Published on the Business Today, issue Tuesday, 17 December 2008 Christmas and the New Year are probably the most stressful and hectic times of the year nowadays. This year, it seems that Christmas mirth is a touch absent as more gloom and doom on the financial side has mushroomed in the daily news.
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Published on the Business Today, issue Tuesday, 26 November 2008 When reading comments posted on the Times of Malta website, one may be forgiven for thinking that we live in an insular society. The intensity of feelings in remarks exposes a deep undercurrent of dissent among bloggers particularly on aspects of the budget that touched their pockets. A few blame gloom-mongers as being artificial and naïve, leading us to fear the financial maelstroms that are now hitting our European neighbours. One blogger disagrees saying we need to take action.
Published on the Business Today, issue Tuesday, 19 November 2008 While the island ‘s unions are focused on how to persuade the government to solve the energy tariffs conundrum, world leaders meeting in Washington at G20 are hell bent to stimulate stagnant economies through tax cuts and launching ambitious infrastructural projects. Indeed, the Group of 20 pledged to tighten oversight for major banks, study limits on salaries paid to bankers and in general cut taxes.
Published on the Business Today, issue Tuesday, 04 November 2008 A comprehensive pre-budget document was issued in the summer and finance minister Tonio Fenech had welcome comments from institutions and other interested parties. This is an innovative idea of widening the consultation process and bears a hallmark of an active and young minister who has been saddled with an unprecedented international financial mayhem linked to a global credit crunch.
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 29 October 2008 The international scene is riveted by bad news of a US recession linked to the unprecedented bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the massive bail-out of two national mortgage icons Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae. It was not a sweetener that a massive $700 billion was carved out to bail out toxic debts in US banks. Concurrently, it pours and it rains as banks in Europe are paying the price for lax controls on dubious lending traits and giddy profits. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 15 October 2008 As an emerging economy within an enlarged eurozone, Malta has enjoyed rapid growth in 2007. This is commendable. But this year the island ‘s progress is dented by the spreading global credit crunch and a possible recession in the US and in the UK. Will our banks need bailing out? Not likely as they rank 10th soundest in the list published by World Economic Forum. This conviction obviates the need of a bailout fund which has been de riguer in many economies. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 08 October 2008 There has been a strong protest from institutions attending the MCESD meeting this month where the proposed new water and electricity tariffs were presented by Minister Gatt. Due to some disarray and prolong disagreements, it is expected that more meetings will ensue so that a happy compromise can be reached to equate the needs and obligations of the industry, hotels, services and last but not least the welfare of employees. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 24 September 2008 Now a year after the onset of the so-called credit crunch and Malta’s financial system seems to go unscathed. The worrying thing about the crunch for us is that there are still people who insist on clinging to the view that it will never hit us much like the famous ostrich example hiding its head in the sand. Many commentators have predicted that it will bypass and not impact Malta.
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 17 September 2008 The merits of uprooting regressive taxes have recently hit the headlines again. The prime minister promised prior to elections to paint our taxes green. The idea is to smoothen down direct taxes and replace them with a new code based on environmental impact. This was linked to a drastic cut in car registration taxes. A task force was to be entrusted with executing this reform but little or nothing has ensued so far. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 10 September 2008 A lot of attention has been given to air pollution of late. Hence the controversy of testing buses and heavy vehicles for their exhaust emissions and the use of correct fuel mix. Equally, many books have been written and theories discussed in academia on the need to properly account for the cost of sustainable environmental wellbeing, but local journalism on the subject is sparse. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 03 September 2008 Last month, during a press conference announcing the signing of the USA double-taxation treaty Finance Minister Tonio Fenech pointed out the success achieved of late by Malta’s ability to attract investment from abroad. He mentioned, among others, projects such as Smart City and numerous other international organisations in the financial, manufacturing sectors. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 27 August 2008 Recently, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech launched a public consultation process on the National Reform Programme (NRP) covering the years 2008/2010. This follows the previous NRP based for three years to 2008 previously introduced by Censu Galea, then Minister for Competitiveness and Communications. The first NRP was groomed to serve as a roadmap for plotting Malta‘s economic progress, particularly with regards to employment prospects, investment in knowledge and innovation, energy and a cleaner environment.
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 30 July 2008 July is usually associated with holidays and a quiet front on the business scene. This July more activity seems to hit the news headlines. Following quite a ruckus on the aftermath of the transport strike we follow with expectation the privatisation of Malta Drydocks. The latter comes with a price tag of about €100 million in accumulated debt which needs to be absorbed by government.
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 23 July 2008 This month, the shares of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell on news, with the possibility of them facing government bailout. The issue is important to the financial markets and the national economy because both hold more than $5 trillion in mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have awoken to the fact that they own trillions in worthless debt, which will need to be owned (or rather bought) by the U.S government. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 16 July 2008 At a visit to Dublin last year, I was startled by the apparent wealth and affluence enjoyed by all - from taxi drivers to restaurant owners. Naturally, this state of affairs has fuelled a property boom with spiraling prices. Last May, I also attended a Captive Conference organised by PKF Risk Management at the Four Seasons Hotel and I noticed a marked change. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 9 July 2008 The government is set to start a process for the privatisation of Malta Shipyards. At a recent press conference Dr Gonzi said that between four and five companies expressed interest in buying into Malta Shipyards. Most were from North Europe but there had also been interest from companies in Russia, China, Japan and America. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 2 July 2008 Reading recent headlines in the Times of Malta gives most families the shivers. The doubling of the surcharge kindles memories of historians who recount the riots for doubling of bread prices in the Sette Gugnio events that sparkled unrest and some blood was shed as well. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 18 June 2008 It was a sunny in Dublin last Thursday, when I finally had my luggage delivered 24 hours late by Air Malta. The mishap happened en route from Heathrow to Dublin as all our baggage (including conference material ) were mistakenly send to Italy instead. Not much joy when we are preparing to launch an international Captives conference. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 11 June 2008 The newly elected Labour leader’s clever way to silence the doom-mongers was to openly welcome lost sheep and the warring left wing intellectuals. Quoting Lino Spiteri, he summed up very succinctly that the new leader is in for a hard slog. Shooting from the hip, Dr Muscat lost no time to warn his political adversary to fulfill each and every of the 350 plus pre-election promises. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 04 June 2008 As the 8 March election fever subsides, businessmen predict a drop in consumer demand due to bouts of uncertainty being experienced in the market. Other reports from trade associations show a different picture, stating that confidence has since rebounded. We are slowly witnessing capital projects being put on hold, pending the outcome of the election to start taking shape. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 28 May 2008 Returning from a business trip in Asia last week I was impressed by the growth of their economies and the inventiveness of their politicians. Armed with a low cost of living, they are exploiting their comparative cost advantage in many sectors – such as in tourism, luxury residential and office space, manufacturing, shipping, large scale crop production and financial services. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 14 May 2008 Given that captives in Malta are slowly but surely making their mark, no stone should be left unturned to provide investors with the knowledge on how to license their own captive. PKF is on the forefront to promote this industry and participated in international conferences in Toronto, Calgary, Luxembourg, London, New Zealand and Dublin. For the second year running they have organised a promotional event to showcase the attractiveness of the island. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 23 April 2008 Six weeks after the election results and there is a feeling of anticlimax among small and medium sized enterprises that hoped for reforms to improve their lot.Granted that the winning party has stretched its list of promises to cover over 350 items, some of which may take years to flourish while others can happen soon. One of the items hitting the newsstands is the training aid framework launched by the Employment and Training Corporation. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 16 April 2008 Let me dwell on the subject of taxes and see how Malta has used this financial tool to attract international business and generate wealth. Many agree that the past 20 years have seen a measured yet invigorating growth as a financial centre. A lot of water has passed under the bridge.I remember clearly how 1988 ushered the birth of MIBA as a new institution heralding the start of an offshore regime. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 09 April 2008 The race for the best ideas on how to regenerate the inner harbour area has been the clarion call to woe voters championed by both elected parties. It has been gathering momentum months ago. It serves to capture the imagination of party spokesmen vying for votes. Now that the election is over, and reality has set in, can we risk doing something in haste? The answer is a resounding no. Again can we afford to indulge in an expensive capital behemoth. Well, the prognosis for 2007/8 looks promising so now is as good as ever. The next seven years should bring ?850 m in E.U funds. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 12 March 2008 Now that the euphoria over the general election has subsided it is time to calmly reflect on the number of electoral promises made by this new team of young Turks all eager to set the ball in motion under the motto ‘Yes, together everything is possible.’ The race for the best ideas on how to regenerate the inner harbour area was championed by both parties. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue Wednesday, 05 March 2008 The USA-Malta Double Taxation Agreement is now expected to be signed soon and formal concluding negotiations have officially begun in accordance with an announcement by the US Treasury Department. Other taxation agreements were signed in the past four years with the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Spain, Greece, Iceland and San Marino. Agreements with Switzerland and Jordan are now concluded and ready for signature. Our wealth of bilateral agreements was accelerated as a result of the 1994 fiscal reform.
Published on the Business Today, issue 27th February 2008 Little was written about the loss of Sir John Harvey-Jones in Malta’s financial press when he passed away on 9th January 2008 at Hereford County Hospital. Sir John Harvey-Jones, ex-chairman of ICI became a TV business guru associated with an eccentric look of long unkempt hair, colourful ties and a bonhomie smile. Undoubtedly, he portrayed himself as a outwardly confident and charismatic leader. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue 13th February 2008 As an emerging economy, Malta, within an enlarged eurozone, enjoyed rapid growth in 2007. This is commendable. But are we set to withstand the spreading global credit crunch and a possible recession in the US? The answer is given in a recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report . Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue 6th February 2008. The scandals that rocked the accountancy profession show no sign of dying away. Over the last few years public confidence in the auditing of company accounts was seriously shaken by corporate scandals such as Enron in the US, Dutch retailer Ahold, Italian Parmalat and Societe Generale in France.... Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue 23rd January 2008. As voters have gone back to their normal work routine following the Christmas holidays they are a bit weary from the incessant bombardment of pre-election promises. Traditionally voters are afraid of losing what is theirs by right and are always seeking to get the utmost from whatever or whoever is the party in power. Now, as part of the EU club no effort is spared to make most of the eligible funds. With equal gusto voters sense that it is a jolly good time. Read Article..
Published on the Business Today, issue 9th January 2008. The new year gave birth to a new form of cynicism precisely that of combating the euro hype. NECC reminds us that euro is extremely important to us. Its leaflets assure us of the net benefits that we are going to reap which in the long term are positive and substantial. Read Article..