, they 

could not afford a yearly family vacation 

any more and a new car every three or 

four years also was not within their budget 

any more; despite al the statistics. What 

many of us have overlooked is that in the 

past decades, growth and prosperity have 

been allocated progressively unequally. 

Average figures do not tell the real story. 

When 10 people have an additional 

income of $ 10.000 over the past year, 

then the average increase is $ 1.000 per 

person. However, if one of them gets $ 

9.000 and then the other 9 persons only 

get $ 111 each; – the average is still $ 

1.000, but 9 out of 10 might just come to 

the conclusion that something is not quite 

fair! This type of development was more 

evident in the US than in Europe, and in 

16

ANALYSIS & DEBATE 


a way it was also welcome there because 

it upheld the American dream “from rags 

to riches”. The effect of this development 

has been described extensively by Joseph 

Stiglitz in his book “The Price of Inequality”. 

The election of the Twitter-Man is part 

of that price. That, however, does not 

mean that his administration is going 

to do something about the inequality; 

on the contrary, as exemplified by the 

staffing of the cabinet with billionaires. 

This, unfortunately, will take quite some 

time for his followers to comprehend and 

understand, independent of their level of 

education. 

Probably we are giving this guy far too 

much credit. In contrast to Erdogan in 

Turkey, Kaczynski in Poland, Orban in 

Hungary, or Marine Le Pen in France, the 

Twitter-Man does not really want to rule 

and exude absolute power. He, in the 

meantime has realised that he does need 

an apparatus and people around him to 

govern, which actually is a damn nuisance 

for him. Having to govern distracts him 

from his real objective: to have greater 

press coverage than George Clooney and 

to become more famous than Jesus Christ. 

And, at last but not least, to become 

richer than either Warren Buffet or Bill 

Gates. I, for one, still strongly believe in 

the American democracy and the principle 

of checks and balances. In the end the 

judiciary and the legislative branch of the 

government will ascertain that the country 

will stay out of harm’s way. However, the 

idea that a Twitter-Man would have been 

in charge during the Cuban Missile Crisis, 

does make my toenails curl backwards. 

Europeans, and especially the Germans, 

are not sleeping well lately; their 

comfortable lives all of a sudden are 

disrupted by uncertainty and “angst”. 

So, in terms of the opening sentence, 

this “wake-up call” is a good thing at the 

right time, and, maybe, we should all be 

thankful to have the Twitter-Man around. 

At least one could argue in the sense of 

the philosopher Bernard de Mandeville 

in the “Fable of the Bees”, where he 

concludes that private vice creates 

public benefits. If this appears as not so 

obvious, imagine everybody was good 

and benevolent to his/her fellow citizens. 

What would happen? We would have 

millions of people unemployed: Lawyers, 

judges, policemen/women, prison guards, 

manufacturers of doors and hardware 

would all not be needed any more. This 

scenario undoubtedly belongs into the 

world of fairy tales and sagas but it does 

emphasise the two sides of a coin. 

More probable, however, 

is that the Twitter-Man 

disseminates enough fear 

and uncertainty amongst the 

people of Europe so that they 

finally stop bickering and 

come to the conclusion that 

“united we must stand”. 

More probable, however, is that the 

Twitter-Man disseminates enough fear 

and uncertainty amongst the people of 

Europe so that they finally stop bickering 

and come to the conclusion that “united 

we must stand”. Early indications seem to 

suggest that this might be working. Finally 

Jen-Claude Juncker has taken up with the 

thought that for closer cooperation, it is 

not necessary for all countries to proceed 

with the same speed. Different nations 

do have different ideas of how to cope 

with that imminent threat; they have to 

address their own specific problems to 

deal with. In this context it’s foolish to 

assume that all countries can always agree 

on the priorities, nor are they willing and 

capable of advancing at the same speed 

socially, economically and politically. This 

is perfectly all right as long as everybody 

can all agree on the same basic principles. 

If they do away with the totally impractical 

“unanimity” rule in Brussels and 

Strasbourg, Europe can proceed at a much 

faster pace. 

Let us all hope that the Europeans have 

finally grasped the monumental chance 

to find a fruitful way of togetherness and 

cooperation, and that the Twitter-Man 

stays around long enough for this goal to 

be accomplished, before he is escorted out 

of the White House in a straitjacket by two 

men in white. SAD, Very, Very SAD MBR 

EDITOR’S 

Note 

Werner E. Jung, lecturer 

and writer, looks back at 

an eventful international 

management and 

consulting career. He lived and worked 

in many countries around the world. As 

consultant and lecturer he took a special 

interest in SMEs and developing markets. 

After the financial crisis in 2008, he 

discontinued his “old style” teachings and 

has taken to research into socio-economic 

developments. The focus is on the rising 

inequalities and the resulting disruptions. 

Mr. Jung holds a degree in Industrial 

Engineering and Business Management from 

the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and 

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

He now lives in the foothills of the Bavarian 

mountains. wej@think-different.org 


17


TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS 

SAVING 

BIG 

ON EXPORTS 

Exasperated. This is the feeling many of 

the local shipping executives of exporting 

companies used to feel when searching 

for a reliable but at the same time costeffective 

forwarding solution for their 

export business. It is very easy to find 

reliable and competitive freight forwarders 

with regards importations but as far as 

exports go, there always seemed to be 

much less options on the market. This 

resulted in very high costs compared to 

imports and less than satisfactory transit 

times resulting in the local manufacturing 

exporting companies having an even 

tougher time competing in the competitive 

global market. 

Not anymore! EuroBridge has just 

launched its groupage export service to 

all European destinations. The company 

which is well renowned for its import 

services felt it was the right time to enter 

the export market and it is guaranteeing 

its customers 3 major promises with this 

new service: 

Rates as low as the Import Rates. The cost 

of exporting is actually less than that of 

importing so how come groupage export 

rates are much more expensive than 

imports? It is an easy one to answer. Lack 

of reliable competition. It is a well-known 

fact that up till now, only a handful of local 

trailer operators could offer a reliable 

service for export companies and in view 

of this situation, they took advantage 

in quoting high rates. EuroBridge will 

make sure this problem stops here and 

it is offering the same import rates to all 

their customers making exporting a much 

cheaper proposition from now on. 

Super-fast transit times. EuroBridge 

understands that the buck does not stop 

with just offering cheap rates. It has to offer 

the best possible service and that is what 

it set out to do from day one. It is already 

loading weekly shipments departing every 

Saturday and the first deliveries in North 

Italy will be done by the following Tuesday. 

All deliveries to the major European 

destinations will be effected within the 

following Friday therefore guaranteeing a 

less-than-1-week transit time to all major 

European destinations. Timed deliveries 

are also available if needed. 

Real-time updates and follow-ups. As 

with the imports, EuroBridge will follow 

up all export shipments from their local 

offices guaranteeing its customers realtime 

updates without the hassle and timewasting 

of going to their overseas agents 

for such updates. 

To promote this new service, EuroBridge 

is launching with immediate effect a 

promotion offering a 20% discount on the 

quoted rates for all shipments booked 

prior the end of June 2017. This means 

that besides offering an already cheaper 

rate than the current market rates, for 

the next 3 months, all exporters can take 

advantage of this offer and reduce even 

more their exporting costs. 

If you would like to know more about 

EuroBridge and its services, they invite 

you to visit their website www.eurobridge. 

com.mt. They would also be thrilled if you 

could communicate directly with them by 

calling their office on 22487000 or send 

them an email on sales@eurobridge.com. 

mt. They always sign with their motto 

‘Yours to count on’ and it is their intention 

that you feel you can always count on 

them for your shipping needs. MBR 

18



MORE GROWTH 

ENVISAGED 

THIS YEAR FOR 

EXPRESS 

TRAILERS’ 

SIDE-LOADER 

BUSINESS 

“In less than a year since Express Trailers 

announced its appointment as HAMMAR's 

European base for the re-building and 

customization of HAMMAR side-loaders 

for the global market, Express Trailers has 

already delivered rebuilt side-loaders to 

clients in UK, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, the 

Canary Islands and the US.” 

This was stated recently by Franco 

Azzopardi, Chairman and CEO of Express 

Trailers during the recent Malta Robotics 

Olympiad held at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali. 

Express Trailers was the Olympiad’s 

Logistics Partner and was trusted to 

transport and deliver the delicate 

competing projects. Express Trailers was 

also present throughout the event with its 

Side-Loader, giving demonstrations of how 

it operates. 

Express Trailers displayed its side-loader 

during the Malta Robotics Olympiad and 

gave the public the opportunity to see this 

vehicle in action, to see how it operates 

and to understand the advantages that 

side-loaders can bring to their logistical 

operations. 

Side-loaders, or side-lifters, enable 

transport companies to load and unload 

containers and out of gauge cargo onto 

flat-bed trailer trucks without the use 

of cranes but instead, with the use of a 

specially mounted hydraulic-powered 

mechanism installed on the trailer chassis. 

These hydraulic structures can also be 

telescopic; adjusting to varying sizes of 

containers and can handle weights of up 

to 33 tons without any counter weight. 

“Express Trailers has invested a lot in this 

new collaboration with HAMMAR to rebuild 

and re-condition side-loaders on 

behalf of HAMMAR for its clients round the 

world. This move effectively saw Express 

Trailers move into the manufacturing 

business. The result of this investment is 

that we have already seen a successful year 

and this coming year will see us working on 

an event and a bigger order book because 

we are committed to produce seven sideloaders 

throughout this year and we are 

sure this number will increase.” 

“However, availability of capable and 

talented workers in this field remains 

an issue and unless we find more 

tradesmen, we will not be able to meet 

the demand. We are looking at the MRO 

also as an opportunity to get in contact 

with interested people who would like 

to join our team to work with us in this 

manufacturing business,” adds Franco 

Azzopardi. 

“We currently have a team of very talented 

workers who are doing a fantastic job but 

as we expect business to grow, we know 

we will need to recruit more workers 

especially welders. We need people who 

are passionate, want to learn and are 

willing to be part of a successful team. 

From our end, we are ready to offer them 

all the required training. However, it is 

proving to be very difficult to find these 

types of workers,” added Franco Azzopardi. 

Express Trailers is seeing a lot of 

potential growth in this business and to 

accommodate this growth, the company 

has recently invested in the installation 

of a new internal crane system. Besides 

allowing workers to move the side-loader 

structures from one place to another at 

production phase in a faster and more 

efficient way, this new structure guarantees 

a safer environment. Over the coming 

weeks, further investment is envisaged 

with the replacement of the current roof 

with a brand new structure. 


20

Pride can lead to great things. 

We are proud of what we achieve, 

through our ability, our services 

the reliability we offer and the trust we enjoy. 

Orange is our pride. 

#WeAreOrange 

We deliver your cargo from anywhere to wherever. 

We are the experts in logistics. 

PHOTO: ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES’ PHOTOS IN THE 2016 EXPRESS TRAILERS PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION THEMED ‘WE ARE ORANGE’. 

Express Group Malta 

Velbro House, Qormi Road, 

Luqa LQA 9040, 

MALTA 

Tel: (+356) 21 242311 

Email: info@expressgroup.com 

www.expressgroup.com



Evonik 

optimizes 

supply chains 

with DHL 

Resilience 360 

For Evonik, Resilience 360 means a further 

digitalization of its numerous logistics 

activities. 

• Analysis tool examines road and rail 

transport routes. 

• Risk management strengthens resilience 

of supply chains and minimizes potential 

impact on operating business 

Whether it’s heavy rainfall, manufacturing 

issues or road closures – a variety of 

causes can disrupt supply chains and 

the flow of goods in a globalized world. 

The consequences can mean halted 

production, sales losses or damage to a 

company’s image. In order to avoid such 

scenarios, the logistics arm of Evonik 

Technology & Infrastructure GmbH 

will work with the risk-management 

solution DHL Resilience 360 in the future. 

Representatives of Evonik and DHL have 

signed the respective contract in the Marl 

Chemical Park. 

The risk-management solution Resilience 

360 provides real-time analysis of problems 

that vessels, trains or trucks can encounter 

along their transport routes after setting 

out from Evonik locations around the 

world. On this basis, the software proposes 

countermeasures – such as whether and 

how the supply chain’s resources can 

be redistributed in order to minimize or 

completely avoid damage. For this purpose, 

the platform connects information regarding 

natural disasters and socio-political or other 

risks to Evonik’s global production and 

distribution network. This is partly done 

by using heat maps, which visualize the 

locations where problems may occur on 

various routes. In this way, tracking potential 

dangers becomes much easier. 

“Particularly in industries such as the 

chemicals sector, in which delicate 

products are transported, the security of 

the environment, employees and goods 

plays an important role,” says Tobias 

Larsson,Head of Resilience 360, DHL 

Customer Solutions & Innovation. “We are 

delighted to help Evonik with this in the 

future while reducing the costs and risks 

along the supply chain by providing our 

data and expertise.” 

For Evonik, Resilience 360 means a further 

digitalization of its numerous logistics 

activities. “In doing so, we are continuing to 

take account of our responsibility for safely 

transporting chemical goods,” says Robert 

Schmidkunz, Head of Logistics Security, 

Evonik Technology & Infrastructure GmbH. 

“Through actively monitoring supply 

chains, Evonik is supporting the transportrisk 

analyses that have already been 

introduced successfully. With this tool, we 

are also contributing to the digitalization of 

our supply chain processes.” 

From the Marl Chemical Park alone, 

approximately four million tons of products 

start their journey throughout the world 

every year – via vessel, train and truck. 

Evonik will primarily use Resilience 360 

for evaluating potential dangers in road 

transport. The platform also serves as an 

early-warning system to guarantee a rapid 

response to unscheduled disruptions and 

to ensure that appropriate measures are 

implemented. MBR 

22

FOCUS: BAHRAIN 


New rules providing 100% foreign 

ownership will boost investment in 

Bahrain 

By Nabil Khoury 

The Kingdom of Bahrain is in the 

process of making comprehensive 

changes to its corporate laws and 

procedures to make it easier to set up 

and carry out business in Bahrain. The 

changes will allow for easier company 

incorporations, the streamlining of the 

company administration process and the 

easing of restrictions on foreign ownership. 

A series of new laws and amendments 

have been introduced over the last 24 

months to modernise and streamline the 

regulatory regime, enhance corporate 

governance and increase accountability, 

empower shareholders and facilitate 

foreign participation in Bahrain companies. 

They are designed to promote enterprise in 

Bahrain and encourage foreign investors to 

choose Bahrain as a destination of choice 

for doing business in the Middle East. 

The Bahrain cabinet has further 

announced that it is to allow 100% foreign 

ownership in residency, real estate, 

administrative services, health and social 

work, information and communications, 

manufacturing, mining and quarrying, 

food, arts, entertainment and leisure, water 

supplying and professional, scientific and 

technical activities. 

Business opportunities in Bahrain are set 

to increase heavily in the period leading 

up to the new the Ministry of Industry and 

Commerce (MOIC) regulations, which for 

the first time puts Bahrain on a competitive 

footing with some of the region’s mega 

free zones and business hubs. The nature 

and size of the proposed business, as well 

as the particular requirements of investors, 

will govern the choice of legal structure in 

Bahrain. All types of Bahraini companies 

give the shareholders or the directors an 

Investor’s Residence Visa. 

Bahrain imposes no exchange control 

restrictions on repatriation of capital, 

profits and dividends, enabling full financial 

transferability of capital, profits and 

dividends. Bahrain currently levies no taxes 

on personal or corporate income. There is no 

capital gains tax, no withholding tax and VAT. 

Bahrain currently levies no 

taxes on personal or corporate 

income. There is no capital 

gains tax, no withholding tax 

and VAT 

Forming a company in Bahrain offers 

excellent access to the GCC states, 

especially Saudi Arabia, which is the 

largest market in the region. Bahrain has 

an expanding treaty network that includes 

over 30 double tax agreements with key 

partners in Asia, Europe and the Americas, 

as well as the Middle East and Africa. This 

is supplemented by bilateral investment 

treaties with countries including India, Italy 

and the US, and Free Trade Agreements 

with trading partners such as the US and 

Singapore. 

Potential investors should speak to a 

consultant to ensure that the company they 

are establishing complies with the various 

new MOIC rules and regulations. Sovereign 

is in a unique position, through its global 

network of offices, to give guidance on 

suitable structures available to meet any 

personal and business requirements. 

The Bahrain property market is already 

highly competitive when compared to 

other regional locations due to its attractive 

residential and commercial rents and 

values, but the huge monetary investment 

into the city and its infrastructure 

combined with the new opportunities for 

foreign investment will certainly help to 

support sustained activity in the long term. 

Given the boost to real estate values 

and rents in Bahrain, property owners 

should be ensuring that their ownership 

structures and succession plans are fit 

for purpose. Many property owners 

are not fully conversant with local legal 

procedures or taxes and may not fully 

recognise the longer-term implications 

in terms of potential exposures to capital 

gains tax, inheritance tax or forced heirship 

rules. Substantial benefits may be derived 

through the use of corporate, trust or 

foundation structures to address these 

issues. 

Sovereign assists many of its clients with 

the acquisition of real estate worldwide. 

We advise on tax and structuring and 

can manage the transaction process and 

financing arrangements. With our regional 

knowledge of property ownership laws and 

regulations, along with our tax planning 

expertise, we can help you reduce any 

potential exposure. MBR 

EDITOR’S 

Note 

Nabil Khoury is the 

Managing Director, 

Sovereign Trust 

Consultancy (Bahrain) 

WLL 

wwww.mbrpublications.net 

23


FEATURE READOUT 

Theresa May 

BREXIT FILES 

— Theresa May didn’t come to Brussels to 

talk about Brexit, but there’s not much else 

her continental counterparts want to hear 

from her. Even Irish Prime Minister Enda 

Kenny failed to get any Brexit details. In the 

only one-on-one meeting May held at the 

European Council on Thursday, Kenny asked 

on what date she would trigger Article 50. 

Her response? By the end of March. So much 

for the luck of the Irish! 

Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny Getty Images 

— May warned leaders at the summit she will 

fight demands for Britain to pay a €60 billion 

“divorce bill” when it leaves the EU. However, 

EU leaders are having none of it. “When you 

sign on for a contract you commit yourself 

to participation and obviously the extent of 

that level of money will be determined,” said 

Enda Kenny. 

— Here is the “working document” that 

formed the basis of March’s summit 

discussion, effectively a draft of what EU27 

leaders plan to declare in Rome on March 

25 on life after Brexit. The most contentious 

point in the document is toward the end 

where it states that “we work together” but 

“on the understanding that some of us can 

move closer,” code for agreeing a multispeed 

Europe. 

European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy 

Verhofstadt | Patrick Seeger/EPA 

— Negotiators should allow British citizens to 

keep their current EU rights, such as freedom 

of movement and voting in European 

elections — if citizens request them on an 

individual basis, the European Parliament’s 

chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt said 

today. He also poured cold water on the idea 

Bad luck of the Irish 

Bavarian friends for Britain? 

INSIGHT 

SNICKERS DANGER 

that Britain could make a clean break from 

the bloc within two years. 

— Britain is facing a £700 million-a-year tax 

shortfall by 2020-2021 because of Brexit’s 

impact on the wage growth of the top 10 

percent of earners in business and financial 

services, according to the independent 

Office for Budget Responsibility. 

— The U.K.’s post-Brexit trade deal with 

the EU could take more than a decade to 

conclude, Danish Foreign Minister Anders 

Samuelsen said. “The question is, can we 

do it in two years or will we take 15 years? 

We don’t know.” Asked about Samuelsen’s 

comments at the EU summit in Brussels, 

Theresa May said she’s still working to a twoyear 

deadline. 

— Global food giant Mars has warned that 

a hard Brexit would increase the prices 

of its products and put jobs at risk. Fiona 

Dawson, president of global food, drinks and 

multisales, said in a speech to the American 

Chamber of Commerce to the European 

Union this morning that the cost of trade 

barriers would inevitably flow through to 

consumers and threaten the company’s 

Europe-wide supply chain. Mars makes 

Snickers, Maltesers and Uncle Ben’s, and 

employs more than 18,000 people across 

Europe, including 3,800 in the U.K. 

Behind the scenes in the Bundestag, one 

conservative politician is pulling strings 

to make sure the interests of German 

lawmakers are heard once the time comes 

to discuss Britain’s future relationship with 

the EU. 

Germany’s former Interior Minister Hans- 

Peter Friedrich, a 59-year-old Bavarian, 

leads a new Brexit working group of 

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian 

Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister 

party, his Christian Social Union (CSU). 

The conservative bloc of CDU and CSU 

is by far the largest group in the German 

parliament, holding almost half of all seats. 

Under German law the national parliament 

will have to ratify any deal covering 

Britain’s relationship with the rest of the 

EU once it has left the bloc. 

The working group’s guest list reads like a 

who’s who of Brexit negotiation VIPs. At 

their first closed-door meeting in February, 

Uwe Corsepius, Merkel’s chief adviser on 

European affairs, and Christian Calliess, 

legal adviser to the European Commission, 

came in. On Wednesday, Elmar Brok, 

former chair of the European Parliament’s 

Foreign Affairs Committee, and British 

Ambassador Sebastian Wood showed up 

for their second meeting. The plan for the 

next session in early April is to bring in a 

high-ranking member of the Commission’s 

Brexit task force. 

The goal of these early discussions is to 

speak with one voice as a conservative 

group, Friedrich said, though such sessions 

have the added benefit of signaling that 

the lawmakers are not willing to hand over 

the most important parts of the Brexit 

negotiations to unelected sherpas in the 

chancellory in Berlin and the Commission 

in Brussels. 

“We certainly don’t want to imply that 

the German government and its civil 

servants have no idea about the needs 

of people,” Friedrich stressed, “but as 

parliamentarians, we were elected to 

clearly formulate those interests, and not 

leave anything to chance.” 

It’s an open secret in Berlin that the 

U.K. hopes to find allies among Merkel’s 

conservatives, who traditionally have 

close ties with the car industry — one of 

Germany’s biggest exporters to the U.K. 

— and particularly in Bavaria, where trade 

relations with the U.K. are especially close. 

“Of course, Bavaria has a great interest 

in reaching an amicable settlement,” 

Friedrich admitted on Thursday, “But it’s 

not just Bavaria, it’s all of Germany, and 

essentially all of Europe, who has this 

interest. We need the Brits, for example, 

when it comes to security or making sure 

that the flow of goods and trade runs 

smoothly between the U.K. and the EU.” 

Brexit Files is compiled by Paul Dallison and 

Sanya Khetani-Shah. Insight is compiled by 

Janosch Delcker. MBR 

Credit: POLITICO SPRL 

24


ICT 

Choosing the right software 

implementation partner can 

make or break your project – 

and your bank 

Choosing the right software implementation 

partner can make or break your project – 

and your bank 

Business software projects are often 

complex and require a high degree of 

commitment from both the customer 

and supplier – commitment to effort and 

commitment to change. 

This is an area of Information Technology 

that is full of failed projects and of projects 

which fall short of meeting customer 

objectives. In fact, a recent CIO survey 

placed the level of customer satisfaction 

with ERP and CRM projects at the very 

lowest levels of all IT projects. 

In this area, Computime Software enjoys 

a consistently high customer satisfaction 

rating, with 96% of our clients saying that 

Computime exceeds their expectations, 

while 99% would recommend Computime 

to their peers. Computime have a positive 

track record of 35+ years in successful 

BY DARREN SAMMUT 

business software implementations and 

software development projects, and our 

philosophy is to be completely transparent 

with our clients from day one to completion, 

ensuring they understand the amount of 

time, effort, and cost required to implement 

a successful software project. 

We employ an experienced and multidisciplined 

team of experts, including 

technology specialists to ensure that the 

system is built using technology that is fit 

for purpose, performs well, and integrates 

into the customer's environment – but 

also usability experts to ensure that the 

software is easy-to-use by non-technical 

users, business experts who are able to 

interface with the customer's business 

users to ensure that the customer's 

business objectives are met, and finally 

project managers who oversee the whole 

process and work together with our 

account manager and the customer to keep 

the project on track. 

We utilise cutting edge technologies 

developed by our R&D team or from 

leading vendors to make maximum use of 

the various platforms which are available 

nowadays to everyone, such as the internet 

and mobile devices. At the same time we 

provide choices – for example if a customer 

prefers to run their solution from a more 

traditional on-premises server as opposed 

to a cloud-based solution, then this can also 

be easily achieved. 

We firmly believe that most projects should 

deliver value in stages, and expecting a 

project to meet all objectives in one single 

‘big bang’ is often a recipe for failure, as 

this approach puts a massive burden on 

both the customer and the implementation 

team. 

As a result, we normally recommend 

focusing initially on delivering a few small, 

but measurable objectives, together with 

the customer ensuring these are met, and 

then moving onto subsequent phases, 

always at the customer’s pace. Apart from 

everything else, customers are usually 

consumed with their day-to-day tasks, so 

planning a project in bite-sized phases is 

very often a preferred option. 

The customer engagement process that 

we adopt starts with our first meeting 

and builds one layer at a time, always with 

the objective of delivering the maximum 

benefit at minimal risk and cost to the 

customer. 

While we borrow from standard 

methodologies such as PRINCE II and 

Agile, we strive to ensure that our primary 

approach is pragmatic, not overly formal, 

and above all fit for purpose. 

Learn more about Computime Software: 

www.computimesoftware.com. 

Email us info@computimesoftware.com or 

call us +356 2149 0700. MBR 

EDITOR’S 

Note 

Darren Sammut 

Operations Manager, 

Computime Software 

Darren has been working in IT for 12 years. 

He joined Computime in 2008 and has 

held roles in Quality Assurance, Project 

Management, and Operations Management. 

Darren has led projects in Oil & Gas, 

Banking, Telecommunications, iGaming, and 

many other industries. Currently, Darren is 

responsible for the delivery of all Computime 

Software projects. 

26


TOP STORY: MIDDLE EAST PEACE 

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE 

HOPES FOR A LASTING PEACE IN THE REGION? 

THE EU AND THE MIDDLE 

EAST PEACE PROCESS 

UNRWA CHIEF ON GAZA: 

"WE'RE ESSENTIALLY TALKING 

ABOUT A TIME BOMB" 

A lasting peace between Israel and Palestine 

remains a priority for the European Union. In 

September 2015 MEPs called for a fresh EU 

approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict and for 

the resumption of credible peace efforts without 

delay. They also stressed the importance of 

preserving the viability of the two-state solution. 

In December 2014 MEPs voted overwhelmingly 

in support of the "in principle recognition of 

Palestinian statehood". 

The resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict is of 

fundamental interest to the EU, believing that 

the best outcome would be a two-state solution 

with an independent, democratic, viable and 

contiguous Palestinian state living side-by-side in 

peace and security with Israel. MBR 

ISRAELI PRESIDENT CALLS ON 

MEPS TO HELP BUILD TRUST 

IN THE MIDDLE EAST 

“The elected Israeli leadership has been and is in 

support of two states for two peoples solution”, 

President of the State of Israel Reuven Rivlin, told 

MEPs on Wednesday. However “at this time, a 

permanent agreement for peace between us and 

Palestinians cannot be achieved”, he added, calling 

on EU to help build trust between the parties. MBR 

VOTE: SHOULD PALESTINE BE 

RECOGNISED AS A STATE? 

Sweden recently became the first EU country in 

Western Europe to recognise Palestine as a state. 

Today MEPs will vote on a resolution calling for 

Palestine to be recognised as a state. Would such 

a move help defuse violence in the region? We 

discussed it with Martina Anderson (GUE/NGL, 

UK), chair of the delegation for relations with 

the Palestinian Legislative Council, and Fulvio 

Martusciello (EPP, Italy), chair of the delegation for 

relations with Israel. MBR 

The hostilities in the Middle East also affect the five 

million Palestine refugees living throughout Jordan, 

Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Territories, with 

a risk of radicalisation as the region becomes more 

unstable. Pierre Krähenbühl, the commissionergeneral 

of the United Nations Relief and Works 

Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 

(UNRWA), issued the warning when he addressed 

the EP's foreign affairs committee on 2 March. He 

also said the EU had a crucial role to play. MBR 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

RESOLUTION ON RECOGNITION 

OF PALESTINE STATEHOOD 

The European Parliament supports "in principle 

recognition of Palestinian statehood and the two 

state solution, and believes these should go hand 

in hand with the development of peace talks, 

which should be advanced", it says in a resolution 

passed on Wednesday. To support EU diplomatic 

efforts in the Middle East peace process, it also 

decided to launch a “Parliamentarians for Peace” 

initiative to bring together MEPs and MPs from the 

Israeli and Palestinian parliaments. MBR 

Palestinian President puts his 

state’s case to MEPs 

“It is time for our people to live in freedom, 

without walls and checkpoints”, urged President 

of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud 

Abbas in his address to MEPs on Thursday. He 

conveyed his people’s gratitude to the European 

Parliament for recognising a State of Palestine 

and criticised Israel for pursuing its occupation of 

Palestinian territories. MBR 

Lebanon: better EU resettlement 

tools needed to help the country 

deal with refugee crisis 

From Syrian refugees on their way to being 

resettled to Europe to Palestine refugees who have 

been living in camps for years: members from the 

civil liberties committee delegation got to speak 

to many different people during their fact-finding 

mission to Lebanon on 19-22 September. They 

were there to assess the situation to help prepare 

future rules on the resettlement of refugees. They 

also spoke to representatives of local NGOs and 

large international organisations. MBR 

PALESTINE PRESIDENT 

MAHMOUD ABBAS VISITS THE 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas visited the 

European Parliament in Brussels on 12 February 

where he was welcomed by EP President Martin 

Schulz. They had a meeting during which they 

discussed developments affecting the Middle East 

peace process. MBR 

NABIL EL ARABY: "THE EU IS 

LOOKED UPON BY MANY AS 

THE CONSCIENCE OF MANKIND 

TODAY" 

Following the Paris attacks the secretary-general 

of the Arab League has urged greater cooperation 

between it and the EU to counter extremism. 

Addressing Parliament's foreign affairs committee 

on 20 January Nabil El Araby said "the problems 

we face now are of universal character and are 

not confined to one place." He outlined how the 

Arab world looks upon Europe and said that "the 

European Union has been to the forefront of all 

just causes." MBR 

28

MOTORING 


Striking contours, dynamically sweeping 

surfaces and coupé-like window lines 

characterise the exterior of the A-Class. With 

a new, more arrow-shaped front bumper, new 

LED High Performance headlamps and modified 

tail lights, the new generation emphasises the 

sportiness and dynamism of the successful 

compact-class model series. 

Countless possibilities are available to make the 

A-Class your own; from small details that add 

special touches, to comfort features which until 

recently were only reserved for the luxury segment. 

In fact the A-Class is the first Mercedes-Benz 

model to be available 

with comprehensive 

smartphone integration 

- the Apple® CarPlay® 

(for iPhone® owners) 

and MirrorLink® 

infotainment systems 

(optional extras). Now 

available at €29,700 

including a free 5 year 

service plan. MBR 

The A Class 

Attractive, Affordable, Avant-garde 

The mark of your generation 

For more information or for a test drive kindly contact the 

Kind’s Showroom in Mosta Road Lija, on 23311138/ 23311142 or the Gozo Showroom on 21550962. 


29


SPECIAL REPORT: PALAEONTOLOGY 

ANCIENT REPTILE MYSTERY 

SOLVED AS TWO EXTINCT SPECIES FOUND 

TO BE THE SAME 

Dean Lomax & Judy Massare examining 

ichthyosaurs at London Natural History Museum 

Artwork with 'bait ball' Ichthyosaur (c) Julio Lacerda 

Artwork with 'bait ball' Ichthyosaur (c) Julio Lacerda 

Ichthyosaurs, which are similar-shaped to 

dolphins and sharks, but are reptiles, swam 

the seas for millions of years during the 

Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. They 

were the first, large extinct reptiles brought to 

the attention of the scientific world. 

Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist and Honorary 

Scientist at The University of Manchester, 

working with Professor Judy Massare of 

Brockport College, New York, have studied 

thousands of ichthyosaur fossils and have 

delved through hundreds of years of records 

to solve an ancient mystery. 

Many ichthyosaur fossils were found in 

England during the early 19th century, but it 

was not until 1821 that the first ichthyosaur 

species was described - called Ichthyosaurus 

communis. This species has become one of 

the most well-known and iconic of all the 

British fossil reptiles. A sea of Ichthyosaurus 

fossils can be seen on display at the Natural 

History Museum, London. 

In 1822, three other species were described, 

based on differences in the shape and 

structure of their teeth. Two of the species 

were later re-identified as other types of 

ichthyosaur, whereas one of these species, 

called Ichthyosaurus intermedius, was still 

considered closely related to I. communis. 

In the years that followed, many eminent 

scientists, including Sir Richard Owen (the 

man who coined the word dinosaur), studied 

ichthyosaur fossils collected from Dorset, 

Somerset, Yorkshire and other locations in 

England. Their studies and observations of 

Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius 

resulted in confusion with the species, with 

many skeletons identified on unreliable 

grounds. 

Lomax said, “The early accounts of 

ichthyosaurs were based on very scrappy, 

often isolated, remains. This resulted in a 

very poor understanding of the differences 

between species and thus how to identify 

them. To complicate matters further, the 

original specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis 

is lost and was never illustrated. Similarly, the 

original specimen of I. intermedius is also lost, 

but an illustration does exist. This has caused 

a big headache for palaeontologists trying 

to understand the differences between the 

species”. 

In the mid-1970s, palaeontologist, Dr Chris 

McGowan was the first to suggest that 

Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius 

may represent the same species. He could 

not find reliable evidence to separate the two 

species. Subsequent studies argued for and 

against the separation of the species. 

In this new study, the duo have reviewed all 

of the research for and against the separation 

of the two species. This is the most extensive 

scientific study ever published comparing 

the two. The duo confirm the species are 

the same and that features of Ichthyosaurus 

intermedius can be found in other ichthyosaur 

species, including I. communis. 

In recent years, the duo have described 

three new species and have provided a 

reassessment of historical species. Their work 

has provided a far superior understanding of 

the species than has ever been produced. 

The research has been published in Journal of 

Systematic Palaeontology. MBR 

Creditline: Taylor & Francis Group 

To read the full article please visit: www.tandfonline. 

com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2017.1291116 

Author 

ABOUT THE 

Dean Lomax is a 

multiple award-winning 

palaeontologist, science 

communicator and author. 

He has travelled around the 

world and worked on many 

fascinating projects from excavating dinosaurs 

in the American West to discovering new fossil 

hunting locations and describing new species of 

extinct marine reptiles in the UK. An Honorary 

Scientist at The University of Manchester, 

Dean is passionate about communicating 

palaeontology and actively engages with 

traditional and social media. He has written 

two books, numerous scientific papers and 

many popular articles and regularly appears on 

television, most recently as series advisor and 

recurring on-screen expert presenter for ITV’s 

Dinosaur Britain. Dean is also the patron of the 

UK Amateur Fossil Hunters organisation. 

30

MALTA 

BUSINESS REVIEW 

SPECIAL FEATURE: iGAMING SERIES 

iGAMING SPECIAL FEATURE 

HELPING CREATIVE PEOPLE ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE 

THE EMPLOYMENT BRANDING TOUR 

33 

34 

36 

Leo Vegas - The Lion's Den 

We find out why LeoVegas runs Europe’s fastest and most 


The Employment Branding Tour: Catena Media 

Jackie Porsche writes about the most successful online 

lead generation companies within the iGaming industry 

Excellent Networking for BTOBET in Georgia 

We follow the multinational igaming software provider 

BtoBet in the Georgia Gaming Congress in Tbilisi



A company is as good as its people 

by Jackie Porsche 

NetRefer is the global leader in the provision 

of Performance Marketing. Established in 

2005, NetRefer provides the most complete 

and trusted ‘Performance Marketing’ 

platform in iGaming and other verticals. 

The system is constantly developed and 

innovated in order to create a platform that 

unifies the activities of partners, customers 

and employees through a single universal 

measure in order to measure and manage 

marketing costs. By the end of 2016 the 

Customer Satisfaction Index (CSAT) was 

registered at 90%+. In relation to NetRefer’s 

customer service they have won multiple 

awards during 2016 including 3 Stevie’s 

and other recognitions. NetRefer created 

a culture that supports the delivery of 

high quality customer service within the 

business. 

As the saying goes, ‘A company is as good 

as its people’. Employees at NetRefer are 

considered as the beating heart of the 

Business. Their highly successful workforce 

is made up of highly motivated individuals 

who place clients at the heart of everything 

they do. The company philosophy focuses 

around attracting and retaining a strong 

pool of diverse talent who can add value 

to clients and the organisation. Timothy 

Buttigieg, the COO, remarked that NetRefer 

takes great pride in supporting its staff 

members realise their career aspirations 

through empowerment and clear career 

development plans. ‘Our culture is one 

that supports diversity, high performance, 

inspirational leadership, knowledge sharing, 

learning and growth’. All this ensures that 

the business is structured to succeed today 

and can evolve dynamically into the future. 

Apart from having a successful client 

facing organisation, the employee value 

proposition is just awesome! Employee 

ideas are embraced and they are 

empowered to be part of the NetRefer 

success story. Throughout my discussion 

with Timothy and Rianne Falzon, the HR 

Manager, it was quite evident that the 

organisation is after giving its workforce 

a safeguarded and flexible environment 

to work in. Such initiatives include a work 

from home policy to support family friendly 

measures and to give the opportunity for 

every employee to work close to their 

loved ones or in the comfort of their own 

preferred space. 

Group CEO, Raphael Arnold is a true 

believer and an evangelist of Maltese 

talent. His vision is to invest in the Maltese 

people and to create a secure working 

environment where people can learn, 

grow and share their ideas. This will in turn 

empower them towards contributing to the 

success of the business as well as towards 

the accomplishments of their professional 

career. NetRefer’s workforce split is 70% 

Maltese versus 30% International. This 

organisation is a national award winner! 

The more we go, the more NetRefer 

will consolidate and stabilise its self as 

a premium employer, now also making 

part of the Microsoft ‘Hi-Potential’ client 

programme whilst Investing in ultimate 

cutting edge technologies. One of the 

organisation top values is investing in 

people’s training with the ‘NetRefer 

Academy’ being their most recent project 

- An online learning platform where 

employees can learn on new products, 

processes and systems with the support of 

a virtual learning environment. 

Timothy Buttigieg – ‘NetRefer 

provides Unified Performance 

Marketing which empowers 

our clients to consistently 

outplay their competitors’. 

Employee investment is KEY. NetRefer 

offers its hard working organisation; 

annual company bonuses; salary increases 

based on individual performance; career 

development plans to support and retain 

talent in the business; training; knowledge 

share sessions; fully equipped multimedia 

training rooms; and above all an open 

door policy. 

Additionally, ongoing benefits are a 

given. Free Friday lunch; fresh fruit; gym 

membership; health insurance; team 

events; referral bonuses and a recreational 

zone comprising of table games & board 

games are some of the great initiatives 

one would come across. 

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is one 

of those organisations with huge employer 

branding value, utilising smart methods to 

retain their talent internally. Furthermore, 

being a Maltese managed success story 

makes me very proud! Way to go team 

NetRefer!! MBR 

32



LEO VEGAS 


My first impressions upon 

walking through the front 

door just lived up to their 

expectations. Numerous soft toy lions 

are placed everywhere in an office which 

cannot even be described by the words 

UBER cool. Hosted by Frida Svensson, the 

Head of HR and Roderick Spiteri Schillig, 

Head of Communications I was toured 

around what may be described as a forwardlooking 

organisation in every aspect. 

LeoVegas runs Europe’s fastest and most 


offering 700+ casino games, the world’s 

largest suite of live casino entertainment 

in HD and their all new sportsbook. With 

cutting edge technology, innovative data, 

and a strong entrepreneurial management 

and team spirit, LeoVegas is recognised as 

an employer of choice within the iGaming 

industry. 

At LeoVegas, the most valued resource is 

their Lions – often referred to as ‘staff’ in 

other organisations. They currently have a 

strong team of 250+ people in the Malta 

office. The organisation places its people 

at the core of its operation, and not viceversa; 

they believe that LeoVegas is defined 

by the great people it is made up of. 

The working environment is both fun and 

efficiency-driven through a fine balance 

between working and recreational areas, 

including multiple terraces with almost 

360 degrees of stunning Sliema front sea 

views. LeoVegas is considered to be a 

young entertainment company (with the 

average age being less than 30 years) and 

whilst professionalism is a key component 

in everything they do, they also value a 

fun and friendly culture instilled between 

employees and also with their customers. 

Working at LeoVegas means 

that you wake up to a roaring 

morning, every morning. Our 

vision is to create the greatest 

gaming experience and be 

number one in mobile gaming 

Roderick Spiteri Schillig 

The internal culture cherishes the 

entrepreneurial spirit that permeates 

throughout the organisation. One can 

also experience the ‘start-up’ vibe where 

decisions convert into fast delivery results. 

The fusion of internal talent mixed with a 

culture promoting personal responsibility 

to reach shared goals works wonders. 

The organisation does not fall short from 

offering opportunities to employees to 

improve their skills and to better their 

position within the organisation. Recently 

they have been able to provide many 

opportunities to their employees and 

many have progressed up the success 

ladder. Make no mistake, a career at 

LeoVegas requires hard work which is duly 

recognised internally. So much so, that the 

reputation within the iGaming industry in 

Malta is that LeoVegas is a fun company 

to work for. 

The lions proudly offer some of the best 

employee benefits in Malta including 

fully paid private health insurance, sports 

allowances, fitness classes, a healthy snack 

bar that is always packed with free snacks 

and a scrumptious breakfast every Friday. 

Fun and adventurous staff events are 

organised throughout the year. 

LeoVegas works hard to keep their people 

happy, healthy and fit by providing a fun and 

flexible yet focused working environment. 

An internal survey shows that a whopping 

90% of the workforce would recommend 

a career at LeoVegas to their family and 

friends. This survey corroborates their 

Glassdoor account (social platform for 

employees to anonymously write about 

employers) in which current and past 

employees gave LeoVegas an overall 4.6 

(out of 5) stars and 100% of them would 

recommend them to a friend. 

Absolutely WOWED! ***** 


ABOUT THE 

Authors 

Roderick Spiteri Schillig, Head of 

Communications, Leo Vegas together with 

an MBR Specialist, Jackie Porsche. 


33



The 

Employer 

Branding 

Tour 


2017 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 

220 

employees 

speaking 

+28 

languges 

representing 

33 

countries 

Jenny Arnell: “We encourage 

employees to come and do 

what they enjoy doing best 

rather than just work.” 

Damien Azzopardi: “Our 

core values are curiosity, 

professionalism and passion – 

and we live those values each 

day through both our work 

and our people.” 

Catena Media sprouted in 2012 

from a shared hobby between two 

childhood friends. Since then, it 

has rapidly expanded to become one of 

the most successful online lead generation 

companies within the iGaming industry, 

consistently expanding into new markets, 

and acquiring an ever-growing portfolio of 

innovative websites. 

Catena Media customers have a wide 

array of sites to choose from in multiple 

languages, all providing customers with the 

information they need to make confident 

decisions when choosing an online casino 

or sportsbook of their choice. 

I was invited over to Catena Media’s office 

for lunch by Jenny Arnell, Fiona Ewins 

Brown and Damien Azzopardi, who are 

core members of the HR team at Catena 

Media. 

At first, I thought we would be going for 

lunch somewhere closeby to discuss 

their employer branding structure and 

initiatives, followed by an office tour. 

But hey, I was totally wrong – I enjoyed 

a delicious lunch prepared by Catena 

Media’s very own professional chef. 

Each day, Catena Media’s chef provides the 

company’s staff with a spread of options 

for meat-lovers, pasta fanatics, health 

evangelists and vegans. How cool is that? 

I was then given a tour of the office’s 

four floors – and instantly I could feel and 

understand there’s a considerable amount 

of growth going on within the organisation, 

which is reflected in the way the offices are 

structured and its high amount of people 

traffic in corridors and between floors. The 

vibe is great and on the rise! 

And that buzzing vibe is about to be 

taken to another level with the upcoming 

opening of Catena Media’s new 

headquarters in Gzira. The new office is 

set to be one of the most modern of its 

kind on the island, with large open spaces 

for both work and play for the company’s 

ever-expanding workforce to enjoy. 

Catena’s workforce grew from 70 

employees in 2015 to over 220 employees 

in Q1, 2017, with employees currently 

representing 33 countries and speaking 

over 28 languages. 

Management recognises its workforce as 

its biggest asset, and says it’s the prime 

success factor of the company. Diverse, 

creative and innovative people holding 

an ‘outside the box’ mentality is what the 

organisation promotes in order to deliver 

the best solutions for their clients. 

The organisation preaches that creativity, 

passion and inspiration are sparked by a fun, 

collaborative and supportive environment. 

The culture strongly encourages its 

workforce to keep a curious and open mind 

to constantly improve the status quo at all 

times. Employees are heartened to push 

beyond their boundaries, to collaborate, 

and to think creatively and innovatively – 

and to not fear failure while trying. 

Keeping employees’ spirits and fitness levels 

high is at the pinnacle of the organisation’s 

priority list, in conjunction with promoting 

a healthy work-life balance. Each and every 

Catena Media employee is offered private 

health insurance, free exercise classes, 

daily fresh fruit smoothies, and an annual 

health benefit contribution. 

Encouraging an active social life is also 

important to Catena Media, and employees 

are provided with regular opportunities to 

unwind, socialise and get to know each 

other in non-working environments. This 

is achieved through regular company social 

events and team-building activities. 

The near future promises a very 

proactive organisation from a company 

HR perspective, with great focus being 

given to employer branding across the 

group’s offices. While keeping up with 

organisational growth and delivering 

improved company results, Catena Media 

promises to be an employer brand champ 

in the making. Would I work for this brand? 

Absolutely! MBR 

34



Online Casino Reports IS new partner in 

Malta's iGaming Excellence Awards 2017 

Malta's iGaming Excellence Awards 2017 

(MiGEA) are pleased to announce that 

ONLINE CASINO REPORTS as their newest 

Media Partner. 

As we move along, our partners, sponsors, 

nominees and all participants will be 

receiving updates and e-newsles in the 

following days! 

The press release revealed the four 

“special offers” available to these with our 

new media partner: 

• A dedicated page to the MiGEA 

with a link and image that we have 

provided has been launched by 

Online Casino events directory: Here 

is our dedicated page for the event: 

http://www.onlinecasinoreports. 

com/events/the-malta-internationaligaming-excellence-awards.php?q=3 

• Online Casino Reports shall post 

articles about the event before it 

takes place, based on PRs/news that 

our partners, nominees and sponsors 

are free to send us send us (we usually 

rewrite these, and in other cases 

- share on our Facebook/Linkedin/ 

Twitter profiles) and posting. We can 

also translate the news and post them 

in different languages which you can 

see on OCR list of local sites; 

• Online Casino Reports also have social 

media profiles (Twitter / Facebook 

/ Linkedin) where we will push the 

event. 

Please visit our dedicated web page: 

http://www.mbrpublications.net/ 

maltas-igaming-excellence-awards- 

2017/?preview_id=2980&preview_ 

nonce=d5fad7a167&post_ 

format=standard&preview=true 

Please make sure you keep an eye out for 

more MiGEA-related news. If you have any 

event related or PR material you wish to 

post on all the above, please send them to: 

martin@mbrevents.com 

An acknowledgement and online link will 

be sent in reply. 

We thank you for your firm support and 

trust. MBR 

By Martin Vella 

EnergyBet 

withdraws from 

Polish MarkeT 

It is with great disappointment that 

EnergyBet announces it will be 

withdrawing from the Polish market. In 

step with many other online international 

gambling services, EnergyBet will be 

ceasing to offer services to customers in 

Poland, effective as of April 1st 2017. 

EnergyBet management have been 

watching developments regarding 

regulations in Poland closely for some 

time, and had hoped that the Polish 

government would listen to the advice of 

the European Union and other authorities. 

Sadly, however, this was not the case, 

and the new highly restrictive and 

hostile regulatory environment has made 

continued operations unviable. 

EnergyBet CEO Marcin Sapinski explained 

“The Polish market has always been 

very important to us, and we share the 

frustration of Polish customers. We will 

continue to monitor developments, with 

the aim of returning to the Polish market if 

things change. In the meantime, we would 

like to thank our Polish customers for their 

understanding.” 

EnergyBet will cease to direct advertising 

or promotions to the Polish market, 

and all EnergyBet affiliate partners have 

been instructed to remove advertising 

and promotions aimed at the Polish 

market, before April 1st 2017. Accounts 

for all Polish residents will be closed 

and any balances returned, with bets 

placed before the cut-off date being 

honoured. The decision to cease offering 

EnergyBet services to customers is Poland 

was not taken lightly, and any resulting 

inconvenience and disappointment is very 

much regretted. MBR 


35



EXCELLENT NETWORKING 

FOR BTOBET IN GEORGIA 

During the Georgia Gaming Congress in 

Tbilisi, the multinational igaming software 

provider BtoBet has met online and landbased 

Sports betting and Casino operators 

wishing to operate an advanced, modern 

and technological platform to develop 

their business, and speed up revenues and 

operations in the evolving Eastern European 

regulatory framework. 

In the new regulated markets expanding in 

Eastern Europe, such as the Czech Republic, 

Slovakia, Poland and Romania, amongst 

others, operators need the innovative 

and clever omnichannel platform with 

multi-currency and multi-jurisdiction 

characteristics, to administer their business 

seamlessly, land-based, online and mobile. 

In a farsighted perspective, operators 

of these countries have to be quick and 

grasp the opportunity offered by the nextgeneration 

technology to run the evolution 

of physical bet-shops into intelligent shops 

via a single channel, integrating web and 

physical stores by giving the opportunity to 

better understand players. 

BtoBet’s CEO, Kostandina Zafirovska 

highlighted: 

Attendees had the possibility to discover 

BtoBet’s next-level Sportsbook and Casino 

solutions, based on Artificial intelligence 

which benefit from the offers of the main 

leading supplier of sports betting content 

and 1000s of different games for casino 

players. The ultimate trading and risk 

management feature of the company’s 

solution, which is also geo-customizable, 

allows operators worldwide to minimise 

potential risks, ensuring maximum efficiency 

and safety. Attendees had the possibility to 

discover BtoBet’s next-level Sportsbook 

and Casino solutions, based on Artificial 

intelligence which benefit from the offers of 

the main leading supplier of sports betting 

content and 1000s of different games for 

casino players. The ultimate trading and 

risk management feature of the company’s 

solution, which is also geo-customizable, 

allows operators worldwide to minimise 

potential risks, ensuring maximum efficiency 

and safety. 

Commenting on the transformation of 

player expectations and new perspectives 

Kostandina Zafirovska BtoBet CEO 

to attract and retain East European players 

and bettors, Kostandina added: 

“AR is appealing to a greater number 

of customers combining entertainment 

and technology for seamless marketing 

strategies. The AR through the mobile 

app allows operators to open a direct and 

interactive communication with players, 

providing ultimate and peerless services 

(compared to retail) driving offers according 

to player’s interests, creating attractive 

rewards and interactive communication 

experiences. For example, a Virtual Avatar 

can replace the static communication via 

Sms - and email - in a more emotional and 

advanced way; the Bonus Hunting – apart 

from the 1 to 1 bonus delivery in Augmented 

reality - becomes a powerful unconventional 

marketing tool to promote the brand and 

push street players to play mobile and 

land-based; Odds comparison in AR can 

become an innovative instrument instead 

of expensive traditional media campaigns.” 

After Georgia Gaming Congress, BtoBet will 

showcase its AI igaming and sportsbook 

omnichannel platform at Enada Primavera 

and VIGE, in Rimini (15-17th March) and 

Vienna (20-22 March) respectively. MBR 

CORPORATE 

Brief 

BtoBet is a pioneer in new technologies for 

iGaming operators and the betting industry 

by using technological intelligence as its 

main base for its products. It offers unique, 

customizable, secure and flexible cloudbased 

systems delivering unprecedented 

capabilities to drive sportsbook and 

iGaming business. BtoBet has 13 offices. 

The Technical team of the company is in 

Skopje and has an ever growing team of 

developers. BtoBet’s dynamic Sportsbook 

team operates from Rome, whilst Malta 

hosts the commercial and marketing 

centre. Visit our site on: www.btobet.com 

36



LVbet 

Supports 

International 

Womens’ Day 

and FORWARD 

LVbet is proud to announce its support of International Women’s 

Day (8th March), by donating a percentage of player deposits 

to FORWARD (Foundation for Women's Health Research and 

Development). 10% of all player deposits on a special promotion, 

running from Friday 3rd to Wednesday 8th March, will be donated 

to the charity. 

FORWARD is working to safeguard and promote the rights of girls 

and women across Africa, through partnerships in the UK, Europe 

and Africa. Particular focus is placed on tackling discriminatory 

practices that affect female health and dignity, especial female 

genital mutilations (FGM), child marriage and obstetric fistula. 

LVbet PR Manager, Simona Pinterova explained “The team at LVbet 

is a vibrant mix of sexes, nationalities and ages, and respect and 

equality are central to the workplace ethos – so the issues tackled 

by FORWARD strike a chord with our team, and we are delighted to 

be able to do something to help change lives for the better.” 

The specific promotion is offering LVbet customers a 25% Reload 

Bonus up to €200 + up to 200 Free Spins on popular slot game 

Fairytale Legends: Red Riding Hood - and LVbet will donate 10% of all 

deposits made using the bonus. As expected, LVbet customers have 

stepped up and embraced this great cause. LVbet will be announcing 

the total to be donated after the offer has finished. 

More information about FORWARD can be found at 

forwarduk.org.uk 



37

MBR Publications Limited 

PRESENTS 

Maltaʼs iGAMING EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2017 

Helping Creative People Achieve Excellence 

Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa, San Anton, Malta | Friday 5 th May, 2017 

In Collaboration with: 

SIMON 

ESTATES 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 

Margaret Brincat M: 9940 6743 E: margaret@mbrpublications.net

CORPORATE INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH 


Paragon Europe 

with an active role during 

Malta’s EU Presidency 

Paragon Europe’s vision is to positively change our world for the better by assisting 

local and European regional stakeholders in sourcing EU funding to implement 

EU projects, bringing professional excellence to bear on behalf of the community. 

Paragon’s commitment to excellence is now being extended to Malta’s EU Presidency 

with a calendar of conferences to be held over the coming months as part of Malta’s 

official EU Presidency. EDWIN WARD, Chairman of Paragon Europe speaks to the 

Malta Business Review about these forthcoming events. 

What does Paragon Europe’s active 

involvement in the EU Presidency mean 

to you? 

For most of us, the thought of tiny Malta 

chairing the EU Presidency was a distant 

notion, a quasi-impossible idea to even 

imagine, let alone experience! And yet, 

here we are today, living a historic moment 

for our country, witnessing a milestone 

achievement for the nation as Europe’s de 

facto leaders. This will mean nothing if we 

as citizens do not do our part. We are being 

called to become protagonists through 

active participation by understanding 

the challenges, the threats and the 

opportunities that lie ahead and together, 

to find solutions for us all, and for the next 

generations. Perhaps this explains why I am 

so proud to Chair a pro-active company like 

Paragon Europe at this point in time. 

How does this fall within Paragon’s 

mission? 

Paragon Europe always understood and 

embraced the immeasurable opportunities 

that EU accession would bring to Malta and 

through the vision of Dr. Anton Theuma, 

Paragon’s founder, we wanted to grasp 

these opportunities to help those with a 

mission to bring change in their community. 

Through dedication, hard work, innovation 

and a lot of travel, Paragon Europe today is 

a Maltese company with the professional 

will and integrity to contribute both in Malta 

and in Europe, to the objectives of the EU 

Social Agenda and the ‘headline targets’ of 

the Europe 2020 Strategy. 

More tangibly, how does Paragon plan to 

bring more value to Malta’s EU Presidency? 

We started asking ourselves “what can we 

as Paragon bring to Malta at this very special 

moment in time? How could we leverage 

our years of experience in important areas 

such as Education and Training, Sustainable 

Development and Environment, Energy, 

Climate, Transport and Water, Cultural 

Heritage and Tourism, Social Inclusion, ICT, 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship?” It ws 

here that we decided that Paragon Europe 

should adopt an active role by doing what 

it does best: building collaboration with our 

networks and together with them address 

some very important issues concerning 

Corporate Governance, Climate Change, 

Transport, Energy, Innovation Funding, 

Intrapreneurship and Unemployment 

through a series of milestone conferences. 

Will you be tackling any specific subjects 

or sectors? 

We are looking at the main three priorities 

of Malta’s Presidency namely the 

Mediterranean, Maritime and Migration. 

In line with our mission, we will be 

delivering excellence through high-profile 

conferences with world-class speakers on 

Corporate Governance, Circular Economy, 

Urbanisation, Access to Finance and more, 

bringing together key stakeholders from 

national governments, corporate and civil 

society. 

The first conference will be the 20th 

European Corporate Governance. 

Yes, the 20th European Corporate 

Governance Conference will be held on May 

4th and will be Europe’s most important 

corporate governance conference this year. 

It will be hosted on behalf of the Institute 

of Directors Malta Branch together with 

ecoDa with the support of European 

Issuers, Business Europe, EY EAME as a 

major sponsor and DG Justice, endorsed 

by the Ministry of Finance under the 

auspices of the Malta Presidency of the 

Council of the EU. It will explore corporate 

governance as a tool for rebuilding trust, 

generating shareholder value, redefining 

the CSR debate while discussing recent 

changes in corporate governance in the 

global context in relation to digitalisation 

processes as foreseen in DG Justice’s Green 

Paper on Company Law which is expected 

to go before the European Parliament in 

November and thereafter apply across the 

EU. More than 200 European Directors, 

Chairmen, CEO’s and Non-Executives are 

expected to attend supplemented by local 

experts and Directors. 

Edwin Ward, Chairman of Paragon Europe 

And the second conference will tackle the 

environment right? 

Indeed. The second conference will be 

led by Paragon Europe Executive Director 

Dr. Nadia Theuma and the topic will be 

specifically Towards a Zero Carbon Economy 

in the Mediterranean and Beyond. This 

conference will be organised in conjunction 

with the EU’s Climate-KIC project and with 

the support of the Maltese Ministry for 

Sustainable Development, Environment 

and Climate Change. This event will tackle 

global warming and the fact that if climate 

change is not mitigated, within the next 30 

years Malta could be very different to how 

we know it today. It will also discuss how 

innovation will be playing an extremely 

important role in confronting the challenges 

of climate change and how challenge-led 

innovation is confronting climate change. 

How do these events build a stronger 

context for Malta’s EU Presidency? 

Malta’s EU Presidency is indisputably 

happening at a very complex time for 

EU integration. When one takes into 

consideration the fact that Malta will be 

the last Mediterranean country to hold the 

Presidency before 2020, one understands 

better how this is an opportunity for the 

Mediterranean region. It is within this 

context that Paragon Europe has found a 

leading role to raise the profile of important 

issues in this historic time for Malta. 

For more information about these 

forthcoming events and for a more active 

collaboration with Paragon Europe, visit 

www.paragonevents.eu MBR 


39



The Biggest Major 

Bitcoin Crashes in 

the Last 10 Years 

by Scarlett Anderson 

Bitcoin underwent a lot of ups and downs 

in its brief history and we have made a a 

complete guide to bitcoin for those who 

need a speedy update on the bitcoin 

trading ecosphere. However for those 

who are quite familiar with bitcoin, here 

is our run down of major crashes during 

the early years of this digital currency 

experienced by Bitcoin traders. From the 

first bitcoin transaction in which resulted 

in the kick off the bitcoin blockchain on 

January 3rd 2009; To the mull restriction 

of bitcoin transaction by Chinese officials, 

the journey taken by bitcoin is long going 

and expanding. 

An Overview on Bitcoin Trading 

Bitcoin is undoubtedly the most popular 

digital currency that is created and 

stored online. The idea of Bitcoin was 

a brainchild of Satoshi Nakamoto – a 

gifted programmer. The main difference 

between Bitcoin and physical currencies 

is that Bitcoin can’t be mined (created) 

in unlimited numbers. On the other 

hand, central banks usually print their 

local currencies in large quantity just 

to settle their national debts etc. which 

consequently results in widespread 

inflation and other economic problems. 

There are a number of choices available 

for Bitcoin trading on margin. Let’s discuss 

those options and explain some effective 

means to forecast Bitcoin price. However, 

before coming to our subject matter let 

us warn everyone that trading Bitcoin on 

margin can be extremely risky because of 

its highly volatile nature. History shows 

that Bitcoin has a capability to move 

800$-900$ within 30 days – that’s the 

level of its volatility. The given below chart 

shows the highly volatile nature of this 

crypto currency. 

As opposed to major currency pairs that 

hardly move 1% a day, Bitcoin can move 

30% in a single day. If you are a good 

trader then consider trading Bitcoins 

without margin. However, we are aware 

that because of high Bitcoin price not 

everyone can afford trading Bitcoins 

without margin so let’s discuss some 

options for leveraged Bitcoin trading. 

Below are some popular trading platforms 

for leveraged Bitcoin trading; 

BTC-E 

BTC-E allows shorting of Bitcoin as well 

as leveraged trading. Shorting of Bitcoin 

means you can generate profits even 

when the price of Bitcoin is falling. This 

feature is particularly useful if you want 

to hedge your long Bitcoin positions. The 

Bulgarian exchange – BTC-E- offers worldfamous 

Metatrader platform for Bitcoin 

trading with leverage upto 1:3 and a small 

fee of just 0.3% per side. 

AVA Trade 

AVA Trade is a popular forex broker that 

allows leveraged Bitcoin trading through 

CFDs. The broker offers two Bitcoin CFDs 

that are Bitcoin Mini and Bitcoin Weekly. 

Bitcoin mini has a leverage of 1:2 and 

doesn’t expire while Bitcoin weekly has 

a leverage of 1:20 and expires on every 

Friday. Both CFD contracts use price feed 

from BTC-E. AVA Trade adds mark up of 

around $10 on spread. 


40



THE HISTORY OF 

Major Bitcoin Crashes 

January 3 

2009 

February 9 

2011 

June 19 

2011 

February 11 

2012 

March 1 

2012 

August 17 

2012 

April 10 

2013 

December 5 

2013 

December 5 

2013 

February 7 

2014 

February 21 

2014 

February 24 

2014 

March 26 

2014 

August 19 

2015 

November 3 

2015 

January 14 

2016 

August 2 

2016 

The first Bitcoin transaction record kicks off the Bitcoin 

blockchain. 

Bitcoin achieves parity with the U.S. Dollar. 

Bitcoin crashes $3 within minutes to less than $16 after Mt.Gox 

hacking. 

Bitcoin nosedives $2 to almost $4 after Paxum stopped 

accepting Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin plunges to $4.89 after 46,000 Bitcoin were stolen in 

Linode hacking. 

Bitcoin plunges to $3 to less than $11 after Pirateat40 stopped 

Bitcoin payments. 

Bitcoin crashes $60 to just $122 as increased trading volume 

disrupts Mt. Gox servers. 

Bitcoin plunges $131 to $126 within minutes as Tradehill 

announces closure. 

Bitcoin nosedives $300 to $840 as China bans financial 

instituations from using Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin records $100-plunge as major exchanges experience 

widespread DDOS attacks. 

Bitcoin plunges $30 as Bitcoin miners and developers debate 

block size. 

Bitcoin plunges by almost $57 to $550 as Mt. Gox shuts 

down. 

Bitcoin plunges sharply by $150 to $453 as IRS declares 

Bitcoin to be a property. 

Bitcoin plunges $45 to $214 after the release of new client 

software XT Fork. 

Bitcoin fell by $50 to $334 as its sign was accepted into Unicode. 

Bitcoin records $40 decline as Mike Hearn terms Bitcoin a 

“Failure”. 

Bitcoin crashes $175 to $198 after unknown hackers stole 

18,866 bitcoins from Bitstamp. 

January 5 

2017 Bitcoin plunges 31% to $889 as Chinese 

officials mull restriction of Bitcoin 

transactions. 

Source: © Investoo Group Ltd. 


41


BUSINESS 

4 WAYS 

to Become a 

PAPERLESS 

BUSINESS 

By Laurie Leiker 

Ever since the 1980s, we have been 

dreaming of a world where we did 

not need so much paper. But it 

seems like there’s more paper being used 

now than ever before. In every office, in 

every city, people are printing out emails 

and reports so they can read it and mark it 

up, or, *gulp* “just to have.” 

Our mailboxes are still jammed with 

bills and letters. And not to mention the 

number of catalogues and flyers you get in 

the mail, both at home and in the office. 

Companies are spending millions to print 

paperwork- sharing it, filing it and then 

shredding it so no one can get their hands 

on it. What a waste. 

Luckily, it’s never been easier to do the 

responsible thing and use less paper. We’re 

here to discuss four ways that PandaDoc 

team can help your business cut your 

paper use completely. 

Use Technology to Reduce Your 

Reliance on Cash 

Sure it feels good to pull out a wad of bills 

(even if they’re all 1’s) to pay for dinner, but 

paper currency is a bit old-fashioned and 

not exactly eco-friendly. Besides, using a 

debit or credit card helps you keep track 

of your expenses because most banks offer 

free budget tracking to help you see where 

your money goes. Almost all smartphones 

have built-in payment functionality that 

replaces your credit and debit cards, so you 

can leave your bulky wallet at home. And 

as an extra tip, PandaDoc can help your 

customers embrace digital transactions 

by accepting secure credit card payments 

right inside your proposals, quotes, and 

invoices. 

Save Time, Money, and Trees with 

Paperless Invoicing 

Speaking of invoices, consider transitioning 

away from sending paper bills to your 

clients and sign up for paperless billing 

from companies you work with. Going 

paperless has helped thousands of our 

own users improve their cash flow and 

invoice tracking. Paperless invoices also 

save you money and time you’d normally 

spend printing, mailing, and following up 

on paper invoices. As an added bonus, 

you’ll likely reduce the clutter on your desk. 

Join Us in the Cloud 

Cloud services are the best thing for trees 

since, well, water. It’s true you can’t hug 

a cloud like you can a tree, but you can 

embrace it. There are a wealth of cloud 

storage options for today’s businesses, and 

we’re proud to integrate with the best of 

them, including Box, Google Drive, and 

Dropbox. 

We believe in cloud storage so much that 

we’ve built it right into PandaDoc, making 

it easy for you to store and organize your 

digital documents without needing any 

additional technologies. By leveraging 

cloud storage in your business, you’ll 

drastically reduce your reliance on paper, 

saving money and countless trees in the 

process. 

Streamline Sales with Digital 

Proposals 

You don’t have to get down on one knee 

to propose digitally. Think about the last 

proposal you received - at least five pages 

of important information that could just as 

easily been sent digitally. With PandaDoc, 

we’ve it easy to create, generate and sign 

proposals and other business documents 

faster than ever before. Digital proposals 

not only save trees but also open the door 

to a more efficient sales process. 

Today’s technology makes it easy to reduce 

your carbon footprint by using less paper. 

We would know -- PandaDoc is the digital 

document platform that more than 5,000 

companies use to create, send, track, and 

sign their digital documents every day. 

To learn more about how you can clean 

up your proposal process, download our 

eBook: "Proposal Automation - Automate 

Your Proposals Workflow with PandaDoc" 

today. MBR 

EDITOR’S 

Note 

Laurie is a contributing 

author for Risr Marketing. 

She’s a published author 

and business coach, 

specialising in the 

appropriate and beneficial 

use of technology in the 

business world. 

42

ARTS 


It’s never too late... 

to learn 

review and photos by Olga Saliba 

Chapel, 5070, Acrylic on canvas 

Schooners in Marsalforn, 40x30cm, Watercolour 

Mdina, 40x30cm, Watercolour 

Malta landscape with Luzzu, 45x30cm, Oil on Canvas 

Valletta, 120x70cm, Oil on canvas 

Ludmila Skrivanek, 

Art Exhibition, Corinthia Palace Hotel, 02/12/2016 

L 

udmila Skrivanek is Czech, 

was born in 1974 in the USSR, 

received two graduate degrees 

in Economics and information systems/ 

technology, worked in the financial sphere 

more than 20 years... in spite of such 

serious no-nonsense speciality Ludmila 

is very sociable, multiple talented person 

and she has managed to combine love 

to the economics with her other such 

hobbies like painting, playing the piano, 

sailing and even sports therapy! She never 

stops learning! Ludmila is currently living 

in Malta and working as an auditor for the 

company Griffiths & Associates. 

Her first art exhibition was held in 

December 2016 in the Corinthia Palace 

Hotel in Attard under the auspices of 

Ray Piscopo. Painting in totally different 

techniques and styles (class of Anastasia 

Pace), Ludmila is not confined to one 

subject, everything is interesting for her - 

the urban landscape, architecture, marine 

and even... icons...bright, “screaming” 

colours, contrasts... almost all of the 

paintings are potent as bright flashes, 

they attract attention, not leaving anyone 

indifferent, her pictures pass on the 

message that she has something to say... 

it can be said that Ludmila like most artists 

is searching... whilst expressing herself... 

experiences, dreams, fantasies, thoughts, 

people, experiments... actually, she’s 

not drawing, she is changing the living 

space around her... MALTA is the sacred 

place under the sun, symbolic place of 

our world... she opened up on her own 

private Malta, what changed her and 

became a source of inspiration which she 

has embodied in her works... What else to 

add? Probably only... it’s never too late to 

learn and there are no restrictions for one 

to express oneself in art. MBR 


43


HIGHER EDUCATION 

Committed 

to Providing 

the Best 

Education 

Learning 

Experience 

OUR 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. 

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. 

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 MBR 

44


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, 

Valletta Buildings, South Street, Valletta 

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

www.eieEducationalGroup.com 


45


INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 

THIS IS FOR YOU, 

Women Fighters On The 

FRONT LINES OF CREATIVITY 

BY RACHEL DEGHATI 

F 

or long hours I observed her, 

standing, reaching for the 

ephemeral inexistence of the 

material, in a strange face-to-face. 

I followed her with my gaze, as she pushed 

one of her slender fingers into the wet clay, 

playing it against her palm, hesitating over 

a curve, a hollow, filling it in, then taking 

up a misshapen clump, beginning over and 

over again. But that is not all... 

I saw her, attentive, loving, grazing the clay 

with infinite tenderness, smoothing out 

the bumps in a search for a fragile instant 

of harmony. A face emerged from her 

hands, that of an unfinished man, in the 

rough. Then, finally, she etched out a line, 

provoking the hint of a smile. 

At the Erbil University of Fine Arts, at the 

heart of the creative effervescence of 

students in a newly forming country, she 

seems to have found her place. She had 

resolved to begin a silent and intimate 

dialogue with him, her alter ego in clay 

that she had brought to life with her hands. 

I have always thought that woman is 

blessed with a supreme creative power, 

that of giving life to both things and human 

beings. 

In that moment, I remembered some of 

the fates of these Kurdish women—poised 

between struggle and grace, renunciation 

and creation, battlefront and hearth, 

shadow and light, sorrow and joy, winter 

and spring, between war and peace. 

The elders know that one must be born at 

least once in order to be reborn. Thus they 

sow the seeds of rebirth. You see, while it 

is woman who makes man, it is the culture 

transmitted from generation to generation 

that forges the strength and the identity of 

a people. 

Sometimes, a shadow darkens insouciance. 

But, here, more than ever, life is hope. 

Excerpt of "HOPE" from Kurdistan 

Renaissance project MBR 

46


WORLD ECONOMY 

CHINA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH 

COULD HELP OTHER 

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 

by Justin Yifu Lin 

Research published today examines 

China’s recent successful economic 

growth and how this could be applied 

to help other developing countries grow 

their economies. 

The research from the journal Area 

Development and Policy, published 

by Taylor & Francis with the Regional 

Studies Association, shows that while 

other countries’ reforms in the 1980s 

and 1990s subsequently failed, China 

managed to achieve unprecedented 

economic growth. This means there 

is a potential for similar growth if 

other developing countries devaelop 

their economies according to their 

comparative advantages, as China did. 

The study also outlines how it was 

possible for China to achieve a prolonged 

period of growth, the price that has been 

paid for success, if and how this can be 

maintained, and the implications for 

other developing countries who wish to 

achieve similar growth. 

Author and former Chief Economist of 

the World Bank Justin Yifu Lin said, “It 

is the strategy for development and 

transition that determines success or 

failure in a developing country.” 

A key reason for China’s success was 

the pragmatic approach adopted, along 

with the advantage of backwardness, 

where developing countries benefit from 

imitating technologies and industries 

from high-income countries, which 

involves lower costs and fewer risks. 

Before 1979, China had chosen not to 

benefit from this advantage. The desire 

to rapidly build a strong national defense 

system and advanced capital-intensive 

modern industry meant it was necessary 

to do the innovation itself in a country 

lacking capital but with abundant labor. 

The research suggests there is potential 

for other developing countries to grow 

continuously for a prolonged period of 

time, but to achieve this it is necessary to 

do two things. The first is to develop the 

country’s economic strength according 

to its comparative advantages. The 

second is not to immediately expose 

uncompetitive domestic industries to 

international competition. It is important 

for developing countries to learn from 

one another instead of using theories 

generated from developed countries 

because of the differences between 

developed and developing countries. 

Despite the successes of China’s 

economic growth, Lin identifies that 

there remain drawbacks including 

corruption, environmental degradation 

and increased income disparities 

between the rich and poor. 

The question remains as to whether 

China can maintain dynamic growth in 

the coming decades. There is potential 

for continued growth but recent figures 

show decelerated growth in comparison 

to previous years. Lin argues that the 

deceleration is mainly due to external 

and cyclical factors, and is confident that 

China is on track to join the world’s highincome 

countries. 


Creditline: Taylor & Francis 

Read the full article online: http://www. 

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2379 

2949.2017.1298971 


48


CYBERCRIME MALTA CONFERENCE 2017 

in the new Cyber Defence Operations 

Centre, or our customers, in the Enterprise 

Cybersecurity Group. We’ve also increased 

collaboration across the company so that 

our built-in security technologies work 

together to deliver a holistic, agile, security 

platform. All this forms part of our constant 

commitment to protect our customers. 

Microsoft in fact, invests more than a billion 

dollars a year in security related R&D to help 

protect its customers,” added Panayiotis 

Ioannou. 

Thanking Microsoft for its support, Dr 

Antonio Ghio and Mr Robert Farrugia, 

respective Presidents of MITLA and ISACA 

Malta explained how this conference is 

being hosted within a current local context 

of a growing economy which is becoming 

increasingly dependent on technology and 

as such, needs to bolster cybersecurity with 

the aim of mitigating costs, risks and threats. 

MICROSOFT is Platinum Sponsor of the 

forthcoming Cybercrime Malta Conference 

2017, a conference that will discuss the most 

recent trends in cybercrime, cybersecurity 

technologies and practices adopted against 

cybercrime. The event is being organised 

jointly by ISACA Malta Chapter and the Malta 

IT Law Association (MITLA). 

The speaker-line up should offer an interesting 

variety of perspectives ranging from some of 

the industry’s biggest international players 

to more local and practical insight. They 

include Axel Voss MEP - EPP Coordinator for 

Legal Affairs, Uwe Rasmussen, Legal Counsel, 

Digital Crimes Unit at Microsoft, Enrico 

Bellini, Public Policy Senior Analyst at Google, 

Luis Enrique Oliveri from IBM Global Security 

Services, Dr. Jan Ellermann, Senior Specialist 

at EUROPOL’s Data Protection Office, 

Patrick Curry, CEO of Multinational Alliance 

for Collaborative Situational Awareness, 

Joseph Cuschieri, Executive Chairman, 

Axel Voss MEP - EPP Coordinator 

for Legal Affairs – one of the main 

speakers during this conference 

MICROSOFT Platinum 

SPONSOR OF CYBERCRIME MALTA CONFERENCE 2017 

By James Vella Clark 

Malta Gaming Authority, Inspector Timothy 

Zammit, from the Cyber Crime Unit at the 

Malta Police Force, Prof Joe Cannataci, UN 

Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy 

and Raef Meeuwisse, author of a number of 

publications about cybersecurity. 

“Microsoft uses its unique insight to 

understand cybercrime threats with the sole 

aim of protecting its customers better against 

identity attacks, accidental or intentional 

loss of corporate data and the installation of 

malware. This is why Microsoft is proud to be 

Platinum Sponsor of this event and support 

MITLA and ISACA Malta in the organisation 

of this important event,” says Panayiotis 

Ioannou, Country Manager for Microsoft 

Malta. 

“When it comes to security, Microsoft’s 

approach reflects today’s realities of our 

mobile-first, cloud-first world. This includes 

bringing teams and technologies together 

to evolve our security posture, for example, 

“Government launched its National Cyber 

Security Strategy Green Paper in 2015 as a 

precursor to new legislation, however at 

MITLA, we believe it is high time for industry 

and regulator, the private and public sectors, 

to sit down at a common table to discuss 

concerns and initiatives. This conference will 

create the right forum for discussing pressing 

issues related to cybercrime, local and 

international cybercrime trends, emerging 

threats that strain the reach of the law, risks 

posed to critical national infrastructures, 

our legislative response, the rise of identity 

theft and online fraud, big data, information 

security, cybercrime and more,” said Dr Ghio 

and Dr Gatt. 

we believe it is high time for 

industry and regulator, the 

private and public sectors, to 

sit down at a common table to 

discuss concerns and initiatives 

The conference at the Radisson Blue Hotel 

in St George’s Bay will attract all those 

interested in cybercrime and cybersecurity, 

technology and cybersecurity professionals, 

lawyers and law professionals, law 

enforcement agencies and policy experts, 

professionals, C-level executives and people 

in management, academics, students and 

government officials. 

Registrations for the Cybercrime Malta 

Conference 2017 are open and may be found 

on the conference’s official website: The 

Cybercrime Malta Conference 2017 

http://cybercrimemalta.com MBR 

50

WHERE LANGUAGES MEET DOMAIN-EXPERTS 

Alphatrad Worldwide is a leading innovator in the provision 

Our business translation services and solutions are aimed at 

of multilingual, business translation services and solutions. 

Founded in 2003, we have grown into an acclaimed language 

services and translation company. We offer a wide range 

of complete and integrated language services, including 

managing content in multiple languages, streamlined 

productivity through collaborative project management and 

team work, and a variety of localisation services. 

To date, we have been working with and providing translation 

and localisation services or solutions to well-known bluechip 

transnational corporations, including Hewlett-Packard, 

Microsoft, Philips, Sony, MBDA, Western Digital, Siebel, 

Pixela, Marantz, Canon, JVC, Cisco, Home Depot, Ximeta, 

Vodafone, Exxon Mobil, Intel, Komori and more. 

• Information Technology Service anagement 

• 

• Computer ardware Software anufacturing 

• Telecommunications Equipment anufacturing Services 

• 

• Semiconductor and other Electronic Component anufacturing 

• Consumer and Electrical roducts anufacturing 

• 

• 

• 

Railroad, Automobile, truck and aerospace equipment 

Asset management, investment funds and firms 

Electronic payment systems, securities, insurance agencies/brokerages 

• Contractual, legal agreements, contentious, litigation arbitration works 

• 

• 

• 

Trademarks, patents, designs / dispute resolution proceedings 

Oil and gas production and petroleum refining 

Industrial and specialty chemical manufacturing 

• 

Alphatrad Worldwide is EN ISO 17100:2016 & SDL-Trados Certified 

The Penthouse, Padre Pio Block, Santa Teresa Street, Xghajra XJR 1040 

T: (+356) 2778 1900 E: info@alphatrad.net 

www.alphatrad.net


EU: COHESION POLICY 

LOCAL LEADERS GATHER IN WARSAW WITH 

COMMISSIONER CREŢU AND VISEGRAD GROUP: 

Cohesion Policy is vital to build the future of the EU 

Investing more to reduce regional 

disparities and to mobilise regions and 

cities to create opportunities for citizens 

should be the key answer to the challenges 

of the post-Brexit scenario. This was the 

main message shared by members of the 

European Committee of the Regions (CoR) 

at a meeting in Warsaw on 2 March with 

the European Commissioner for Regional 

Policy Corina Crețu and the ministers for 

development from the Czech Republic, 

Hungary, Poland, Slovakia as well as 

Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia. 

Cohesion policy – worth €454bn until 2020 

– is by far the largest investment tool of 

the EU, supporting inclusive and smart 

growth in every European region. It reduces 

development gaps, spreads innovation and 

enhances the competitiveness of the EU 

economies by involving EU institutions, 

national governments as well as local and 

regional authorities. 

A day after the presentation of the 

European Commission White Paper on 

the Future of the EU, these concerns were 

discussed in Warsaw by members of the 

CoR's Commission for Territorial Cohesion 

Policy and EU Budget (COTER). "A strong 

Cohesion Policy, showing the benefits and 

solidarity of the EU at local and regional 

level, is decisive to address the current 

cycle of despair and disengagement. Our 

message from Warsaw is that the objective 

of economic, social and territorial cohesion 

is a key element for the future of Europe," 

said COTER's chairman, Raffaele Cattaneo 

(EPP/IT), President of the Regional Council 

of Lombardy. 

In Warsaw, local leaders discussed and 

adopted a draft opinion on the future 

of Cohesion Policy after 2020, prepared 

by the President of the EPP Group in the 

CoR, Michael Schneider, Saxony-Anhalt's 

Secretary of State for EU Affairs. 

"No other EU or national policy can achieve 

what Cohesion Policy has helped to create 

in countries such as Poland or Germany 

in the past decades. It is one of the EU 

policies that has truly an impact on the 

everyday lives of our citizens, by creating 

opportunities and support for jobs, growth 

– contributing to a sense of Europeanness in 

an age of growing populism. That is why we 

must ensure that Cohesion Policy remains 

'the' investment tool of the European 

Union, supported in synergy by other funds 

and grants such as the European Fund for 

Strategic Investments or Horizon 2020," Mr 

Schneider emphasised. 

European Commissioner for Regional Policy 

Corina Creţu said: "Over the last months, 

we have heard more and more citizens 

tell us 'We feel politicians and institutions 

do not care about us, we feel left out!' 

Therefore, it is time to give them a strong 

signal. Our message to them must be that 

Europe cares. And what better way to prove 

it than through Cohesion Policy? Cohesion 

Policy's aim is to leave no one behind, to 

improve everybody's daily life. This is why 

we must fight for it and for its future as it 

is our common future. Jobs and growth 

through Cohesion Policy, yes; but jobs and 

growth for all, for all regions." 

The meeting was held in parallel with 

a ministerial gathering of the Visegrad 

Group+4, at which ministries for economic 

12th meeting of the COTER Commission in Warsaw 

development from the Czech Republic, 

Hungary, Poland, Slovakia as well as 

Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia 

adopted a document stressing the vital role 

of Cohesion Policy for the future of the EU. 

"Cohesion Policy must be reformed in a way 

to remain in the interest of all EU Member 

States and regions and be an important, 

useful instrument for the achievement of 

the EU's strategic long-term goals, while 

promoting issues of key importance for 

particular regions," added Deputy Minister 

of Economic Development Jerzy Kwieciński. 

At a high-level conference held on 3 March, 

experts and practitioners exchange views 

on how to simplify the EU's Cohesion Policy 

while making it more effective and more 

responsive to the needs of local economies. 

The CoR will discuss and adopt its opinion 

on the future of Cohesion Policy at its 

plenary session on 10 May. MBR 

Credit: Pierluigi Boda (IT, EN) 

pierluigi.boda@cor.europa.eu 

EDITOR’S 

Note 

The EU’s Cohesion Policy is implemented over a seven-year cycle (2014-20) through five European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI 

funds): 

• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): promotes balanced development in the EU’s regions. 

• European social fund (ESF): supports employment-related projects throughout Europe and invests in Europe’s human capital – its 

workers, its young people and all those seeking a job. 

• Cohesion Fund (CF): funds transport and environment projects in countries whose gross national income (GNI) per inhabitant is less 

than 90% of the EU average. In 2014-20, these are Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, 

Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

• European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD): focuses on resolving the particular challenges facing the EU’s rural areas. 

• European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF): helps fishermen to adopt sustainable fishing practices and coastal communities to 

diversify their economies, improving the quality of life on Europe’s seaboard. 

The total allocations for 2014-20 are 454bn from the EU budget, matched by 183bn from national funds. With a total value of 638bn, 

Cohesion Policy is the Europe’s main investment tool. It is managed in partnership by the European Commission, national governments and 

regions. More than 176bn have already been invested in the real economy of the EU since the beginning of the current programming period. 

For more information and country-specific trends and figures, please consult the Cohesion Open Data Portal. 

52

FINE DINING 


Looking Back on Sciacca’s Beginnings 

From the moment you enter into the world 

of Sciacca, be it the Paceville or Valletta 

restaurant, there’s that undeniable sense 

of authenticity and genuineness. Founder 

and owner, Noel Zammit has always had 

that innate passion for anything that had 

an affinity to the culinary world. As time 

passed, his interest in the catering industry 

grew stronger. Needless to say, he wanted 

to build a more solid relationship with 

the gastronomy. To do this he decided 

to invest time and money in what he had 

the most passion for: food. And thus, his 

journey into becoming a restaurateur 

began… 

Modest beginnings: the inspiration 

behind Sciacca 

Noel’s love for food began at a very tender 

age. He used to enjoy watching his mother 

cook, observing her traditional techniques 

and perhaps, even ‘stealing’ her recipes. 

But of course, it didn’t stop there. From 

as early as 16 years of age, Noel made it 

a point to be a regular restaurant goer to 

many local establishments. Indeed, like 

clockwork, he made sure to jot down 

his weekly restaurant bookings into his 

already increasingly busy schedule. 

Each Sunday of every week presented 

Noel the opportunity to enter into a new 

environment: a different atmosphere, 

with a novel menu that displayed a 

smorgasbord of food, some of which he 

devoured with gusto, others he refused 

with abhorrence. Of course, like every 

restaurant goer, there were always those 

couple of places that he thought deserved 

a repeat visit, simply because they 

encapsulated what he looked for when it 

comes to the catering sector: good service 

coupled with honest, hearty food. 

Eventually, after borrowing and adapting 

ideas from his family members and 

friends, Noel quickly became enthused 

with the idea of cooking and hosting for 

entertainment purposes. Over time he 

started learning more about different 

styles of cooking through his extensive 

travels, noting and absorbing different 

culinary techniques and practising them 

at home. In due course, he started 

sharing his emergent skills when inviting 

loved ones at home, sometimes hosting 

luncheons for up to 30 people. It was at 

this moment Noel began to feel like he 

was completely in his element. 

Sciacca’s recipe for success 

In a nutshell, the secret to Sciacca’s success 

is very humble in its simplicity: making use 

of fresh and genuine products. It’s all about 

letting the food speak for itself, because a 

great dish shouldn’t be overpowered with 

over the top garnishes or a cacophony 

of ingredients. When looking Sciacca’s 

dishes, you can forget about unnecessary 

garnishes and over-embellished plate 

decorations. Simplicity is key, because 

ultimately, it’s all about making the food 

the star of the dish. 

Apart from freshness and genuine 

ingredients, Sciacca prides itself in having 

chefs that are constantly experimenting 

in the kitchen, striving for innovation, 

because to them, there’s always room for 

improvement and if there’s something that 

could be better, it’s a safe bet that they’ll 

make sure it will be an augmented version of 

their original idea. Through their creativity 

and imagination Sciacca’s culinary mavens 

make sure each meal is served from the 

restaurant kitchen represents what the 

restaurant’s trademark. 

Noel was always interested in the food 

industry as he felt it was something that 

was deeply instilled in him ever since he 

was a child. Thus, he ultimately decided 

to take the plunge after years of serious 

contemplation. Starting a business comes 

with its fair share of challenges, and of 

course going into an already booming Food 

and Beverage industry is an even bigger 

risk, because there’s no in between: you 

either sink or swim. But what is life without 

risks? Cliché as it may sound, to fulfil one’s 

dreams, one must forget about remaining 

in their comfort zone. Noel’s only regret 

is not having started his business venture 

sooner. Basically, the main inspiration 

behind both of Sciacca’s restaurants is plain 

and simple: a passion for good quality food. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading the brief 

history of Sciacca as much as we’ve enjoyed 

reminiscing on our beginnings. If you’d like 

to come and have a taster of the fruits of 

our labour and relish the essence of our 

culinary creations, we encourage you to 

book a table at Sciacca. We work tirelessly 

to invent dishes that truly personify 

Sciacca’s brand. 

Remember to follow us on Facebook and 

Twitter. MBR 


53


REBRANDING 

Malta Payments Company, Swish, 

Rebrands as Truevo 

Swish, the Malta-based acquirer and payment solutions 

provider, rebranding as Truevo 

Swish Payments Ltd, the Malta-founded 

card acquirer and payment solutions 

provider, will be rebranding as Truevo 

Payments on 1st March 2017. 

Founded in 2012, Swish enables European 

businesses to easily accept payments 

across various channels, including instore, 

online, over the phone and through 

mobile card terminals. The company also 

offers Original Credit Transactions for fast 

and convenient fund transfers to over a 

billion eligible Visa, Mastercard or Maestro 

cards around the globe. 

“The rebranding decision was taken to 

avoid confusion in the marketplace with 

a similarly-named peer-to-peer payment 

solutions company in Sweden”, says Steve 

Grech, company CEO. 

Grech explains that as a licensed financial 

institution and a full principal member 

of Visa and Mastercard, the company 

is uniquely positioned to provide card 

acquiring services across multiple 

channels at very low costs to its clients. 

Steve Grech, company CEO 

“It is our intention to provide merchants 

with an efficient alternative to the more 

traditional acquiring solutions provided by 

banks”. 

Under the new name, he says, Truevo will 

continue to deliver truly holistic payment 

solutions that facilitate convenient, fast 

and secure transactions. 

Apart from the new trading name and 

logo, it will be business as usual at Truevo 

from next month with no other changes 

for its clients or partners. 


54

DENTAL HEALTHCARE 


Replacing a long-lost tooth 

with a Dental Implant 

Replacing a long-lost tooth with a more 

permanent solution is not always an easy 

task. Teeth like the upper or lower first 

molar or an upper central or lateral incisor 

are often missing from a young age. These 

cases normally arise due to failed root 

canal treatments, fractures or even trauma 

caused by a road-traffic accident. The status 

of the tooth site may vary considerably 

with the time lapsed to the type of incident 

causing tooth loss. Other factors such a 

tooth position as well as dental and oral 

health, also play an important part. 

A Case Study 

A young woman in her late 30s has a history of losing her upper central incisor in her 

teenage years. She has worn a fixed bridge attached to the one tooth on either side 

of the missing incisor. Over the years the gum and bone have receded leaving a large 

space and unaesthetic noticeable defect. She also has a high smile line exposing all 

the defects in the gum. Although she knew that a newer bridge would have already 

improved her smile, she opted for an implant regaining 3individual teeth instead of 

a 3-tooth fixed bridge. Bone was harvested from the lower wisdom tooth area and 

grafted in the area of the long-lost tooth. 4months post-grafting, an implant was 

placed with some minor additional bone grafting. Once healed she had 3 new allceramic 

single crowns fit into place. 

Taking for example the loss of an upper 

central incisor, this tooth is often lost at 

a young age; typically 7-12 years of age. 

The trauma would more often than not 

necessitate a root canal treatment. At 

the younger end of the spectrum the 

root development is often incomplete 

jeopardizing the long-term prognosis of 

the tooth. When more mature with its 

root end closed, the prognosis is better. 

This tooth however may still not offer a 

good prognosis. At times the trauma is so 

extensive that the tooth either falls out of 

its socket and is lost, or fractures at the 

mid or apical third of the root and must 

be removed at once. Soft tissue as well as 

bone is often lost. 

Once the tooth is out the ageing process 

starts taking place. The bone surrounding 

the area does not receive any biting 

stimulus and so starts resorbing. The gum 

also recedes and reduces in size. Over 

the years the area suffers considerable 

tissue loss resulting in difficulty for the 

implant surgeon to restore the area to the 

functional and aesthetic norm. 

The best way to replace a tooth with the 

above history is with a dental implant. 

However not until long ago the typical 

replacement was with a bridge or a 

denture. Today we know better and try 

not to involve adjacent teeth like when 

using a bridge. A denture too remains an 

undesirable removable prosthesis and 

where possible, should be eliminated. The 

implant carries many advantages. Besides 

being an independent structure it also 

reduces the bone/gingival tissue loss and 

when done properly facilitates hygiene 

maintenance. Ask your dentist! MBR 

Extra-oral before treatment 

Intra-oral after treatment 

Extra-oral after treatment 

Intra-oral before treatment 

DR JEAN PAUL DEMAJO 

Dental and Implant Surgeon, 

Trained in London working in 

private practice in Malta 


55


EU & GLOBAL NEWS ROUND-UP 

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: Happy 

Commonwealth Day (said no one, ever, until 

now)! Fifty-two nations of the former British 

empire were officially marking those ties on the 

13th March 2017, and Brexiteers will use the day 

to talk about a glorious free trade future outside 

the EU. In related news, the next Commonwealth 

summit will be held in the U.K., not Vanuatu, after 

a cyclone severely damaged the Pacific island 

nation’s infrastructure, the British PM is set to 

announce today. MBR 

We spent the month of March skipping 

across the globe: From the traveling EU circus 

heading to Strasbourg, to Angela Merkel and Wolfgang 

Schäuble visiting Washington, then back to the 

Netherlands for Dutch elections Wednesday. Theresa 

May could trigger Article 50 any day, but Europe- 

Turkey relations have been lit to explode, giving Brexit 

some competition for column inches. MBR 

NATO — ANNUAL REPORT RELEASED: NATO 

boss Jens Stoltenberg has published. Playbook’s 

NATO source says Stoltenberg’s outline shows how 

the alliance has responded to a tougher security 

environment, and will appeal to statistics geeks 

with a pile of new facts and figures, including 

on defense spending. Stoltenberg is expected 

to hammer home U.S. President Donald Trump’s 

demand (and the existing commitment by NATO 

members) for fairer burden-sharing between the 

U.S. and Europe and Canada. MBR 

EUROPOL — CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS 

ON THE RISE: According to the EU police agency 

Europol, more than 5,000 international organized 

crime organizations are operating in the EU, up 

from 3,600 estimated in 2013. MBR 

ITALY — THE ‘SOFT 

REVOLUTION’ 

WITH A HARD EDGE 

IN RENZI’S PARTY: 

When Matteo Renzi 

decided to trigger a 

leadership contest 

in his Democratic 

Party, the former PM 

underestimated the 

Matteo Renzi 

risk of an open leftwing 

revolt, writes Giada Zampano. With the PD 

neck-and-neck in polls with Beppe Grillo’s antiestablishment 

5Star Movement, the man once 

known as “Demolition Man” may have bitten off 

more than he could chew. MBR 

EUROPE-TURKEY 

RELATIONS AT BOILING 

POINT … 

Prime Minister 

Paolo Gentiloni 

PARLIAMENT IN STRASBOURG: The top VIP 

speaker is Italy’s Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. 

The big debates will be on conflict minerals and 

shareholder rights. Tighter food inspection rules as 

well as new gun controls should be agreed. MBR 

Despite a lastminute 

campaign 

by Vicky Ford (one 

of the British MEPs 

excluded from the 

list because of Brexit) 

to get European 

Conservatives and 

Vicky Ford 

Reformists MEPs and 

staff to vote for her and other ECR members, all 

the group’s candidates combined scored less than 

Charanzová. The same goes for the four British 

MEPs on the shortlist. MBR 

**A message from the EPP Group: A year 

after the Brussels attacks and on our initiative, 

the EP will discuss the EU’s security using the new 

instrument of topical debates. We will also make 

the case for the European Defence Union, which 

is already a legal possibility, and welcome the 

freeing-up of the 700 MHz frequency for 5G. MBR 

COUNCIL — THE EFFECTS OF POLAND’S 

SUMMIT STAND: “EU takes a huge step 

forward,” concluded Der Tagesspiegel. “As the day 

the EU remembered its capacity to act — thanks to 

Jarosław Kaczyński! … A country that tried to use 

blackmail tactics for domestic reasons that had 

nothing to do with Europe’s common interests. In 

this case it was Poland. But this will be a lesson to 

others, too.” MBR 

PARTY PEOPLE — SOCIAL DEMOCRATS 

MEET IN BERLIN TO DISCUSS FIGHT AGAINST 

POPULISM: A ‘Progressive Alliance’ convention 

began gathering Sunday in Berlin (not the be confused 

with the usual congress of the Party of European 

Socialists) and continues today. Heads of government 

in attendance include Stefan Löfven (Sweden), 

Paolo Gentiloni (Italy), Christian Kern (Austria) and 

António Costa (Portugal), as well as German Foreign 

Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Martin Schulz, the Social 

Democrats’ candidate for chancellor in Germany’s 

September general election. MBR 

TRADE — EU-ASEAN RESTART TRADE 

TALKS: More good news for Trade Commissioner 

Cecilia Malmström. The EU and the 500 millionstrong 

Association of Southeast Asian Nations 

agreed this month they would start preparations 

to relaunch stalled trade talks. Meanwhile, the FT 

reported that a civil war has broken out within the 

White House over trade policy. MBR 

ITALY SHOCKER 

— THE RAPE AND 

SLAVERY PROPPING 

UP SICILIAN 

Nicoleta Bolos and her baby 

daughter in Ragusa province. 

Photograph: Francesca Commissari for the Observer 

FARMING: This is a 

must-read from Lorenzo 

Tondo and Annie Kelly. 

“Hidden among fields 

of flapping white plastic 

tents across Ragusa 

province, 5,000 Romanian women like Bolos are 

working as seasonal agricultural workers. Their 

treatment is a growing human rights scandal, being 

perpetrated with almost complete impunity,” write 

Tondo and Kelly. “More than half of all Romanian 

women working in the greenhouses are forced into 

sexual relations with their employers. Almost all of 

them work in conditions of forced labor and severe 

exploitation.” MBR 

Turkey President Erdoğan 

ERDOĞAN CALLS DUTCH AUTHORITIES 

NAZIS: Turkey vowed to retaliate against the 

Netherlands in the “harshest ways” after Dutch 

authorities barred Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt 

Çavuşoğlu from landing in Rotterdam after a 

political rally at which he was slated to appear 

was canceled. A Dutch official told the Sunday 

Times’ Bojan Pancevski: “We wanted to come 

to an arrangement but [President Recep Tayyip] 

Erdoğan turned this into an issue about who is the 

boss in our own country.” MBR 

First German calls for Turkey’s EU 

membership talks to end: Daniel Bössler 

writing in Suddeutsche Zeitung said the weekend 

dispute would mean “the formal end of accession 

negotiations with Turkey is inevitable.” We’re yet 

to see Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung, Bild or Die 

Welt join the chorus, but if you call modern-day 

Germans and their allies Nazis, it’s unlikely to be 

discreetly ignored. MBR 

FRENCH ELECTION 

CORNER … 

Endorsements update: The deadline for 

presidential hopefuls to get 500 endorsements 

from local officials is Saturday. Top candidates 

François Fillon, Emmanuel Macron, Benoît 

Hamon and Marine Le Pen are all across the line. 

Radical left’s Jean-Luc Mélenchon still needs 68 

signatures. MBR 

French power podcast: Playbook recommends 

for its Francophile readers the podcast from the 

weekly “L’Atelier du pouvoir.” MBR 

CREDITLINE: BY RYAN HEATH | POLITICO SPRL 

56

EU & GLOBAL NEWS ROUND-UP 


BIG MONTH, LADIES AND 

GENTS … with three major central bank 

meetings, a fraught election in the Netherlands, 

and the possible triggering of Article 50 by the U.K. 

So let’s take some of this in turn, shall we? MBR 

Howard Archer 

Howard Archer at IHS 

Markit: “Of key interest in the March 

meeting is whether or not the MPC are becoming 

more pessimistic about the U.K. GDP growth 

outlook given the current mounting signs that 

consumers are reining in their spending as the 

purchasing power is increasingly squeezed,” he 

writes in a note to clients. “While the Bank of 

England has been expecting consumer spending 

to slow, it may have been surprised by the overall 

softness of the recent data relating to retail sales, 

car purchases and consumer services. The Bank 

of England GDP growth forecast of 2.0 percent 

in 2017 is at the top end of projections, and it 

will look increasingly hard to reach if consumers 

sharply rein in their spending.” MBR 

Equity investors should 

not worry too much about 

a hike: So says Patrick Moonen at NN 

Investment Partners. “From a historic point of 

view there is no convincing evidence that a U.S. 

rate hike is negative for the U.S. equity market,” he 

writes to clients. To be fair, he does admit that rate 

hikes have driven down equity valuations in the 

past but, at least during the last two rate-hiking 

cycles in 1994 and 2004, stock markets continued 

to move higher. MBR 

Look out for key changes 

to the Fed’s post-meeting 

statement: Goldman Sachs’ Zach Pandl 

and Jan Hatzius believe they will all point to the 

Fed’s eagerness to raise rates a couple more times 

this year: “[The Fed will indicate] that risks to the 

economic outlook are ‘balanced’, and [signal] 

that the 2 percent inflation objective will likely 

be reached before too long. In the Summary of 

Economic Projections (SEP) we look for slight 

upgrades to GDP growth and core inflation,” they 

write in a note to clients. MBR 

UniCredit’s 

Vasileios 

Gkionakis: “Wilders will probably shake 

the political landscape of the Netherlands, but he 

is unlikely to disrupt it.” MBR 

NOW, THOSE MEMORABLE 

FOOTBALL MATCHES: Thanks to the 

many readers who sent in their suggestions, after 

we were inspired by Barcelona’ stunning comeback 

against Paris Saint-Germain to ask for memorable 

football matches of all times. The obvious ones 

made it in, because they should: the 1999 

Manchester United victory against Bayern Munich 

in the Champions League Final and Liverpool’s 

“Miracle of Istanbul” against AC Milan in the 2005 

CL final. 

But some of the less-heralded entries were intriguing, 

including: Liverpool-Newcastle in the Premier League 

in 1996: 4-3 with the winning goal in the second 

minute of stoppage time; Sheffield Wednesday- 

Sheffield United in the 2000 League Cup; Real 

Madrid-Espanyol in La Liga in 2007; and Belgium- 

Austria 4-4 in the qualifiers for Euro 2012 MBR 

Bank of England 

BANK OF ENGLAND PREVIEW: 

Unlike its U.S. counterparts (see below), the BoE 

is expected to stay put, both on interest rates and 

stimulus measures, despite growing inflation. That 

doesn’t mean that investors will tune out. MBR 

FED PREVIEW: The Americans have 

the finger on the interest rate trigger. Investors 

absolutely expected a rate hike mid-march 

and will be parsing words by Janet Yellen very 

closely in the subsequent press conference. 

Barring an unforeseen event, markets’ reaction 

on the day should be muted since the hike 

should surprise no one. But how will markets 

react in the longer term? MBR 

FT calls end of long bull 

market for US government 

bonds: The paper’s Joe Rennison and John 

Authers do the honours: “One of the longest and 

most important trends in world finance may be on 

the cusp of a reversal. U.S. 10-year Treasury bond 

yields, used as a benchmark in transactions the world 

over, have been in decline since inflation came under 

control in the early 1980s. 

“But in the past weeks, yields have risen to their 

highest in almost three years, while the U.S. jobs 

market has grown its fastest in more than a decade. 

With equity markets suggesting that growth and 

inflation are in store under President Donald Trump, 

and with the Federal Reserve committed to raising its 

base rates this week for the third time in a decade, 

some bond market luminaries are convinced that 

the great ‘bull market’ is over. From now, they expect 

interest rates to rise steadily.” MBR 

THE INSTITUTE OF 

INTERNATIONAL 

FINANCE’S BART 

VAN LIEBERGEN: 

“Wilders’ Freedom Party 

seems to be running 

out of steam lately. 

Rather, a fragmented 

Bart van Liebergen 

parliament may arise in 

which no less than four parties may be needed 

for a governing coalition. Current PM Rutte of 

the conservative-liberal VVD is likely to lead that 

government, while his current junior partner 

Labor is set to lose these elections.” MBR 

HSBC TO NAME TUCKER NEW 

CHAIRMAN: Sky News’ Mark Kleinman has 

the story: “HSBC Holdings, Europe’s biggest bank, 

is lining up the former Prudential chief executive 

Mark Tucker as its next chairman — a move that 

will have far-reaching implications for some of the 

world’s biggest financial services groups.” MBR 

NEW YORK FINANCIAL PROBES LIKELY 

TO CONTINUE AFTER DEPARTURE OF 

TOP PROSECUTOR: 

The Wall Street 

Journal has the 

story: “The sudden 

departure of Preet 

Bharara, the top 

federal prosecutor 

in Manhattan, isn’t 

likely to change 

the course of 

Preet Bharara 

several high-profile 

investigations even as it raises uncertainty about 

his office’s long-term direction. On Saturday, Mr. 

Bharara was fired as Manhattan U.S. attorney, a day 

after the Justice Department asked the 46 remaining 

U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Barack 

Obama to step down. Mr. Bharara, who has served 

in that role since 2009 and had become prominent 

with a string of high-profile white-collar and public 

corruption investigations, refused to resign and was 

subsequently let go. 

“For the moment, Mr. Bharara’s departure is 

unlikely to have a significant impact on the pending 

investigations within the office, largely because the 

interim leader of the office, Joon Kim, is a close friend 

and longtime colleague of Mr. Bharara’s.” MBR 

THANKS TO: FRANCESCO GUERRERA & ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH, POLITICO SPRL 


57


RESEARCH DATA 

Giving 

Context To 

Research 

Data 

Rebecca Zammit 

Rebecca Zammit has just been 

appointed Director of MISCO 

International Limited, responsible 

for MISCO’s Marketing and 

Opinion Research services. In this 

interview, Ms Zammit explains 

how in today’s competitive 

environment, data is a very 

important currency and the more 

data is available for marketers 

and company leaders, the better 

and more effective their business 

decisions will be. 

A recently published review on 

smartinsights.com on what the toprated 

digital marketing techniques will 

be during 2017 reveals how Big Data 

(20.3%) together with Content Marketing 

(20.4%) will this year be the top marketing 

tools followed by Marketing Automation 

(10.3%), Mobile Marketing (9.2%) and 

Social Media Marketing (8.8%) amongst 

others. 

“Data however can also be very boring 

especially for all those who do not 

understand it. This is why we like building 

a story with the data. A story, puts the 

client in the right context which helps him 

understand where his business stands and 

where it needs to be taken. 

MISCO has been offering marketing and 

opinion research services for 33 years. 

Eventually, it developed the full range 

of data collection techniques now used 

through both quantitative and qualitative 

methods supported by a pool of around 80 

experienced and trained interviewers. 

“Our role is to help customers feel the 

pulse of people’s behaviour, attitudes, 

perceptions and opinions, identify and 

measure market size and market share, 

analyze the characteristics of markets, 

understand market developments and 

focus on the critical factors for success in 

marketing,” adds Rebecca Zammit. 

“Customers who engage MISCO’s 

Marketing and Opinion Research Section 

include national and international 

organisations, operating in both the private 

and public sector across a wide range of 

activities such as telecommunications, 

consumer products, banking and insurance 

services, transport, pharmaceutical and 

automotive sectors. MISCO is also very 

active in the areas of social research and 

opinion polling and has garnered extensive 

experience through its participation in 

numerous multi-country projects.” 

“Data is universal so really and truly, 

we are equipped to service any sector. 

However our experience and continued 

investment in technology enables us to 

be flexible in that we do not apply an offthe-shelf 

approach but devise a research 

methodology according to the particular 

needs of our customer.” 

With long years of experience, MISCO 

has had the opportunity to watch the 

sector evolve and give birth to new trends. 

One such trend is the increased use of 

mystery shopping exercises, a research 

methodology for which MISCO is very 

sought after. 

“We are living in an age where we all want 

to know how we are being perceived. 

Brands too want to constantly know how 

they are being received by their target 

audiences. Companies constantly request 

reviews and testimonials because these 

reinforce their public reputation. No 

wonder over the past few years most 

sectors have experienced a dramatic 

increase in the use of mystery shopping 

techniques to better understand what 

they can do to improve their processes, 

products and services,” added Rebecca 

Zammit. 

Another aspect that makes MISCO’s 

Marketing and Opinion Research Unit 

unique is the application of specific 

technology. 

“All the software we use for our research 

projects is developed in-house by our own 

people. This gives us added flexibility that 

allows us to adapt the research according 

to the particular client. We feel this is an 

important advantage for us given the 

increasing use of technology in today’s 

modern research methods.” 

But no matter which methods are 

employed during research, or how capable 

one is to interpret data, truth and integrity 

are two qualities that best define MISCO’s 

Marketing and Opinion Research services. 

“Clients sometimes hire our services 

expecting us to give them the answers 

they want to hear. We challenge the client 

and ask what the real problem is that we 

are trying to solve. It does happen that the 

problem that the client is trying to solve is 

a symptom of a much deeper issue. On a 

number of occasions the data we collect 

paints a different picture from what the 

client would be expecting. We know 

that the methods we use in our research 

processes, return us with a high level of 

accuracy with which we can assist our 

clients to move forward. Therefore, even 

when the results are way different from 

their expectations, clients always show 

us an element of trust. Being trusted and 

respected, helps our clients understand 

and accept our recommendations more,” 

concluded Rebecca Zammit. MBR 

58

FINANCE DATA ANALYTICS 


NSO data points to certain unsustainable spending patterns 

Government finance data released by the 

National Statistics Office point to further 

increases in recurrent expenditure and 

a substantial drop in capital expenditure. 

The drop in capital expenditure of €13 

million is, in fact, the major contributor 

to the lower consolidated fund deficit 

registered in January 2017. 

A comparison between government 

expenditure data for January 2017 and 

that of January 2015 points to some 

worrying and unsustainable trends. 

Capital expenditure went down from €30 

million to €10 million representing a 68% 

drop. Recurrent expenditure during the 

same period went up by €29 million or 

13%. Public service wages increased by €5 

million (9%), Operation and Maintenance 

expenditure by a further €5 million (35%) 

and Interest expenditure by €3 million 

(23%). 

Total revenue in January 2017 increased 

by €51 million when compared to the 

corresponding period of 2016. However 

nearly half of this increase was due to an 

increase in receivable grants amounting to 

€22 million. 

Total government debt in January 2017 

increased by €61 million when compared 

to the previous year and €301 million 

when compared to the January 2015. 

The data released today points to certain 

unsustainable spending patterns. Capital 

expenditure, essential to ensure that our 

economy remains competitive and that 

our infrastructure is capable of meeting 

present and future demands, is decreasing 

year on year. On the other hand, recurrent 

expenditure is shooting up as government 

continues its spending spree not least 

through the creation of hundreds of 

positions of trust across the public sector – 

a fact that was noted by the International 

Monetary Fund in their recent report on 

Malta’s economy. While government is 

finding solace in ratios, the undeniable 

fact remains that government debt in 

absolute terms shot up over the past four 

years. This debt will have to be carried by 

future generations. MBR 

Source: Mario de Marco, Deputy Leader for 

Parliamentary Affairs, Shadow Minister for 

Finance, PN 

Payment Collection Period 

IN MALTA 

The Average DSO – Days Sales Outstanding 

or as also referred to ‘the payment 

collection ratio’ across all the Maltese 

business sectors as at 31 December 2016 

was 89.04 days. 

This figure was derived from a survey 

conducted by The Malta Association of 

Credit Management (MACM) amongst its 

members. MACM represents suppliers 

selling on credit in Malta and other 

creditors hailing from all sectors of the 

Maltese economy. 

compared to last year’s DSO figure. 

However, a DSO of 89.04 days is still 

relatively high when compared to the 

average DSO of other European countries. 

In fact, the average DSO for Malta comes 

very close to that of Italy (80 days) 

according to the European Payment Index 

issued recently by Intrum Justitia. 

MACM is committed to assist the Maltese 

business community securing sound cash 

flow and selling on credit profitably. 


The DSO figures for specific industries 

and sectors were also issued and 

communicated to the respective MACM 

Members who participated in this 

important exercise. 

MACM notes with that there has been 

a marginal improvement of 2.63 days 


59


BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION 

WHY CONSTRUCTION CLIENTS 

SHOULD INVEST IN 

Health and Wellbeing 

A 

high-functioning, profitable 

building is no longer just about 

bricks and mortar. It’s not even 

just about the aesthetics of the design. 

Health and wellbeing plays an increasingly 

important role in the planning, design, 

the construction process and the finished 

product, and any construction client 

holding the purse strings would do well to 

not ignore this growing trend. 

By Katia Knox 

The relationship between people and 

the building in which they are working is 

vital. The way that buildings are designed, 

constructed and maintained impacts the 

way we work, sleep, what we eat, and how 

we feel. The right building can advance 

health, happiness, mindfulness and 

productivity. 

Health and wellbeing is the new frontier in 

construction, growing fast as we realise the 

many benefits it has. This is an opportunity 

for organisations to think differently and 

use their physical premises for competitive 

gain, whether that’s a construction client 

or an investor trying to command a higher 

price for a new, high-performing building 

or an occupier looking to take on a space 

needed to drive business success. 

Credit: Barbour Products; LinkedIn 


For architects and designers, the idea that 

buildings influence the health, wellbeing 

and productivity of their occupants is not 

new. But this type of thinking is still not 

influencing most design, financing and 

leasing decisions as much as it should. 

The Health and Wellbeing concept is 

making big noise in the industry, so buyers 

will keep a look out for buildings that 

adhere to the guidelines set out companies 

like WELL. And in the construction industry, 

it's always better to be a forerunner than a 

backbencher. 

Let’s have a look at the office sector. The 

physical work environment has an impact 

on the health and productivity of the 

office worker. Of course, the terms health, 

wellbeing and productivity encompass 

a whole range of related and complex 

issues. Health encapsulates physical and 

mental health, wellbeing hints at broader 

feelings or perceptions of satisfaction and 

happiness, and productivity refers more 

explicitly to business-oriented outputs. 

Clean air, for example, is a critical 

component to our health. Good indoor 

air quality, and also thermal comfort, high 

quality views, daylight, good acoustics and 

indeed location and amenities all play a 

crucial role in creating a healthy, productive 

workplace. And a productive workplace 

equals an easy sell of a profitable building. 

One way of promoting wellbeing is to have 

workspaces that employees can engage 

with and feel comfortable in. Conversely, 

a poorly designed workspace can quash 

any green shoots of creativity, good 

performance, engagement and innovation. 

ABOUT THE 

Author 

Katja Knox is an 

Editorial Account 

Manager, LinkedIn 

60



SILENCE IS 

GOLDEN 

AT NIGHT 

by Antoine Bonello 

Bliss is when someone can sleep 

comfortable in bed on a stormy night 

knowing that your house is protecting you 

and your loved ones from the elements, or 

if you are awake and drinking a nice cuppa 

while starring at the window waiting for the 

lightings to light the sky with their magic. 

But what happen when things go wrong or 

better why things go wrong. An old friend 

of mine who I haven’t see for a long time 

called me not long ago in the middle of 

the night, in a state of panic. He asked 

me what to do due to river like water 

infiltrations inside his house from almost 

everywhere. Later I came to know that this 

was mainly due to badly applied DIY with a 

low quality waterproofing membrane. 

The truth is that many of us here in 

Malta love the DIY, which in my opinion is 

something very positive. Waterproofing 

applications looks so simple on paper 

yet two important factors are always left 

out of the equation. First the qualities 

of the materials used and second the 

application itself. Here in Malta we have 

a huge problem with regards product 

Waterproofing must be applied also inside 

the drain 

and application knowledge, many are 

self-thought and they tend to pass their 

incorrect information to one another. 

What is worse is when one decides to visit 

the local ironmonger..., amazingly these 

people know it all, from the tiny screw of 

the flushing to the motherboards of the 

space shuttle. It is the place where one can 

hear all sorts of unthinkable solutions just 

to convince you to pick up that particular 

membrane or product, which usually 

carries the most profit. Let us start with 

the first problem, the product used itself. 

There are different types of membranes in 

the market. The term liquid membrane is 

very misleading as it groups varies types 

of membranes under one roof. This means 

that that the good the bad and the worse 

membranes are grouped under the same 

roof. Most liquid membranes fall in the 

category of plastics /acrylics, cement and 

latex, bitumen, resins, Polyurethanes and 

polyacrylics. 

The plastics/acrylics compounds or 

membranes lack UV resistance and will 

deteriorate after a year or two. The 

cement based which usually consists of a 

mixture of cement and latex invented way 

back in the 70’s is very rigid and fail when 

subjected to structural movements, the 

bitumen based are dark in colour absorb a 

lot of heat intake and melt at 35% definitely 

the worst of them all. The last three are the 

new generation of membranes they are 

designed to withstand almost everything. 

The resin based membranes that are CE 

certified can withstand UV rays, concrete 

expansion, foot traffic and direct bonding 

of tiles; some of them have micro fibres 

for extra strength and elasticity. A thermal 

version which can reduce heat intake 

inside the buildings by 90% also exists. 

The polyurethane membranes exist in 

two versions dual or single component. 

The single component is very delicate 

and if used incorrectly can create more 

damage than good. They are very sensitive 

to humidity and once the can is open 

must be used in a very short period of 

time and can’t be stored for the next day, 

while the two components can be mixed 

in the required quantities and are much 

stronger then the mono component. 

Polyacrylics on the other hand is the 

latest innovation they are a mixture of 

polyurethane, solvents and acrylics, they 

are proving to be also very reliable and are 

also reinforced with micro fibres. Of the 

above mentioned I personally would opt 

for the Resin liquid membrane as they are 

superior to the first three mentioned and 

it is almost as strong as polyurethane and 

polyacrylic systems while at the same time 

it is more economical. 

When it comes to application one has to 

bear in mind that materials alone is not 

enough. It is always recommended to 

sand and remove the previous coatings, 

an acid wash to eliminate moss and other 

microorganisms is a must and after at least 

24hours proceed with the application of 

the primer. What is a primer one might say? 

The primer is bonding agent that when 

applied on the surface stops concrete 

dusting and enhances the adhesion of the 

membrane. This will make sure that you 

will not experience any membrane peeling 

afterwards. 

When we apply the liquid membrane we 

must not reason in number of coats as 

62



this differs from one person to another. A 

popular misconception is that for a perfect 

application we must apply 2 coats, well 

its wrong. Membrane must be applied by 

weight, and for a good application strong 

enough to withstand the Maltese climate 

must be of not less than 1 kg of material 

per square metre, for sure this means not 

less than 3 coats if one presumes to apply 

an average of 300g per coat. The correct 

quantity of material applied must be 

according to the square metres of the roof 

(Ex 100sq m = 100kilos). 

Product knowledge and how to use the 

material correctly is the secret of an able 

installer and this applies also when it 

comes to DIY or a professional installer. 

A good advice if you opt to have your 

waterproofing needs carried out by third 

parties, always make sure they are members 

of the Malta Professional Waterproofing 

and Resin Flooring Association. Always ask 

to see the Association’s INSTALLERS CARD. 

This will save you a lot hassle as improper 

roof protection by unaccountable or 

unethical persons can give way to a 

serious of unwanted damages. Over 80% 

of building damages originates from water 

intake. The result is an endless court case, 

if you are lucky enough to trace the guys 

who carried out the works. All this will 

eventually take years and prove fruitless. 

The Malta Waterproofing and Resin 

Flooring Association provide technical 

knowledge and professional formation to 

all Maltese installers who wish to improve 

their workmanship or start a carrier in the 

waterproofing business. The Association 

also assists its members by providing the 

services of a profession advisor when facing 

challenging situations or other difficulties 

during their works. The Association 

also provides its qualified members the 

Certified Installers Card. This is done to 

reassure the general public that the person 

is able to carry out the requested job at its 

best. All this is being made possible thanks 

to the Resin and Membrane Centre and 

NAICI International Academy. For further 

information with regards the Malta 

Professional Waterproofing and Resin 

Flooring Association visit our website on 

www.maltawaterproofing.com or call on 

27477647. 


Certifications & Standards of a 

good quality membrane 

For more information: 

www.maltawaterproofing.com 

+356 27477647 

We are Quality 

PROFESSIONAL WATERPROOFING MATERIALS & RESIN FLOORINGS 

Visit our showroom for professional advice on how to protect your home. 

The Resin and Membrane Centre, 264, Old Railway Track, St. Venera 

Web: www.theresincentre.com E-mail: info@theresincentre.com Tel: 27 477 647 Mob: 99 477 647 


63


BANKING NEWS 

FIMBank announces 

USD 5.3 million 

profit for 2016 

Refocused strategy yields positive results 

The FIMBank Group’s return to 

profitability is the outcome of a successful 

consolidation and turnaround strategy 

launched in 2015. This is the highlight of 

the Group’s 2016 performance. 

FIMBank’s Group Consolidated Audited 

Financial Statements show that for the 

year ended 31 December 2016, the Group 

registered a profit of USD5.3 million, 

compared to a loss of USD7.1 million 

in 2015. At 31 December 2016, total 

Consolidated Assets stood at USD1.74 

billion, a substantial increase of 21 per cent 

over the USD1.44 billion reported at end 

2015, while total Consolidated Liabilities 

stood at USD1.57 billion, up by 24 per cent 

from USD1.27 billion in 2015. Operating 

income before net impairment for 2016 

stood at USD46.1 million, at par with 

2015 levels. On the other hand, during 

the year in review, net interest income 

decreased by USD7.6 million to USD22.0 

million. Operating expenses decreased 

by USD8.3 million, from USD47.0 million 

to USD38.7 million. Significantly, “as a 

result of energetic and consistent recovery 

efforts”, for the second year running 

net impairments saw a very significant 

decrease, this time by more than 70 

per cent, to stand at USD2.3 million, 

compared to USD10.3 million in 2015. 

Meanwhile, the Board of Directors will not 

be recommending a dividend, however, 

subject to the Regulator’s approval, the 

Board will be recommending a 1 for 80 

Bonus Issue of Ordinary Shares by way 

of capitalisation of the Share Premium 

Account. 

According to the FIMBank Group’s 

Chairman, Dr John C. Grech, the 2016 

financial results “are a vindication of our 

steadfast resolve to bring the Group back 

on the road to profitability following the 

bleak performance of 2014”. He explained 

that “after considerable effort and sound 

strategic decision-making, today we are in 

a position to witness the financial response 

to a successful turnaround strategy, 

superbly crafted and ably delivered by 

FIMBank’s management team, led by our 

CEO Murali Subramanian”. Dr Grech also 

referred to the fact that “on the back of 

consistent support of our controlling 

shareholders Fitch Ratings upgraded 

FIMBank to BB and its Support Rating to 

3 from 5”. 

Commenting on the financial results, 

FIMBank Group CEO Murali Subramanian 

stated that the pillars for the successful 

turnaround of the Group’s fortunes post- 

2014, included an improved origination 

strategy, the harmonisation of FIMBank’s 

product offering, exploring new product 

opportunities, developing a marketappropriate 

risk appetite, as well as the 

implementation of cost efficiencies across 

the whole Group. “These principles 

provided a platform from which FIMBank 

has, since then, been successfully 

stabilising its performance, growing its 

loan book and reversing the negative 

financial trend, eventually returning a fullyear 

profit by end-2016”. 

Mr Subramanian identified the 

strengthening of FIMBank’s management 

structure, the vigorous implementation 

of cost control measures, and the 

implementation of a common risk 

management framework, as key 

contributors to the success of the 

turnaround. From an operational 

perspective, during 2016 the re-alignment 

and streamlining of FIMBank’s international 

factoring strategy “proceeded as planned”, 

with the ongoing restructuring of business 

units across the factoring network. 

FIMBank’s CEO highlighted the Bank’s 

Shipping, Factoring as well as lending 

into selected Real Estate in Malta, as 

sectors expected to drive increasingly 

important revenue streams to the Group. 

He also mentioned the Group’s “successful 

approach to the retail depositor market, 

thanks to the diversification of our funding 

base and a reduction in the overall cost of 

funding”. 

Referring to the immediate outlook for 

the Group, Mr Subramanian said that “We 

will evaluate further avenues to diversify 

the target sectors wherever viable, in 

order to reinforce balance, and rebuild 

or consolidate the different portfolios”. 

He referred to the macro-economic 

outlook as encouraging, and reiterated 

management’s intention to continue 

monitoring closely developments in all 

the markets, “thus allowing us to exploit 

opportunities and protect ourselves from 

potential external risks to the business”. 

FIMBank’s CEO stated that “The overall 

objective is to continue growing our 

business to more sustainable levels of 

profitability, generating greater returns 

to shareholders, while strengthening our 

balance sheet further”. MBR 

FIMBank p.l.c., Mercury Tower, The Exchange Financial & Business Centre, Elia Zammit Street, St. Julian's STJ 3155, Malta 

Tel: +356 21322100 - Email: marketing@fimbank.com 

64

GLOBAL ECONOMY 


Deloitte 

Global 

Economic 

Outlook 

Q1 2017 

As 2017 begins, the global economic 

environment is characterized by 

new political realities. 

In the United States, there is a new 

president with ideas and goals different 

from those of his predecessor. The US 

election has led to higher bond yields 

and a higher-valued US dollar based 

on expectations of faster growth and 

more inflation. In Europe, growth and 

inflation have begun to accelerate, yet 

unemployment remains stubbornly high 

in much of the continent. Meanwhile, 

important elections are on the horizon 

for both Germany and France, setting the 

stage for the policy environment in the 

coming year. In Asia, growth is stabilizing, 

but risks are piling up in the form of 

higher debts and rising trade tensions. In 

this edition of Deloitte’s Global Economic 

Outlook, economists across the globe 

examine the unfolding environment and 

offer their thoughts on how things might 

evolve. 

First, Patricia Buckley discusses the US 

economy in light of the election. She notes 

that the economy is in “fairly good shape,” 

but that the incoming administration has 

fiscal plans designed to boost growth 

and trade as well as immigration plans 

meant to shield the US economy from the 

vicissitudes of the global economy. 

In the second article, Alexander Börsch 

looks back at 2016 and how it was not 

a bad year for the Eurozone from an 

economic perspective. He discusses how 

the current environment sets the stage 

for continued moderate growth with rising 

inflation. On the other hand, he notes the 

political earthquakes that struck Europe 

in the past year, such as Brexit and the 

Italian referendum, as well as the various 

downside risks to Europe’s economy. 

In the third article, Dr Ira Kalish looks at 

the Chinese economy. He discuss how two 

issues in particular are likely to determine 

the path of the Chinese economy. First, 

trade is top of mind, with exports declining 

due to a high-valued currency, rising wages, 

and weak external demand. Moreover, 

the threat of protectionist action by the 

United States makes the trade outlook 

uncertain. Second, efforts to cool down an 

overheated property market are bearing 

fruit but threaten to undermine growth. 

Japan is the topic of the fourth article. Dr 

Ira Kalish examines how stronger exports 

have led to an acceleration in economic 

growth. Moreover, the weakness of the 

yen bodes well for continued export 

growth. 

In her article on India, Rumki Majumdar 

offers a detailed examination of the 

government’s recent and controversial 

demonetization. She notes the potentially 

disruptive effect of this policy. 

Mexico is the subject of our next article 

by Jesus Leal Trujillo and Daniel Bachman. 

The country has attracted quite a bit of 

attention given President Donald Trump’s 

talk about renegotiating NAFTA. Jesus and 

Danny examine the history of Mexico’s 

shift toward freer trade in the past two 

decades and the economic impact. 

In the next article, Akrur Barua examines 

Turkey, an economy with many positive 

attributes. However, currently Turkey faces 

some significant challenges, including 

terrorism, an influx of refugees, slow 

growth in export markets, and political 

uncertainty. 

Lester Gunnion examines the South African 

economy in the next article. He points to 

relatively slow growth and the necessity 

of tight monetary and fiscal policies, 

which don’t much help persistently high 

unemployment. 

In the final article, Akrur Barua and Anshu 

Mittal take a look at the global shipping 

industry. They discuss the upheavals facing 

the industry as a result of excess capacity 

and a slowdown in global trade. 

The Deloitte Global Economic Outlook Q1 

2017 may be downloaded from http:// 

deloi.tt/2lfr5hq. MBR 


65


NEWSMAKERS 

Maltco Lotteries presented 

Malta U21 Football Coach 

Silvio Vella with Coach of 

the Year Award 

Maltco Lotteries, sponsored the Sport Malta 

Awards for the fifth consecutive year and presented 

Coach of the Year Silvio Vella with his award at the 

Mediterranean Conference Centre. 

Maltco Lotteries, supported the Sport Malta 

Awards for the fifth consecutive year and 

presented Malta U21 Football Coach Silvio 

Vella with the coveted Coach of the Year Award. 

Maltco Lotteries broadcast a number of sports 

through their U-BET platform. Coach Silvio 

Vella, who masterminded the Malta U-21s’ 

positive run in the European qualifiers, was 

presented by David A. Gatt - Maltco Lotteries 

Sales & Marketing Director with the Coach 

of the Year award in front of an appreciative 

audience at the Mediterranean Conference 

Centre broadcast live on television. Coach 

of the Year Vella obtained 110 points from 

the 8 independent juries and was the only 

nominated coach to garner a three figure 

points score, underlining the tremendous 

coaching work in the last Euro Championship 

qualifying campaign. Under Vella’s guidance, 

the Malta U-21 team gained three wins, beating 

Latvia 1-0 at home and 2-1 away, and Moldova 

3-2 at home in their final qualifier, played on 

October 11. They also figured in two goalless 

draws away to Moldova and Montenegro for an 

unprecedented tally of 11 points which placed 

them above Latvia and Moldova in the group 

standings. Malta U-21 team’s feat in collecting 

11 points in Group One of the 2017 UEFA U-21 

Championship qualifying campaign, a record 

for a Maltese national side, meant Coach Vella 

had every reason to celebrate his Coach of the 

Year title. A spokesperson for the Company 

said that it is an honour for Maltco Lotteries to 

support this event year after year and to award 

the successful coaches and athletes. She also 

emphasised on the importance of promoting 

all sporting disciplines being practised in Malta 

in an effort to boost sports participation in the 

country. For further information email info@ 

maltco.net, visit the Maltco website www. 

maltco.com or call 2388 3000. MBR 

MALTCO LOTTERIES PRESENT H.E. 

MARIE-LOUISE COLEIRO PRECA 

WITH CHEQUE FOR €10,000 IN AID 

OF THE MALTA COMMUNITY CHEST 

FUND FOUNDATION. 

Maltco Lotteries, presented Her Excellency, 

Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, President of Malta 

with a cheque for €10,000 in support of the 

President's Solidarity Fun Run 2016 in aid of the 

Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation. 

The President’s Solidarity Fun Run brings 

together the whole nation in an effort to 

help those in need and also promotes the 

importance of an active healthy lifestyle 

through regular physical activity. The Malta 

Community Chest Fund Foundation provides 

financial, material and professional support 

to people experiencing difficulties because 

of severe chronic illness, such as cancer. 

The foundation also supports persons with 

disability, people in poverty and NGOs through 

the Fund for Voluntary Organisations. 

Maltco Lotteries CEO Vasileios Kasiotakis said: 

Minister for Competitiveness and 

Digital, Maritime and Services 

Economy Emmanuel Mallia 

addressed directors and employees 

on the occasion of the celebration 

of the thousandth employee to have 

been engaged with Betsson Group 

in Malta. 

Emmanuel Mallia said that it is the Government’s 

responsibility to provide the necessary 

frameworks, platforms, resources and tools 

which will allow Betsson Group and other 

companies within the iGaming sector to operate 

smoothly and achieve the desired growth in the 

years to come. The Minister stressed that it is the 

government’s vision that the iGaming industry 

is nurtured in order for it to become a leading 

driving force in the Maltese economy, achieving 

year-on-year growth whilst also attracting 

further business and investment. 

‘The Government of Malta is committed to 

attracting sector leaders such as Betsson Group, 

as well as budding start-ups to our shores, and 

believes that a symbiotic partnership between 

the public sector and such technology- and 

innovation-driven business is critical for Malta’s 

economic development’, Minister Mallia said. 

Betsson presently employs almost 2000 people 

from 43 different nationalities with a wage bill 

that reaches 40 million a year. Malta has by far 

the largest office and company headquarters. 

Betsson commenced operations in 2016 and 

employed ten people—today it is the largest 

iGaming company in Malta. MBR 

Minister for Competitiveness and Digital, 

Maritime and Services Economy, Emmanuel Mallia 

Maltco Lotteries, Malta’s national 

lottery brand, presented a cheque 

to President Marie Louise Coleiro 

for €10,000 in support of the annual 

President’s Solidarity Fun Run in aid 

of the Malta Community Chest Fund 

Foundation. 

"Maltco Lotteries supports this event as part 

of our community support, with the company 

having also mobilised its Agents on behalf of 

the Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation. 

Maltco Lotteries is pleased to combine with 

the enthusiasm and generosity of the Maltese 

people to raise funds for such a worthy cause." 

For further information email info@maltco.net, 

visit the Maltco website www.maltco.com.mt 

or call 2388 3000. MBR 

NEW STUDY: A European 

Statute for Social and 

Solidarity-Based Enterprise 

Social enterprises (SE) are subject to ad hoc 

legislation in an increasing number of EU 

jurisdictions and legislative initiatives in this 

field are under consideration by EU institutions. 

This paper explains why tailor-made legislation 

on SE is essential for the development of this 

unconventional form of business organization. 

It describes and compares existing models of SE 

regulation and discusses the core elements of 

an SE’s legal identity, with the aim of providing 

recommendations on the potential forms and 

contents of an EU legal statute on this subject. 

This study was requested by the European 

Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs and 

commissioned, overseen and published by 

the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and 

Constitutional Affairs. MBR 

66

are the core of today`s businesses 

The fusion of two leading IT companies forming J2 Group providing quality IT Services 

with over 20 years of experience with offices in Malta and Gozo, offering tailor-made IT 

Solutions fitted around your personal and unique requirements. ICT Solutions including IT 

Consultancy Services, IT Outsourcing, Office Setup & Network Installation, Onsite & Remote 

Support, Internet & Wireless Configuration, Hardware Support, Computer & Laptop Repairs, 

Hosted & Web Services, Google Apps & Office 365, Microsoft Azure, Infrastructure Setup, 

Microsoft Hyper-V & VMware Virtualization, Multi-Company Payroll & Accounts, Point of 

Sale Systems, Stock Systems, Custom Software & Websites. 

TALK TO US 

J2 GROUP MALTA, OSCAR ZAMMIT STR MSIDA, MALTA EUROPE 

j2groupmalta.com | info@j2groupmalta.com | +356 21360038

Strand Palace 

is a Ready Business 

For Strand Palace Agencies, being ready means 

always being a step ahead in communications 

technology and merging that with their exciting 

growth plans. Vodafone deliver one click 

4G connectivity across Malta’s only 

nationwide super fast network. 

Find out how you can become 

a Ready Business. 

vodafone.com.mt/business 

Vodafone 

Power to you 

Steve Calleja 

Managing Director

MBR_Issue_29 -March 2017 ALL

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?