MBR_ISSUE 42_LowRes

COVER STORY 

A Business Model Geared for Success 

Interview with FIMBank’s Group Chief 

Financial Officer, Ronald Mizzi p.06 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 

Ahead of the Curve 

Exclusive interview with Hugo Chetcuti, 

founder and visionary behind 

The Hugo’s Group p.12 

CORPORATE INTERVIEW 

Safety, Security & Respect 

Interview with Thierry Hebert, Managing 

Director, RCI Insurance Ltd p.18 

MiGEA WINNERS SERIES 

Geared for Growth & Success 

Absorbing Interview with Yobetit CEO, 

Nikolai Livori p.30 

MALTA BUSINESS REVIEW 

ISSUE 42 | 2018 

Newspaper Post

Efficiency in business is 

core. So is taking control 

over your payments. 

When business is moving fast, managing your payments efficiently 

and conveniently becomes even more essential. With HSBCnet 

you can view the balances of all your business accounts, in one 

place – as well as effect multiple payments online with just one 

log in. This makes it the ideal tool for transferring money, paying 

suppliers or your team’s salaries, at one go… without the need to 

pay in either cash or cheques, thus saving your business money as 

well as time. 

HSBCnet – making payments simpler. 

Speak to us today by calling 2380 8000 or visiting 

www.business.hsbc.com.mt/HSBCnet 

Approved and issued by HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., 116 Archbishop Street, Valletta VLT 1444 which is regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. (Ref No. 101210 – 03/2018)

Together we thrive

your perfect atmosphere 

Malta Business Review 

CONTENTS 

Issue 42 

MiGEA WINNERS INTERVIEW SERIES 

30 GEARED FOR GROWTH & SUCCESS 

Absorbing Interview with Yobetit CEO, Nikolai Livori 

32 VISION FOR THE FUTURE 

Interview with Frederik Niehusen (CCO), at 

Booming Games, who explains why the Company is 

always looking at new technological advancements 

06 

34 THE TECHNOLOGY & GAME PARTNER 

OF CHOICE 

Interview with Lauryn Duncan, Sales & BD Manager 

with WAZDAN 

COVER STORY 

06 A BUSINESS MODEL GEARED FOR SUCCESS 

The Malta Business Review meets with FIMBank’s Group 

Chief Financial Officer, Ronald Mizzi 

TALKING POINT 

08 ITALY USES MIGRANT THREAT FOR 

DOMESTIC AND DIPLOMATIC GAIN 

Jacopo Barigazzi reports on Italy’s populist government’s 

potent threat to abandon migrants to their fate at sea 

12 

18 

OPINION 

10 EUROPE TIME TO STAND UP TO TRUMP 

Mark Leonard tells us that the U.S. president is a bully, and 

Europe must find the courage to push back 

30 

34 

INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH 

12 AHEAD OF THE CURVE 

An exclusive interview with Hugo Chetcuti, founder and 

visionary behind The Hugo’s Group 

DEBATE & ANALYSES 

16 CYPRUS V MALTA: ENERGY AND CRYPTO TRENDS 

Cyprus continues with Greek shipping tradition and sees 

expansion in energy markets 

CORPORATE INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH 

18 SAFETY, SECURITY & RESPECT 

Exclusive interview with Thierry Hebert, Managing 

Director, RCI Insurance Ltd 

OUR GOLDEN PARTNERS 

INDUSTRY 

36 LOCALLY MANUFACTURED LED LIGHTING 

Lighting design plays a key role in the functionality 

of sporting facilities, as well as providing illumination 

for players 

FEATURES & STORIES 

38 IMPROVING OUR RESPONSE TO 

DOMESTIC ABUSE 

The Editor interviews Insp. Sylvana Gafa, Head of the 

Victim Support Unit, Malta Police 

40 MCA CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS SURVEY 

– FIXED TELEPHONY 

A brief, interesting overview of findings for a 

perception survey carried out in the period of 

December 2017 

49 “SOMEDAY…. EVERYTHING WILL MAKE 

PERFECT SENSE” 

Edwards Lowell’s piece Edward de Bono, PhD in 

medicine at Trinity College in Cambridge, who has 

written over fifty books, his most acclaimed being the 

‘Six Thinking Caps’ 

4

MALTA 

BUSINESS REVIEW 

EDITORIAL 


I was at a reception recently with an old friend of mine, 

a successful businessman who is the mastermind 

behind big brands. We were discussing his future. He 

has ambitious plans to expand his business, but like any 

entrepreneur, he is also concerned: Can he pull it off? 

What if he isn’t equipped for the next steps? And the 

heavy VAT an tax burdens? 

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 

MBR Design 

ADVERTISING 

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

Email: margaret@mbrpublications.net 

or admin@mbrpublications.net 

CONTRIBUTORS 

Jacopo Barigazzi; Antoine Bonello; George 

Carol; Jean Paul Demajo; Mark Leonard; C. M. 

RUBIN; Ken Wisnefski 

SPECIAL THANKS 

DOI; European Parliament Information Office in 

Malta; European Parliament, Directorate- General 

for Communication/Press Office; European 

Research Council; FIMBank; HSBC; LinkedIn; Malta 

Communication Authority ; MALTCO Lotteries; 

Edwards Lowell & Co.; MCA; MORGEN EUROPA; 

OPR; POLITICO SPRL; Politico Global Policy Lab; 

PTV Group; Taylor & Francis Group; David Wine. 

PRINT PRODUCTION 

Printit 

QUOTE OF THE MONTH 

"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The 

most certain way to succeed is always to try just 

one more time." 

Thomas A. Edison 

Disclaimer 

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. 

Talk to us: 

E-mail: martin@mbrpublications.net 

Twitter: @MBRPublications 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MaltaBusinessReview 

Dig into anybody’s future plans and you will hit some 

version of this anxiety. It’s always there, aching and 

sometimes paralyzing. If we indulge it, we turn down 

amazing opportunities. We sacrifice our futures in order to cling to the past. We 

lose. And that’s unacceptable. The only way forward is to overcome this anxiety -- 

and to do that, we first need to understand it. So let’s put the question another way. 

Let’s see it for what it really is. 

When we worry that we cannot repeat our past successes, we are essentially asking: 

What if everything thus far was luck? What if it was my team, or timing, or the 

benefits of youth? What if none of it had to do with me? 

And let me tell you something: That’s crap. 

I know this because of the entrepreneurs I meet. They encountered setbacks -- 

everyone does! But they overcame them. The experience taught them that they 

can survive future setbacks, too. They built one company and learned they can 

build another. They evolved as leaders and learned they can keep evolving. At the 

beginning of their journeys, they may not have had such confidence in themselves. 

But that confidence grew. They proved their worth -- to others, yes, but most 

importantly to themselves. 

I also know this because I have lived it myself. I remember being at my first magazine 

job in Ta’ Xbiex and considering taking a new job. It was scary. But frightened as I 

was, I decided to try my hand. Four years later, I was on repeat. I had made good 

friends and done good work with the Malta Business Review, was offered another 

job elsewhere, and felt the same fear. What if I can’t repeat the success a second 

time? But I did. And so I came to a conclusion that, frankly, may sound pompous and 

self-aggrandizing, but has helped me walk into every new situation afterward: My 

success, I decided, wasn’t created by the company where I worked. It was created 

by me. 

Entrepreneurs talk a lot about taking responsibility for failure. It’s a good message: 

No excuses! We need to own our mistakes; it’s the only way to learn from them. But 

let’s not forget to own our successes, too. Our confidence should build upon itself 

-- knowing that we only start from scratch once, that we have what it takes, that our 

past simply shows a way forward. 

We are entrepreneurs: We work with what we have got. Sometimes it’s a lucky 

break. Sometimes it’s not. The important thing is that we keep moving forward, and 

know that because we took one big step forward, and we didn’t fall down, we will 

stay standing when we take that next step, too. 

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. 

Agents for: 

www.maltabusinessreview.net 

5


COVER STORY INTERVIEW 

A Business 

Model 

Geared for 

Success 

By George Carol 

The Malta Business 

Review meets with 

FIMBank’s Group 

Chief Financial 

Officer, Ronald Mizzi 

who discusses the 

Bank’s financial 

model and how this 

will positively impact 

its future growth. 

Ronald Mizzi 

6

COVER STORY INTERVIEW 


MBR: FIMBank has recently announced 

positive financial results. What are the 

key elements which constitute the Bank’s 

successful business model? 

RM: FIMBank is a trade finance Bank with 

its very core business centred around 

trade between countries and continents. 

Since trade is a prime mover for the global 

economy, FIMBank has positioned itself in 

key geographical regions trailing the major 

trade flows and financing an extensive 

range of commodities. These transactions are 

relatively short-term in nature, with a typical 

transaction maturing within an average of 

180 days. What makes this interesting is the 

fact that the transactions are self-liquidating 

with the repayment of the financing 

structure being generally derived from the 

delivery of the goods. The short-term nature 

of the business enables the Bank to adapt 

to changing landscapes be they economic, 

political or others impacting the business. 

FIMBank also has a network of regional 

offices or subsidiaries strategically located to 

service the different types of clients and the 

various stages of a trade transaction. Our 

model revolves around a suite of products 

including trade and commodity finance, 

forfaiting and factoring, complemented by 

the more traditional payments and cash 

management services. 

MBR: What has been done in recent years to 

ensure optimisation of FIMBank’s financial 

model? 

RM: The Bank has never shied away from 

adapting to different business realities and 

exploring new areas of commercial growth. 

One particular niche we have been operating 

in over the years is the ship finance business 

which complements the trade finance model. 

FIMBank is ultimately a client-centric business 

and with a business model able to adapt to 

clients’ needs. Over the years we have looked 

at our operations in the different geographical 

regions and have rationalised on some whilst 

expanding others. We also addressed our 

service delivery channels by for example 

launching FIMBank Direct, a state of the art 

self-service digital banking platform enabling 

our clients to have direct access to their cash 

balances and catering for their trade finance 

and foreign exchange needs. Another niche 

area of business being tapped into here in 

Malta is real estate financing – targeting 

reputable developers who are aiming for a 

personalised service and to whom FIMBank 

can then extend its wider range of expertise 

and services. 

MBR: FIMBank had recently announced a 

Rights Issue. How will this impact the Bank’s 

upward trajectory? 

RM: With a recent capital injection in excess 

of 100 million dollars, it is imperative that 

FIMBank maintains the pace of transformation 

and delivery of results. The Group is now able 

to expand its business reach and grow its loan 

book. This means that FIMBank will be able 

to service its larger clients in a more effective 

way and also widen its client base to a level 

which was not possible to achieve before. 

More diversification is also synonymous with 

a superior risk culture, with the latter being 

a central theme during the last turnaround 

years and will continue being perennial in 

the years ahead. The Rights Issue was also a 

tangible show of support and backing by the 

Bank’s majority shareholders sealing one of 

the largest foreign direct investments in Malta 

over the last years. 

Looking ahead, the driver 

for success lies in our spirit 

to achieve better scale whilst 

remaining rooted to our business 

fundamentals and expertise 

MBR: What effect will the capital injection 

and continuous accounting and regulatory 

changes have on the Bank’s financial 

performance? 

RM: The new investment in the Bank will in the 

first instance strengthen its capital base in a 

regulatory landscape which requires stronger 

banks to safeguard the interests of depositors 

and the wider economic stability of nations. 

The ability to source additional business will 

in turn result in more revenues, and the ability 

of the Group to utilise its current capacity 

more efficiently. At the same time, the risk and 

governance culture put in place over the last 

years will safeguard the Bank from problematic 

loans, especially when considering the advent 

of IFRS9 and its consequences on the new 

way to measure impairments. A stronger 

capital, more diversification and enriched 

risk frameworks will address not just the 

accounting and regulatory changes but also to 

sow the seeds of success in the coming years. 

MBR: Do you anticipate any increase in 

costs because of these regulatory changes 

and how is FIMBank prepared to adapt? 

RM: Changes, be they imposed externally 

or mandated from within, invariably pose 

an opportunity to renovate and excel. Such 

a process might bring with it short-term 

additional costs but in the longer term it 

would generally result in strengthened 

operational, business and risk processes. 

One way how FIMBank is adapting to this is 

through an enhanced digitalisation process 

aimed at uplifting the current business 

processes to a superior rank. Digitalisation 

will focus on various areas of the business 

– customer relationships and on-boarding 

technologies, compliance, risk and regulatory 

reporting to name just a few. An advanced 

use of technology is objectively a more 

efficient and result-driven way to manage our 

business, with its short-term pains but longerterm 

success. 

MBR: What are the key financial areas that 

FIMBank plans to improve? 

RM: Over the past 3 years FIMBank has 

implemented a turnaround strategy firmed 

in the way it operates in a number of key 

matters mainly on business origination, risk, 

governance, and cost efficiency. This process 

has been pivotal in delivering profits coupled 

with a decreasing level of non-performing 

loans and culminating in the recent Rights 

Issue. As the Bank continues on its path for 

superior delivery and returns, we remain 

committed to become more efficient in the 

use of our existing resources and available 

capacity, exploiting our global presence to 

source and churn assets, and so generate 

more revenues at a much higher rate than 

additions to costs. Another area of focus is 

the recovery process of delinquent loans, for 

which we have set up a dedicated function 

here in Malta. Looking ahead, the driver for 

success lies in our spirit to achieve better 

scale whilst remaining rooted to our business 

fundamentals and expertise. MBR 

All rights reserved - Copyright 2018 

FIMBank 

MBR 


7


TALKING POINT 

ITALY USES MIGRANT THREAT FOR DOMESTIC AND DIPLOMATIC GAIN 

By Jacopo Barigazzi 

INTERIOR MINISTER MATTEO SALVINI REFUSED PERMISSION FOR A 

SHIP CARRYING 629 MIGRANTS TO DOCK AT ITALY’S PORTS. 

Italy’s populist government may have let go of its plan to leave the euro for now, 

but it has replaced it with a more immediately potent threat to abandon migrants 

to their fate at sea. That had immediate effect Sunday and Monday as the country 

closed its ports to a vessel, the Aquarius, carrying 629 migrants, including about 

100 children, arguing that Malta should take the people instead. 

Malta, are not pulling their weight when it 

comes to migrant rescues, the new Italian 

government contended. They point to EU 

figures, which show that Italy had the EU’s 

second-highest number of asylum applications 

last year, and argue that the country has been 

"abandoned" by its neighbours when it comes 

to taking in asylum seekers rescued at sea. 

Malta says that it is abiding by its international 

obligations and that in refusing safe harbour to 

people stranded at sea, Italy is violating its legal 

and humanitarian obligations. Human rights 

law and international refugee law requires 

states not to refuse persons at their borders 

and to treat them with respect for their human 

dignity at every stage, Aditus director Neil 

Falzon said. International maritime law, on 

the other hand, is less cut-and-dry. The 1979 

International Convention on Maritime Search 

and Rescue, which both Italy and Malta are 

bound by, says that people rescued at sea must 

be taken to the “nearest place of safety”. Until 

both countries agree on a way forward – or 

until EU member states can work out a way 

to help Mediterranean member states deal 

with migrant inflows – it appears clear that the 

maritime storm which captured the world’s 

attention these past days will be repeated. 

The move was a message to Brussels ahead 

of the European Council summit later this 

month that Italy is serious about changing 

the terms on migration. It finally buries any 

lingering hope there might have been of 

leaders agreeing on reform to the bloc’s 

migration policy. And it has the potential to 

unravel the way that EU countries cooperate 

in the Mediterranean to rescue migrants 

making the trip by sea from Libya. It was 

also useful politics from the new interior 

minister, Matteo Salvini, who is also leader 

of the far-right League party. He announced 

the decision to close the ports Sunday just as 

almost 7 million Italians were voting in local 

elections in 761 municipalities. The election 

results show the League made further gains, 

with polls indicating that the move was 

popular with Italians. 

it means a redirection of 

the arrivals and it’s easy to 

imagine that there will soon 

be other vessels stranded in 

international waters 

“Either other ports will be open, I think 

of Marseille, Barcelona, Malta, or there’s 

no way out,” Nicola Molteni, a League 

official very close to Salvini, told Romebased 

newspaper Il Messaggero Monday. 

“We’ll continue until it will be clear that 

the music in Italy has changed.” Although 

mayors of port cities across southern Italy 

vowed to defy Salvini and allow the ship in, 

there was little they could do without the 

cooperation of Italy’s coast guard. After a 

standoff between Rome and the Maltese 

authorities that lasted almost 24 hours, 

Spain’s new government offered to allow 

the ship to dock at the port of Valencia “to 

avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.” Salvini 

took to Facebook to claim victory, stressing 

that “raising the tone works.” 

If Italy keeps up its more aggressive policy 

on migrant boats, “it means a redirection 

of the arrivals and it’s easy to imagine that 

there will soon be other vessels stranded in 

international waters,” said Eugenio Ambrosi, 

EU director at the International Organization 

for Migration, the U.N. migration agency. 

That will inevitably escalate to the EU level, 

although for now, Italian diplomats in Brussels 

have not yet been given instructions on what 

approach to take. 

The move also provides an indication of 

where power now lies in Rome. Italian 

media say that the prime minister, Giuseppe 

Conte, was “informed” of the decision by 

Salvini himself when he landed in Rome after 

returning from the G7 summit in Canada. The 

new premier is clearly a bystander when it 

comes to Italy’s new migration policy. When 

the Italian government took office last month, 

the big fear in Brussels was that it would use a 

threat to withdraw from the euro currency as 

a way to get what it wanted in Brussels. One 

EU diplomat said the Aquarius standoff shows 

that Salvini is prepared to use migration as a 

new “gun on the table” in talks. 

“This time the gun is going to stay,” the 

diplomat said. MBR 

Creditline: POLITICOPRO; POLITICO.EU 

8

Your partners for HR outsourcing 

WWW.OZOGROUP.COM 

info@ozogroup.com


OPINION 

EUROPE, 

TIME TO 

STAND UP 

TO TRUMP 

Appeasement didn’t 

work. It’s time to 

fight back. 

By Mark Leonard 

It has taken a while to get here. Europe’s plan 

A was denial: Trump is not America, European 

policymakers insisted. He is constrained by 

the adults in the room. When the adults in the 

room got fired, or side-lined, they moved on 

to plan B, appeasement. Trump has a point on 

Iran’s regional behaviour and ballistic missiles, 

and on European underinvestment in NATO 

— these do need fixing. 

But Trump’s recent actions — the decision to 

impose tariffs on his biggest trading partners, 

his disregard for international agreements 

and his outburst at the G7 — make clear that 

the U.S. president sees Europe’s eagerness 

to smooth the waters as a weakness. As a 

committed Atlanticist, it pains me to admit 

that it’s time for Europe to turn to Plan C: 

Fight back. 

There will likely be at least three — and 

maybe even seven — more years of Trump. If 

European governments keep rolling over, the 

U.S. president will carry on driving a wrecking 

ball through the international system. By the 

time he leaves office, there may not be much 

of it left. It is true that America will remain 

Europe’s closest partner in the world and 

that talk of complete “strategic autonomy” 

is empty. But in the long run, both sides will 

benefit from a more balanced relationship. 

The European Union urgently needs to find 

and exploit whatever leverage it has to make 

sure the administration takes its concerns 

seriously. It has long been prepared to do this 

on trade issues, but that approach now needs 

to be extended to other policy areas. 

One immediate challenge is to stop appeasing 

the U.S. administration when it comes to the 

Iran nuclear deal. If European powers can’t 

protect an international agreement they 

initiated and negotiated, they will become 

completely subject to Washington’s political 

mood swings. Trump’s decision to pull 

out of the agreement is one thing, but his 

It’s time for 

Europe to stand up to 

Donald Trump. The U.S. 

president is a bully, and like 

any other bully, he will keep 

trying to push European 

leaders around — unless 

they find the courage to 

push back. 

determination to impose secondary sanctions 

on European companies for respecting an 

international agreement is grotesque. If it is 

allowed to stand, Europeans will find it hard 

to make sovereign decisions. 

France’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, 

has laid out a credible plan that involves legal 

protection from U.S. sanctions for companies 

doing business in Iran, compensation for 

their losses through some sort of insurance 

scheme, and financing investment in Iran via 

central banks and the European Investment 

Bank to avoid dollar transactions. Europeans 

could also help develop a payment system 

that allows Iran to sell its oil and gas in euros. 

If push comes to shove and the U.S. refuses to 

give exemptions and carve-outs for European 

companies, the EU should consider taking 

action against the many U.S. companies 

operating in Europe. 

If Trump wants to move to a 

more transactional relationship, 

the EU should also withdraw 

its cooperation in areas that will 

affect American interests directly 

If Trump wants to move to a more 

transactional relationship, the EU should 

also withdraw its cooperation in areas that 

will affect American interests directly. For 

example, the U.S. has asked the British 

government to send 400 more troops to 

Afghanistan to support the fight there. It 

would be perfectly reasonable for the Brits 

to respond to that demand by making it 

conditional on getting waivers for European 

companies’ trade with the Islamic Republic. 

U.S. President Donald Trump | 

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 

Skeptics will say it’s highly unlikely the EU will 

risk putting itself on a collision course with 

Washington. Europeans still heavily depend 

on the U.S. when it comes to security, and 

many of the Continent’s leaders are attached 

to a status quo that allows them to spend very 

little on defense and avoid getting sucked 

into intractable conflicts. Faced with a choice 

between sovereignty and free-riding, they 

prefer the path of less resistance. This was 

an understandable choice when the EU and 

U.S. were engaged in a joint Western project 

to build a liberal world order. There may have 

been bitter divisions — such as over the 

invasion of Iraq — but they were essentially 

tactical. Today, there is a major strategic clash 

between an EU that has made a big bet on 

multilateralism and a U.S. president who 

believes the global liberal order was designed 

to undermine America. 

With Trump in charge of American foreign 

policy, a blind, unconditional reliance on the 

transatlantic alliance will only bring the jungle 

closer. In order to have a strong transatlantic 

alliance, the EU will need to develop the tools 

to think for itself and stand up for its own 

interests and the international order that 

underpins them. 

If we don’t act now, others will dictate our 

interests for us — and they won’t even have 

the courtesy to tell us before they blow 

everything up. 

Mark Leonard is the director of the European 

Council on Foreign Relations and author of 

“Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century” 

(Fourth Estate, 2005). MBR 

Creditline: POLITICOPRO; POLITICO.EU 

10



AHEAD OF THE CURVE 

By George Carol 

What questions do you ask a 

remarkable businessman such 

as Hugo Chetcuti in the span 

of just 30 minutes? For me, the answer 

was obvious; how does one become an 

exceptional entrepreneur? And what are 

his views on entrepreneurship and life as 

a forerunner of so many different concepts 

and ideals? 

During an in-depth meeting with highflying 

entrepreneur Hugo Chetcuti, MBR 

readers get an exclusive take on his 

meteoric career rise and how the 

Hugo’s brand came into being. Hugo 

Chetcuti is the founder and visionary 

behind The Hugo’s Group, which has 

immerged as a dominant leader within 

the local hospitality and entertainment 

industry. From an initial investment in a 

floundering ‘water hole’ back in the ‘80’s, 

he now owns and operates an array of 

successful bars, restaurants, nightclubs 

and hotels. 

Hugo Chetcuti 

12



Hugo’s Hotels Rocco's Whiskey Lounge 

At just 20 years of age, Hugo’s father opened 

a restaurant by the name of Clouds, which, 

although no longer in operation, used to be 

extremely popular at the time. Hugo then 

started investing in property, such as renting, 

buying and offering accommodation until 

he eventually purchased and refurbished 

a dilapidated bar, which emerged as a 

phenomenal hit known as Footloose. At the 

time, other than Axis discotheque, Easy Rider, 

Mirage etc., which no longer exist, there were 

very few bars or nightclubs in Paceville. But 

not everything was easy, as Paceville was now 

becoming more commercialised and Hugo 

had to redress issues with local residents such 

as noise pollution, which he now measures 

and controls in a most responsible manner. 

He then opened the discotheque Generatorthis 

was over 25 years ago, following which he 

went into buying more property and investing 

in quality real estate. Nowadays though, 

Hugo owns over 45 establishments and rents 

most of them. “I travel abroad and observe 

buildings, architecture, fashion, modern 

technology and how HR is managed. When I 

come across a new style on my travels, I tend 

to recreate it in my mind and, according to the 

concept I’m developing at the time, integrate 

it accordingly. Today, I’ve built up a brand 

and invented innovative product offerings, 

augmented with the ultimate in service 

and value for money. However, I’m nothing 

without the dedicated and committed staff I 

Hugo’s Hotels Elegant Balcony Room 

employ; they are passionate about what they 

do and unconditionally loyal to me,” reaffirms 

the entrepreneur. 

The Hugo’s Group and trademark was 

launched in 2005 with the subsequent opening 

of Hugo’s Lounge. This brand new concept 

in Pan-Asian cuisine, is not only renowned 

for its Eastern gastronomic experience, but 

also for its exquisite cocktails and immersive 

music. Hugely popular night clubs such as 

Hugo’s Passion and Shadow Club, which 

soon became an institution among the local 

clubbing scene, followed, along with Hugo’s 

Terrace & Rooftop (the brands flagship), 

Bacco by Hugo’s, Hugo’s Pub, Hugo’s Burger 

Bar, Hugo’s Pizza & Pasta, Food+ and Hugo’s 

Middle East. This year will also see the 

introduction of brand new eateries, such as 

Hugo’s Seafood and Cocktail Bar, Avocado 

and HSixty6. 

Due to its longstanding recognition of customer 

service and a diverse, but exceptional quality of 

food at affordable prices, it was inevitable that 

the Hugo’s Group intensified its commercial 

reach by including facilities which offer highend 

accommodation. Thus, June 2016 saw 

the realization of one of Hugo’s biggest dreams 

by venturing into the hospitality industry, 

with the first instalment of the brands luxury 

hotels. Hugo’s Boutique Hotel offers 40 guest 

rooms, each with their own unique theme 

and distinctive character, including 4 signature 

suites, spread over 9 floors. This Summer, 

The Hugo’s Group will inaugurate its second 

Continued on pg 14 


13



Continued from pg 13 

Hugo’s Hotels Infinity Pool Deck & Lounge 

instalment, with the launch of H Hotel, 

which is comprised of 168 guest rooms and 

lavish suites, with many of them enjoying 

the stunning views of St. Georges Bay and its 

surrounding skyline. Set atop H Hotel, is the 

ultra-luxurious Infinity pool, cocktail lounge 

& Dom Perignon Champagne Bar, which 

officially opened to the public in 2017. 

Hugo explains, “It’s absolutely essential 

that you are certain about becoming an 

entrepreneur because it’s a very hard thing 

to do with an enormous amount of hard 

work involved. You need to have the ability to 

prolong your endurance and not give up on 

what you believe in. It’s always good to keep 

in mind that prior disappointment has been 

behind so many success stories and many a 

great man has had to endure failure before 

reaching their goals. Countless individuals 

have ideas but very few actually carry them 

out. Only some of us can take the hard work 

and sleepless nights required to achieve our 

dreams.” He talks a lot about making decisions 

and that it ultimately comes down to having 

made more right decisions than wrong ones. 

After more than 30 years of being in the 

business, Hugo, who is still a hands-on 

person, enjoys running and managing his 

company with the vigour, dynamism and 

attention he is well known for. There have 

been many misconceptions and gossip 

generated about Hugo’s past. Only a few 

insiders, besides his family, know Hugo as 

a fun-loving, down-to-earth, hard-working 

and extremely generous person, who has 

met every challenge life has thrown in his 

way. “I had to think about something to 

welcome the people here and I wanted to 

offer something completely different to the 

norm. The design, features and emphasis on 

comfort and client satisfaction is clearly visible 

to everyone. In fact the enormous amount of 

positive comments, which you can also see 

on platforms such as Trip Advisor etc., are 

testimony to this,” says Hugo. 

Hospitality and entertainment 

life is special; it’s a way of life and 

you either love it or hate it. 

I asked Hugo how important is it to have 

owners that focus on the long-term. With a 

sharp, intense look, he replied, “It’s critical. 

Owners have to work with the operators, with 

the hotel management team and all the staff 

in order to reap the rewards. It’s a challenge 

today for owners to see why they should 

invest, when their return isn’t there. It’s also 

really important for hotel managers to be 

honest with owners about such challenges. 

We are one team with the same goal at the 

end of the day. Hospitality and entertainment 

life is special; it’s a way of life and you either 

love it or hate it. I certainly love it, even after 

all these years in the industry.” 

Discussing where the property is today and 

if there are changes on the horizon, Hugo 

rationalises, “We are privileged that we are 

in a position to make changes. The hotel is in 

great shape in terms of the product, but we 

are already looking to ‘what’s next’. I’m willing 

to invest in the product so it can be a top 

competitor at all times. We want to be ahead 

of the curve when it comes to the product, so 

we are already discussing our direction and 

strategy for the upcoming years. Like this we 

can ensure that we have a clear direction of 

what we need to accomplish in the future. 

We are interrupted by a call that Hugo has to 

take with one of his managers, probably on one 

of the huge hotel project he has established. 

We wish each other good luck and I leave 

inspired by what this man has shared with me 

and what he has accomplished. 

Upon leaving, his Marketing and PR manager 

takes me aside and assures me that there is 

much more to come with a completely new 

project on the horizon. Another of Hugo’s 

dreams which is finally coming to fruition. MBR 

COMPANY BRIEF 

Encompassing artfully modern luxury and 

lifestyle hotel brands in Malta, Hugo’s 

Group (www.hugosmalta.com) is a leader 

in managed properties and entertainment. 

Establishing foothold in 1987, the innovative 

Paceville-based business mogul today owns 

over 45 establishments and oversees the 

management, development, and expansion 

of Hugo’s Hotels and the Hugo proprietary 

brands that include Hugo’s Boutique Hotel, 

Hugo’s Pizza & Pasta, Hugo’s Lounge, Hugo’s 

Passion, Hugo’s Terrace, The Rooftop, 

Hugo’s Pub, Hugo’s Burger Bar, Hugo’s Bacco 

and Hugo’s Energy Drink, as well as other 

trusted marks from leading local hospitality 

player. Hugo’s Hotels has incorporated new 

construction and new concepts in sustainable 

building practices and design. 


14


DEBATE & ANALYSIS 

Stella Kammitsi is head of the international 

corporate department at Cyprus law firm 

Chryssafinis & Polyviou, and adds: “A lot of 

activity in Cyprus comes from the citizenship 

by investment programme, and we continue to 

see a lot of wealthy clients from Eastern Europe 

getting citizenship and buying property, with 

some of them relocating their families here. 

We also see people from Russia establishing 

substance here – there are only a few more 

months of the tax amnesty there, so those 

families have to take decisions now about 

changing their tax residencies or their corporate 

structures.” With wealth management and 

succession planning work for Russia clients 

on the increase, Cyprus is stealing a march 

on close rival Malta, which does not have the 

same attractions to Russia clients, who have 

historic, cultural ties to Cyprus. 

CYPRUS V MALTA: 

Energy and crypto trends 

Malta and Cyprus have much in common, as 

two islands in the Mediterranean that are both 

members of the European Union and were 

once renowned for their popular citizenship 

by investment programmes. Both countries 

continue to attract a steady flow of the world’s 

wealthiest families to their shores, and claim to 

offer far more advantages than just visa-free 

travel throughout the EU to investors. 

Elias Neocleous is managing partner of the 

law firm Elias Neocleous & Co, and says that 

EU-specific regulatory changes are creating 

a challenging market for advisers in Cyprus. 

But while new rules require those moving 

to Cyprus to demonstrate they are doing 

so for genuine economic reasons, rather 

than simply for tax advantages, that drive 

towards creating substance is delivering 

opportunities, he says. “We see a niche 

developing for Cyprus in several areas and 

sectors,” says Neocleous. “We see growth 

in companies connected with shipping, for 

example, because Cyprus has a very active 

shipping business community. And we see a 

growth in the number of trading companies 

that are doing business in our geographic 

neighbourhood, covering the Middle East, 

North Africa and the Balkans.” 

By Claire Coe Smith 

Cyprus continues with Greek 

shipping tradition and sees expansion 

in energy markets 

Other expanding markets for advisers include 

a movement of wealthy individuals away 

from higher-tax countries such as Greece, and 

more businesses moving in to take advantage 

of energy opportunities in the offshore waters 

around Cyprus. Neocleous adds: “Cyprus is 

also coming up nicely in financial services. We 

We are an EU and Eurozone 

jurisdiction, so our financial 

services laws are fully in line 

with EU laws, which makes 

this place quite attractive to 

companies from non-EU 

countries that want to be 

properly regulated and offer 

financial services within the EU 

are an EU and Eurozone jurisdiction, so our 

financial services laws are fully in line with EU 

laws, which makes this place quite attractive 

to companies from non-EU countries that 

want to be properly regulated and offer 

financial services within the EU.” 

MALTA BECOMES A CRYPTO HUB 

Malta, however, is attracting a new generation 

of high net worth individuals thanks to its 

growing reputation as a cryptocurrency hub. 

Two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency 

exchanges plan to invest heavily on the island, 

which has set out to become one of the 

world’s friendliest jurisdictions for the sector. 

Geraldine Noel is the managing partner of 

Maltese law firm Acumum, and says: “We 

are getting a lot of enquiries at the moment 

regarding cryptocurrencies, virtual currencies 

and initial coin offerings. This is obviously a 

risky first-to-market sector that is very new, 

so we are seeing a lot of entrepreneurs 

investigating Malta to set up platforms and 

exchanges. We are looking at much more 

nubile, ground-breaking, IP, IT and digital 

assets, and younger, more adventurous 

entrepreneurs.” 

At the same time, Malta remains attractive 

to more traditional wealthy families, with 

property prices increasing dramatically in 

response to demand driven in part by the 

hedge fund world. “Malta is a booming 

jurisdiction,” says Noel. “We see clients from 

the Middle East, the Nordics, and from both 

EU and non-EU countries. There is a proportion 

of persons taking up residency, but there’s 

probably a higher proportion that structure 

their investments through Malta without 

taking up residence.” Both islands offer access 

to the EU in a more cost-efficient manner than 

Luxembourg, with the lifestyle attractions of 

the Mediterranean that are not offer in other 

competitor jurisdictions like Ireland. Both have 

made efforts to attract wealthy individuals, 

their families and their businesses, and those 

efforts are reaping rewards. MBR 

Creditline: Citywealth Weekly 

16



SAFETY, 

SECURITY 

& RESPECT 

By Martin Vella 

Following are excerpts from a MBR exclusive interview 

with Thierry Hebert, Managing Director, RCI Insurance 

Ltd, who underlines the significance behind the 

company’s new office launch in Malta in view customer 

segments are changing, and RCI cannot ignore the 

realities of what the customer is requesting in terms 

of buying and servicing options, where growing 

economies are fuelling demand for cover. 

MBR: Tell us a bit about your background 

and roles you have performed? 

TH: I am French, married, have worked 

my most of my career with the RCI Bank 

Group, with over 37 years of service. The 

most important position held as Director of 

our Finance subsidiaries, mainly in Austria, 

Belgium, UK, the Netherlands and lastly 

here in Malta. I also spent five years in the 

insurance business in France. My current 

role is Managing Director of our Insurance 

companies in Malta, which are RCI Insurance 

Ltd and RCI Life Ltd. 

MBR: How many employees do RCI employ? 

TH: Globally RCI employ 3,400 across 26 

countries. Locally, the companies have grown 

from three employees when the company 

was set up in 2008 to 29 employees, with 

plans of further growth in the future. We have 

a diversified workforce, with a cross section of 

nationalities working with our companies, 15 

of whom are Maltese and 14 are female. The 

recent move to new and bigger offices at the 

beginning of last year, was necessary to allow 

for growth which we are projecting and to 

prepare for future exciting developments. 

MBR: Tell me about the activity of RCI 

Insurance and RCI Life, and what is distinct 

between the two? 

TH: The characteristics between the two is the 

nature of the product we launched following 

the insurance regulations. Of course, with 

RCI Life we sell death and invalidity products, 

whereas with RCI Insurance Ltd we sell all 

types of general insurance policies. Now, 

which are the type of products we sell today, 

mainly private payments insurances products, 

which are intended for the benefit of the 

customers who buy vehicles on loan, and 

which cover any accidents they might have, 

so we cover their monthly payments when 

they take on a financial loan. 

MBR: Can you define the RCI company 

culture, especially where RCI is concerned? 

TH: RCI is a customer-driven company, 

which has at its core the wellbeing of its 

employees to ensure they in turn are helpful 

and proficient with their customers. We work 

with car dealers, so we are vehicle-savvy and 

understand what a great investment a car can 

be for people. Therefore, we understand the 

need for finance and also comprehend the 

need to cover any risk our customer needs. 

MBR: What motivated your organisation to 

come to Malta? 

TH: This decision was driven by two factors. 

The first, following decades of experience 

and knowledge within the insurance industry, 

we decided it was the right time and the 

right opportunity to have our own insurance 

company here. Second, it was the time where 

with all the developments of the environment 

and finance in Malta, we found Malta to be 

very attractive and business-oriented and 

business-friendly on one side, and very well 

organised for regulation. These were the 

main driving forces that enabled us to come 

to Malta. 

MBR: What do you intend to offer to the 

local Maltese market in terms of insurance 

services and if this will also include the 

Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance in all the 

framework? 

TH: Currently we have no plans to offer any 

insurance services in the Maltese market. We 

want to carry on doing what we do best and 

we are working in four countries, so we first 

must ensure this is consolidated. We think 

that presently the local insurance companies 

accomplish their role very well, and we do not 

have ay pans to enter the market for now. 

MBR: Can you tell us about the significance 

behind the investment of these new 

modern offices? 

TH: It was key to us since it was very clear 

that we doubled the services in comparison 

to what we did in the past. Therefore, we 

decided to choose the offices and location 

which exactly represented the image and 

the level of service we need. For this reason 

18



Thierry Hebert, Managing Director, RCI Insurance Ltd 

we decided we are quite happy to rent 

our own offices in at Mercury Tower, in a 

banking environment, which means a lot to 

us in terms of safety, security and respect 

of regulations. Secondly, we invested a lot 

in the equipment of these offices and the 

technology to ensure that both the people 

who will come to visit us feel welcome in a 

professional environment, as well as for our 

staff where we tried creating an ambience 

facilitating the teamwork on one side, and 

enhancing the digital activities, which is one 

of the objectives we are working on. 

MBR: What about the company growth and 

product development of RCI and Outlook 

Coop? 

TH: We are experiencing constant growth 

since we were established nine years ago. We 

are well established in four major markets, 

being France, Germany, Italy and Spain. 

We are now starting a phase where we are 

expanding in several European countries, 

which will not be of the same importance in 

terms of volumes, however more prominent 

in terms of the services we want to offer to 

these countries on one side, seeking to try 

and expand our range of products in other 

type of insurances, which mainly service retail 

customers. Again, now we want to launch 

new products for corporate customers and 

we are looking at new insurance products 

which represent new activities. We have here 

up to fifty five workers in total and with new 

customer service products in the pipeline, this 

workforce will increase in the near future. 

MBR: Can you describe the structure of the 

HR element at RCI? 

TH: In Malta we need the best people and 

we are trying to have the best people to join 

the company. We are happy to have sourced 

insurance experts, which are fundamental 

toward the structure of our work objectives. 

We also want to hire talented people who 

can speak several European languages. Today, 

in our company we have eleven different 

nationalities Half of our staff are Maltese, 

and the rest from ten different European 

nationalities. We need to have French and 

German speaking staff, and also be able to 

answer questions in the mother language to 

our valued customers. MBR 


About RCI Insurance Ltd 

(RCI Insurance Ltd and RCI Life Ltd are two 

Maltese insurance companies created in 

December 2008 in Malta. Shareholders are 

RCI Bank and Services, an ECB regulated 

Bank, 100% owned by Renault SA, the French 

car manufacturing company. The activity of 

these two companies consists in selling and 

managing mainly financial insurances for the 

customers of the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi 

Alliance, who buy their cars through 

financing services. The insurance protects 

the customers against any risk of death, 

temporary invalidity or unemployment. 

Using the European passport facilities, RCI 

Insurance Ltd and RCI Life, trade in France, 

Germany, Italy and Spain, with plans to 

expand operations to other European 

countries in the future. Total assets under 

management reached 330M€ in 2017 and 

make our insurance group one of the most 

significant insurance groups in Malta.) 


19


YACHT CHARTER 

THE GREAT ESCAPE 

The business week comes to an end. You have worked hard. You have put in the hours to enjoy the finer things in life. 

It’s time to step out of the office and step onto your very own chartered Sunseeker yacht. With the cool sea breeze on 

your skin and an iced drink in hand, work is now a world away. 

Welcome to Azure Ultra - your 

gateway to bespoke luxury 

yacht experiences. Whatever 

the occasion, we can help you plan the 

perfect boating getaway. Take a well-deserved 

break and recharge on the soothing seas, 

while an exceptional crew takes care of your 

every need. 

We understand that your leisure time is 

precious. It should never be more work. 

That’s why we handle all the time-consuming 

admin that inevitably comes with chartering a 

yacht. This frees you up to enjoy quality time 

with family and friends on an unforgettable 

adventure backdropped by the sapphire 

Mediterranean Sea. 

No Azure Ultra experience is ever the same 

because we tailor the trip around your 

personal needs. Select the food menus and 

your preferred champagne. Roll out a map of 

the Maltese archipelago and let the captain 

know where you wish to anchor. Secluded 

coves. Isolated beaches. It’s always your 

choice. And if you really want to escape the 

bustling island, you can even sail to scenic 

southern Sicily. 

Every step of the way Azure Ultra will be there 

to deliver our award-winning service (MIBYA 

winner Best Customer Service 2017 & 100% 

5-star reviews on TripAdvisor). 

Contact one of our Charter Specialists to 

design your luxury yacht experience today. 

For more information call +356 2778 2500, 

email charters@azureultra.com, or visit 

www.azureultra.com. MBR 


20

Shipping has has never been so so personal with with Attard Holdings. We We can can 

Shipping 

deliver Shipping anything 

has has never never to to been 

anywhere been so so personal 

no personal no matter 

with with the the 

Attard 

size Attard size or 

Holdings. 

or Holdings. shape with 

We 

with We new 

can 

new can 

deliver 

destinations deliver anything anything together 

to anywhere 

with anywhere with our our 

no no international 

matter matter the the size 

network. size or shape shape Attard 

with with Holdings 

new new 

destinations 

- destinations - leaders together 

in together shipping, 

with with transportation, 

our our international international customs 

network. network. and and Attard 

freight Attard Holdings 

services. Holdings 

- leaders - leaders in in shipping, shipping, transportation, customs customs and and freight freight services. services. 

In In collaboration with with 

In In collaboration collaboration with with 

TA' TA' KANDJA CARGO COMPLEX 

TA' Mqabba TA' KANDJA KANDJA Road, CARGO Ta' CARGO Ta' Kandja COMPLEX COMPLEX 

Limits of of 

Mqabba Siġġiewi 

Mqabba Road, SĠW 

Road, 

SĠW 2606 Ta' 2606 

Ta' Kandja Kandja Limits Limits of of 

Siġġiewi Siġġiewi SĠW SĠW 2606 2606 

+356 +356 2144 2144 3031/2146 0427 0427 

kevin@attardholdings.com.mt 

+356 +356 2144 2144 3031/2146 3031/2146 0427 0427 



www.attardholdings.com.mt 

www.attardholdings.com.mt 

www.attardholdings.com.mt


ENVIRONMENT 

MALTA TO 

HAVE 35% OF 

ITS WATERS 

PROTECTED 

FOLLOWING 

THE LIFE BAĦAR 

PROJECT: 

Dozens of newly found 

marine caves and 

reefs will be preserved 

through eight marine 

protected areas 

During the closure event of the LIFE BaĦAR 

for Natura 2000 project, Minister for the 

Environment, Sustainable Development and 

Climate Change José Herrera announced that 

Malta has increasing the protected marine 

areas from 3,487 km2 to 4,138 km2, reaching 

over 35% of the Maltese waters through the 

designation of an additional eight Marine 

Protected Areas (MPAs) for Malta. These 

areas are being afforded protection owing to 

the presence of important seabed habitats, 

specifically reefs and caves, in both coastal 

and deep waters. 

“This is a significant milestone in marine 

conservation with which Malta is marking 

World Environment Day”, stated Minister 

Herrera, while confirming that Malta has 

surpassed the Aichi target for 2020, with now 

35% of our territorial waters declared Natura 

2000 sites. 

Three new inshore sites are an extension to 

the area covered by existing coastal MPAs, 

and these these include a variety of coastal 

cave and reef habitats. A number of species 

of conservation interest inhabit these areas, 

including the star coral, Astroides calycularis, 

the long-spined sea urchin, Centrostephanus 

longispinus, and the Mediterranean slipper 

lobster, Scyllarides latus. 

The project also led to the designation of 

two completely new areas. These include 

offshore reefs hosting extensive and diverse 

communities of cold-water corals and of 

gorgonians, including many species of 

conservation interest. 

Photo DOI- Clifton Fenech 

Photo DOI- Clifton Fenech 

OCEANA / Carlos Minguell 

© LIFE BaĦAR for N2K 

OCEANA / Carlos Minguell 

© LIFE BaĦAR for N2K 

OCEANA © LIFE BaĦAR for N2K 

The LIFE BaĦAR for N2K project also 

extended three offshore sites which had been 

previously designated as MPAs and which are 

important for the loggerhead turtle and the 

bottlenose dolphin. 

Data collected in the process will enhance 

our marine knowledge. In this case, precious 

info in relation to threats and weaknesses of 

our seas were sought. “Now more than ever 

we are recognising the need to preserve our 

seas which is our asset to be passed on to our 

future generations”, stated Minister Herrera 

who highglighted that 80% of marine litter is 

land-based and generated either by accident 

due to weather or on purpose by illegal 

littering. 

The ministry has recently launched two 

important public consultations aimed 

at addressing littering challenges: the 

amendments to the Littering Regulations and 

the introduction of the Beverage Container 

Refund Scheme. 

During the project surveys, hundreds of 

marine species were observed, including 

some 75 different species of fish, 55 

cnidarians (e.g. corals, sea pens, anemones), 

35 crustaceans, 32 molluscs, 21 echinoderms 

(starfish, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, sea 

urchins, sea-lilies) and 15 sponges, as well 

as various tunicates, bryozoans, brachiopods 

and annelids. 

The LIFE BaĦAR for Natura 2000 project will 

pave the way for better management of these 

important areas. The information collected, 

including on the pressures observed, will 

over the next few years be used to develop 

and implement management measures to 

conserve this rich biodiversity, concluded 

Minister Herrera 

This project’s aim was to to extend existing 

marine Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) 

and identify new SCIs for inclusion within the 

Natura 2000 network, a network of protected 

areas throughout the EU. LIFE BaĦAR for N2K 

commenced in October 2013 and is ending 

in June 2018; it had a budget of €2.6 million, 

50% of which was co-financed by the EU LIFE 

funding programme. 

By protecting new sites and extending those 

already protected, based on the results of this 

project, an additional area of about 700 km2 

is now being protected to conserve seabed 

habitats and the species that live on them. 

With these new sites, Malta is now protecting 

over 4100 km2 of its waters. This area is 

equivalent to more than 35% of Malta’s 

Fisheries Management Zone. MBR 

Courtesy: The ministry for the environment, 

sustainable developlment and climate change 

22


DENTAL HEALTHCARE 

Varying costs of Dental Treatment! 

The cost of treatment is a determining factor to most patients. Very few patients do not look at the figure at the bottom of the page. What are 

the factors contributing towards this? 

1. Number of appointments: 

Fillings, extractions, cleanings and some 

crowns and bridges may all be carried 

out in one appointment. The majority 

of fixed or removable prostheses may 

require a couple of appointments. Other 

lengthy dental work spanning months 

or years include orthodontic and/or 

implant treatment. 

2. Materials used: 

Simple materials used for routine dentistry 

are not too expensive whilst other 

treatment modalities like orthodontic 

and restorative dentistry have a range of 

materials to choose from. Braces come 

in metal or ceramic brackets. Even the 

arch wires; metal colour or tooth colour 

crossing the braces play a part in the 

total figure. Braces stuck on the inside 

of your teeth are even more expensive 

as are transparent aligners used to 

straighten teeth. Crowns and bridges may 

be produced from conventional metal 

fused to ceramic or all-ceramic metal-free 

ones. This changes the price considerably. 

The same goes for these fixed types of 

restorations placed on implants. The 

metals used may be of high quality and 

better finish than others. The implant 

brand as well as the components used 

can be originals or look alike drastically 

affecting the overall cost. Dentures may 

also be manufactured from different 

materials; acrylic resin, acrylic resin with a 

metal-framework and elastic acrylic resin. 

3. Level of expertise: 

Specialist work done by specialists always 

comes with an added premium, both 

in know-how and costs. This does not 

mean that the same work done by a nonspecialist 

is inferior in quality. It is simply a 

fact that a higher level of education brings 

a slightly higher price tag. 

4. Guarantee: 

Some practitioners offer a fixed guarantee 

on the dentistry administered to 

their patients. This may vary between 

practitioners. Some of the brands used 

like the type of implant may also carry 

a different guarantee; lifetime or none 

at all. 

5. Laboratory work 

Most of the prostheses, whether fixed 

or removable involve the need of a 

laboratory. Here technicians, at times 

even more than one work to construct 

the teeth. Both fixed or removable 

prostheses constructed in the laboratory 

employ methods using high tech 

equipment carrying hefty costs both 

in materials and maintenance. These 

technicians and pieces of equipment 

also play a part in the total cost. 

6. Clinical equipment: 

some clinical equipment is simply better 

at what it does than other equipment 

hence the difference in price. 

Having touched on the above, and stressed on 

why expenses could be high, there are other 

factors, which are yet more important than 

the price tag. This is the after sales service. 

Putting it this way sounds very impersonal but 

it basically refers to how well us dentists treat 

our patients once they’ve paid their bill and 

settled all. Not every treatment is a complete 

success story and often after some time has 

gone by, patients are not fully satisfied with 

the wave of treatment they had recieved. Do 

we keep trying to make them happy without 

charging or do we discourage them by saying 

nothing else can be done hoping they would 

learn to live with it? 

Addressing the needs of an unhappy patient 

is more important than receiving thanks from 

a hundred satisfied patients! Our professional 

ethics is big deal, which we cannot put a price 

tag on. Ask your dentist! MBR 

DR JEAN PAUL DEMAJO 

Dental and Implant Surgeon 

24

We We Move Your World Forward. 

T T +356 22995110 

W sullivanmaritime.com 

Official 

Official Agents of of 

Official Agents 

Agents of 

of of 

Weekly UK to Weekly UK UK to to Malta 

Car Car Transporter Service. 

T T +356 22995159 M M +356 99997555 

W accesscartransport.com 

AccessCarTransport


CE2018 

Cyber Europe 2018 - 

get prepared for the 

next cyber crisis 

Malta participated in CE2018, an international 

cybersecurity simulation exercise organised 

by the EU Cybersecurity Agency ENISA on 

6 and 7 June 2018. The simulation exercise 

was locally coordinated by the Critical 

Infrastructure Protection Directorate (CIPD) 

within the Ministry for Home Affairs and 

National Security (MHAS) and its cyber 

monitoring arm CSIRTMalta, Malta’s National 

Computer Security Incident Response Team. 

50 local cyber security and media 

professionals from 11 local organisations 

participated in the most mature EU Cyber 

Security Simulation Exercise known as 

‘Cyber Europe 2018’ (CE2018) to date. The 

simulation exercise was locally coordinated by 

the CIPD within MHAS in collaboration with 

EU ENISA, the EU Cyber Security Agency, and 

the participation of other EU member states’ 

agencies responsible for the monitoring of 

the cyber space in their respective regions. 

Minister for Home Affairs and National Security 

Michael Farrugia visited the coordinating team 

during the exercise and said such exercises are 

of utmost importance to test our capabilities 

in dealing with cyber and hybrid attacks on 

critical and other relevant infrastructure. 

Malta is giving great importance to critical 

infrastructure and on how to deal with cyber 

and hybrid attacks. The Critical Infrastructure 

Protection Directorate will be strengthened by 

other professional personnel. 

Malta’s participation was organised in multiple 

crisis cells. A national coordinating crisis cell 

incorporating a media crisis cell assembled 

at the MHAS Coordinating Centre in Valletta. 

A group operational crisis cell gathered at 

the MITA Data Centre in St Venera and other 

organisational crisis cells operated from their 

normal place of work at various locations 

in Malta. Malta’s principal moderator and 

planner from CSIRTMalta within the CIPD, 

MHAS travelled to ENISA headquarters in 

Athens - Greece, to form part of the EU wide 

coordination and exercise planning team. 

The desktop exercise focused on cyber and 

hybrid attacks on the aviation sector disrupting 

their systems’ and flights’ operations. 

Exercise scenario: It is a normal day at the 

airport. Suddenly, the automated check-in 

machines display a system failure. Travel 

apps on smartphones stop functioning. The 

agents at the check-in counters encountered 

problems operating their computers. 

Travellers can neither check in their luggage 

nor pass through security checks. There 

are huge lines everywhere. All flights are 

shown as cancelled on the airport monitors. 

For unknown reasons, baggage claim has 

stopped working and more than half of the 

flights must remain on the ground. 

A radical group have reportedly taken control 

of the airport’s critical systems by means of 

digital and hybrid attacks. They have already 

claimed responsibility for the incident and are 

using their propaganda channels to spread 

a call to action and attract more people to 

adopt their radical ideology. 

This was the intense scenario which over 900 

European cybersecurity specialists incorporating 

communications, local planners, moderators, 

monitors, observers, and players from 

30 countries coming from some 300 

organisations had to face during the ‘Cyber 

Europe 2018’ (CE2018) – the most mature 

EU cybersecurity exercise to date. At the local 

level, the exercise was customised to the 

Malta context. 

The two-day exercise was orchestrated by 

ENISA at its headquarters in Athens, Greece, 

while participants either stayed at their usual 

workplace or gathered in crisis cells. ENISA 

controlled the exercise via its Cyber Exercise 

Platform (CEP) which provided a ‘virtual 

universe’ (integrated environment) for the 

simulated world, including incident material, 

virtual news websites, social media channels, 

company websites, and security blogs. 

Organised by the EU cybersecurity agency 

ENISA in collaboration with national and other 

cybersecurity authorities and agencies from 

all over Europe, the CE2018 was intended to 

enable the European cybersecurity community 

to further strengthen their capabilities in 

identifying and tackling large-scale threats as 

well as to provide a better understanding of 

cross-border incident contagion. 

CE2018 focused on helping organisations to 

exercise and test their internal operational 

continuity and crisis management plans 

including media crisis communication while 

also reinforcing cooperation between public 

and private entities. MBR 

Courtesy: The Ministry for home affairs and 

national security 

26

Beyond Ordinary Charter Experiences 

00356 2778 2500 / charters@azureultra.com / www.azureultra.com


TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS 

E 

xpress Trailers is about to take third-party 

logistics to the next level as work on its 

new 2,800sqm warehouse is in its final 

stages. Located centrally in Qormi, this new 

warehouse centralizes all Express Trailers’ 

managed warehousing activity in one depot to 

cater for the increased business in this sector. 

“Express Trailers has always worked very closely 

with Maltese retailers and few understand the 

needs of these retailers as we do. We know 

that to operate and to remain competitive, one 

needs to be backed up with the right logistics 

setup and a robust IT platform. This is where 

Express Trailers can come in with its thirdparty 

logistics and warehouse management 

solutions,” explains Franco Azzopardi, 

Chairman and CEO of Express Trailers. 

“We ask businesses one simple question: 

how much more efficient would you be if 

you could focus on the core operations of 

your business without the hassle of having to 

manage inventories, storage and deliveries? 

It is a fact that so many companies have a 

lot of capital and human effort locked up in 

inventory management. We are proposing 

an innovative ‘pay-as-you-use’ system where 

Express Trailers provides companies with a 

fully-managed central warehousing facility and 

distribution operations, supported by a very 

robust IT system to handle all their imports, 

exports, storage, deliveries and distribution 

requirements. 

Express Trailers is currently finalizing an IT 

platform that whatever the commercial 

activity being operated, will be able to ‘talk’ 

to the retailer’s e-commerce software and 

handle all the orders and deliveries in real 

time. Through Express Trailers’ warehousing 

and distribution services, businesses are 

being offered a total solution where the 

stock, stored at Express Trailers’ warehouse 

is managed by a Warehouse Management 

System that picks, packs and delivers on 

behalf of the customer. 

“Bottom line, what we are offering is a 

scalable storage and distribution solution, a 

‘pay-as-you-use’ system where merchants, 

instead of owning and managing their 

ancillary warehouses and being tied down 

with idle space and human resources, can 

avail themselves of the space they need thus 

cutting significant costs, especially when 

their stored stocks are at their lowest. All 

companies enjoy expertise in their respective 

lines of business. What we are saying is that 

companies should concentrate on investing 

in their people and their core operations 

and leave the handling of imports, exports, 

deliveries and distribution to a company like 

us, who is the expert in transport and thirdparty 

logistics.” 

“This latest investment in our new 2,800sqm 

warehouse in Qormi’s industrial estate is 

our company’s next important move. We 

are confident that this will be a concrete 

step that will cement Express Trailers as the 

leader in the local managed warehousing 

sector,” concluded Franco Azzopardi. MBR 

Courtesy: Express Trailers 

28

www.expressgroup.com 



#WeAreOrange 

#WeAreOrange 

Follow #WeAreOrange 

Follow our story 

our story 

Follow our our story story 

Follow our story 

You You You Don’t You Don’t 

Don’t Don’t Need Need 

Need Need a a Warehouse 

Warehouse 

a Warehouse 

How much How more much efficient more efficient would you would be if you be could if you focus 

could focus 

on How doing How much on business doing more more business efficient rather than rather would managing than you you be managing be if inventories, you if you could inventories, focus storage storage and deliveries? 

and deliveries? 

How on much more efficient would than you be if if you could focus 

So on much doing So capital much business and capital rather human and than human effort managing is effort actually is inventories, actually locked up locked storage in inventory up and inventory and management. 

deliveries? 

management. 

So on So much doing capital business and and rather human than effort managing is actually is inventories, locked up up storage in inventory and deliveries? 

management. 

So much capital and human effort is is actually locked up in in inventory management. 

Whatever Whatever commercial commercial activity you activity operate, you operate, Express at Express Trailers we Trailers can 

we can 

provide Whatever you provide commercial with you a fully with managed activity a fully managed you central you operate, warehousing central at Express at warehousing facility Trailers and 

facility we we can and can 

provide 

Whatever you you 

commercial 

with with a fully a fully managed 

activity you central operate, warehousing at at Express facility 

Trailers and and 

we can 

distribution distribution network network to handle to all handle your imports, all your imports, exports, exports, storage 

storage 

distribution 

provide you network 

with a a fully 

to handle to 

managed all all your 

central 

your imports, warehousing exports, storage 

facility and 

and deliveries and deliveries through an through innovative an innovative ‘pay-as-you-use’ ‘pay-as-you-use’ system. 

system. 

and 

distribution 

and deliveries network 

through to 

an to handle 

an innovative all all your ‘pay-as-you-use’ imports, exports, system. 

storage 

and deliveries through an an innovative ‘pay-as-you-use’ system. 

INVEST INVEST YOUR IN PEOPLE YOUR PEOPLE AND BUSINESS. AND BUSINESS. LET MANAGE LET US MANAGE YOUR INVENTORIES. 

YOUR INVENTORIES. 

INVEST IN YOUR IN YOUR PEOPLE AND AND BUSINESS. LET LET US US MANAGE YOUR YOUR INVENTORIES. 

INVEST IN IN YOUR PEOPLE AND BUSINESS. LET US MANAGE YOUR INVENTORIES. 

Express Group Express Malta Group | Velbro Malta House, | Velbro Qormi House, Road, Qormi Luqa Road, LQA 9040, Luqa LQA Malta 

9040, Malta 

Express Group Group Malta Malta | Velbro Tel: | Velbro (+356) House, House, Tel: 2124 Qormi (+356) 2311 Qormi Road, | 2124 info@expressgroup.com 

Road, 2311 Luqa Luqa | LQA info@expressgroup.com 

LQA 9040, 9040, Malta Malta 

Express Group Malta | Velbro | Tel: Tel: (+356) House, (+356) 2124 Qormi 2124 2311 2311 Road, | info@expressgroup.com 

| Luqa LQA 9040, Malta 

Tel: (+356) 2124 2311 | info@expressgroup.com 

|


MIGEA WINNERS INTERVIEW 

Geared for Growth 

and Success 


"Winning the awards has given the team an 

extra boost of motivation, to keep working hard 

and moving forward." 

Everything is looking up for 

the aptly named Yobetit. 

CEO Nikolai Livori sits down 

with Martin Vella to discuss 

the company’s recent 

unprecedented success 

at MiGEA, and how the 

Company is expanding and 

successfully navigating into 

new markets. 

Nikolai Livori receiving the award for Malta’s Best Gaming Company of the Year Award 2018 from Mr Leandros Calleja, 

Managing Director, Remedies Clinic 

30

MIGEA WINNERS INTERVIEW 


YoBetit team with Nikolai Livori 

MBR: Do you want to go over what’s happened 

since you established Yobetit and the role you 

play in it? 

NL: I am a founder of Yobetit and CEO, and I 

couldn’t be happier. Yobetit started out as a 

sports arbitrage bookmaker in 2012, heavily 

based on mathematical market analysis. 

The company was created to study market 

movements to create sure bets in the market. 

In 2016, we decided to pivot the business to 

become a fully fledged sportsbook with our 

MGA license, and we started using a gaming 

framework that I had designed over the years. 

Last year, we also took on another vertical; 

Lotto when we introduced YoMillions. 

MBR: Why Yobetit? 

NL: Yobetit is all about providing the perfect 

betting experience. We provide a fun 

and easy-to-navigate platform to give our 

players an enjoyable betting experience. 

The company continues to stand above the 

rest offering over 30 sports, competitive 

football prices everyday, unbeatable odds and 

generous promotions. We thrive to become 

a one-stop shop offering multiple verticles on 

our platform. 

MBR: What is best about working in the field? 

NL: iGaming is a very young and dynamic 

industry, with every day being different. It’s 

a fast-paced environment where technology 

plays a big part in the evolution of the gaming 

products. Having a technical background, I 

can keep up to date with the latest applied 

technologies, and being a veteran with over 

ten years of experience in the industry, we 

have made a lot of connections. I love the fastpace 

and keeping on top of the trends. 

MBR: What makes Yobetit stand out from 

other gambling/iGaming enterprises? 

NL: We are a company that cares, we not only 

provide a service, we value our customers. 

We provide our players with a generous 

selection of promotions to keep giving them 

the best we can possibly give. And, unlike a 

lot of gaming companies, we own all software 

and technology used. This allows us to grow 

faster and be less dependent on third parties. 

We have more control of the service we are 

offering to our users, and we do everything 

we can to keep our players happy. 

MBR: How was your performance in 2017? 

Did you have a combination of hits and 

misses? What made you realise that it had 

to take also change location and move into 

bigger offices? 

NL: From 2017-2018 we have seen a lot of 

growth, not only in customers and turnover, 

but also in brand recognition across our target 

countries. Being the safest lotto provider on 

the island, the brand also grew locally in 

Malta. 2016, was the year we pivoted the 

company because it became very difficult to 

obtain trading liquidity. 2017, was the year we 

focused on growth and getting our products 

ready for the market. 2018, is proving to 

be a year of more growth and success. We 

continue to focus on improving and extending 

our technology framework to keep growing 

as a company. In order to do so, we had to 

expand the team. Essentially Yobetit grew, 

so the office needed to grow. We recently 

welcomed new members and we continue 

on with our recruiting spree. 

MBR: You advertise a lot on radio, what 

about mobile, which hasn’t been your biggest 

platform? PC is traditionally the biggest, right? 

NL: In Malta we spend a lot of time in our 

cars, so we chose to advertise on XFM. You 

may have heard our Yobetit.com powerplay, 

it provides people with good music to sing 

along during their journey. We also advertise 

across other platforms but we feel we engage 

more over the radio. 

We use mobile marketing from time-to-time. 

At least one-third of our customer base uses 

our platform through mobile on a daily basis. 

Our website is in fact built using mobile-first 

technology. Therefore, mobile betting is a big 

product for us. As for PC, it tends to be more 

ideal for sports betting as we offer hundreds 

of markets per game so it is more comfortable 

for the user. 

MBR: What has been the highlight of the 

Yobetit journey for you so far? 

NL: It would have to be personal growth. 

Before Yobetit I was very mathematical, 

and focused on tech. I love to create startup 

projects and advise others on growth hacking 

strategies. Yobetit has helped me to polish my 

managerial skills and to understand the lifecycle 

of a successful project. 

In the past, I have been involved in failed projects 

and also unfinished ones, and although Yobetit 

has had its ups and downs, I enjoyed the 

challenges and have helped the company push 

forward during tough times. It was worth it, and 

would do it all over again if I had the opportunity. 

MBR: You have recently carried four 

unprecedented and prestigious accredited 

awards at Malta’s Gaming Excellence 

Awards 2018, Best iGaming Online Lotto 

Product of the Year Award, Best Online 

Betting Platform, Best Gaming Ambassador 

and Malta’s Best Gaming Company of the 

Year Award- did you expect this and what 

was your feelings on being called to receive 

these accolades four times on stage? 

NL: We were so thrilled to win so many 

awards, and hearing the company called out 

so many times on the night was phenomenal. 

I am so proud of the progress we have made 

to be where we are today. Winning the 

awards has given the team an extra boost 

of motivation, to keep working hard and 

moving forward. It’s great to have won such 

prestigious accredited awards. We are all so 

happy of our progress and look forward to the 

future ahead. 

MBR: How significant are these awards for 

your company and what do they mean to 

you, and how was the overall organisation 

of this event? 

NL: Winning four iGaming Excellence awards 

was a great achievement for Yobetit. The 

team are so happy with the results, and we 

thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the event. 

The planning was exceptional, and it was great 

to meet up with fellow iGaming veterans. It 

gave us an opportunity to have fun and do 

business at the same time, it was great. 

MBR: What about future aspirations of Yobetit 

and Yomillions, anything you can reveal? 

NL: At the moment, we are uniting our brands 

under one. YoMillions will still exist as a subproduct 

of Yobetit. However, Yobetit will 

continue to be the main umbrella brand. 

What I can reveal here for the first time is that 

we will be adding another platform to the 

Yobetit brand. We will be offering Sportsbook, 

Lotto and very soon we will be launching our 

very own online Casino! 

Casino will be a big step up for the company 

and we are very close to launching it. At the 

moment we are focusing our efforts on The 

World Cup, but once it is over we will be able 

to launch the new vertical. Casino will help 

strengthened the Yobetit brand as we will 

compete with the giants of the industry. 

We are also currently on-boarding affiliate 

partners, and are very keen to have the first 

50 signed up before winter. We have an 

exciting year ahead of us! MBR 



31


MiGEA 2018 SPECIAL FEATURE 

Vision for 

the Future 

By M Vella 

Interview with Frederik 

Niehusen (CCO), at Booming 

Games, who explains why the 

Company is always looking 

to the next technological 

advancements that will 

enable them to push the 

boundaries of their titles and 

introduce new experiences to 

their customers. 

Frederik Niehusen recieving the award from Mark Brincat 

MBR: You have recently won Malta’s Best 

Online Casino Supplier of the Year Award 

during MiGEA 2018. What does this mean to 

you and how significant is this achievement 

to Booming Games? 

FN: Winning Malta’s Best Online Casino 

Supplier of the Year Award was an outstanding 

achievement for Booming Games. Over the 

past year our team has focused our efforts 

on delivering a winning experience to our 

customers and gaming patrons. The award 

gives us positive feedback as we continue to 

grow as an influential player in the industry. 

MBR: Were you expecting to win this award 

and has winning such an award been a long 

time in the making? 

FN: We were delighted to be considered for 

this award and excited to win it. Our teams 

goal is to deliver a unique gaming experiences; 

awards and accolades are the result of our 

execution. 

We are certain that this is just one of many 

more such awards that Booming Games 

will undoubtedly receive. We are delighted 

that the new and unique developments we 

introduced this year have not gone unnoticed. 

MBR: How critical is entrepreneurship and 

information technology, and how have you 

become part of the culture of how iGaming 

operates? 

FN: Established and founded through 

entrepreneurship, Booming Games utilises 

the experience of expert industry veterans 

who have a proven track record of success in 

the business. 

Over the past year our 

team has focused our efforts 

on delivering a winning 

experience to our customers 

and gaming patrons. The 

award gives us positive 

feedback as we continue to 

grow as an influential player in 

the industry. 

It is imperative that we can quickly integrate 

technological advancements into our games 

to keep ahead of the competition. The 

challenge is ensuring these are still cutting 

edge when the titles come to market. By 

keeping abreast of the latest developments 

and employing the use of flexible software 

we can quickly introduce new tech, enabling 

us to set trends and maintain the modernity 

that our slots are known for. 

MBR: How has your career evolved with 

Booming Games and which area do you 

lead today? 

FN: The Company was established four years 

ago with a few people and a will to succeed. 

My career has been more of a revolution than 

an evolution. We were a start-up company 

that has quickly grown into a real player in the 

industry over the past few years. The online 

gaming world creates a quick learning curve that 

forces revolutionary thinking and unique growth 

opportunities. While I lead the company, our 

goals are a shared vision for our future. 

MBR: What sets you apart from the 

competition as Malta’s Best Online Casino 

Supplier of the Year Award? 

FN: Developments introduced this year 

included a bonus spins tool, allowing operators 

to enable regulatable bonus spins to clients; 

new game mechanics, facilitating greater 

32

MiGEA 2018 SPECIAL FEATURE 


player interaction and engagement; and the 

introduction of inventive new features, ranging 

from unique symbol combos, to shapeshifting 

game boards. Furthermore, using company 

know-how and a deep understanding of the 

markets, our setups in Europe, North America 

and Asia offer faster loading times than any of 

our competitors. 

Our goal is to bring a new 

breed of gaming product that 

expands the players’ experience 

and gives more ways to win 

We have built a diverse portfolio possessing 

different volatilities, features and themes 

that cater to the varied taste and preferences 

present in the player market. Our goal is to 

bring a new breed of gaming product that 

expands the players’ experience and gives 

more ways to win. Success will come from 

our core value of presenting unique gaming 

methods that players enjoy. We focus on 

delivering a winning experience. MBR 


Frederik Niehusen 

OF THE YEAR 

AWARD PRESENTED BY 

sales@booming-games.com 


33


MiGEA WINNERS 

THE TECHNOLOGY 

INTERVIEW WITH 

LAURYN DUNCAN 

SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

MANAGER 

MBR: Please share a little about yourself 

and Wazdan 

LD: I’m actually from the manufacturing 

industry in South Africa with general 

management experience. I joined Wazdan 

at the beginning of the year and it has been 

an amazing experience so far. The passion 

of my colleagues for what we do, the buzz 

and energy of the industry and the absolute 

excitement in now being involved in the 

heart of the industry has been a very positive 

experience. It is fantastic to be part of the 

Wazdan team and to have the same goals and 

vision as my colleagues and my bosses. 

MBR: How has your career evolved with 

WAZDAN and which area do you lead today? 

LD: Wazdan has given me a greater exposure 

to the gaming industry and ignited my Passion 

for Games. I am very fortunate that Wazdan 

encourages and supports attending industry 

events, conferences and exhibitions. With a 

lot of hard work we are winning awards and 

partnering with very successful operators. 

The industry is taking note of us and I am very 

confident that we will continue to get stronger. 

MBR: What opportunities do you look into 

to grow as a brand? 

LD: As Wazdan our primary goal is to become 

one of the world's leading games suppliers, 

we strive to participate in expos all over the 

world. We are going to exhibit at iGB Live! 

2018 in Amsterdam with a willingness to 

present our product to a broader audience 

and to reach global partners. We had fantastic 

feedback from operators and aggregators 

after ICE 2018 in London. Then our new 9 

Lions slot won the Hot Hit Award at G2E Asia 

and we signed-up our first Asian operators 

Twelve40 and EvenBet. Now we are preparing 

for iGB Live!, to feel the business environment 

We are working on more 

Unique Wazdan Features 

which will make our 

trademark in the slot games! 

by ourselves and listen to market needs and 

expectations. If we listen and react adequately 

and if we add our Passion for Games on top of 

that, the benefits will undoubtedly come. We 

have 10 brand new games ready for release, 

and we will do it very soon! We have just 

released some great games, Football Mania 

Deluxe for the World Cup, Great Book of 

Magic Deluxe, Tetri Mania Deluxe and Fruit 

Mania Deluxe. Games being released ahead 

of iGB Live! include the intriguing Corrida 

Romance Deluxe debuting for the San Fermin 

festival, Hot Party Deluxe, Highway to Hell 

Deluxe, Fruits Go Bananas and smash slot 

Spectrum, amongst others. 

MBR: How does your company stand out 

from its competitors? 

LD: Wazdan is a technology pioneer. We are a 

company whose brand is synonymous with reshaping 

the slots industry through innovative 

technology, the Unique Wazdan Features, 

a set of special hallmark properties that 

includes the world's first Volatility Levels, 

Energy Saving Mode, Double Screen Mode 

and Unique Gamble Feature. We are working 

on more Unique Wazdan Features which 

will make our trademark in the slot games! 

What we know for sure is that players and 

operators love this new technology, which is 

re-invigorating the category and bringing new 

players and revenue. We've had a doubledigit 

rise in revenue since the introduction 

in Q4 2017 of that initial suite of added 

value tools, Unique Wazdan Features, which 

provide operators with the ability to activate 

multiple features designed to enhance 

customer experience and engagement, 

improve retention, encourage extended play 

and produce higher yield. The results speak 

for themselves, Wazdan has signed several 

34

MiGEA WINNERS 


AND GAME PARTNER OF CHOICE 

By M Vella 

partnership deals already this year with 

companies such as EveryMatrix, Videoslots, 

SlotMillions, Iforium, iSoftbet, Evenbets, 

Globalplay, and more. We are putting a lot of 

effort to make players’ game sessions longer 

and to deliver to our customers some tools 

which will allow them to attract players with 

our games. Wazdan also aspires to give them 

"The Freedom of Choice”, so operators and 

players can expect some features which will 

bring this feeling. Wazdan is licensed in the 

UK, Malta and Curacao which means that 

we undergo regular auditing and provide 

the security of being tested at the highest 

levels. Wazdan is a well-known name across 

the industry and our games can be found in 

many casinos today. With our speed of game 

and technology development we are able to 

add exciting new content quickly and simply. 

Our aim has always been to deliver marketshaping 

products and services. 

MBR: You recently have been awarded 

Malta’s Gaming Best Start-Up Company of 

the Year Award during MiGEA 2018. How do 

you reflect on the achievement? 

LD: We were shortlisted by the industryacclaimed 

EGR B2B Awards and then won 

Hot Product Award at G2E Asia, and this is 

what continues to give us confidence that we 

are moving in the right direction. The MiGEA 

Best Start-Up Company of the Year Award 

reinforced that further. 

MBR: How do you constantly re-invent to 

deliver the most intui ve and innova ve be 

ng applica on in the market? 

LD: Our company mission is 'Passion for 

Games' which aims to deliver a richer 

slots game experience to improve player 

psychological, emotional and intellectual 

engagement. Wazdan developed a set of 

innovative Unique Wazdan Features that 

enhance player experience and provide 

operators with opportunities to attract new 

players to their casinos. With Wazdan’s 

world’s first Volatility Levels, players can 

customise the variance of each round by 

setting the game to a low volatility level where 

the game has frequent but smaller wins, or 

to a high level where the game has fewer 

but bigger wins. The player may also decide 

not to alter the Volatility Levels, leaving the 

setting at ‘Standard’ where the game reverts 

to its normal volatility. Double Screen Mode 

allows players to see the pay table and win 

values of all game symbols in portrait during 

gameplay and be in control of their wins 

at All time. This new technology provides 

players with a quality of entertainment that 

matches the standards that they have come 

to expect in other environments. Energy 

Saving Mode is another mobile-friendly 

feature that maximises players’ enjoyment 

and is great for operators seeking to reach 

players on-the-go. Energy Saving Mode 

gives players up to 40% additional mobile 

play time without recharging, thereby 

extending revenue generation possibilities for 

operators. Wazdan’s Unique Gamble Feature 

is a mini-game styled to meet the theme of 

each new game. It can be activated after 

every win, and gives players a 50/50 chance 

to double their win in an instant. The Unique 

Gamble Feature is available on all winnings 

in every new game released by Wazdan. 

These are the technology developments that 

underpin world-class games. Optimisation 

for handheld devices has been one of the 

pillars for Wazdan's dramatic organic growth. 

The real breakthrough for Wazdan has been 

the quality of slots experience the company 

now offers on mobile. As the regulatory 

landscape continues to change and the 

company extends its range of licences, this 

spells new opportunities for Wazdan to grow 

our business and put those games in front of 

additional players. 

With our speed of game and 

technology development we 

are able to add exciting new 

content quickly and simply 

MBR: It has been well reported in the 

international media that Wazdan has signed 

a spate of deals with operators. Wazdan is 

going places, quickly. What's behind that? 

LD: Wazdan’s portfolio of over 100 HTML5 

slots is growing rapidly following a further 8 

game releases in Q1 2018. Recent releases 

include Fruit Mania Deluxe, Magic of the 

Ring Deluxe, Football Mania Deluxe, Tetri 

Mania Deluxe, Great Book of Magic Deluxe 

and Magic Stars 3; these are the kinds of 

products that partners value and we aim to 

keep delivering exciting games like this for all 

our operators and players. 

MBR: Were you expecting to win this award 

and have such award been long time in the 

making? 

LD: We don't expect anything. If it was easy, 

everyone would be doing it! We are judged by 

the people who choose our games, whether 

operators or players, for us that is our greatest 

measure of success. Being the technology 

and game partner of choice. 

MBR: As a closing question, we would like 

to ask about your future projects. Could you 

fill us in on some upcoming launches and 

potential incoming partnerships? 

LD: We have a game coming for Halloween 

called Los Muertos. All I can say is don't play it 

with the lights switched off! Other upcoming 

titles include beautifully animated video slots 

packed with entertaining special features, 

such as Captain Flynt, Fruits Go Bananas, 

Slot Jam, Relic Hunters and Mayan Ritual, as 

well as two Asian themed slots: 9 Lions and 

Double Tigers. Come and visit our stand at 

iGB Live! to talk about our passion for games 

and play our newset titles. We look forward 

to seeing you! MBR 

ABOUT WAZDAN 

Wazdan is a popular game producer, developing 

innovative casino games that deliver original, fun 

and truly omni-channel player experience. Offering 

an extensive game library of over 100 HTML5 slots, 

table games and video pokers, Wazdan is gaining 

popularity on the iGaming market thanks to the 

great quality of their games, interesting themes 

and engaging gameplay. Wazdan’s game portfolio 

consists of such popular titles as Great Book 

of Magic Deluxe, Magic Target Deluxe, Valhalla 

and Wild Guns and soon will extended with new 

amazing slot games, including Los Muertos TM , 

Mayan Ritual TM and Captain Flynt TM , among others. 

Wazdan releases new, exciting titles on a regular 

basis and equips them with Unique Wazdan 

Features: innovative Volatility Level TM , exciting 

Unique Gamble Feature and mobile-friendly 

Energy Saving and Double Screen Modes. Wazdan 

holds a number of European trademarks including 

for their world's-first Volatility Level TM . Their 

extensive portfolio of clients includes some of the 

top gaming operations in the industry. 

For more information on this press 

please contact Ogilvy Malta on 

00356 99207677 or edwin@ 

ogilvymalta.com 

All rights reserved - 

Copyright 2018 


35


TECHNOLOGY & MANUFACTURINGM 

LOCALLY MANUFACTURED 

LED LIGHTING 

Lighting design plays a key role in the 

functionality of sporting facilities. As well 

as providing illumination for players, 

officials and spectators, sports lighting 

must also fulfil various characteristics to 

optimise the quality of indoor and outdoor 

sports and recreation spaces. 

Altern limited (www.altern.com.mt) have 

been working on INNOVLED, a project 

whose aim is to develop an LED floodlight 

for sports applications. The project is funded 

through FUSION, a research and innovation 

programm launched by MCST. Altern brings 

in extensive expertise and experience within 

the sustainability and lighting industry, today 

offering a range of locally built LED lights. 

In order to better understand the required 

characteristics of the product, the project 

team have been working with a number of 

local sports facilities to gain an insight into the 

lighting needs of different sites, as well as the 

current challenges faced. 

Following in depth research into the lighting 

requirements for different sports, the design 

team visited multiple facilities and conducted 

site surveys and interviews with Facilities 

Managers. The surveys revealed that there are 

lighting installations of widely varying quality 

in the sports facilities, with some falling below 

recommended guidelines for lighting levels 

and lighting uniformity. Further, through 

interviews it became apparent that sports 

facilities face various challenges relating to 

their lighting. While some installations may 

meet the lighting output requirements, 

most are hard to access, difficult to maintain, 

and are relatively high energy consumers. 

Further, control of these lighting installations 

was highlighted as an issue, with most of the 

on-site staff having issues switching on only 

those luminaires which were required, and 

not being able to dim or vary the light output 

from the current installations. 

Using the findings from interviews and 

surveys, together with research carried out, 

the project team at Altern have been designing 

a high-power LED floodlight which will satisfy 

lighting requirements and provide additional 

functionality. LEDs are ideal for sports 

applications as they have high light output to 

power ratios, have long lifetimes, require low 

maintenance and provide lighting instantly. 

They can also be closely controlled and 

programmed to vary light output depending 

on the particular use of the space, making 

them suitable for multi-use spaces such as 

sports halls used for conferences or events. 

Over the past months, Altern has built and 

installed prototypes in selected sports facilities, 

and carrying out in-depth monitoring, the 

findings from which have been used to further 

develop the luminaire and control system 

design. This shall ensure that INNOVLED 

luminaires meet all required characteristics 

and provide high quality sports and leisure 

facilities which can be enjoyed by participants, 

officials, spectators and building managers. 

Altern is a company based in Malta which 

specialises in sustainable energy services 

and solutions. Altern can offer complete 

custom design and manufacturing of LED 

luminaires for different applications, with 

in-house expertise on digital lighting design 

and light manufacturing. MBR 

For Further Information: 

www.altern.com.mt | info@altern.com.m 

|+356 2099 6465 

Credit: Altern 

36

TECHNOLOGY & MANUFACTURING 



37


AGENTS OF CHANGE 

Improving our response 

Inspector Sylvana Gafa 

has what it takes. 

Seven years ago, she joined the Police Force, 

eventually serving as a police inspector at the 

district and then moving on to the Vice Squad, 

investigating sexual abuse cases, human 

trafficking, and prostitution. Currently, she is 

heading the Victim Support Unit, which provides 

assistance and support to all victims in Malta. 

Over her seven year career, Inspector Gafa has 

been involved in sensitive investigations, media 

campaigns, ongoing training abroad, lecturing to 

police officers and has completed her Masters in 

Counselling, in her quest to protect people from 

inhumane conduct. 

Inspector Sylvana Gafa 

MBR: Can you briefly describe your work 

and the role you play, highlighting your 

early life career motivations? 

SG: As a matter of fact, I began my studies , 

and successfully obtaining my BA Honours in 

Criminology, always with the aim of joining 

the Police Force. When I started working in 

the Police Force I continued my studies and 

this year I completed my Masters Degree in 

Counselling. 

I joined the Force in 2011, and following two 

years hands-on experience in local district, I 

was assigned with the Vice Squad, where we 

used to investigate sexual abuse cases, human 

trafficking, and prostitution, where we came 

in close contact with emarginated and 

defenceless persons. Following which I spent 

a year in Education practicing Counselling. I 

have now been integrated successfully for the 

past year and a half with the Victims Support 

Unit, practically a new section. 

I always had a predisposition to work within 

the Force and climb up the ladder. Today, 

having established the Victims Support Unit, 

something which I had an inclination to 

start here, besides the personal satisfaction 

of creating something useful, I thank my 

superiors for granting the opportunity 

to allow me and my colleagues work on 

something new, and which I studied for, 

becoming my main line of work and expertise 

close to my heart. 

MBR: The Police Force is male dominated 

organisation. What were your challenges 

and motivational force upon embarking on 

this career, bearing in mind that to succeed 

it was not going to be so easy? 

SG: True, with most, if not all, high ranking 

positions, these are male dominated as you 

confirm. This is not only found within the 

Police Force, but also unfortunately in many 

other business sectors. In the beginning, 

coming from University background, at 24 

years I used to experience this, even though 

I joined up as an Inspector with my Degree. 

The males within the Force, seeing a senior 

career ranking officer in a managerial post 

initially used to feel different and withdrawn 

that a woman was going to be their superior. 

That culture was a sort of taboo, but with the 

passage of time, as a police woman facing 

various criminal cases, I learnt a lot and I 

matured considerably. These experiences also 

allowed me to deal with different characters 

and individuals, some are informal, some 

more demanding. In the end it is all about 

respect, understanding, being determined 

and being assertive, since we have to work 

together as a team. 

MBR: Are police today trusted and 

appreciated for the sacrifices they do? 

SG: Not everyone is the same. There are a 

lot of people who show respect to police 

and their roles. I work with a lot of victims 

of crime, and what I can confirm is that a lot 

of individuals who are suffering have great 

respect for us police officers. Of course, 

you will also meet those who criticise and 

condemn or slam the police. When this is the 

case we teach the victims to tell us why and 

how has the police failed them. We follow 

up by taking measure and control from that 

point onwards, trying to change the victim’s 

perception from a negative to a positive one. 

MBR: You have become a woman leader, 

and your position and a role carries some 

form of status with it. How do you find your 

work within the structure of the PF, do you 

encounter gender eaulity discrimination, 

and if so what do you do? 

SG: Having worked on sensitive cases in the 

Vice Squad, I got into contact with persons 

who needed help and I found myself asking 

how can I help these people better, by 

respecting the boundaries and without 

compromising my role. Through counselling 

I was able to assist more victims. Therefore, 

if a victim has been abused or discriminated, 

victims should be made aware that there are 

existing services and available help for them, 

and to convince them to take up that help. If 

you file a report and stops there, In reality you 

are still stuck. So you need to move forward. 

And policing is not all about investigation 

or prosecuting only. And if we go to court 

we wish that any case is tackled and solved 

from start to finish. If we do not take care of 

the victim and that victim is not finding any 

38

AGENTS OF CHANGE 

to domestic abuse 



help from us, then the case will 

not find its way in court and all 

that work done would have been 

in vain. That is why we make an 

emphasises that the victim has 

to be treated in the same way 

and with the same rights as those 

enjoyed by the offenders. Even 

victims have their rights and we 

must safeguard those rights to be 

able to proceed in court. 

MBR: When our religion is based 

on the importance of forgiveness 

in order to move forward, doesn’t 

it bother you that you are caught 

in the middle, between the victim 

and the perpetrator? 

SG: Working with victims is 

something that I do with a passion 

and I stick my neck if need be 

to help them feel comfortable. 

There is a huge difference how 

you speak with them and in the 

manner you need to make them 

not feel intimidated anymore. 

Most victims of abuse are woman 

and many times they find a male 

investigator in front of them, so 

they find it very difficult to speak 

or trust, since this is not the most ideal 

position for a victim to be in. There are many 

factors that also compromises their position, 

including fear and anger. Indeed, I get caught 

up not only between victims and offenders, 

but also between media and NGO agencies, 

between the court and the investigators, or 

prosecutors, but I believe that these persons 

need a lot of help from many other people, 

and if they do not find it, they will collapse and 

break down. 

MBR: You made a lot of public campaigns 

regarding sexual abuse, gay discrimination 

and battering, Don’t you think that there 

has not been enough education on this 

subject in Malta, and what element do you 

think is missing from our society? 

SG: In my personal opinion, I do not think 

it is right that there is an ongoing court case 

and this is being published in the media, with 

different interpretations and connotations. 

By expressing personal instead of factual 

opinions, this creates a lot of damage to 

victims and families, who do to wish to be 

made public or have their personal matters 

made public. This may also apply to the 

accused. Bordering on the sensationalism 

may only breakdown the victims. We do not 

have any control over the media or what the 

people say, and I do not agree with anyone 

making any public comments, especially 

when the case is still sub-judice. 

The element of indifference, detachment, 

things taken for granted, drug abuse, 

alcohol, living beyond one’s means and 

the permissiveness that anything goes are 

symptomatic of our society today. There is 

less morality and religion has been brushed 

aside. This has led to a neglect of pride in our 

culture, history and also lack of respect for 

one another, giving rise to crime. Punishment 

is a deterrent and leaving repeat offenders or 

serial abusers on bail will not help, as this send 

out the wrong message. We need to stop 

them. Rehabilitation serves its purpose with 

those who really want to be re-integrated 

within our society. Today, we have Probation 

on Parole, Community Services, which can 

enable offenders to get back into society. 

today, controlling a rampant drug problem 

has become one of our main challenges. 

This is where we need to 

concentrate our efforts, with 

other agencies using their 

expertise to provide advice, 

counselling, help with drawing 

up safety plans or progressing 

housing applications. 

Domestic violence is the third most reported 

crime to the police, following theft and 

damage. The number of such cases reported 

to the police in 2016 reached 1,379, while the 

total stood at 1,378 reports in 2017. domestic 

violence is very complex. t is difficult for some 

to leave an abusive relationship, especially if 

they were brought up in an abusive household. 

But we provide support and guidance on 

how to start coping independently. We have 

seen women whose lives were transformed 

in months, after they took the first step and 

reported the abuse. 

MBR: A recent report highlighted that 

lack of sustainable funding is one of the 

obstacles to support victims appropriately. 

How crucial is state funding to combat and 

prevent violence? 

SG: Most people want violence against 

women to stop. Whilst appropriate funding is 

absolutely necessary in supporting victims of 

crime, I believe that more effective support to 

such victims could be achieved through better 

coordination of available services offered 

by multitude stakeholders. A one-stop-shop 

for victims of crime, involving police services 

and other professionals working together 

could be the best forward. Gender budgeting 

has raised awareness of the significance 

of the gender dimension of finance in the 

implementation since most of this violence 

is not reported to the authorities. For this 

reason, most experts recommend surveys of 

the population to generate more accurate 

estimates which are robust in reporting on 

changes over time and differences between 

countries. There is as yet no completed 

survey that provides comparisons between 

countries of the different forms of violence, 

let alone comparisons of changes over time in 

different countries. However, there is a survey 

is in this field – an important development 

from the European Union Fundamental 

Rights Agency – though with limitations 

on the information being gathered, and a 

second one is proposed by the European 

Commission. Ideally a survey would be 

carried out in all the EU Member States that 

generates identical data on key indicators 

(harmonised by Eurostat) of different forms 

of gender-based violence against women and 

which is repeated on a regular basis so as to 

produce data on changes over time. This will 

require policy coordination at the EU level. 

MBR: How can you improve your response 

to domestic abuse? 

SG: We are doing a lot to raise awareness 

of domestic abuse as well as introducing 

new schemes that give the police additional 

powers to protect victims. We still have much 

to do in ensuring every police officer who 

responds to an incident understands the 

nature of abuse – the many forms it can take 

and how it can isolate the victim – and knows 

what to look for. We need every officer to 

use this knowledge to determine how to best 

protect the victim and progress a thorough 

investigation and prosecution without 

increasing their fear. This is where we need to 

concentrate our efforts, with other agencies 

using their expertise to provide advice, 

counselling, help with drawing up safety plans 

or progressing housing applications. 

The service victims of domestic abuse receive 

has greatly improved due to police investment 

in specialist officers, training call handlers 

to better assess risks and building working 

partnerships at local and national level with 

charities representing and supporting victims, 

and social care, health and probation services. 

The conviction rate for domestic violence has 

increased the recent past and the number of 

recorded domestic abuse incidents has also 

increased in recent years, which may be due 

to police forces improving their recording 

and increased public confidence in the police 

response. But many people still suffer in silence, 

and my I am determined to work harder to 

reach this segment as best possible. MBR 



39


MCA CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS SURVEY 

MCA Consumer Perceptions Survey – 

Fixed Telephony 

A brief overview of findings for a 

perception survey carried out in the 

period of December 2017 

The MCA is hereby publishing the findings of a 

survey gauging consumer perceptions based 

on their experience in using fixed telephony 

services offered in Malta. 

The survey, which was limited to residential 

users, was carried out by Grant Thornton via 

telephone interviews. A total of 824 randomly 

selected respondents participated in this survey. 

SURVEY VARIABLES ADDRESSED: 

• The level of satisfaction with 

the products and services being 

purchased, 

• The sensitivities to price changes 

and switching, 

• The overall experience with 

customer care related to faults. 

In this survey new questions were added, 

focusing on the features sought when 

purchasing a fixed telephony service, as well 

as the preference to use over-the-top (OTT) 

services to make a call instead of traditional 

fixed telephony. 

Almost all households have a fixed telephony 

connection; the bundling of this service was 

popular with respondents. 

Survey results show that a total of 99.8% 

of household respondents claim to have a 

fixed telephony subscription at their place 

of residence. 72% of households with a fixed 

telephony connection opted to purchase 

this service as a post-paid plan bundled in 

a two year contract with other electronic 

communication services. 

4% of all respondents reported being 

subscribed to more than 1 fixed telephony 

connection. 39% of respondents with 

more than 1 connection had an alternative 

connection due to availing themselves of 

another bundle offer. 

High levels of satisfaction reported amongst 

consumers; of those dissatisfied, few would 

switch service providers. 

Respondents reported having similar levels 

of satisfaction to what was observed in 

previous fixed telephony surveys carried out 

by the MCA. Indeed, satisfaction levels were 

very high with 42% of respondents reporting 

being satisfied with their current service 

whilst 48% reported being very satisfied with 

their fixed telephony. 

Only 1 in 10 respondents reported being 

dissatisfied with the current service 

being provided by their operator. Despite 

their dissatisfaction, almost half of the 

aforementioned were unlikely to switch 

service providers. 32% of those dissatisfied 

with their service would not switch as they 

believed that alternative operators would 

provide the same level of service whilst 29% 

could not switch as their service forms part of 

a bundle. The remaining 26% did not switch 

providers as they deemed the switch to be 

inconvenient. 

Some fixed telephony faults were reported 

throughout 2017; However, respondents 

were satisfied with corrective measures taken 

by operators. 

Most respondents reported having a fault-free 

experience with their fixed telephony service 

in 2017. In fact, 69% of respondents said that 

they had no faults in the last 12 months. On 

the other hand, 18% of respondents reported 

have one fault throughout the year whilst 

13% reported having between 2 to 5 during 

the same period. Only 1% of respondents said 

that they had more than 5 faults in 2017. 

Despite these faults, 79% of respondents 

were satisfied with the remedial response 

given by their operators when faults were 

reported. 

A GENERAL LACK OF KNOWLEDGE 

ON THE MONTHLY EXPENDITURE OF 

THEIR FIXED TELEPHONY SERVICE 

78% of respondents with a fixed telephony 

service were unable to identify their monthly 

expenditure on their fixed telephony service. 

This is an increase of 8 percentage points 

when compared to the same survey which 

took place in 2015. 64% of those unaware 

of their monthly expenditure said that they 

purchased their fixed telephony service in a 

bundle, thus were unable to identify the cost 

of the individual service. 

Two-thirds of respondents knowing their 

monthly payments identified their expenditure 

to be less than €20.00 a month on this service 

whilst the remaining third of respondents 

identified their expenditure to be between 

€20.00 and €50.00 monthly. 

LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE PER 

MINUTE COSTS OF CALLS 

Survey data suggests that lack of knowledge on 

per-minute calls from 2015 to 2017 has risen. 

Indeed, respondents were generally unaware 

of the costs of their calls on a per-minute 

basis from their fixed telephony service to any 

other device. At 25% respondents were most 

knowledgeable on the cost of a 1-minute call 

taking place on their same network from one 

fixed line to another. A possible reason for 

users’ lack of awareness could be due to the 

fact that several plans offered by operators 

provide allowances or unlimited calls which 

end-users may deem sufficient for their use. 

GROWING POPULARITY OF MOBILE 

TELEPHONY OVER FIXED TELEPHONY 

HOWEVER OTTS LAG BEHIND 

80% Household respondents reported that a 

mobile telephony service was substitutable 

with a standard fixed telephony connection. 

This is in an increase of 3 percentage points 

when compared to previous surveys carried 

out by the MCA. Conversely, only 46% 

respondents reported OTT applications such 

as WhatsApp, Skype or Messenger to be 

an effective substitute to a standard fixed 

telephony connection. 

BACKGROUND TO THE SURVEY 

FUNCTION AT THE MCA 

40

MCA CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS SURVEY 


The MCA has been carrying out the Consumer 

Perception Surveys on a two-yearly interval 

since 2008. The main purpose behind this 

exercise is to gather information on the level 

of satisfaction of local consumers with the 

products and services offered by electronic 

communication service providers and the 

extent to which these providers are able to 

address the demands of their clients. Given 

that these surveys have been carried out 

regularly for a number of years, survey results 

are indicative of how the needs of end-users 

have developed over time and how local 

service providers are dealing with changing 

demand over the years. 

Moreover, the interviews were distributed among 

Malta’s six official geographic regions and carried 

out across different socio economic categories of 

the Maltese population. MBR 

Creditline: Malta Communications Authority 

The results of these surveys also serve as 

an additional source of information for 

the MCA’s regulatory decisions, in order to 

ensure an environment that is conducive to 

sustainable competition and investment in 

view of the growing demands of the future. 

METHODOLOGY AND FIELDWORK 

The methodology used in the latest round of 

consumer surveys, including the sampling, 

questionnaire design, fieldwork and weighting 

processes followed similar approaches to 

previous surveys. The research methodology 

involved the use of Telephone Computerassisted 

interviewing (CATI). 

Consumers sampled were stratified according to 

the age composition of the Maltese population. 


41


SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING 

Media Opportunity: 

IHOb Goes Viral and Those Who Hopped Up to 

the Opportunity Cashed In 

By Ken Wisnefski 

With so many incredibly important headlines hitting the 

newswire lately, IHOP changing their name to IHOb – the 

“B” now stands for burgers – was a welcome source of levity 

that took social media by storm. As the number one trending story on 

Twitter, brands and comedians showed how much free advertising can 

be ascertained by jumping on the viral bandwagon. 

The Wendy’s Twitter account, which has 

2.64 million followers in large part due to its 

consistent source of humour, won the day 

when they replied to a user asking them 

about IHOb entering their turf saying, “Not 

really afraid of the burgers from a place that 

decided pancakes were too hard.” The tweet 

generated 93,000 retweets and 264,000 

favorites. These are astronomical numbers 

that didn’t cost them a penny. 

Burger King was quick to join in on the party 

as well. They went viral thanks to a quick logo 

and cover photo switch. They changed their 

official Twitter name to Pancake King and 

were quickly being mentioned by hundreds 

of thousands of Twitter users and having 

reporters mention their brand all over. 

As you can see in the examples above when 

you combine creativity and timeliness, big 

things can happen. Social Media Marketing 

expert and owner of the digital marketing 

agency WebiMax, Ken Wisnefski, explains 

what the IHOb phenomenon can teach 

businesses and marketers alike. 

“In the age of social, it’s all about what’s 

trending. Finding a unique slant and taking 

advantage of an emerging story can help 

a brand reap all of the benefits with very 

little work.” 

Wisnefski continued, “With Facebook 

making it more and more difficult to pay 

for engagement from a targeted audience, 

especially on a budget, it’s never been more 

important to work smarter not harder on 

social media.” 

According to Wisnefski: 

• All public figures should utilize Twitter 

and other platforms to engage with their 

audience to build their brand. 

• Marketers and businesses need to 

constantly be monitoring the news in 

order to capitalize on the latest trending 

stories. 

• Wendy’s and others prove that you can’t 

just be promotional on social media. You 

need to have a sense of humor or inform 

your audience in a way that keeps them 

engaged and coming back for more. 

Ken Wisnefski is available to discuss the IHOb 

marketing strategy, what businesses and 

marketers alike can learn from this viral story 

and how other brands can emulate Wendy’s, 

Burger King and others who successfully took 

advantage of this opportunity. If you would 

like to book Wisnefski for an article, interview 

or appearance, please contact Andrew 

Schetter at aschetter@webimax.com or 

856-889-9178. 

Creditline: Ken Wisnefski 

MBR 

42

B2B EXPO 


New scheme for start-ups launched at government’s first B2B Expo 

Minister Chris Cardona launched Malta 

Enterprise’s new scheme aimed at startups, 

‘Start-Up Advance’, as part of the 

government’s commitment to drive 

innovation and encourage growth, during 

the first B2B Malta Expo. Qualifying 

start-ups can be granted up to a gamechanging 

€100,000. 

Malta Enterprise offers a large number of 

grants and support catering from the ground 

up and to nurture it along the way with 

financial help and advice. 

“Our economy has reached new highs but 

we know that our country boasts so much 

potential. This grant will bring us one step closer 

to tapping into prospective entrepreneurs’ 

talent. We want to empower and attract 

bright, innovative, diverse, educated, and 

globally-minded people and make Malta an 

exciting place to be”, said the Minister. 

The Minister encouraged the 900 delegates 

and exhibitors to approach the B2B Expo with 

a spirit of generosity and not only operate 

with the thought of reciprocity in mind. 

“Your business will grow faster when you help 

others grow theirs. Though it might sound 

counter-intuitive, it works time and time again. 

Business is about building a relationship with 

your customer and fundamentally trust. And 

in a B2B context, we’re talking relationships 

that are usually long-lasting and produce big 

numbers - bigger investments and greater 

revenue generation”, Minister Cardona said. 

The B2B Expo programme included 

international key speakers with inspiring 

addresses on team leadership, innovation, 

entrepreneurship, and innovation. Keynote 

speakers included Sir Clive Woodward, the 

Head Coach who led England’s rugby players 

to win the World Cup in 2003, Sahar Hashemi, 

OBE and entrepreneur best known for 

building two famous brands Coffee Republic 

and Skinny Candy, and Chris Moss, founder of 

the Orange Brand, creator of Virgin Atlantic’s 

‘Magic Moments’, and Former 118 118 Chief 

Executive. Jason Miller, Head of Content and 

Social Media Marketing at LinkedIn, also gave 

a masterclass on marketing. 

The Ministry organised the event for local 

businesses to create and develop professional 

collaborations, and at the same time, grow 

their business and learn of new trends or 

tendencies in their domain. An opportunity 

for learning was also the Expo’s priority, with 

talks on modern businesses challenges such 

as data, marketing, digital transformation, 

and blockchain. Admittance was free. MBR 

Creditline/Photo: The Ministry For The 

Economy, Investment And Small Businesses 

DOI- Anthony Sultana 

DOI- Anthony Sultana 

KEEPING YOU CONNECTED 

PHONE BOX SAN GWANN 

Triq Tal-Balal, San Gwann, SGN 9016 

Phone: (+356) 2138 1666 

Fax: (356) 21371677 

PHONE BOX SLIEMA 

47, Bisazza Street, Sliema, SLM 1640 

Phone: (+356) 2133 4466 

www.phonebox.com.mt 


43


EU: DRONES 

EU-WIDE RULES FOR SAFETY 

OF DRONES APPROVED BY 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

• Common safety level across EU 

• Legal certainty to help boost market 

development 

• Modernised safety aviation rules to 

meet new challenges 

MEPs backed new EU-wide rules to ensure 

the safe use of drones and to update 

aviation safety rules. 

This month, MEPs approved an agreement 

reached between Council and Parliament 

negotiators in November 2017 on EU-wide 

principles for drones and drone operators 

to ensure a common level of safety and 

give operators and manufacturers the 

predictability to develop products and 

services. Currently most drones fall under 

differing national rules, which can hamper 

market development. 

Under new rules, drones would need to 

be designed so that they can be operated 

without putting people at risk. Based on risk 

related to, for example, the weight of the 

drone or area of operation, the drone would 

need additional features, such as automated 

landing in case the operator loses contact 

with the drone or collision avoidance systems. 

Drone operators need to be aware of all the 

rules that apply to them and must be able 

to operate a drone safely, without putting 

people or other airspace users at risk. This 

means that some drone operators would be 

required to go through training before they 

can operate a drone. 

To help identify the drone operators if there is 

an incident, operators of drones would need 

to be on national registers and their drones 

marked for identification. This would not 

apply to operators of the smallest drones. 

Based on the key principles, the EU Commission 

is tasked with developing more detailed EUwide 

rules, such as maximum altitude and 

distance limits for drone flight, and which 

drone operations and drones would need to 

be certified based on the risk they pose. The 

rules would also determine which operators 

need additional training and to be registered 

and which drones would need to have 

additional safety features. 

Modernising aviation safety rules 

In addition to laying down EU wide rules for 

drones, the changes update the EU safety 

legislation for the aviation sector to maintain 

EU-wide rules for drones to provide a common level of safety and legal 

certainty for producers and operators© AP Images/European Union-EP 

the EU’s high level of aviation safety, while 

ensuring that the rules are more fit for 

purpose, more proportionate and risk-based 

to handle the expected increase in air traffic 

in the coming decades. 

Further changes boost cooperation between 

the EU’s aviation safety agency and national 

authorities when assessing risks in regard to 

flights over conflict zones. They also mandate 

the Commission to develop standards for 

downloading data from flight recorders in real 

time when an aircraft is in distress, to speed 

up emergency response. 

Next steps 

The provisional agreement was approved 

with 558 votes in favour, 71 against and 

48 abstentions. The rules now need to be 

approved by the EU ministers. 

Background 

Currently, drones lighter than 150kg fall 

under the jurisdiction of national authorities 

and therefore manufacturers and operators 

are subject to different design and safety 

requirements. 

Civil drone technology could account for an 

estimated 10% of the EU aviation market 

within the next 10 years (i.e. about €15 billion 

per year). According to the Commission, the 

drone industry could create some 150,000 

jobs in the EU by 2050. MBR 

Credit: EP-EU/EP-Valletta 

44


BUSINESS LAUNCH 

Spar continues european expansion 

with entry into Malta 

World’s largest voluntary food retail chain 

enters Malta with established Maltese partner 

the Azzopardi Group 

SPAR International has announced its entry 

into the Maltese retail market. Partnering with 

Malta’s leading FMCG company the Azzopardi 

Group, SPAR Malta will be part of SPAR 

International, the world’s largest food retail 

chain with over 12,777 stores in 48 countries 

and overall sales of up to €34.5 billion. 

The first store in Malta, a SPAR Supermarket, 

opened on 12 June in Marsaxlokk in the 

south-east of the country. The launch was 

marked with a ceremony where the store’s 

opening was warmly welcomed by the 

town’s Mayor, residents of Marsaxlokk and 

the media. The newly refurbished 340 m² 

store offers customers the new SPAR Bakery 

Concept, a delicatessen, a large range of fresh 

produce, a coffee offering, freshly packed fish 

and meats, as well as a large selection of SPAR 

Own Brand products. 

The second SPAR Malta store, Tigne, is set 

to open at the end of June in the town of 

Sliema, in the centre of the island. Plans are 

in place to open three subsequent stores 

before the end of 2018, with the aim of 

opening a total of 23 stores by 2025, including 

two INTERSPAR Hypermarkets, four largeformat 

SPAR Supermarkets, and 17 SPAR 

neighbourhood stores. Beyond the consistent 

tourist population, Malta is home to a wellestablished 

international resident population. 

The different SPAR Malta store formats 

will cater to the diverse needs of both the 

resident and tourist populations throughout 

the country. 

SPAR International will support the Azzopardi 

Group with store design and layout plans, 

employee training and development, sourcing 

own brand products from international and 

regional partners. 

Entry into Malta demonstrates SPAR’s 

ongoing expansion in the Southern European 

region. Neighbouring the strong SPAR 

presence in Italy, with over 1,210 stores, 

and the burgeoning markets of Greece and 

Cyprus, SPAR Malta will consistently deliver 

high-quality SPAR Own Brand products along 

with fresh local produce to the new Maltese 

retail market. 

Tobias Wasmuht, Managing Director, SPAR 

International said: “I am delighted SPAR is 

partnering with the Azzopardi Group in Malta. In 

addition to having strong retail and distribution 

expertise and deep knowledge of the market, 

the Azzopardi Group also shares our SPAR values 

with a dedication to fresh produce, value and 

excellent customer service.” 

Wasmuht also noted “With a significant 

international and tourist population which is 

already familiar with SPAR, Malta is a great 

market for SPAR to develop. This launch 

marks another significant milestone for SPAR 

strengthening our operations in Southern 

Europe and in the Eurozone aligned with our 

expansion strategy.” 

Speaking about the launch, Joseph Azzopardi, 

Managing Director of the Azzopardi Group said 

“We are proud and excited to be partnering 

with such a well-known and respected 

organisation as SPAR International. SPAR’s 

global presence and high standards in retail 

best practice will complement the Azzopardi 

Group’s local expertise in the Maltese retail 

market. Together we will offer customers 

high-quality produce and a superior retail 

experience, as well as job opportunities and 

growth of the local retail market.” 

The Azzopardi Group was founded by two 

brothers in 1980. The Group works across 

a number of sectors in Malta including 

food import and distribution, food retail, 

aquaculture and property development. 

The company currently operates 25 stores 

on the Maltese Islands with a turnover of 

€25 million. Its strong local knowledge in 

infrastructure, warehousing, logistics and 

retail capabilities will help it effectively 

develop SPAR in the Maltese market. The 

Azzopardi Group is also a corporate leader in 

local social responsibility activities, involved 

in charitable partnerships and community 

initiatives throughout the country. MBR 

About SPAR International 

SPAR International is the world’s largest food 

retail voluntary chain with over 12,700 stores 

worldwide and global retail sales of €34.5 billion 

in 2017. SPAR International unites and operates 

in partnership with independent retailers by 

working together to share global scale and 

expertise to enhance the competitiveness of 

its retail partners worldwide and build the SPAR 

brand internationally. 

Creditline: SPAR International 

46

CPA/PCA WARRANTS 


THREE HUNDRED 

SIXTEEN 

ACCOUNTANTS 

AND AUDITORS 

RECEIVE CPA AND 

PCA WARRANTS 

AND CERTIFICATES 

- 

In all, 316 Certified 

Public Accountant (CPA) 

warrants and Practising 

Certificates in Auditing 

(PCA) were presented by 

the Minister for Finance 

Edward Scicluna, during a 

ceremony held at Hastings 

Gardens, Valletta. 

DOI - Jason Borg 

During his address, the Minister underlined 

the importance of the professional training 

that the accountants and auditors received as 

part of their formation. 

Minister Scicluna explained that the recipients of 

the warrant now had great responsibilities. The 

public shall be trusting them to carry out work 

with professionalism, integrity and good faith. 

Minister for Finance, explained how the 

accountancy profession acts as the backbone 

of the skill-set provided by the Maltese 

workforce. He proceeded by emphasizing 

that such a profession also contributes to the 

attractiveness of the local financial sector for 

foreign investment. 

A total of 316 Certified Public Accountant 

(CPA) warrants and Practising Certificates in 

Auditing (PCA) were handed out during the 

ceremony. 216 accountants received the CPA 

warrant, 22 auditors received the PCA and 78 

received both the CPA warrant and the PCA. 

He congratulated all the accountants and 

auditors who received their warrants or 

certificates for their achievement, and wished 

them well for all their future endeavours. 

The ceremony was presided over by the Minister 

for Finance Edward Scicluna and Accountancy 

Board Chairman, Peter Baldacchino, and Board 

Secretary, Martin Spiteri. MBR 

Courtesy: The Ministry For Finance 


47


CASE STUDIES IN CORPORATE BANKING 

From Moonshot to Reality: AI in Action 

KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

• What is vision, and what is reality for AI 

applications in corporate banking? 

• What are examples of AI in action? 

• What are the building blocks for 

successful AI implementation? 

AI is increasingly moving from experiments to 

reality in the corporate bank 

The concept of a cognitive corporate bank is 

no longer moonshot. AI is increasingly 

moving from experiments to reality in 

the corporate bank. Recently Celent's 

Alenka Grealish published a report 

titled From Moonshot to Reality: AI in 

Action. 

This report showcases five exemplars 

of AI in action: Citibank, Standard 

Bank, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, a 

global bank, and mBank. 

This report looks at the following 

questions: 

What is a vision and what is a reality for 

AI applications in corporate banking 

What are examples of AI in action 

What are the building blocks for 

successful AI implementation 

"A key success factor is a transformationdriven 

leadership willing to embrace 

new paradigms and business models 

based on assumptions about the future 

rather than the facts of the past," says 

Alenka Grealish, Senior Analyst with 

Celent's Banking practice. 

ABSTRACT 

The concept of a cognitive corporate 

bank was considered a moonshot a 

decade ago. Banks and tech providers have 

taken on the challenge. Today, AI is solving 

major challenges and enabling banks to 

boldly reimagine customer engagement and 

workflows. 

AI is increasingly moving from experiments 

to reality in the corporate bank. Celent 

showcases five exemplars of AI in action: 

Citibank, Standard Bank, Bank of America 

Merrill Lynch, a global bank, and mBank. 

The exemplars of AI in action share three 

traits:farsightedness, boldness, and focus. 

They are farsighted in their motivation and 

planning. They are bold in that their initiatives 

require breaking from traditional paradigms 

and constraints. Whether the initiative is 

enterprisewide or specific, they are focused 

on clear and measurable goals. MBR 

Creditline: Celent PR & Digital 

48

EDITOR'S CHOICE 


“SOMEDAY… 

everything will make 

perfect sense” 

Edward Debono 

Born on 19th May 1933, there are few people 

who have lived as many lives as Edward 

de Bono. Following his completion of a 

medical degree at the University of Malta, 

his continued thirst for excellence led him to 

pursue a Masters degree in Psychology and 

Physiology at the University of Oxford where 

he also set two canoeing records and was 

part of the Oxford polo team. He later read 

for a PhD in medicine at Trinity College in 

Cambridge and has written over fifty books, 

his most acclaimed being the ‘Six Thinking 

Caps’. Much like the planet named after him, 

he carries his own gravity! 

As someone who is an internationally 

recognised symbol of Maltese excellence who 

has reached iconic status both in his field and 

off, Edwards Lowell felt a particular resonance 

with de Bono’s vision for all encompassing 

excellence and it is for this reason that he was 

chosen to be the first in their series of achievers 

of excellence. The “Someday…everything will 

make perfect sense” campaign will see Edwards 

Lowell collaborating with people who have 

reached the peak of their careers and set a 

benchmark for future generations. 

Having himself coined the widely used term 

‘lateral thinking’ to explain thinking outside 

of the box with imagination, Edward de Bono 

is nothing if not an innovator. Always striving 

to refine his thoughts and ideas and present 

them in a new way, his recent conference 

which took place at Verdala Palace under 

the patronage of H.E. Marie-Louise Coleiro 

Preca on 19th May 2018 saw de Bono use the 

palace as the setting for his first ever ‘Palace 

of New Thinking’ conference. Believing that 

a new idea and approach is able to better 

solve problems of conflict, the ‘Palace of 

New Thinking’ conference is to be held once 

every year and is focused on discussing 

creative ideas about different world issues. 

Commenting about his choice of venue, de 

Bono was quick to point out that in order for 

people to be able to discuss stubborn issues 

of international concern, one must have a 

place of dignity and importance which has 

a very clear function. The setting plays a big 

part in the formulation of a higher and more 

innovative way of thinking. 

A name synonymous with setting new, 

high standards both here as well as abroad, 

Edwards Lowell have long been considered to 

be pioneers in their own field when it comes 

to both luxury goods as well as service and, 

like Edward de Bono who is defined by his 

work and passion, they have succeeded in 

constantly coming up with innovative, stateof-the-art 

concepts executed to the highest 

of standards. Established in 1925 by Charles 

E. Lowell, the company has always strived 

for quality and excellence within the luxury 

goods field and has not only succeeded in 

holding onto the sterling reputation that its 

founding father forged, but it has gone from 

strength to strength since its conception 

and today, the company is still the exclusive 

Maltese distributor for all the luxury brands 

it represents, paying great attention to detail 

and perfecting every facet of the impeccable 

service they offer. 

Edwards Lowell felt that the “Someday… 

everything will make perfect sense” slogan 

would be an ideal title for their campaign 

to illustrate the importance of patience, 

resilience and a willingness to grow and 

achieve. Success like that of Edward de Bono, 

who has been nominated as one of the 150 

people who have contributed the most to the 

whole history of humanity, is not achieved 

overnight; however, if one is willing to put 

time and effort into their work, everything 

will, naturally, make perfect sense. 

Synonymous with luxury since 1925, Edwards 

Lowell is launching its new promotional 

campaign named: “Someday...everything will 

make perfect sense.” Featuring local achievers 

and their often times creative approaches 

to their work and unwavering passion, the 

campaign’s subjects have all broken the mould 

in their own respective fields, succeeding both 

in Malta as well as internationally by building 

unique as well as thought-provoking legacies. 

Like Edwards Lowell, these remarkable 

individuals have set the benchmark for the 

next generation and without their input, many 

things we all know and enjoy would not be 

possible. They are not just leaders, but they are 

innovators who have gone above and beyond 

that which is expected of them. In short, they 

are living legends. 

The choice of each high achiever is down to 

their values and successes and reflects Edwards 

Lowell’s ninety-three year pursuit of quality 

and excellence within the field of luxury goods. 

Celebrating the special few who have worked 

their will on history and whose passion and 

love for what they do has lit the torch to show 

the way to countless others, the campaign 

reflects Edwards Lowell’s own approach to 

achieving excellence: while getting to the top 

of your game is never easy, if you are willing to 

dream and invest energy and consistency, it will 

all be worth it in the end. MBR 

http://www.elcol.com/someday/ 

Courtesy: Edwards Lowell 


49


INFRASTRUCTURE 

Optimising traffic in real time: 

SMIGHT and PTV have teamed up 

to develop a joint solution for cities 

and municipalities 

CeBIT 2018 / SMIGHT Traffic keeps 

traffic flowing / Intelligent street 

lighting supplies traffic data 

The smart city of tomorrow is benefiting 

from the increasing intelligence of our 

infrastructure. The EnBW brand SMIGHT 

(Smart City Light) and PTV Group have 

teamed up in a joint devel-opment initiative 

to optimise urban traffic in real time. SMIGHT 

Traffic unites the advantages of intelligent 

traffic recording with the leading software for 

real-time optimisation of traffic flows. Cities 

and municipalities can use the new solution 

to analyse traffic flows and plan ahead proactively, 

thereby strategically reducing the 

traffic load. 

More and more people are moving into large 

cities where they work, live, and play. As 

the number of inhabitants grows, so do the 

demands placed on the infrastructure of a 

smart city. EnBW is developing solutions to 

this problem through SMIGHT. The brand’s 

intelligent street lighting and multifunctional 

base towers can be equipped with features 

such as public WiFi, charging technology for 

electric cars, or sensors for recording traffic 

data and environmental information. This is 

where PTV’s traffic planning and management 

software comes in. SMIGHT Traffic records 

the various road users and transmits the data 

to the smart city plat-form SMIGHT IQ. There 

the data is mapped as a real-time simulation 

and enables forward-looking analysis of 

potential traffic events. 

The cooperation combines intelligent 

infrastructure solutions from SMIGHT with 

planning and optimisation software from 

PTV Group. Thanks to the broader database 

provided by this solution, urban and transport 

planners can not only evaluate road transport, 

but also better actively manage it. Historic 

data collected in the past, for example, can 

be processed in PTV Visum software to assist 

in strategic transport planning and modelling. 

Additionally, dynamic traffic information 

collected in real time via intelligent street 

lighting can be fed into the operative traffic 

management system PTV Optima. 

“This reduces the traffic load and enhances 

quality of life,” explains Oliver Deuschle, 

Director of SMIGHT. No matter whether 

car, bus, or bike – the sheer number and 

variety of mobility options are posing new 

challenges for transport planners in cities 

and municipalities. “The inter-play of PTV 

and SMIGHT solutions can identify traffic 

disruptions before they even occur. Smart 

sensor technology, secure data processing, 

and real-time simulation enable cities and 

municipalities to optimise their traffic flow 

early on,” says Peter Möhl of PTV, explaining 

the synergies created by the cooperation. 

Cities of the future: mobile, networked, secure 

SMIGHT regards the intelligent city of 

tomorrow as more than just an unbroken 

flow of traffic. It is more environmentally 

friendly, more liveable, and more connected. 

In addition to hardware, SMIGHT offers 

products such as intelligent charging stations, 

multifunctional base towers, and software for 

data and equipment management. SMIGHT 

also provides extensive services for system 

operation. This portfolio encompasses all the 

components necessary for holistic design of 

smart city projects. 

From 11 to 15 June, SMIGHT offered a 

glimpse of its smart solutions for the future at 

CEBIT (Hall 14, Stand J64). 

With its solutions, PTV Group is helping cities, 

companies, and people around the entire 

world save time and money, make streets safer, 

and minimise impact on the environment. PTV 

is present in the Future Mobility section of 

CEBIT 2018 as a Volkswagen sub-exhibitor (Hall 

25, Stand A23). 

The German company PTV Planung Transport 

Verkehr AG is a member of PTV Group. www. 

ptvgroup.com. MBR 

Background Information 

SMIGHT. A brand of EnBW Energie Baden- 

Württemberg AG (EnBW) 

SMIGHT is a term made up from the words 

smart city light. In 2014, EnBW pooled its knowhow 

gained over more than100 years in energy 

supply and street lighting and launched an 

innovation project for the development of the 

street lamp of the future. After only two years, 

SMIGHT has become a success, being used 

throughout Germany, Switzerland, Norway 

and Australia. SMIGHT has thus developed 

from intelligent street lighting to a unique 

system that combines lighting, environmental 

sensors, e-mobility, public WLAN and much 

more. www.smight.com 

Creditline: PTV Group 

50

EDITOR'S CHOICE 


BIG BANG REFEREE 

2018 FIFA WORLD 

CUP RUSSIA 

Keeping pace with the games in real time 

2018 means the FIFA World CupTM! For its 3rd 

participation as a Branded Licensee, Hublot 

has created the watch that all football fans and 

Hublot fans have been waiting for! A smart 

watch that will instantly connect you to every 

decisive second of the matches being played at 

the 2018 FIFA World Cup. A much-anticipated 

innovation that could not have been imagined 

by any other watch brand, given the extent to 

which Hublot and Football are as one. Not only 

is the footballing world going to march to the 

beat of the watchmaker, but now the pulse of 

the matches will reach its peak on your wrist! 

“The Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup 

RussiaTM offers all the usual features of a 

smart watch of course, but that’s not where 

Hublot has applied its innovation and audacity. 

It brings together everything that inspires the 

passion of football lovers! The FIFA World 

Cup is the Holy Grail of emotions for football 

fans, so just imagine what an object such as a 

watch that captures each and every one of its 

moments, its turning points, its stakes could 

suddenly represent? The football aficionados 

from among the brand’s friends have been 

waiting for this watch for a long time!” 

Ricardo Guadalupe, CEO of Hublot 

It was a specific need expressed by FIFA, 

and Hublot brought it to life! Wanting a 

customised watch for the referees, FIFA 

asked Hublot to conceive the perfect watch 

to accompany them on the pitches during 

the matches.Hublot designed this connected 

watch, its first, for the footballing universe: 

the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup 

RussiaTM. It is a unique edition that is limited 

to 2018 pieces. It has all the attributes of the 

iconic Big Bang. Its emblematic architecture 

cut out of the lightness of titanium, its bezel 

decorated with 6 H-shaped screws, its Kevlar 

insert. Even the display on its analogue mode 

dial could pass for the same aesthetic as 

that of the automatic models. In terms of 

size, its 49-mm case is what makes the first 

difference, then its motor, which, for the first 

time, is driven by technology connected to 

digitalintelligence. It is certainly a connected 

watch, but it is first and foremost a Hublot 

watch! 

Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup 

Russia 

Beating to the rhythm of the football, the Big 

Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM 

immediately shows its distinctive spirit as the 

personification of an application specially 

developed for the competition and a series of 

“fan” dials in the colours of each participating 

nation. Featuring several notifications, the Big 

Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM 

announces matches 15 minutes before their 

kick-off, as well as yellow and red cards, player 

changes and goals. The Big Bang Referee 2018 

FIFA World Cup RussiaTM vibrates, displaying 

the word GOAL instantly every time a goal is 

scored. During the match, the dial shows the 

match statistics including the score, number 

of cards, names of goal-scorers, player 

substitutions and match time. 

The digital world provides the Big Bang with 

even greater flexibility and versatility. A watch 

which—having emblematically borne the first 

Hublot manufacture movement, the most 

unusual and audacious materials, the most 

assertive colours—has been reinvented for 

the digital era by offering 32 dials inspired by 

the flags of the participating countries, and 

two neutral dials. It is available in analogue 

or digital versions. Thanks to its patented 

interchangeable “One Click” strap, the watch 

can easily be matched to one of its two straps. 

Two are provided with the watch, a cuff strap in 

sponge sporting the 2018 FIFA World CupTM 

emblem and that of Hublot, a black lined 

natural rubber strap. So as to perfect each fan’s 

kit, Hublot has also anticipated an additional 

strap for them in the colours of their country. 

In a turn of the dial, with the swipe of a finger, 

select your team or closely follow a competitor. 

The Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup 

RussiaTM has already been tested discreetly 

on the wrist of the referees many times during 

the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017TM and the 

FIFA Club World Cup 2017TM. 

Benefiting from the Wear OS ecosystem, 

the Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup 

RussiaTM has thousands of downloadable 

applications in addition to its competition 

functions. In terms of synchronisation, the 

Big Bang Referee 2018 FIFA World Cup 

RussiaTM is compatible with all telephones 

using Android 4.4 and above or iOS 9 and 

above. For charging, the watch just needs to 

be placed on a contact charger. MBR 

Courtesy: Edwards Lowell 


51


FIA WC: NIKE 

NIKE releases iconic #Brasileirgagem World Cup Advert and pays tribute to Ronaldo 

NIKE releases iconic 

#Brasileirgagem World 

Cup Advert and pays 

tribute to Ronaldo 

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup this 

summer and 20 years since NIKE 

set the standard in pre-tournament 

promotion, the super brand has once again 

released an iconic commercial featuring 

Brazil, one of the ten teams it will be kitting 

this year. 

This time around, the advert draws reference 

to social media and video games and presents 

Brazil’s golden generation carrying the hopes 

of a football-crazy nation in the run-up to this 

summer’s World Cup in Russia, particularly 

after its tragic 7-1 defeat to Germany four 

years ago. The advert also recreates the 1998 

Brazil World Cup advert starring Ronaldo, 

Romario as well as the rest of that year’s 

national team. Ronaldo is seen re-enacting 

his infamous ‘penalty’ miss, yet this time, he 

is slightly more rotund. 

The advert flash-backs to the classical scene 

of a boy dribbling a ball within the Rio Favelas, 

and this is juxtaposed with the Selecao 

dressing room… a clear nod to the Brazilian 

Football dream, or perhaps any young boy’s 

dream growing up, wherever he is in the 

world. The 2018 advert also has a strong 

female presence, proving that football knows 

no gender. 

The childhood dream is further portrayed 

in the closing of the advert with a young 

boy delivering a rousing team talk, as he 

exclaims: “This is Brazil. No fear! This jersey 

has history!”. The NIKE advert can be viewed 

here: www.bit.ly/braziladvert2018 

Brazil will start among the favourites in 

Russia as they aim to win the World Cup for 

the sixth time. 

NIKE will be kitting 10 countries during the 

upcoming World Cup, including Brazil, France 

and England. NIKE also expects 60 percent of 

all the players heading to Russia to wear their 

Football boots. 

Time international Sport Ltd, subsidiary of 

Hudson Holdings Ltd, is the official NIKE 

representative and distributor in Malta. The 

company sold its first pair of NIKE in Malta 

in 1987. Since then, it has slowly taken over 

or managed NIKE’s distribution in most of 

Africa. For more information visit www. 

hudson.com.mt or like the ‘Hudson Group 

Malta’ page on Facebook. MBR 

Courtesy: Hudson Holdings 

52

ARTS & CULTURE 


Introducing MICAS (Malta International Contemporary Art Space) 

Photo: DOI - Pierre Sammut 

“As Malta’s first national space dedicated 

exclusively to contemporary art, MICAS 

aims to positively energise Malta’s cultural 

ecology. It will play a pivotal role in Malta’s 

cultural development as an active player on 

the world stage, connecting communities 

and audiences whilst also promoting 

internationalism and cultural diplomacy”, 

stated Minister for Justice, Culture and Local 

Government Owen Bonnici. 

MICAS will serve as a platform to showcase 

world-class contemporary art and visual 

culture through exhibitions, collection 

displays and installations, as well as a range of 

cultural activities and educational events. 

“As clearly set out in our programme and 

strategy for culture and the arts, we want 

to invest further in our growing cultural 

and creative sector, a sector that has been 

increasingly strengthened and is performing to 

high expectation”, Minister Bonnici continued. 

Located in the former Ospizio site and the 

adjacent Ritirata in Floriana, currently 

undergoing restoration works led by the 

Restoration Directorate, MICAS is scheduled 

to open in 2021. IPO Studio, a Florencebased 

architectural firm specialising in 

civic architecture, are designing the space, 

and will add another layer to the site’s rich 

history. The central concept is to bring 

together two key elements: the historic 

fabric and landscape of the fortifications with 

the functions of a contemporary art space. 

Giovanni Barbara’s iconic skew arch, known 

as the Arco Barbara, will be incorporated 

into the project, which overlooks the Msida 

part of Marsamxett Harbour. 

Parliamentary Secretary for Consumer 

Protection and Valletta 2018 Deo Debattista 

said that this new space will keep pushing local 

artists to promote their talent and dedication, 

and that as such Malta will continue to stand 

out on the global cultural stage. 

MICAS is about inspiring 

creativity, raising public 

awareness of the significance of 

the visual arts in contemporary 

life and how visual art and 

artists help mediate and 

interpret the world. 

Phyllis Muscat, Chairperson of the Coordinating 

Board for Culture Projects which is managing 

this project, said that “MICAS is about inspiring 

creativity, raising public awareness of the 

significance of the visual arts in contemporary 

life and how visual art and artists help 

mediate and interpret the world. It’s about 

the showcasing of Maltese contemporary art.” 

MICAS will not only become a showcase 

for local contemporary artists, but it will 

also engage with international artists and 

institutions to present groundbreaking 

works by acclaimed names from all over the 

world. Swiss-born, New York-based artist Ugo 

Photo: DOI - Pierre Sammut 

Rondinone will be the first internationally 

renowned artist to collaborate with MICAS 

and is currently working on a series of 

installations created specifically for the site. 

In October 2018, MICAS will be launched 

officially through a series of events, which 

will include the unveiling of Ugo Rondinone’s 

project, talks about contemporary art with 

leading international and local experts in 

the field, and an audio-visual exhibition that 

will explain the history of the Ospizio and its 

transformation into MICAS. 

MICAS is a Government of Malta infrastructural 

legacy project for the culture and the arts 

sector. With a footprint of over 1300 square 

meters, MICAS will be realised through statefunded 

restoration of historical fortifications 

and an EU co-funded project that will deliver the 

MICAS internal galleries through the European 

Regional Development Fund in 2021. MBR 

Courtesy: The Ministry For Justice, Culture 

And Local Goverment 


53


BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION 

Repairing spalling concrete with mirco fibre 

reinforced cement 

Safeguarding 

our Churches 

By Antoine Bonello 

This product is mainly dark coloured, made 

from bitumen and covered with gravel. 

Soon after its application this material starts 

to harden, loose cohesion and harm the 

environment due to the evaporation of oils 

caused by direct sunlight. What makes things 

worse is the excessive heat it absorbs and 

transmits to the concrete forcing it in turn to 

expand, thus opening the carpet membrane 

from the seams and makes it easier for 

water to infiltrate and difficult to perceive. 

The radiated heat inside the building creates 

structural damages and elevates considerably 

the inside temperature and creating a hot and 

humid environment. 

A clear sign of water infiltration is spalling 

concrete, this happens when metal is subjected 

to water for a very long period of time. In 

today’s world technology moves at a very 

rapid pace with materials being continuously 

developed and modified to meet today’s 

exigencies. We now have the ability to properly 

protect and stop water and heat with liquid 

resin membranes. They are designed to meet 

our harsh hot summer and sudden climate 

change. Their application is simply by roller, 

brush or sprayed and can be applied easily in 

corners and obstructed areas. The final result 

is completely seamless, elastic, resistant to 

heavy traffic, can withstand direct bonding 

of tiles. It is guaranteed to last for many years 

due to its resistance to UV rays. They are light 

in weight compared to other materials and can 

become stronger when they are reinforced 

with fibreglass net type 225 matt. 

The new generation of liquid resin has ability 

to reflect natural and UV radiation and have 

low heat absorption properties. A new 

thermal resin liquid membrane has now been 

launched in the market with elevated thermal 

and reflective properties able to increase 

solar panels efficiency and intake. A leading 

producer of these products is NAICI. These 

materials can even be applied on existing 

bitumen membranes given they are well 

adhered to the ground, the perfect answer 

for flat roofs. Besides its strong waterproofing 

Implementation of Thermal Waterproofing with Fibreglass reinforcement 

properties, this new resin liquid 

membrane has thermal properties, 

making it unique and hence reduces 

by far structural heat intake in summer 

by as much as 90%. Thus reducing the 

usage of air-conditioning to cool our 

houses or workplace. 

DIY is very popular here in Malta and to 

facilitate its application, a thermal resin 

membrane with micro fibres is now 

available thanks to NAICI. Always avoid 

plastics, acrylics, latex and cement based 

materials as they lack UV resistance and 

become brittle, most of them do not last 

a whole winter. 

A good advice if you hire an individual/s or 

firm to do your waterproofing works is to make 

sure that they are affiliated and in possession 

of the Malta Professional Waterproofing and 

Resin Flooring Association roofers card. This 

will save you the hassle of improper works by 

Immaculate Conception church in 

hamrun waterproofed with NAICI 

thermal resin membrane 

unaccountable or unethical persons which can 

give way to a serious of unwanted damages. 

The result could be an endless court case that 

will take years and could prove fruitless. MBR 


54

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION 


Our churches are a gift from our ancestors to us and it is our duty to make 

sure they are well preserved for future generations so that they may admire 

them in all their splendour. Like with everything churches differ from each 

other due to the contemporary architectural designs of the time. The art of 

church building in Malta spans for more than a 1000 years. The most recent 

ones date back to 1960’s and are built with stone, concrete and metal. Their 

shape is relatively very basic compered to their predecessors, having plain 

walls and a flat concrete roof instead of the traditional decorations and a dome 

made of limestone. Many of these churches are now experiencing concrete 

spalling due to water intake which is the result of inadequate waterproofing. 

Unfortunately back then these big concrete roof surfaces were waterproofed 

using the bitumen carpet membrane. This solution created more problems 

than it could possibly solve. 

Waterproofing of stairs after concrete 

spalling repairs 

Waterproofing of bridge after 

concrete spalling repairs 

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 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 


55


ILLEGAL MIGRATION 

MEPs 

demand an end to 

migrant deaths across the 

Mediterranean Sea 

MEPs called on EU leaders to come to an agreement on the Dublin system© European Union 2018 

MEPs call on EU leaders to agree on a position 

on the Dublin system. Next EU summit in 

Brussels on 28-29 June will be crucial European 

reception centres in transit countries to assist 

migrants. They discussed with Commissioner 

Dimitris Avramopoulos and the Council how 

to deal with humanitarian emergencies in the 

Mediterranean, following the decision by the 

Italian and Maltese governments not to allow 

the MV Aquarius, a ship operated by French 

NGOs SOS Mediterranée and Medecins sans 

Frontières, to land more than 629 people after 

rescuing them in the open sea. The migrants and 

asylum-seekers will be brought to Spain, after 

the Spanish Government announced it would 

welcome them on humanitarian grounds. 

Ahead of the next EU summit on 28-29 June, 

MEPs urge EU leaders to show real political 

will and draw up genuine solutions to finally 

end the migration crises. 

In a debate with European Commission 

First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and 

Deputy Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency 

of the Council of the EU, Monika Panayotova, 

on Tuesday morning, MEPs laid out their 

priorities for the next crucial EU summit in 

Brussels on 28-29 June. 

Some of the political groups urged EU leaders 

at the summit to put an end to formal 

discussions on migration and start working 

towards an agreement on the so-called 

“Dublin system”. They referred to the new 

Italian government’s recent decision to refuse 

a boat carrying migrants, the MS Aquarius, to 

dock in the country over the weekend as a 

“disgrace” and “a scandal”. 

EP President Antonio Tajani also called on EU 

leaders at the summit to press ahead with 

overhauling the Dublin rules, whilst pointing 

out that the European Parliament has 

adopted a clear position on the matter, based 

on solidarity. 

Some groups further stressed the need to 

build new European reception centres to 

assist migrants arriving in transit countries. 

Others highlighted that a solution to solve 

the migration crises, based on quotas and 

mandatory reallocation of refugees, simply 

cannot work, as demonstrated so far, and that 

other options need to be put on the table. 

MEPs also discussed US trade barriers and 

reforming the Eurozone, calling on the 

European Council to take further action with 

revamping the EMU. MBR 

Credit: EU Press Office 

56

The 4.4 per cent growth of the Maltese 

economy during the first quarter of 

this year translated into a €78 million 

increase in workers’ wages and a €70 million 

increase in gross profits of enterprises. These 

increases boosted private consumption which 

recorded a healthy increase of €34 million or 

3.1 per cent. 

ECONOMY 


SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH 

IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2018 

Minister For Finance Edward Scicluna 

This increase in economic wealth was 

experienced in both the primary and 

secondary sectors, which include the 

construction, manufacturing, agriculture, 

and fishing sectors. Notable growth was 

recorded in the real estate activities sector, 

the arts, entertainment and recreation 

sector which includes gaming, the wholesale 

and retail trade, transportation and storage, 

the accommodation and food services 

sectors as well as in professional, scientific, 

and technical activities and administrative 

and support service activities. 

“The sound growth figures in the first quarter 

augur well for this year and show that our 

country continues to generate wealth for all”, 

stated Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna. 

According to Eurostat, the 4.4 per cent 

growth figure for the Maltese economy is 

nearly double the average economic growth 

rate recorded in the EU. MBR 

Courtesy: The Ministry For Finance 

“IMPROVING THROUGH CHANGE” 

— Mid-year conference organised by the Permanent Secretary of the 

Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects 

Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and 

Capital Projects Ian Borg addressed a 

conference on ‘Improving through Change’, 

held by the Office of the Permanent Secretary 

of the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure 

and Capital Projects Christopher Cutajar. 

Ian Borg referred to the theme of the 

conference, and said that while the concept of 

change is an important one, it is also important 

to look back at what has been achieved and 

how this was implemented. He expressed his 

satisfaction at the achievements of the Ministry 

throughout this past year and mentioned the 

added relevance which the Ministry achieved 

in its duration. He said that this brought with 

it certain challenges, but he commended and 

thanked the Ministry’s employees for their 

good work. 

Minister Borg stressed the importance of the 

country’s economic wealth, but reminded 

those present that this also means that 

we need to work harder to maintain and 

further improve the momentum gained. The 

Minister said that a lot more remains to be 

done and referred to the forthcoming setting 

up of Infrastructure Malta, which will be 

implementing the unprecedented investment 

of €700 million in road infrastructure. He 

spoke about the need to continue seeking 

to further improve upon the achievements 

by Transport Malta. The Minister went on to 

refer to the work done by his predecessor the 

Joe Mizzi in the area of public transport, which 

has now gained a level of popularity which 

necessitates more work so that efficiency 

is improved. Ian Borg also reminded those 

present of the importance of the aviation and 

maritime sectors. 

From his end, Parliamentary Secretary for 

Planning and the Property Market Chris Agius 

thanked the Permanent Secretary for this 

initiative which is to lead to better knowledge 

and consolidation between the diverse 

departments which fall within the Ministry’s 

remit. He spoke about the importance of 

reflecting on what we have done and of 

focusing on how to improve this in the future. 

Chris Agius stressed the importance of having 

a positive relationship between management 

and staff and said that when one works within a 

team, results are always bound to be better. He 

said that his experience throughout this year has 

taught him a lot in a sector which was initially 

new to him, and expressed his confidence in the 

achievements that are yet to be made. 

Permanent Secretary Christopher Cutajar 

gave a presentation about the Ministry’s 

work. Mr Cutajar spoke about the importance 

of such a conference, where one can learn 

about good practices in other entities, and 

said that discussions such as this one lead to 

more change and more initiatives with the 

aim of implementing the necessary changes 

for a strengthened public service. 

The Ministry is also planning larger projects, 

such as the regeneration of Sally Port in 

Vittoriosa, in the area between Kalkara and 

Vittoriosa, which is already at the stage where 

specific studies and inspections are being 

carried out, which will help put together a 

design concept for the project. The Permanent 

Secretary also spoke about the commitment 

towards coastal zone management, which 

is seeing collaboration between several 

interested entities, while work is also being 

done together with the University of Malta to 

ensure the best quality models. This project 

is aimed at reducing hazards in the three 

identified zones of Żonqor in Marsascala, St 

Peter’s Pool in Delimara, and Ġnejna Bay. This 

is being done along with the work carried out 

during this past week towards safety at Għar 

Lapsi Bay. MBR 

Credit: DOI/MTIP 

DOI/ MTIP- Minister Ian Borg 


57


NEWSMAKERS 

“SME Initiative will help over 600 SMEs” - 

Parliamentary Secretary Aaron Farrugia 

Addressing the conference ‘Leveraging EU 

Funds: A Development Bank Perspective’, 

Parliamentary Secretary Aaron Farrugia said the 

SME Initiative is already achieving significant 

success in Malta, “so far, EUR 50 million have 

been committed in loans to 460 SMEs”. 

Dr Farrugia added that for Malta to get more 

value, more ‘bang for our buck’, in the next 

MFF post 2020, leverage is crucial. “Across 

the EU it is likely that the traditional mix 

of ESIF and government- owned funds to 

finance projects will not be enough to sustain 

the growth momentum, especially as most 

governments remain fiscally constrained. 

Even though my government’s position is that 

financial instruments should complement 

grants, we recognise that the use of financial 

instruments will assume greater importance 

in the next EU budget”. 

On the future role of the Malta Development 

Bank, Dr Farrugia said, “I am pleased that 

the Government of Malta is now working 

to address the market failure and funding 

gap through the establishment of the Malta 

Development Bank. National development 

bank models have long been used across 

Europe - Germany, France, and the UK are 

the obvious examples - but also successfully 

in smaller member states, particularly 

Hungary. There can be no sustainable growth 

if infrastructure development is slowed down 

or paused. EU cohesion funds have and will 

continue to play an important role in this. 

However, leveraging of scarce resources 

through better finance blending from the 

Malta Development Bank and private sector 

will play an important part in keeping our 

growth momentum”. MBR 

Source: The Parliamentary Secretariat For 

European Funds And Social Dialogue 

Photo: DOI - Kevin Abela 

Photo: DOI - Kevin Abela 

Bitbay, one of Europe’s largest cryptocurrency 

exchanges, to relocate in Malta 

Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, 

Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri 

welcomes the decision by Bitbay—one of 

Europe’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges— 

to domicile in Malta. 

“Bitbay’s announcement follows similar 

decisions other companies such as Binance, 

Okex, and ANX International took in the past 

weeks soon after our vision ‘Malta – A leader 

in DLT Regulation’ was launched. The three 

bills—the Malta Digital Innovation Authority 

Bill, the Virtual Financial Asset Bill, and the 

Innovation Technological Arrangements Services 

Bill—are now in the second reading stage in 

Parliament and will be enacted into law in 

the coming days. This will eventually kickstart 

the application process for licensing that will 

provide legal certainty that operators within 

this space are looking for”, said Schembri, 

while adding that Malta, the Blockchain 

Island, is clearly establishing itself as the go-to 

place within this sphere of operations. 

Bitbay’s decision came after conducting an 

analysis regarding the ideal jurisdiction that 

provides services related to cryptocurrencies 

in the European Union. After productive 

discussions with Parliamentary Secretary Silvio 

Schembri, the Maltese jurisdiction was seen as 

a natural choice by Bitbay’s management. 

Bitbay is one of the biggest cryptocurrency 

exchanges in Europe. It was established in 

2014, provides access to 29 digital currencies, 

has over 800,000 active users, and processes 

125 transactions per minute with more 

than 200 employees, making it the biggest 

cryptocurrency business in Poland. MBR 

Source: The Parliamentar secretariat For 

Financial Services, Digital Economy And 

Innovation 

Seven new companies and entities achieve 

NCPE’s Equality Mark 

During the 14th Annual Conference of the 

National Commission for the Promotion of 

Equality, Minister for European Affairs and 

Equality Helena Dalli thanked the National 

Commission for the Promotion of Equality 

(NCPE) for its work on the gender pay gap last 

year, and said that consultations have been 

carried out with Iceland and Australia on 

this issue in order to find the best model for 

Malta. She explained that one of the ways in 

which the government is tangibly addressing 

this issue is through setting up an appropriate 

structure in the Department for Industrial and 

Employment Relations to compile necessary 

information in order to investigate complaints 

of unequal pay. 

“The Gender Pay Gap is a multifaceted 

reality. When you look at a woman’s career 

longitudinally and compare it to a man’s—who 

has the same experience and qualifications— 

it is most likely that the woman has earned 

less throughout her career because of career 

breaks, at times missing out on promotions, 

or has worked reduced hours due to family 

responsibilities”. The Minister explained 

that this affects both pay and pensions. 

There could also be outright discrimination 

in salaries and also mentioned the fact 

that more women entering in low paying 

employment compounds the situation. 

Minister Dalli said that the Government is 

committed to continue promoting a feminist 

agenda that addresses work-life responsibilities 

through legislation and fiscal incentives. 

She also referred to the launch of the 

consultative council on women’s rights, 

which is facilitating dialogue between the 

government and civil society to improve 

policies and laws that further promote 

women’s rights. 

While listing the various initiatives that the 

NCPE undertook in 2017, Minister Dalli noted 

that the Commission’s work is very much in 

line with the Government’s commitment 

to continue safeguarding equality, not only 

by developing or by strengthening legal and 

policy frameworks, but also by ensuring 

that these rights are translated into reality 

for everyone. She also said that the Equality 

Act and the Human Rights and Equality 

Commission Act which are being finalised, 

will set up a fully independent human rights 

institution in line with the Paris Principles 

and will fall under the remit of Parliament. In 

light of this, the NCPE will become a National 

Human Rights and Equality Commission, 

strengthening its remit. 

During the annual conference, seven new 

companies an-d entities were awarded the 

NCPE’s Equality Mark and 14 were re-certified. 

This award is given to companies that enable 

work-life balance for workers with caring 

responsibilities, making gender equality one 

of their values, and whose management is 

based on the recognition and promotion of 

the potential of all women and men. To date, 

there are 85 certified organisations. MBR 

Courtesy: The Ministry For European Affairs 

And Equality 

Photo: DOI - 

Clodagh Farrugia O'Neill 

Photo: DOI - 

Clodagh Farrugia O'Neill 

58

100 60 

motorcycles 

vans 

40 

• cars • tail lift vans 

• tail lift trucks • shredder truck 

• trailer vintage truck 

• vintage van • mobile van 

• quadbikes • electric quad cycles 

Delivering your Business 

Let MaltaPost take care of all your delivery 

requirements. 

For outsourcing or contingency solutions contact us on 

+356 2596 1720 or business@maltapost.com 

www.maltapost.com/busniness

MBR_ISSUE 42_LowRes

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?