Malta Business Review NEWSMAKERS Credit: MFIN FINANCE MINISTER EDWARD SCICLUNA ADDRESSES THE IMF/WORLD BANK CONSTITUENCY MEETING IN LISBON Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna joined other finance ministers and Central Bank governors from Italy, Greece, Portugal, San Marino, Albania, and East Timor in a discussion within the joint International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Constituency meeting in Lisbon. The meeting, hosted by the Portuguese Finance Ministry, addressed issues of shared common concern including the euro, governance issues at the IMF, issues related to climate change, the macroeconomic effect of weather shocks, and strategic issues relating to the World Bank. The meeting was addressed by IMF Executive Director Alessandro Leipold and World Bank Executive Director Patrizio Pagano, and special presentations were given by Vice-President and Treasurer of the World Bank Arunma Oteh and IMF Senior Economist Mico Mrkaic. Professor Scicluna was accompanied by Central Bank of Malta Governor Dr Mario Vella. “During the meeting, we had the chance to discuss current pressing issues being faced by the countries within our constituency and how we should respond to them. I am grateful to the Portuguese Finance Minister, Mario Centeno, for hosting this important and useful meeting”, said Finance Minister Edward Scicluna. MBR Credit: MFIN “MALTA’S HISTORY WITHIN THE EURO PROVIDES A GOOD CASE STUDY OF HOW STRUCTURAL REFORMS CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SUCCESS AND FAILURE WITHIN THE SINGLE CURRENCY” – MINISTER CARDONA Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses Chris Cardona addressed a business breakfast organised by the Malta Institute of Management entitled ‘Ten Years in the Eurozone’. Addressing the conference, Minister Cardona focused on the key issues facing the Eurozone at this time, stating that, “despite global headwinds, the EU’s economy is recovering and all euro area countries are growing above trend whilst unemployment is declining.” Minister Cardona said that ten years after Malta joined the Eurozone, the economy has been drastically transformed from a net importer to a net exporter of capital abroad. Therefore, Malta’s economy is increasingly financed by more stable FDI flows rather than short-term borrowing, defying trends in the rest of the Eurozone. These factors are a direct result of the solid groundwork laid out by the Maltese Government through its policies. The Minister reiterated that despite these positive outcomes, the global environment is continuously changing and therefore this is not the time for complacency. MBR Credit: Ministry for the economy, investment and small businesses DOI- Ruben Piscopo DOI- Ruben Piscopo TROJAN HORSE WAS A UNICORN (THU) ANNOUNCES THEY WILL BE RELOCATING THEIR MAIN EVENT TO MALTA IN 2018. Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi and Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri welcome the announcement that THU will be hosting their Main Event in Valletta, Malta in September of this year. THU hosts one of the largest events within 3D, VFX, Games and Concept Art Industries and offers a unique, once in a lifetime experience for creatives, entrepreneurs, and artists to network, learn and create in this six day festival. On the announcement Minister Konrad Mizzi said ‘‘We are pleased THU has chosen Malta for its international events. We have worked with THU for the past months to ensure the event will be a success.’’ Parliamentary Secretary Silvio Schembri commented, ‘’We welcome the news that Malta is the new home for THU - an event of international repute in the digital creative sector. From our initial meeting with the THU founders in September 2017 and the continued efforts led by my Ministry, we are now seeing this initiative come to life. THU will not only be a vital part of Malta's digital creative ecosystem but also adds impetus to our vision in continuing to enhance the digital creative and gaming industries in its broadest spectrum while putting innovation, education and attracting talent at the forefront of our efforts." Attracting this special event to our shores is an integral part of Government’s drive to turn Malta into a global creative hub. MBR Credit: Ministry for tourism and the Parliamentary secretariat for financial services, digital economy and innovation THU Event - Vr MINISTER FOR FINANCE EDWARD SCICLUNA ADDRESSES MEMBERS OF THE INSTITUTE OF FINANCIAL SERVICES PRACTITIONERS “Malta’s competitiveness in having a welltrained workforce and expertise in place and efficient institutions and businesses, is resulting in the success we are registering in the financial services sector”, said Finance Minister Edward Scicluna while addressing members of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners at an Efficiency and Innovation Conference, organised by the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners (IFSP). Minister Scicluna remarked that the recent OECD International Tax Cooperation Report showed Malta to be among the world’s most tax-compliant countries. The report based its assessment on the absence of harmful tax practices in relation to base erosion in general, a strong commitment in relation to tax cooperation, and on the automatic exchange of information. Professor Scicluna said that Malta has commenced exchanging information in line with the Common Reporting Standard and has an activated information exchange network in relation to country-by-country reporting for multinational enterprises. Moreover, Malta is ranked as being largely compliant when it comes to the exchange of information on request. The Minister for Finance said that one should first conclude the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union before embarking on other ambitious roadmaps. MBR All rights reserved - Copyright 2018 58
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