MONEY ISSUE 89

BUSINESS

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DESIGN

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION ISSUE 89

COVER STORY

ALEX BORG

HOPE, STRUCTURE, AND NO TIME TO WASTE His pitch to 100,000 non-voters, and a politics built for delivery 18

WHO IS MALTA GROWING FOR?

STARTING OVER MONEY STRESS IN A COUNTRY THAT ISN’T ALWAYS DOESN’T FORGET ABOUT MONEY

14 The demographic squeeze behind the headlines

32 The real cost of reinvention in Malta

28 Why uncertainty hijacks your nervous system (and what helps)

With you for the journey.

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Sparkasse Bank Malta public limited company (the ‘Bank” is a public limited liability company registered in Malta with registration number C27152 and registered office at 101 Townsquare, Ix-Xatt ta’ Qui-si-Sana, Sliema SLM3112, Malta. Sparkasse Bank Malta public limited company is licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority to carry out the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta), to provide investment services and custody and depositary services in terms of the Investment Services Act (Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta), and is authorised to act as custodian of retirement schemes in terms of the Retirement Pensions Act (Cap. 514 of the Laws of Malta).

WELCOME

Editor’s letter — New Beginnings is usually sold

needs to treat it like a financial strategy, not a

as a clean reset: a new job title, a new routine,

motivational poster. The person whose stress

a new year and a new you. We love the idea

isn’t caused by low income, but by uncertainty —

because it feels modern — adaptable, decisive,

the endless loop of checking, delaying, avoiding,

in control. But most people don’t actually get a

controlling.

blank page. They get a page already inked with past choices, reputations, obligations, bills,

And in Malta, there’s an extra layer. Reinvention

family expectations, and the quiet weight of

is harder here because the island remembers.

“what people will say”.

The past follows you into rooms before you even walk in. Starting again can feel less like freedom

This issue is our attempt to tell the truth

and more like negotiation — with perception,

about that.

politics, and fear.

Because a new beginning isn’t always a

So this edition isn’t here to romanticise change.

personal reinvention, sometimes it’s structural.

It’s here to map it. The costs, the trade-offs, the

Malta is still growing — but it’s also tightening.

buffers you need, the structures that matter —

The island’s demographic shift has become

and the courage it takes to begin again, even

the engine of the economy, and that comes

when the conditions aren’t perfect.

with pressure: housing strain, service strain, workforce strain, and cohesion strain. The real

Because new beginnings don’t belong to the

question isn’t whether growth is happening. It’s

lucky, they belong to the deliberate.

who it’s happening for, and whether our systems can carry it without cracking. If we want a real reset, it won’t come from slogans. It’ll come from productivity, enforcement, infrastructure, and a social contract that can survive reality — not just election cycles.

And speaking of election cycles: our cover story features Alex Borg, the Nationalist Party’s new leader, entering the ring with a message built on structure, transparency, and urgency. Whether you agree with him or not, Malta is heading into a serious political year — and seriousness is precisely what the country is craving: less theatre, more competence, more delivery.

But the most overlooked “new beginnings” are the quiet ones — the private pivots nobody applauds. The founder who realises their business won’t survive unless succession is planned early, honestly, and without ego. The professional who wants to switch careers but

E D I T O R Anthony P. Bernard

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MONEY is published by Be Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. The content of this magazine, including articles, images, designs, and any intellectual property, is owned and protected by Be Communications Ltd. Unauthorised reproduction, distribution, or transmission of any part of this magazine is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.

Be Communications Ltd. retains all intellectual property rights in the content published in this magazine, including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Any unauthorised use, reproduction, or commercial exploitation of this content violates applicable laws and may result in legal action. Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the respective contributors and do not necessarily reflect the editor's or publisher's views. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, Be Communications Ltd. assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the magazine's content, advertisements, or related materials and disclaims liability for the accuracy, legality, or originality of content provided by clients.

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T

H

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The Topless Tease.

CONTENTS

14

26

Who is Malta growing for?

Succession planning

Malta is still growing — but the island is also

Vanessa Macdonald looks at why Malta's family

tightening. MONEY explores the demographic

businesses struggle to survive the handover.

squeeze behind the headlines: migration-driven

Succession isn't a box-tick—it's a high-stakes

labour, an ageing workforce beneath the surface,

transition shaped by timing, governance,

and a country testing its limits in housing,

valuation and family dynamics. Plan early, talk

services, and cohesion.

honestly, and protect the legacy.

18

32

COVER STORY

44

Hype, hedge or hub: What the UAE’s gaming move means for Malta’s iGaming future

Starting over in a country that doesn't forget

Ras Al Khaimah isn’t trying to be Malta overnight. It’s trying to be next. Lea Hogg explains the UAE’s disciplined play: tight licences,

In Malta, reinvention isn't a lifestyle refresh—it's

strong banking, fast-aligned regulation — and

a negotiation with a country that remembers.

why the smartest Malta firms won’t relocate,

Manuel Delia traces how public controversy,

they’ll hedge. Malta’s challenge is adaptation.

political undercurrents, and the economics of fear can freeze reputations in time.

Hope, structure, and no time to waste It's only been months since Hon. Alex Borg

36

48 The rise of the side hustle

Calculating a career change: What reinvention really costs

In Malta, the side hustle is no longer a hobby — it's a second track. Stephen Mallia unpacks the rise of the "employee-owner": professionals

took the helm of the Nationalist Party, but the countdown to an election year has already started.

In a world that sells career change as passion and

building businesses after hours while juggling

In this interview with Vanessa Macdonald, he

bravery, AJ Aberford's story is colder —

tax, mortgages, and the fear of betting personal

lays out his pitch to Malta's 100,000 non-voters,

and more useful. Lea Hogg tracks how a lawyer-

savings on an unproven idea. The takeaway is

his plan to rebuild trust, and why the PN must

turned-banker sequenced exits, built buffers,

practical: Malta's support schemes are built

act like a "government in waiting" — not an

absorbed crashes, and reinvented without

to lower the risk and turn a 5-to-9 grind into a

Opposition on pause.

pretending risk disappears.

credible new beginning.

22

40

52

Money stress isn’t always about money

Scaling care without losing trust

The 10,000 trap: The most common mistakes first-time investors make

Money anxiety often hides behind “responsible”

New beginnings in healthcare aren't about

habits — checking apps, avoiding statements,

new platforms — they're about new judgment.

Saving your first €10,000 feels like a financial

delaying decisions. Dayna Clarke Camilleri

Dr Dylan Attard argues that one rushed

milestone. Investing often becomes an emotional

speaks to psychotherapist Charlene Veneziani

procurement or unclear data decision can ripple

minefield. From crypto hype to panic selling

about why uncertainty hijacks the nervous

system-wide, and calls for a reset: lifecycle

and fee blindness, first-time investors in Malta

system, and how self-understanding can restore

thinking, visible governance, and workforce-first

repeatedly fall into the same behavioural traps.

financial calm.

implementation that protects.

Paul Rostkowski explains why.

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CONTENTS

58

MONEY's columnists — 1

2

3

4

5

6

Beyond the boom Malta mastered growth — but the next phase won’t be powered by volume alone. MONEY explores why the country is hitting hard limits in talent, cost and capacity, and why a real “new beginning” now means a pivot: from busy to better, and from expansion to value.

60 After Caracas: Power, precedent, and the new rulebook Caracas rewrote the mood. Greenland widened the crack. MONEY examines how power is being exercised in 2026 — through force, energy flows and economic pressure — and why Europe is quietly arming itself with tools like the EU’s “trade bazooka”. The new rulebook is forming in real time, and the risk premium is rising.

62

1

Dayna is a senior speech and language

therapist, and the founder of Malta Speech Therapy. She is a former editor at the Malta Business Weekly and a prolific writer whose work spans health, neurodiversity and travel.

More isn’t better anymore

Her pieces are known for their clarity, curiosity and practical insight, making her a familiar

At the Malta Business Network’s 2025 Christmas

voice to readers across Malta and beyond.

lunch, one message cut through the optimism: Malta’s next phase must look beyond volume-

2

Lea is a Malta-based journalist and author,

driven success and be quality-led. MONEY

known for her TV programme which focuses

reports on why productivity, standards and

on current affairs, cultural news and in-depth

long-term resilience matter more than headline

interviews on geopolitics and global issues.

numbers — and what “success” needs to mean next.

64

3

Manuel is a civil society activist and writer.

4

Paul is part of a multidisciplinary advisory

firm specialising in private clients, high-networth individuals, and family offices.

5

Quiet luxury, loud intent

Stephen is a freelance product regulatory

compliance expert and mechanical engineer with over 13 years of experience in the field.

A clean, elevated edit of winter essentials— tailoring, denim, footwear and investment

6

Vanessa had every intention of retiring

pieces—for men who dress with quiet confidence.

but so far has been caught up by exciting

These are MONEY's picks for the season.

freelance projects and voluntary work.

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

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ECONOMY

WHO IS MALTA GROWING FOR? Malta is still growing — but the island is also tightening. MONEY explores the demographic squeeze behind the headlines: migration-driven labour, an ageing workforce beneath the surface, and a country testing its limits in housing, services, and cohesion. New Beginnings starts with an honest question: Who is Malta growing for?

M

alta's growth story is often told in

And here's the crucial point: Malta has been

This is the demographic squeeze in one

numbers: GDP, employment, arrivals,

treating this demographic shift as a by-

sentence: Malta's economy has been sustained

cranes, investment, and confidence.

product of growth. In reality, it has become the

by younger foreign workers, while the native

model's engine.

Maltese population ages underneath.

The honest baseline: Malta runs on migration

So the national question isn't "do we like

It's the language of an economy that has learned how to stay busy and keep moving.

migration?" That's too simplistic, and it's often

But the deeper story — the one shaping daily life, boardroom decisions, politics, and long-

If you want to understand Malta's labour

term sustainability — is demographic.

market, you start here: the scale of foreign labour is no longer marginal.

The real question is: do we have a model that can handle the scale of change we've already

Malta is not simply growing. Malta is changing who it is, at speed, and under strain.

where debate dies.

Jobsplus reports that, at the end of 2024, the

chosen?

number of employed foreign nationals in Malta Official estimates put Malta's population at

and Gozo amounted to 123,772. That is not a

574,250 at the end of 2024, up 1.9% on the

niche workforce. It is a structural pillar.

Capacity is now a competitiveness issue The most dangerous assumption in Malta's

previous year, driven mainly by net migration of 10,614 people. A year earlier, the population

The Central Bank of Malta has been even more

public debate is that capacity is a "quality of

reached 563,443 at the end of 2023, with a

direct about the transformation. In a 2025

life" issue, while competitiveness is purely

larger net migration figure of 20,960.

policy note, it observed that Malta's population

economic.

growth since 2000 has been driven mainly by These are not abstract figures. They translate

a rise in the foreign working-age population,

That's no longer true. Capacity is

into the queue at Mater Dei, the rent you

and that the share of foreign nationals in

competitiveness. When housing becomes

negotiate, the commute that eats your

Malta's working-age population rose from

unaffordable, recruitment gets harder. When

morning, the staffing crisis in hospitality, the

2.5% in 2000 to 31.8% in 2023. It also warns,

transport becomes unreliable, productivity

pressure on schools, the pace of change in

in projections, that by 2035 the share of

bleeds out. When services strain, trust erodes.

neighbourhoods, and the way employers plan

foreigners in the working-age population could

When rules feel optional, the serious investor

— or can't plan.

climb to 45.9% from 30.4% in 2023.

recalculates.

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Malta's growth has collided with limits: physical (space, roads), social (integration, cohesion), and institutional (enforcement, systems, delivery). This is not pessimism. It is the lived reality of an island.

Housing: the pressure valve that keeps breaking Housing is where demographic change becomes personal. For decades, Malta's identity was high home ownership and intergenerational stability. But the rental market has expanded rapidly, and affordability pressure has become a defining concern — one acknowledged institutionally, with the Housing Authority explicitly framing "improving rental affordability" as a core pillar of its work.

The point isn't whether Malta has schemes.

The fact is whether policy is keeping up with the scale of demand.

When population growth is significantly driven by net migration, housing becomes the pressure valve. If that valve fails — if rents outpace wages, if supply doesn't match demand, if rules are unclear or unenforced — then the social contract frays: residents feel displaced, newcomers feel exploited, employers feel trapped, and politics becomes reactive.

A new beginning here isn't an argument about whether people should come. It is an argument about whether Malta will build a credible housing framework that protects fairness and stability for everyone.

Malta isn't just growing. It's changing who it is — at speed, and under strain.

Business organisations have also been blunt about Malta's dependence on foreign labour and the need to confront productivity realities.

In 2025, the Malta Chamber warned that debates like a four-day work week must be

The labour market paradox: we need people,

explicit: improving productivity and shifting

grounded in Malta's actual conditions: low

but the model needs fewer people

toward a more capital-intensive economy

unemployment, significant reliance on foreign

could moderate population growth by slowing

labour, and low productivity.

Malta's labour market tells a paradoxical story.

net foreign migration flows.

New beginnings, in this context, mean

On the one hand, businesses genuinely struggle to find staff. On the other hand, the

This is the unspoken trade-off: if Malta

changing the base model: paying people more

country's long-term sustainability depends

continues to grow primarily through labour

because output is higher, not simply because

on reducing reliance on ever-increasing

inflows, population growth will remain

the labour market is tight; running sectors

headcount.

high, and capacity pressure will become a

with better systems; and rewarding firms that

permanent feature rather than a temporary

invest in skills and technology rather than

phase.

scaling through volume. →

The Central Bank policy note makes the logic

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

15

ECONOMY

tool. That misses the human dimension—and the strategic one as well.

If Malta's workforce and population are increasingly diverse, integration is not a "soft" issue. It's operational. It affects workplace stability, social cohesion, and public confidence in institutions.

The most telling detail in the NSO migration data is not only scale, but composition. In 2024, non-EU nationals accounted for 76.6% of net migration. In 2023, the share was even higher: 93.1% of total net migrants.

That implies greater cultural distance, potentially more vulnerability to exploitation, and greater responsibility on the state and employers to ensure standards are enforced.

If Malta wants the benefits of labour inflows Ageing: the quiet force underneath

That's the real pivot. Not ideology — arithmetic.

everything Ageing is often treated as tomorrow's problem.

that protect people and protect the country's Integration: the part Malta avoids until it

legitimacy: enforce labour standards,

becomes a problem

crack down on abuse, and build integration mechanisms that are real rather than

Malta's data suggests it is a problem today, partly masked by migration.

without the societal backlash, it needs rules

Migration policy is often framed as a labour

If productivity doesn't rise, the demographic maths turns into a fight over resources.

symbolic.

Public sector gravity: when the state becomes the talent magnet Another pressure point is internal competition for talent. When the public sector grows, it can pull people from the "productive" private economy — not because public work is less

The Central Bank notes that the native Maltese population is ageing, with a relatively low share of young cohorts and a higher share of older cohorts. In another Central Bank analysis, it's observed that the Maltese workforce has aged considerably, with those over 50 constituting 31% of all Maltese in employment, and that inflows of younger foreign workers have counteracted the underlying ageing dynamic in several sectors.

This matters because ageing changes the country's cost structure: healthcare, pensions, care work, and the need for a productive base strong enough to carry it.

If Malta doesn't raise productivity, the burden becomes a political fight over resources. If it does increase productivity, ageing becomes

Photo by Evan Demicoli

manageable.

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ECONOMY

valuable, but because wage structures, stability and hours shape incentives.

NSO-linked reporting indicates that Malta's public sector employed 54,398 full-time workers as of June 2025, accounting for about 18.3% of the total workforce.

This matters because Malta's new beginning is not just about attracting talent — it's about deploying talent well. A country cannot complain about productivity while structuring its incentives to drain specific sectors, or while allowing other sectors to operate on lowvalue-added volume.

So what is the "new social contract"?

A social contract is the agreement — sometimes explicit, often implied — about what a country offers and what it expects in return.

If Malta wants growth, it must protect

lifestyle issue — it's a productivity tax.

For Malta's next chapter, the social contract

fundamental fairness: rental clarity,

needs to be clearly stated, because the old one

enforcement, and affordability tools that don't

5) Integration that is practical, not

(grow, build, hire, repeat) is hitting its limits.

merely chase the problem.

performative

Here are five pillars that would make it real.

3) Labour standards that are actually enforced

pathways to stability for those who contribute,

A migration-driven model without

and clear consequences for abuse. The aim is

1) Productivity as national policy, not a lecture

enforcement becomes a reputational and

not assimilation — it's cohesion.

Reward value creation. Make it easier for firms

political time bomb. Fair rules protect locals,

to automate, digitise, train, and export. Stop

protect newcomers, and protect serious

The uncomfortable conclusion: Malta must

celebrating headcount as the primary marker

business.

choose the kind of country it is becoming

4) Infrastructure that respects time

Demography is destiny, but it is not fate.

Language access, basic civic orientation,

of success.

2) A housing system that protects stability

Time is economic output. The commute is not a Malta has already chosen a growth path that depends heavily on foreign labour and migration-driven population change.

The question is whether it will now build the systems, rules, and capacity to make that model sustainable — or whether it will continue improvising until social cohesion becomes collateral damage.

A new beginning doesn't mean slowing down for the sake of it.

It means growing with intention: fewer vulnerabilities, better wages through productivity, and a society that can absorb change without losing trust in itself.

Because the real risk isn't diversity, the real risk is drift: a country changing faster than its institutions can hold, and calling it success because the numbers still look good.

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

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COVER STORY

HOPE, STRUCTURE, AND

NO TIME TO WASTE It's only been months since Hon. Alex Borg took the helm of the Nationalist Party, but the countdown to an election year has already started. In this wide-ranging interview with Vanessa Macdonald, he lays out his pitch to Malta's 100,000 non-voters, his plan to rebuild trust through structure and transparency, and why the PN must act like a "government in waiting" — not an Opposition on pause.

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What gives you the most headaches? The

However, while there will always be floating

be done, and we need to keep the current

Labour Party, the voters, or your own party

voters and those who have never voted before,

momentum. People have renewed hope,

members?

is there an element of disgruntled Labour or

and we need to keep strengthening this

Nationalist voters? Including diehards.

with quality candidates who, together with

N

the parliamentary group, are seen as an

othing gives me headaches. I see it more as a challenge, and I believe

There are various groups, not only disgruntled

that every job has its challenges. The

ones, but also youths who are apolitical or

alternative government.

important thing is whether you can face them

have no faith in the country's political system.

We need new proposals and concrete visions

and overcome them. That is the most critical

I meet a lot of youths, and my age makes

that address the specific problems people face. All these factors will help us to win

aspect.

When I first considered standing for leadership, there were many questions and pros and cons.

But I decided to go ahead and, today, in this position – one of the highest Constitutional ones in our country – you do face various challenges. But if you have the determination

I want Malta to win — not one party to lose.

and political will, and do it for the right

people's trust.

In your budget speech, you made 50 proposals. It's a great list – however, without enforcement, it's all for nothing...

These 50 proposals are only the beginning. I wanted to give a feel of what we can provide as an alternative government – and not as an

reasons, I believe we can achieve an excellent them relate to me. I want our measures and

Opposition! We are a government in waiting,

initiatives to win back their trust. These youths

and as such, we need to offer solutions to

Since I became leader, our first goals have

form a significant part of those thousands

the problems facing the country while also

been to restructure internally, and we have

of non-voters. Professionals also evaluate

providing a vision that delivers on people's

even created new positions, including a CEO

the situation and feel that they are political

ambitions, including those of our youth.

whose remit includes restructuring the party's

orphans. It is a challenge, but I believe that we

financial structure.

can overcome it.

We can overcome them if we work together

Since Laurence Gonzi lost the 2013 general

one, joining the eurozone, and achieving

and have already made progress. In fact, a few

election, the PN has had four leaders. Simon

substantial economic growth. These are things

weeks ago, we published the party's accounts

Busuttil, Adrian Dalia, Bernard Grech, and

that we need to resurrect.

from 2021 to 2024, which were pending, within

now you. Why will you succeed where they

our first 100 days.

have failed?

We were also able to collect more than €1

This is the new way of doing politics. They

need to reinvent the wheel… We merely need to

million, no mean feat, and I think that we

all played their role, and each one did some

strengthen what we already have.

managed to do this collectively – I cannot

good. Each has its qualities, and we are still

take all the credit. It comes from my team, our

benefiting from what they did. But now we

Take the maritime sector, there is so much

parliamentary group, our sectional committees

need to grab the bull by its horns and make

more than we can do. 14,000 ships go through

and even those people out there who are now

decisions for the party and for the country.

our territorial waters every year, many of

result.

That has always been the formula for success: from an independent country to a European

Very often, people ask what new initiatives we could pursue. But the reality is that we do not

which need to stop somewhere for refuelling.

coming round to believe in the party and want to invest in it. It gives us a solid basis on which

Even when we were talking about the

If we improve our fuel bunkering infrastructure

to work.

accounts, many had doubts, while others felt

and add new fuels like LNG, hydrogen and

I was too young and might not succeed. But I

ammonia – which many vessels use nowadays

You haven't answered my first question.

was determined to deliver on all the promises I

– we will be like a 'petrol station' in the centre

Which one is the biggest challenge? The

made during the election – specific KPIs – and

of the Mediterranean. Imagine the potential.

Labour Party, the voters, or your own

to do so within the timeframe I had indicated.

Take aircraft leasing. It is a niche our country

members?

I believe the party's internal structures should

has begun to investigate. Still, it is not yet

About 100,000 people do not vote, and they

operate on a corporate basis. I come from

sufficiently regulated, and we have not yet

are not partisan; they weigh everything up

the commercial sector and understand how

created a niche that can deliver sufficient

and decide who offers the best vision for the

companies work. And I know how taking the

added value.

country. And they also consider the 10-15-year

right decisions can turn a downward trend into

horizon and which party provides a concrete

a positive one.

facing.

Alex, you're saying 100,000 people don't vote.

MONEY

And tourism: if we attract quality tourists by offering a tourism product that generates

vision to tackle the problems the country is This is why I wanted to focus on discipline

more revenue for all involved, the revenue they

and structure during my first few months

leave behind will increase. Unfortunately, the

as a leader. There is still plenty more to

present government is going after quantity, →

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

19

COVER STORY

announcing every year how many millions

who reports to him earns twice that amount?

If we talk about internal matters, one of the

have arrived. Why not target quality, which

Something does not add up.

main issues is the party's unity. Divisiveness was an issue that held the party back, and

would, for example, allow hotels to increase their Average Room Rate, currently one of the

But these discussions are needed if we are to

my predecessor had already begun trying to

lowest in Europe?

show that we are a serious country. By raising

heal it and reintroduce harmony and unity. I

salaries, you not only reduce corruption but

am trying to continue with this, to create a

This would leave far more money in the

also attract quality. In a democratic country,

more compact and united party. Unless your

pockets of local businesses, who could then

how can you attract people to politics if the

own people are aligned, you can never win the

reinvest. The ripple effect would be to create

wages are miserly and far lower than those in

government. Only then can you start winning others over.

more economic power.

These are some of the things we are looking at as an alternative government and form part of the economic vision we will be rolling out. It will show that we are ready to run a government that is credible, transparent and accountable.

Let me pick up on your mention of accountability… Corruption is a central recurring theme in Maltese politics.

Unfortunately, many voters believe that this is just inevitable after a certain number of

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We need to strengthen what already works.

You spoke about the party's finances.

However, let's get to the nitty-gritty: MediaLink has been a dramatic financial drain. You want things to be transparent and accountable, but we're talking about a company which apparently hasn't even published its accounts since 2004. It's hardly setting the right example.

One of the first things I did was to bring our house into order. As a party, financing is one of our obligations with the Electoral Commission.

years in power. Either politicians are accused of lining their own pockets or of funnelling

the private sector? We must not shy away from

One of the most important things, and one that

contracts to their contacts. How can you

discussing this if we want a more transparent

gives me great satisfaction, is that as a party

make sure that your party does not fall into

country.

we have more assets than liabilities, which gives us the flexibility to keep functioning.

this trap?

I had asked Adrian Delia, when he became

MediaLink is a private company which has

I have spoken about party financing. The time

head of the party, whether he was ruthless

its own obligations under the Malta Business

has come to talk about this in depth. I have

enough to be a leader. My question instead

Register. It has challenges, but it does not

set up a working group drafting legislation

took him aback. From what you're saying

mean that we will sweep things under the

that would ensure parties are not obligated to

now about a zero tolerance for corruption,

carpet. We have a financial team working

anyone.

are you ruthless enough?

to restructure MediaLink and make it more

Great – but what about the corruption of

We have already shown that we are not afraid

individuals?

of certain uncomfortable discussions.

You have to look at the source: why does

In the few months I have been a leader, we

corruption tempt politicians…

have spoken about several things that people

efficient and effective.

We also need to look beyond what it already does to social media and podcasts, which will

Greed?

rejuvenate the company.

may have preferred to ignore, but I am not

This is a challenge which both parties are

afraid. And this also applies to the other side of

facing. One Productions has not published its

the political spectrum.

accounts for about the same length of time as MediaLink. It also faces challenges with its

What if there were a system that strengthened

debts.

their autonomy? Has the time come to discuss

For example, different countries are discussing

politicians' wages? I am in no way accepting

the four-day work week, but I did not hold back

corruption, but I face the same temptations

from discussing it. We may find that it cannot

So both parties are facing this, but that does

and will not allow myself to get into a situation

be introduced, but let us at least examine

not mean that, in Opposition, I can do the same

where I would become corrupt.

whether it could work in Malta.

just because the government is… Two wrongs

But a system that is rigid and prevents this, by

I am also bringing back into the fold people

I appointed are working to strengthen the

raising the wages of ministers and politicians?

who left the party. It does not necessarily

party's media arm.

Regulations and strict guidelines would

mean they will be candidates, but we need to

ensure that those who are guilty face serious

start reaching out to them, for example, Edwin

Let's take a step back and ask maybe a more

repercussions.

Vassallo and Franco DeBono. Various others

basic question. Do we actually need political

from the party moved away. I want to reassure

television stations? Are they just preaching

How can you have a prime minister who

them that the door is open, and these are not

to the converted? And that applies to your

earns €60,000-€70,000 while the person

just words; these are facts.

newspaper as well.

don't make a right. This is why the experts

20

ISSUE 89

MONEY

COVER STORY

The reality is that, as a party, without Net TV,

Social media nowadays spans a broad

on the way forward. We also believe the

we would not have a voice.

spectrum – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,

healthcare sector requires a joint agreement

LinkedIn – each with its own audience, so you

on where we want to go. It is not enough to

You yourself just mentioned social media,

need to tailor your message to each one. We

cover up the problems.

which is a lot more cost-effective.

are investing heavily in social media to make sure it reaches everyone.

The government has not yet responded, but the door remains open. I want to see things

The only way the party can get its message across in traditional media is through its

You have a list of 50 proposals regarding

happening with the national interest in

television station. The Labour Party in

how you see the economy developing. Do you

mind, and with a strong vision to reduce the

believe we should be aiming for economic

problems faced by the population in Malta and

growth or well-being? Can you actually have

Gozo.

both?

Even when we talk about planning, we need You can have both, yes, but the economy

to decide on the way forward. Do we want

has continued to grow at a specific rate, and

sustainability? We do not want to stifle growth,

you have to understand at what cost. The

but we cannot have endless growth without

economic vision of this government was

looking at its impact on our identity, something

to achieve growth, but it was based on the

that taps into quality, even a plan for open

importation of third-country nationals. You

spaces.

cannot simply throw them out, as specific sectors rely on them.

Propaganda will not get us there. The day after my Budget speech, the prime minister

The problem is that this vision was not

announced that he would develop White Rocks

achieved over a decade or so, but just over

as open space, but where is the line item in the

five years, which means our infrastructure

Budget that specifies how much he will spend

could not cope. It is affecting the quality of life.

on it?

Traffic is a daily issue, and if you go to Mater Dei Hospital, you wait hours – sometimes up

And what does he mean by a national

to 12 – to be seen. And the same applies to

park? National parks are not defined in our

overdevelopment and lack of open spaces.

legislation. Does it mean kiosks everywhere?

This is the reality, and this is why we believe

Or trees? Or animals? Or commercialisation? I

government has PBS and One. So if we reduce

wholeheartedly that we need to work towards

think we first need clarity on what a national

Net TV, we will lose the audience who hears our

a better standard of living, even as we

park is, and only then can we start talking

message through traditional outreach.

continue to pursue economic growth.

about them.

You've got 100,000 floating voters. Do they

You recently spoke about the need for

open spaces in our country – but this should

get their message from Net or One?

political – or non-partisan – consensus. Wow.

be a real project, backed by agreement, not

As soon as I became the leader, I instructed

Some significant projects will never get off the

the party to set up a social media office, and

ground unless we sit down together to discuss

Last question: Is Labour going to lose the

there are now two people working there.

them. We cannot only look at a five-year

next election, or are you going to win it?

Our communications head and his team are

horizon. Take mass transportation – whichever

amalgamating and strengthening our presence

solution we go with, from metro to monorail

I want to see Malta win. It is not about one

on social media. Before, we relied on press

– cannot be done in one legislative session.

party or the other losing. Without being

conferences and press releases, but now

It will take two, if not three, and it could be

partisan, I want a party that works for the

we use reels, which drive much more youth

started by a Labour government but finished

whole of Malta.

engagement.

by a Nationalist one. Hence, the importance of

There is a dire need for national parks and

just propaganda to tick the boxes!

You have to get your message across and,

both parties getting together and agreeing on

We want a better Malta. A just, fair, sustainable

these big projects.

Malta. Where everyone gets a chance to progress, no matter which party they support.

even on an international level, this is the I have made the offer to Prime Minister Robert

And a better ecosystem where we go for

Abela and the Labour government to sit down

quality. I believe that what we, as a party, offer

As a party, I had vowed to be the first party to

with them to discuss, for example, mass

over the coming months will win the faith of

have political podcasts. We used crowdfunding

transport and even sign a memorandum of

those who want to see Malta improve.

to raise €15,000 over a few days, and we will

understanding in which we agree that no

soon launch the first political party podcast in

matter who starts and finishes it, we would

The interview was conducted in Maltese and has

Malta.

agree with the consultants and technocrats

been edited for clarity.

approach being adopted.

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

21

H E A LT H

MONEY STRESS ISN’T ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY 22

ISSUE 89

MONEY

H E A LT H

In Malta, money anxiety often hides behind “responsible” habits — checking apps, avoiding statements, delaying decisions.

Dayna Clarke Camilleri speaks to psychotherapist Charlene Veneziani about why uncertainty hijacks the nervous system, and how self-understanding can restore financial calm.

M

ost people know roughly what’s in their bank account. And yet, many of us still check. Before buying something small,

before a night out, sometimes just before going to bed, as if the number might have changed on its own. The relief is brief. A few minutes later, the unease returns.

This loop is so familiar that it barely registers as a problem. It’s framed as being careful, responsible, and sensible. But psychologists and behavioural economists describe it differently, as a pattern driven by uncertainty and the way our minds respond to it rather than by ignorance or laziness.

Charlene Veneziani “Money anxiety often shows up subtly rather than as overt distress,” says Charlene Veneziani, a warranted family psychotherapist

“Even when finances are stable, people may

working with individuals and couples in Malta.

feel constant pressure, engage in ‘what if’ thinking, or struggle to relax around

At its core, this anxiety is less about numbers and more about safety, security, and fear of loss.

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

spending.” In practice, she adds, this can lead to overcorrecting behaviours, such as aggressively paying off debt, which may reduce anxiety briefly but create ongoing strain. “At its core, this anxiety is less about numbers and more about safety, security, and fear of loss.”

Although money anxiety looks different from person to person, it tends to follow a few recognisable patterns. Some people respond by constantly checking. Banking apps, spreadsheets and budgeting tools become →

23

H E A LT H

a way to reassure themselves in the moment,

This helps explain why financially stable people

turns rigid, money feels like a measure of

even if the reassurance never quite lasts.

can still feel persistently on edge.

adequacy rather than a tool. This can create constant vigilance, fear of mistakes, and

“These patterns are very common,” Veneziani

difficulty enjoying financial stability.”

explains. “Some people repeatedly check

“Uncertainty is more destabilising for the

balances or accounts for reassurance, while

nervous system than known difficulty,”

others avoid decisions because money feels

Veneziani says. “When income is predictable,

This is also why practical financial advice

emotionally overwhelming.”

people can plan and adapt. Uncertainty keeps

often fails to calm money anxiety. “Money

the body in a constant state of alert, making it

anxiety is rarely about lacking knowledge,”

Others respond oppositely. Statements remain

hard to relax.” This, she explains, is why people

Veneziani explains. “Most people already

unopened. Emails from banks or service

with sufficient resources can feel more anxious

know what they should do, but the anxiety

providers sit unread for weeks. Decisions are

than those with fewer but more predictable

lives at an emotional and physiological level,

postponed until they can no longer be ignored.

circumstances.

often shaped by past experiences. Practical advice alone can even increase pressure if the

“These behaviours are not flaws,” she says.

“They are the nervous system’s attempts to

In Malta, that uncertainty is often amplified

underlying emotional meaning of money isn’t

manage uncertainty and regain control.” Then

by proximity. It is a small country where lives

addressed.”

People rarely talk about money stress, so others’ calm can make us feel behind or inadequate.

Therapeutic work, instead, focuses on loosening the relationship between anxiety and behaviour. “Shifting from self-correction to understanding is often key,” Veneziani says. “Becoming curious about where money fears come from, and noticing bodily reactions without immediately acting on them, can reduce intensity. Over time, flexibility, self-compassion, and a sense of internal safety matter more than perfect systems.”

Money anxiety thrives on isolation and selfblame, on the quiet belief that everyone else has figured it out while you are somehow

are visible, and comparisons are constant,

behind.

even when unspoken. Someone else’s renovation, new car or career move becomes

Recognising the pattern can change that

a quiet benchmark. “In small communities like

internal narrative. “Money anxiety is not a

Malta, everyone seems to notice everything,”

personal failing but a human response to

Veneziani says. “Homes, cars, weddings,

uncertainty and responsibility,” Veneziani

even children’s school choices. These visible

says. “Feeling anxious does not mean

markers can quietly fuel comparison and

someone is incompetent. If the anxiety feels

pressure to ‘keep up,’ even when finances are

persistent or restrictive, speaking with a

stable.”

therapist can help create space between feelings and behaviours. Reaching out is a

there are those who know what needs to be

supportive and thoughtful step.”

done but wait for the perfect moment, the

The tricky part, she adds, is the gap between

correct rate, the clearest horizon, the most

private worry and public appearance. “People

certain outcome. “Decision paralysis often

rarely talk about money stress, so others’

For many people, relief does not come from

affects conscientious individuals who feel

calm can make us feel behind or inadequate.

earning more or working harder. It comes from

intense pressure to make the ‘right’ decision,”

In a tight-knit society, this can make money

understanding that their anxiety is not a flaw,

Veneziani notes. “Money feels emotionally

anxiety feel isolating, though in reality, it’s

but a response. And that understanding alone

overwhelming, so delaying becomes a form of

something many silently share.”

can begin to loosen the grip.

self-protection.”

Faced with this pressure, many people What these patterns have in common is not a

respond by doubling down on responsibility:

Charlene Veneziani is a warranted family

lack of knowledge, but a shared response to

tighter budgets, more tracking, more restraint.

psychotherapist working with individuals

uncertainty. Research into financial distress

On paper, it looks sensible. Emotionally, it can

and couples to support resilience, healthy

consistently shows that anxiety is not only

become exhausting. “Yes,” Veneziani says, “for

relationships, and sustainable personal growth.

about how much money someone has, but

some, financial responsibility becomes tied to

With a background in psychology lecturing, she

about perceived threat and lack of control.

identity and self-worth. When responsibility

brings strong academic and clinical expertise.

24

ISSUE 89

MONEY

SUCCESSION

SUCCESSION PLANNING Beating the odds Vanessa Macdonald looks at why Malta's family businesses struggle to survive the handover. Succession isn't a box-tick—it's a high-stakes transition shaped by timing, governance, valuation and family dynamics. Plan early, talk honestly, and protect the legacy.

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ISSUE 89

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SUCCESSION

F

or decades, Malta's economy has been driven by its

succession planning for family-run businesses. The project

SMEs, but there is another aspect: how many of them

is in the hands of Cliff Pace, who explained that it forms

are family-owned? There are very few statistics, but

part of the MSE's financial literacy programme, tackling an

the accepted percentage seems to hover around 75%. That

aspect of business often overlooked.

means an impressive 45,000 companies are family-owned.

"This will become even more important going forward as These may range from small shops to small businesses,

there is a large number of entrepreneurs who created their

but some accumulate enough wealth and goodwill to merit

companies during periods of economic expansion, and who

passing on to the next generation.

are now approaching retirement.

And this is where it gets tricky. The owner may have

"The project highlighted that in Germany, for example, 30%

children who are not interested in taking over the company.

of SME owners are aged 60 or more, while in France one in

The children may not be the best qualified to take on

ten SME leaders is 65 or older," he said.

the responsibility or role. The company's founder may face numerous decisions – not all of which are optimal or successful. The owner may opt to sell the company to an individual or company outside the family, so the issue then becomes disposal rather than succession. Probably the most common circumstance is that the owner and the family have put off even considering how to address the eventual succession of the business, leaving a stressful, likely complicated situation when it inevitably occurs.

The issue, thorny as it may be, obviously requires planning.

Most international surveys report that under a third of family-owned businesses survive into the second generation. The news gets worse with each generation: only 12% survive into the third, and only about 3% into the

Many Maltese businesses are still heavily ownerdependent— an instant red flag for buyers.

next generation and beyond. Sobering numbers!

Statistics for Malta are indicative, even though the available figures are slightly outdated: a 2018 survey by

— Thomas Cremona

the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry found that an estimated 16.9% of family businesses were inherited. And although 82.9% of family business members would prefer to pass the company to the next generation, around 8% would prefer to sell it to an outsider.

One particular aspect of Malta is the dearth of merger and acquisition

The major, large family-owned companies in Malta are

opportunities, which makes

now entering their second century, and they have chosen

succession planning harder

different paths. Indeed, KPMG Malta reported in 2023 that

and disposal much less likely.

several business families were at a crucial phase in their

Thomas Cremona, the founder of

succession planning, with a high volume of wealth being

idisav, explained that in an ideal

transferred between the second and third generations.

acquisition scenario, a buyer would target a company with minimal

Bear in mind that the obstacles to a successful transition

dependence on its owner.

are tremendous: there is no 'one size fits all' formula, but the key principle seems to be timing: the earlier a company

"However, many Maltese businesses remain

starts planning, the better.

heavily owner-dependent because founders either continue to run the enterprise long after they could have

MONEY

The issue of succession is by no means a Maltese one.

afforded professional managers, or the business was not

The Malta Stock Exchange Institute was the lead of a

profitable enough to sustain a professional management

six-country project team that successfully bid to create

structure. This dependence creates a material risk for

an Erasmus programme to identify ways to address this.

acquirers, who are often unwilling to take it on without

NextSME already has its own website, www.nextgensmes.

applying a substantial discount to the asking price," he

eu, that offers free online training covering six aspects of

explained. →

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

27

SUCCESSION

Pricing continues to pose a significant challenge: in

to get involved in the business but this topic was never

addition to the structural constraints of the local market,

discussed, leading them to believe that their parents didn't

many owners expect the sale of their business to fully

wish them involved... And then the parents tell us they

finance their retirement. Yet most Maltese enterprises do

never discussed it with the kids, as they didn't want to

not justify such elevated valuations.

impose!"

"In practice, many exits will provide owners with time and liquidity to consider their next financial steps, rather than fully funding retirement plans," he added.

The lack of liquidity on the Malta Stock Exchange limits the practicality of public market exits for Malta's larger corporate groups, he said.

"A sale through the exchange is generally either too gradual to be meaningful or too costly to justify. Furthermore, Malta lacks an active private equity ecosystem. The pool of potential acquirers is therefore concentrated among synergistic buyers such as competitors, high

A 5% tax bill is manageable. Getting succession wrong can cost the other 95% in conflict and court.

net worth individuals or groups of them, and the established Maltese corporate groups that continue to expand across local industries."

— David Pace

One entity with international experience in this topic is KPMG, and its senior partner for KPMG Malta, David Pace, stressed the importance of good planning.

"It has been shown (and we have had the opportunity to witness directly) that should family businesses plan the transition of Management, Income, Control, and Equity (MICE) effectively, in due time, the next generation has less to fear and more to look forward to.

"MICE encapsulates what matters most to family members in connection with their family business. Yet often they are shrouded under a veil of silence and/or are not given their dedicated focus, with succession seen to merely relate to the passing over of the shareholding interest.

"When families have engaged in proper succession planning, discussing these matters, capturing principles, sharing these and creating the forums to keep the discussion ongoing, then as family members go through their life stages (kids coming of age, marriages, next gen's being born, retiring of older gen, etc) you can see how this helps produce healthy, timely, discussions.

"By way of example we have witnessed cases where the parents wish to have family members take over the business but none of the family members appear keen to in their eyes... to then discover – when we engage in succession discussions with the children – that one or more of these family members would have been interested

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"Invest time and resources to work through these matters:

ownership/shareholder system. You need to deliberately

the tax bill at the most is often 5% in Malta, but getting the

create dedicated spaces to allow topics to be discussed in

succession plan wrong (like tying two siblings in a business

their own right."

they should never be co-owners of) could lead to seeing the 95% go up in legal battles and other dysfunctional

There is no doubt that ensuring a smooth succession is a

behaviour – not to mention loss of the family bonds too!"

challenge. Founders have worked hard to build a company, and it is often not just a source of income but also their

Another important consideration is that succession

legacy. But this is precisely why a founder should invest

planning is sometimes viewed as a one-time event,

to ensure that what they have built can continue for

revisited only when it's time to transfer the business again.

generations to come.

Indeed, just as family members go through life stages, the company too has its own lifecycle—what worked 10 years

1. Keep in mind the impact on employees

ago might need to evolve alongside contextual realities and

The issue of succession affects those who already work

as new challenges and opportunities present themselves.

for the company. Even if a family successor has been on the cards for some time, it does not always follow that

He also stressed the importance of communication:

employees welcome the change. They may embrace the

"Simply put, the best succession plan is one that works for

new head as representing the family's continuing belief

the next generation as much as it works for the present

in the company – or they may resent the new appointee,

owners. Anyone who has tried to tackle a sensitive matter

especially if they have not worked their way up the ranks

with someone close, with whom other pressures exist,

or proved themselves. Bear in mind that no matter who

is at risk of this new matter being confounded with the

is appointed, someone will feel overlooked or have their

overarching tensions.

career path blocked.

"Similarly, in family business, three distinct systems play

This makes it all the more critical for the appointee to

out: the family system, the business system, and the

have a deep understanding of the company and its values, which is often best achieved by working at different levels and across various sectors. It is also essential to ensure communication, not just with senior levels but with the entire hierarchy. A leader is only as strong as those who follow them.

2. Avoiding discrimination and bias Ensure the succession plan does not contain any hidden biases that could affect the selection of the best possible successor. The days of everything going to the eldest son may be long gone – but there are still cultural assumptions that need to be managed.

For example, a German study from 2015 found that when both a son and a daughter were available, the daughter was chosen in only 19% of the surveyed companies.

When looking for a successor, the family should focus on qualifications and leadership qualities, not gender.

3. Keep an open mind The head of a company should not assume that a family member will take over their role. Their offspring may have different careers in mind, and even those ready to take over from their parents may have different timing in mind, depending on their own life journey.

This may mean that the leader has to reconsider when they want to take a step back, for example, either doing so earlier or later, neither of which may be optimal. And although some period of handover would be recommended, the head needs to be ready to take a complete step backwards. →

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THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

29

SUCCESSION

The family dynamics are also essential to keep in mind: if

involved family member has a say in the issues affecting

one sibling is chosen, what about the others? What are their

the company. Think of the council as a board of directors,

expectations? It is not only a matter of giving each a fair

but rather than focusing on strategy and operations, it

share of the accumulated wealth: they may also want a role

prioritises family values and dynamics.

within the company.

6. Embrace the emotional side!

It is not all about laws and technical details. Deciding

Again, communication is key…

when to step down and appointing a successor is, first and 4. Succession is not just about leadership

foremost, an emotional transition. This may negatively

Bear in mind that there are various legal and fiscal

affect how you handle issues, whether we are talking about

considerations. Apart from transferring ownership of the

taking rational decisions or succumbing to peer pressure

company, review the shareholder agreement and voting

and family expectations.

rights to avoid disputes further down the line.

Case Study #1

There are also governance issues, especially when the company or group has a board of directors. This may

M. Demajo Group JJ Miceli Demajo, CEO, 4th generation Founded in 1910 by Michel Demajo,

We anchor leadership selection to role requirements, performance and values — merit-based and gender-neutral.

the M. Demajo Group has evolved across four generations of family ownership and leadership.

In recent years, succession has become more deliberate and structured. Planning begins early, with potential successors exposed to several group businesses and mentored by seasoned executives.

At the shareholder level, a family council acts as a liaison and advisory body, ensuring the family's interests remain aligned with those of the business. This sits alongside formal board committees such as finance,

— JJ Miceli Demajo

nominations, and audit.

Our approach is always focused towards merit-based and gender-neutral. We anchor leadership selection to role requirements, performance and values, and we pair transitions with clear communication and onboarding plans

require administrative changes – or even more substantial

so that everyone involved understands the rationale and

ones.

feels part of the journey. Our ongoing Group HR strategy work supports this.

5. Manage complex structures

30

As more generations become involved, a company or

On portfolio stewardship, we prioritise long-term

group's structure becomes more complex, and the risk of

resilience: we invest in growth areas and review non-core

conflict increases. There are various ways to ensure that

activities with discipline. Over the years, we have exited or

all family members are kept up to date and empowered to

consolidated selected lines when strategic fit or risk profile

participate in future decisions.

warranted it.

Consider setting up a family charter that clearly outlines

What has helped us endure? A few principles: start

the future and each person's place in the setup, while

succession planning well before you need it; separate

establishing a clear mandate for any existing or future

family governance from business governance while

board of directors. The charter would outline the roles

keeping them in dialogue; insist on merit; communicate

and expectations of both family and non-family members,

early and often; stay diversified but focused; and, above

and establish mechanisms for resolving conflicts. This

all, our most important element is our values. We cascade

can be complemented by a family council, where each

our values of care, reputation, trust, and family throughout

ISSUE 89

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SUCCESSION

everything we do. These practices have allowed the Group

and expert guidance. To support this effort, the family

to adapt through Malta's economic transformations while

has joined the Global Family Business Network, an

maintaining continuity of purpose and performance.

organisation of 5,000 business families, and we are collaborating with a seasoned family business expert to guide the drafting of our constitution and other

Case Study #2

succession measures.

Vassallo Group

One key element under consideration is that future

Pio Vassallo, CEO, 3rd generation

generations must complete a university degree and gain external work experience before becoming eligible

The Vassallo family business traces its origins to 1946, when our late

to join the family business. The aim is to ensure that competence aligns with the business's requirements.

grandfather, Piju Vassallo, then a farmer, recognised an

Reflecting on our journey, we acknowledge that

opportunity in the aftermath

succession planning may have started later than it

of the Second World War. With

should have for the next generation. The advice for

only a truck, initially used for farming, as his single asset, he began clearing war debris, marking the start of the family's entrepreneurial journey.

As Piju's five sons matured, they joined the business and, in 1971, officially registered the company as Vassallo Builders Company (registration number C2448).

At this pivotal moment, our father Nazzareno, one of Piju's five sons, was appointed managing director while his older brother became chairman. During the late 1970s, two brothers exited the business, selling their shares to the remaining four shareholders.

In 1985, after Piju Vassallo's retirement, the remaining

Good governance matters — including nonexecutive and non-family members on the board strengthens long-term prospects.

three shareholders decided to pursue separate business paths. Our father purchased the shares of the original company, Vassallo Builders Limited, while other business interests were divided among the two remaining uncles

— Pio Vassallo

as part of the agreement. With this transition, my dad and mum became the sole shareholders of what would become the Vassallo Group, which is set to celebrate 80 years since its founding. other family businesses is to initiate these discussions Dad made it clear from early on that all five siblings would

early, recognising that succession is a gradual process

join the business as equal shareholders upon turning

rather than a single event. Keeping top executives

18. This clarity in succession planning, regardless of

informed throughout helps prevent unnecessary or false

gender, laid a strong foundation for the family's continued

speculation. It is also vital to communicate the business's

involvement.

values and purpose to heirs at an age when they are old enough to understand.

Currently, the business is owned by seven equal shareholders. In addition, our parents required that each

Although exit strategies for our heirs have not yet been

child attain a university education before joining the

discussed, it may be beneficial to consider them so that

family enterprise.

no one feels trapped in the future. Good governance is essential, and a crucial aspect is the inclusion of both

MONEY

While the essential principles of a family business

non-executive and non-family members on the board.

constitution were discussed and understood, a formal

This practice, insisted upon by dad, has been carried

document has yet to be executed. The next step is to

forward by the next generation since he retired four years

draft a constitution to safeguard the business for future

ago, strengthening the company's leadership and long-

generations, a process requiring trust, transparency,

term prospects.

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

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NEW BEGINNINGS

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ISSUE 89

MONEY

NEW BEGINNINGS

Starting over in a country that doesn't forget In Malta, reinvention isn't a lifestyle refresh—it's a negotiation with a country that remembers. Manuel Delia traces how public controversy, political undercurrents, and the economics of fear can freeze reputations in time, and what it really costs to start again.

W

hen people discuss "new

it ready for reuse. I went straight

naturally came to an end. I was

beginnings," they usually

from university into senior

36 years old, with fourteen

refer to a career change,

political roles and spent fourteen

years of senior-level experience

a new role, or a personal reset.

years working at the centre of

behind me, and no clear path

We like the idea of starting over.

government. It was intensive,

ahead in the country where I

It makes us feel contemporary,

compressed work. I learned

had built my entire professional

adaptable, and unafraid of

quickly, took on responsibilities

identity. I sent out applications,

change.

early, and lived with a constant

met potential employers, and

sense of urgency. Politics in Malta

engaged in polite conversations.

However, the reality is that Malta

often functions like that: sink or

But Malta's labour market is small,

is a challenging place to reinvent

swim, and keep swimming.

cautious, and heavily influenced by political undercurrents. It is

yourself, especially if your past was lived openly. Reinvention

In the final years, I became the

demands a kind of forgetting,

public face of one of Malta's

and Malta is a country with a long

most significant policy reforms in

memory and a small territory.

decades: the overhaul of the bus

People do not forget. And

system. Although a necessary

sometimes, they do not forgive.

reform, its implementation faced serious setbacks. The system's

I learned this in my late thirties,

mechanics improved over time,

when a chapter of my life closed,

but reputations, unlike public

and I realised that turning the

transport, do not follow published

page was not something I could

timetables. They stagnate at the

do alone.

moment of crisis; for many, public memory ended with the failures.

Starting again isn't just about

As a result, I was seen by the

polishing a CV or changing

public as the person responsible

sectors. It is an economic, social,

for explaining them away.

and psychological negotiation with a country that archives

When the government changed

every public moment and keeps

in 2013, my political career

MONEY

Starting again isn't just about polishing a CV—it's an economic, social, and psychological negotiation.

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

also risk-averse in ways people rarely admit openly. Hiring someone associated with a public controversy, even one long resolved, feels like inviting inherited problems into your organisation. No one ever states this directly. Instead, the phone simply stops ringing.

It took time to understand what was happening. The uncomfortable truth was that employability here had very little to do with skills and almost everything to do with perception.

Competence is portable, but reputation is not. It follows you into every interview room and →

33

NEW BEGINNINGS

openly. No regulation spells it out. But enough people believe it could be true that it has an effect on real lives. Fear becomes an economic force in its own right, narrowing choices and reducing opportunities without ever needing to be written down.

People often talk about starting over at 40 as if it were a lifestyle choice, a kind of midlife reinvention pursued for fulfilment.

The reality is more brutal.

Reinvention is not glamorous; it sits there, uninvited, whispering

I had built up fell apart. I left my

watchdogs and critics as

is hard work. It involves trading

reminders of your worst day on

financially secure private-sector

nuisances rather than essential

stability for uncertainty and

the job. Eventually, I found work

job and dedicated myself entirely

to democratic health. Money

accepting that the narrower

elsewhere, not physically abroad

to civic activism. It wasn't a

is a constant source of worry.

income you receive is not due

but with foreign companies and

deliberate choice. It was a moral

Organisations struggle to survive

to failure or incompetence, but

international projects whose

decision, and I understood the

each month. Individuals live on

to choices that Malta does not

leaders did not know or care about

consequences even as I accepted

tight budgets, driven more by

reward.

Maltese political baggage. It was

them. You can't measure dignity

conviction than comfort.

a strange form of exile: living in

in pounds, but you can count the

Malta while being professionally

cost of choosing it.

outside it. The practical problem

I am now 49. The past decade has There is also the quieter

shown me that starting again

dimension that people rarely

is not a single event. It is a long

was solved, but the deeper

The civic space in Malta is

name. Even outside government,

series of attempts, setbacks,

questions remained.

intentionally fragile. There is

many employers fear that being

recalibrations, and stubborn

very little formal philanthropy,

associated with those who

persistence. It is the repeated act

In 2017, when Daphne Caruana

almost no institutional support,

challenge authority may lead to

of convincing others, including

Galizia was killed, all the stability

and a public sector that regards

difficulties. No law states this

yourself, that the chapter you left

34

ISSUE 89

MONEY

NEW BEGINNINGS

behind does not define the one you are trying to write.

I do not share this as a personal confession, nor as a plea for sympathy. I share it because what happened to me is not unusual.

It is a heightened example of what many people in Malta experience when they step out of line, fall from favour, or simply find themselves on the wrong side of a political narrative. This is a country where visibility is quick, and consequences can last

Others rebuild on ground that

to work within it because the

indefinitely, where professional

has already been contested. They

alternative is impossible to live

identities are as permanent as

start again, not on blank pages,

with.

tattoos, where networks often

but on pages already marked

matter more than CVs, and where

by interpretations they did not

A new beginning is not a clean

the courage to speak out comes

choose.

slate. It is a decision, often

with an unspoken understanding that you might pay a heavy price.

And yet reinvention remains possible. It requires stubbornness

Competence is portable, but reputation is not.

renewed daily, to pursue a life aligned with your conscience even when the country around you would prefer that you stay quiet,

If we are serious about honestly

rather than optimism. It requires

discussing new beginnings, we

accepting that Malta will not

must accept that they are not

forget your past and choosing to

equally accessible. Some people

build anyway. It requires living

can change direction easily

with the knowledge that dignity

because their past is simple or

has its own unforgiving economy,

can stand by. And that too is a

aligned with the prevailing power.

and that sometimes you decide

beginning.

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

compliant, and forgettable.

I did not choose the easiest path. But I did choose the one I

35

RESET

CALCULAT CAREER What reinvention really costs In a world that sells career change as passion and bravery, AJ Aberford's story is colder — and more useful. Lea Hogg tracks how a lawyer-turned-banker sequenced exits, built buffers, absorbed crashes, and reinvented without pretending risk disappears.

T

oday, AJ Aberford writes crime novels.

sheets: when income becomes optional, when

His "Inspector George Zammit" series is

volatility is tolerable, and when autonomy is

published, steady-selling, and grounded

worth more than marginal returns.

in the politics, corruption, and money flows he observed firsthand. But the path from

AJ Aberford's career offers a rare,

law and banking to novelist in Malta wasn't

unsentimental case study, not of radical

a leap of passion but a careful calculation

reinvention, but of sequenced exits, absorbed

in risk, timing, and financial buffers.

losses, and the quiet arithmetic that determines who can afford to change course

Career reinvention is often sold as an

and who cannot. What follows is an account

emotional story: burnout, passion, escape.

of how careers, like portfolios, evolve across

In reality, it is a financial decision, governed

cycles.

by timing and a clear understanding of When an institutional trajectory breaks

downside risk. For investors, founders and senior professionals, changing direction

Financial concerns are the most significant

AJ Aberford

barrier to career change: a Forbes survey

mid-career is less about courage than balance

36

ISSUE 89

MONEY

RESET

TING A R CHANGE deregulation and globalisation dismantled

Aberford sold the business to a major UK

barriers in finance. Institutions grew bigger;

property company while retaining assets.

rewards followed scale.

When markets collapsed, those assets rapidly lost value.

"I realised I was tired of big organisations," he says. "The best ideas take months to happen,

"We went from buying distressed property to

and change is always a threat to somebody.

owning it," he says. "That's a very sobering

I wanted to work somewhere smaller, do

position to be in."

something different, or apply what you'd learned directly."

Rather than chase a quick recovery, he adopted a defensive strategy: sell low-value

The bank where he worked was eventually

assets, hold others for the long term, and step

absorbed into Santander. With a young

back from active trading. It took seven years

family and little desire for a full-time City

to recover the capital lost in the crash. By

role, Aberford reached a conclusion many

2015, the company was solvent but effectively

mid-career professionals recognise but few

inactive.

act on: the trajectory no longer suited him.

What followed was not reinvention so much as

That moment reframes Aberford's later

recalibration.

decisions. Reinvention did not come from optimism alone; it came from absorbing a

Risk looks different once you've seen it

complete market cycle and choosing caution

up close

over bravado.

found 73% of people considering a switch cited

With a partner and funding from Deutsche

money worries, while only 8% felt financially

Bank, Aberford left corporate finance to build

"My business partner and I both had time on

confident enough to leap.

a business buying and managing distressed

our hands," he says. "That's a luxury, but it

property assets - a move that kept him close

forces many questions."

Aberford's career followed a recognisable

to capital, decision-making, and downside, but

path for his generation. Trained as a lawyer, he

on his own terms.

From abstract capital to physical work

moved into banking during the 1990s, when

Then came 2008 and the financial crisis.

While his business partner went on to chair →

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

37

RESET

a UK regional bank, Aberford took a less

"I noticed how formulaic a lot of crime fiction

conventional route. After travelling in the

had become," he says. "I thought I'd see if I

US and observing the craft beer boom,

could do something different."

he returned to university and obtained a Malta provided material. Corruption,

qualification in Brewing Science.

organised crime, geopolitics, and money "I'd always sat behind a desk, moving paper

intersect in ways rarely fictionalised. By 2022,

and money," he says. "The idea of designing

the first three "Inspector George Zammit"

something physical, manufacturing it, and

novels were published. Six have now been

taking it to market fascinated me."

released.

The brewery was no hobby. It became a

"No one should write novels expecting to

national supplier to supermarkets and

get rich," Aberford says. "There are very few

hospitality, employed over 40 people, and

exceptions, and I'm not one of them."

contract-bottled beer for some of the largest The books sell steadily rather than

craft breweries in northern England.

spectacularly. They provide purpose more Financially, it was a step down.

than profit.

"I didn't make as much money as a banker or a

"What writing gave me was structure

lawyer," he says. "But I had more freedom and

and autonomy," he says. "Not income

a better lifestyle than I ever did as a lawyer or

replacement."

banker."

Every transition I made came after building buffers.

The real arithmetic of reinvention

glass, packaging, and malt sourced from

to Italy, where Janet, his wife, was originally

"I didn't jump at 30 with a mortgage and

Ukraine became scarce and expensive. At the

from, and a lower cost base than the UK—but

young children," he says. "Every transition I

same time, younger consumers changed their

Aberford punctures illusions.

made came after building buffers."

For a period, the trade-off worked. The business sat at the centre of its local community. The work was tangible. The pace was demanding, but human.

Then Covid-19 arrived. Hospitality shut down

Aberford is candid about the financial rollercoasting behind his transitions. Writing alone would not support most households. Brewing worked until macro shocks made it untenable.

Malta's lower earnings were sustainable only because of earlier capital.

for 16 months. Inflation followed. Energy,

habits.

"Malta isn't cheap anymore," he says. "And

This is where Aberford's story diverges from

"The craft beer boom stalled. What had once

post-Brexit, it's certainly not frictionless.

popular narratives. There was no single leap.

felt creative became fragile," he says. In 2023,

The bureaucracy is real, and you need good

Exits were planned, structures designed for

Aberford sold the business to a large corporate

advice."

flexibility, and trade-offs accepted.

group.

The move worked not because Malta replaced

"What you're really buying is time," he says.

"It stopped being fun," he says. "That's usually

income, but because it reduced the pressure

"And control over how you use it. That has

the signal."

on it. That distinction is central to Aberford's

value, but it isn't free."

story and often missed in relocation Malta and the mechanics of exit

Post-Brexit, moves like his will become harder.

narratives.

Tax planning is more complex, residency rules

Years earlier, Aberford and his partner had structured their investment business with

"People talk about moving abroad as if it's an

an exit in mind, including becoming non-UK

income strategy," he says. "It isn't. It's a cost

residents to protect capital. His partner chose

and lifestyle strategy."

"Reinvention isn't about escape," he says.

"It's about risk management. You don't burn

the Isle of Man; Aberford and his wife chose Malta, mainly for family and lifestyle reasons.

are tighter, and costs are rising.

Writing as a third act, not a windfall

bridges, but you need to build exits."

During the Covid-19 pandemic, as Aberford "My wife didn't fancy an island in the Irish Sea,"

and his wife travelled between Malta and the

Was it worth it?

he says, dryly.

UK to care for their ill parents, he began writing

He pauses.

fiction. Long hours in transit and enforced For the past decade, the couple have lived in

isolation created conditions he had postponed

"Yes," he says. "But only because I waited until

St Julian's. Malta offered EU access, proximity

for years.

it was."

38

ISSUE 89

MONEY

NEW BEGINNINGS

SCALING CARE WITHOUT LOSING TRUST Malta's next healthcare chapter needs better decisions, not just better tech

40

ISSUE 89

MONEY

NEW BEGINNINGS

New beginnings in healthcare aren't about new platforms — they're about new judgment.

Dr Dylan Attard argues that one rushed procurement or unclear data decision can ripple system-wide, and calls for a reset: lifecycle thinking, visible governance, and workforce-first implementation that protects.

I

n Malta, healthcare decisions

scaling in larger countries.

strength. When innovation aligns

don't fail quietly. In a small,

No multiple regional systems

with clinical practice and patient

highly connected system,

are operating in parallel,

expectations, benefits can be

the ripple from one rushed

nor large buffers that allow

realised rapidly and equitably.

procurement, one poorly

experimentation without system-

Consistency of care becomes

governed dataset, or one "pilot"

wide impact. Decisions taken at a

easier to achieve, and learning

that never correctly lands can

national level are felt quickly and

can be shared across the system

be felt across wards, clinics, and

consistently across hospitals,

without delay.

homes — fast. That's why the next

clinics, and communities.

At the same time, this reality

chapter in health innovation can't be defined by what we buy, but by

This interconnectedness can be a

places a premium on foresight. →

how we decide.

Technology is now woven into the everyday reality of care: booking systems, imaging, prescribing, triage, monitoring, and the growing presence of decisionsupport tools. But the real differentiator isn't the solution's novelty. It's whether leaders treat adoption as a strategic choice with consequences for trust, workload, and patient outcomes — or as a box-ticking upgrade.

New beginnings, in other words, are not about more tools.

They're about better judgment: procurement that looks beyond price, governance that earns confidence, and implementation that respects the people delivering care.

Scaling care in a small, interconnected system Scaling healthcare in Malta is

Dylan Attard

fundamentally different from

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

41

NEW BEGINNINGS

In Malta, scaling care is less

of care: time, empathy, and

about expansion and more about

continuity. Roll out in phases,

refinement. Innovation works best

measure impact, then refine.

when it reflects local workflows, workforce capacity, and cultural

Malta can move faster than

expectations. Precision matters.

bigger systems — but only if it's

Introducing the right solution at

disciplined: set success metrics

the right time can strengthen

upfront, publish what worked

the entire system; introducing

(and what didn't), and be willing to

it at the wrong moment can

pause initiatives that erode trust.

create friction that takes years to resolve.

Procurement as a strategic decision

Three non-negotiables for scaling health innovation in

Healthcare procurement has

Malta

evolved from an administrative function into a strategic lever.

1. Buy for the full lifecycle,

Lowest price on day one can become the most expensive choice by year three.

procurement process strengthens outcomes. Their insight helps ensure that solutions support real-world practice rather than idealised workflows. When procurement is informed by everyday experience, adoption becomes more natural and longterm value is easier to sustain.

Importantly, procurement should consider the full lifecycle of a system. Ongoing maintenance, training, and adaptability matter as much as initial deployment. In a compact healthcare environment, thoughtful procurement lays the groundwork for stability and

Today's procurement choices

resilience.

not the launch. The lowest

shape how clinicians work, how

or forces clinicians to keep parallel

price on day one can become

information flows, and how

systems "just in case", the cost

the most expensive choice

adaptable the system remains

isn't theoretical — it shows up

Data governance as a source of

by year three — through

over time. In Malta, where

in lost time, higher burnout, and

confidence

customisations, vendor

procurement decisions often

poorer consistency of care. The

lock-in, downtime, and the

have national reach, their impact

smarter question isn't "what does

As healthcare becomes

hidden costs of workarounds.

extends well beyond initial

it cost to buy?" but "what does it

increasingly data-driven,

Contracts should reward

implementation.

cost to run — and to live with?"

Malta has an opportunity to

measurable outcomes, with

In Malta, procurement decisions

This creates an opportunity

responsible data governance.

clear exit routes and support

don't just select a product — they

to be selective and deliberate.

Health data offers powerful

baked in.

set a workflow, a dependency, and

Rather than prioritising breadth

insights for planning, research,

a cost structure for years. The

of functionality, procurement

and quality improvement, but its

2. Make trust visible. In a small

temptation is to optimise for the

can focus on fit, flexibility, and

use must be anchored in public

population, perceptions

headline price and call it "value for

interoperability. Technologies that

confidence.

travel faster than policies.

money", but the lowest upfront

integrate smoothly with existing

But in Malta, the limiting factor

Patients and clinicians need

cost can quickly become the most

systems, adapt to changing

often isn't the technology — it's

to know who can access data,

expensive choice once the real-

clinical needs, and allow for future

trust.

for what purpose, and under

world bill arrives: integration work,

evolution are particularly valuable

what oversight. Transparent

customisations, support gaps,

in a small system.

governance, plain-language

training debt, and the operational

communication, and

drag of workarounds. If a tool adds

Engaging clinicians and

powerful. A single rumour about

independent accountability

steps, duplicates documentation,

operational teams early in the

who can access data, or why it's

demonstrate leadership in

reliability, interoperability, and

Trust in a small system is unusually fragile — and unusually

aren't "nice-to-haves" —

being used, can undo months of

they're the foundation for

progress, even when governance

data-driven care that people

exists on paper. That's why

will actually accept.

governance can't sit quietly in policy documents; it has to be visible, written in plain language,

3. Design around the workforce

42

and the relationship. If a

and auditable. Patients and

tool adds clicks, duplicates

clinicians need clear answers:

documentation, or shifts

what data is collected, who can

risk onto clinicians without

see it, for what purpose, under

support, it will fail — quietly

what oversight, and what happens

at first, then loudly. Adoption

when something goes wrong.

works when it reduces

If transparency is treated as an

friction, includes training,

afterthought, people will default

engages clinical champions,

to scepticism and consent-by-

and protects the human core

compliance rather than genuine

ISSUE 89

MONEY

NEW BEGINNINGS

confidence. In practice, "data-

Digital tools are most effective

grows through understanding.

driven care" only scales when

when they reduce duplication,

When patients feel informed and

trust scales with it.

streamline communication, and

respected, they are more likely to

support coordination across

embrace innovation as a positive

In a small population, data

care settings. Solutions that

development.

sensitivity is heightened. Patients

integrate seamlessly into existing

are acutely aware of how easily

workflows are more likely to

Governance as an enabler of

information can feel personal,

deliver lasting benefits.

progress

place. Clear communication about

Early and meaningful engagement

Across procurement, data

how data is used, protected, and

with clinicians enhances

governance, clinical practice,

overseen is therefore essential.

design and implementation. In

and patient engagement, one

a small system, collaboration

principle consistently emerges:

Effective data governance

has a powerful effect. When

good governance enables sound

provides reassurance.

healthcare professionals

decisions. Governance provides

contribute to shaping innovation,

structure, accountability, and

they become partners in its

continuity, allowing innovation

success. This shared ownership

to progress at a pace that the

supports smoother adoption and

system can absorb.

continuous improvement.

Malta's scale makes strong

even when safeguards are in

Transparent rules on access and accountability help patients understand the public value of data use while maintaining privacy. Clinicians benefit from clarity about how data supports care delivery and system planning, rather than being used in ways that undermine professional judgment.

Data-driven care only scales when trust scales with it.

governance achievable. CrossTraining and support also

disciplinary collaboration, clear

matter. Innovation should be

roles, and regular review ensure

accompanied by investment in

that innovation remains aligned

skills and confidence, enabling

with healthcare priorities and

the workforce to use new tools

public values.

effectively and comfortably.

When governance frameworks

Governance also supports

are visible and consistent, data

expertise. Clear guidance on

becomes a shared resource that

how recommendations are

Preserving the patient

learning. By monitoring outcomes

strengthens trust. Oversight

generated and applied reinforces

relationship

and incorporating feedback, the

structures that include

accountability and confidence.

clinical, technical, and ethical

system can adapt and improve Patient trust has long been

over time. This flexibility is

perspectives help ensure that

Continuous evaluation is

a defining feature of Malta's

particularly valuable in a rapidly

data use remains aligned with

critical in small systems. Tools

healthcare system. As care

evolving healthcare landscape.

societal expectations.

developed for larger or more

becomes more digital, preserving

diverse populations may perform

this trust requires intentional

A healthcare chapter defined by

Technology as a support for

differently in Malta's context.

effort and clear communication.

judgment and care

clinical judgment

Regular review and feedback

Innovation should enhance

help refine systems, ensuring

the patient experience, not

Malta does not need to choose

relevance and accuracy over time.

distance it. Digital access, remote

between innovation and trust.

monitoring, and data-enabled

With thoughtful decision-making,

Decision-support technologies are increasingly present in clinical settings, offering guidance

This approach fosters trust

care can improve convenience

both can be strengthened. The

based on patterns, evidence,

among clinicians and patients

and continuity when implemented

next chapter of healthcare offers

and historical data. In Malta's

alike. When technology is clearly

thoughtfully. At the same

an opportunity to scale care in

healthcare system, these tools

positioned as a support, not a

time, patients value personal

ways that enhance efficiency,

can play a valuable role when

substitute, it strengthens care

interaction and reassurance.

support clinicians, and maintain

introduced with clear intent and

rather than complicating it.

public confidence.

Clear explanations of why

defined boundaries.

Innovation that reflects

changes are being introduced,

Better technology will play a role,

The most effective technologies

workforce reality

how they benefit patients, and

but better decisions will shape

are those that enhance,

Malta's healthcare workforce is

what safeguards are in place

the outcome. By prioritising

rather than replace, clinical

one of its greatest strengths.

help maintain confidence.

judgment, transparency, and

judgment. By highlighting

Innovation succeeds when it

Transparency builds realistic

collaboration, Malta can continue

risks, supporting consistency,

aligns with the realities of clinical

expectations and reduces

to deliver high-quality care

and reducing cognitive load,

practice and respects the time

uncertainty.

while embracing innovation that

decision-support tools can

and expertise of healthcare

complement professional

professionals.

MONEY

reflects its unique strengths and In a close-knit society, trust

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

values.

43

iGAMING

HYPE, OR HEDGE HUB What the UAE’s gaming move means for Malta’s iGaming future

44

ISSUE 89

MONEY

iGAMING

Ras Al Khaimah isn’t trying to be Malta overnight. It’s trying to be next. Lea Hogg explains the UAE’s disciplined play: tight licences, strong banking, fast-aligned regulation — and why the smartest Malta firms won’t relocate, they’ll hedge. Malta’s challenge is adaptation.

T

MONEY

he United Arab Emirates issued its first-

jurisdiction in a generation.

ever iGaming licence, formally ushering the country into a global industry it had

I went to Ras Al Khaimah last year, curious to

long kept at arm’s length.

see the Wynn casino development for myself.

The licence was granted by the Emirate of Ras

The drive through the desert strips away the

Al Khaimah (RAK), not Dubai or Abu Dhabi,

hype quickly, moving from Dubai’s commercial

and it is no coincidence. Smaller, quieter and

hub, regional tech headquarters, banks and

strategically insulated, RAK is positioning

fintech firms into long, empty stretches of

itself as the testing ground for what could

desert, before a heavily guarded construction

become the most consequential new gaming

site comes into view. →

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

45

iGAMING

The scale of the new integrated casino is

lower limits than in Northern Europe. But if

already unmistakable. Vast steel frames were

you understand the purchasing power of the

rising from the sand, construction moving

region, and their native familiarity with crypto,

steadily at the site of what will become the

it’s beautiful.”

UAE’s first regulated casino.

There is no evidence of a mass exodus from Representatives from the Ras Al Khaimah

Malta. Offices will not empty overnight.

Tourism Development Authority spoke with a

Licence surrenders are not piling up. What

clear sense of deliberation and responsibility

is happening instead is subtler and arguably

about the project. Their message focused

more significant. Executives are commuting.

on long-term sustainability rather than rapid

Satellite offices are opening. “Optional presence” is quietly becoming “strategic

expansion or short-term gains. RAK is not being positioned as a rush for quick wins, but

hedge”.

Dr Joe Borg

as a thoughtfully planned and well-structured Borg also points to the regulatory groundwork

entry into a new market. number of licences it will issue, speed alone

already in place. “The UAE was brilliant in

A new kind of market entry

is not the prize. Credibility is. Early movers

regulating crypto, starting in 2018, just

What makes the UAE’s move distinctive is not

are not those who rush in noisily, but those

like Malta. Then, Dubai introduced VARA.

simply that it has entered the gaming arena,

who understand how to position themselves

Today, they are at par with Europe in crypto

but how it has done so. Over the past decade,

quietly and compliantly, often years before any

regulation and are aiming to be well advanced

new jurisdictions have tended to open their

meaningful revenue materialises.

in gambling regulation as well. That’s why one should look at the jurisdiction now, before it’s

doors cautiously or partially, often burdened

too late.”

by political compromise or regulatory

Is Malta under threat?

ambiguity. Ras Al Khaimah is different. It is

Through conversations I had with a wide

presenting itself as premium by design.

range of industry stakeholders across multiple

While timelines remain measured, Borg is clear

jurisdictions, it has become clear that there is

on direction. “Most definitely, there will be B2B

Licensing is expected to be scarce. Banking

a temptation to frame current developments in

and B2C online licenses in the UAE. We don’t

access, which has been a “choke point”

RAK as a contest - Malta versus the UAE, West

know when. I suspect in 2026, we will see

for gaming firms, is robust. The broader

versus East, incumbent versus newcomer. This

something, but things will be slower before

ecosystem of fintech, AI-driven services,

framing, however, misses the broader strategic

Wynn opens.”

payments infrastructure, and compliance

reality and risks oversimplifying what is, in

technology is already established and mature

fact, a more complementary and evolutionary

For consumer-facing operators, the pathway

within the UAE’s wider economic strategy.

shift within the global market.

will be narrower, but for suppliers, it is clear.

“For B2Cs, it’s a different story, as licenses

Gaming is not an experiment bolted onto the side of the economy; it is being built carefully

“I don’t think developments in the UAE will

will be limited and require partnership with

into the market infrastructure.

impact Malta directly,” says Dr Joe Borg, a

an emirate. But for B2Bs, the first port of call

specialist in global gaming law with offices

is clearly Ras Al Khaimah, which is already

This matters because scarcity changes

in both the UAE and Malta. “It’s a completely

equipped to service and support these

behaviour. In a market that openly limits the

different region, coming from a very

operators.”

conservative approach and slowly opening up in a structured way. You have to be patient, but

Malta’s strengths remain substantial.

you have to be there for the long term. When

Its regulator is respected. Its legal and

things kick off properly, it will be too late to go

compliance expertise is profound. Its talent

in then.”

pool, while stretched, is still among the most experienced globally. But the pressures are

According to Borg, cultural and economic

real. Housing costs and infrastructure strain

dynamics across the GCC point not to

are increasingly part of the conversation in

disruption, but to opportunity. “Culturally,

boardrooms.

the GCC region is very warm and similar to the Mediterranean. There’s interest in

Against this backdrop, Ras Al Khaimah is

entertainment and gambling, maybe with

not yet a replacement, but it is a mirror, a

In a market that openly limits the number of licences it will issue, speed alone is not the prize. Credibility is.

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iGAMING

continuity. It reflects what Malta once was

For many iGaming firms currently

Most stakeholders who are enthusiastic about

to many firms: agile, cost-effective and

headquartered in Malta, this presents a

the UAE are also the most cautious in private.

aligned with growth. The risk for Malta is not

strategic dilemma. Malta remains one of the

They visit, they network, they establish

displacement, but complacency.

world’s most credible gaming jurisdictions,

optionality - but they stop short of relocation.

and it is also mature. However, costs are

This is rational behaviour. New markets reward

Real first-mover advantage

rising, and the talent competition is intense.

patience as much as enthusiasm.

The greatest beneficiaries of Ras Al Khaimah’s

Ras Al Khaimah, by contrast, offers something Yet dismissing the move as hype would be equally short-sighted. The UAE is not experimenting for novelty’s sake. It is building an ecosystem designed to attract high-quality, low-risk participants over the long term. That alone makes it the most serious new entrant into global regulated gaming in more than a decade.

What Malta must do next For Malta, the correct response is neither defensiveness nor denial. It is an adaptation.

Regulatory agility will be key. Incentive structures may need to be rethought, particularly for high-value suppliers and technology firms. Cost pressures, especially around housing and staffing, can no longer be treated as secondary policy issues. Talent retention must matter as much as talent

opening are unlikely to be mass-market

Malta no longer can: the opportunity to shape

operators chasing immediate scale. Instead,

a system from the inside.

attraction.

Most importantly, Malta must lean into what

the first real winners are infrastructure players: platform providers, compliance

Dubai’s gravitational pull

it already does well: credibility and stability.

specialists, payments firms, data and risk

Part of Ras Al Khaimah’s appeal lies not in

New markets can be fast and attractive, but

companies, and suppliers who understand that

what it is but in what it is near. Dubai’s global

they are also untested. Malta’s value lies in its

proximity to regulators matters as much as

connectivity, lifestyle and concentration of

maturity.

proximity to players.

capital give the region an advantage that few jurisdictions can match. Executives can live

Opportunity, warning, or both?

In markets where regulation is tight and

in Dubai if they wish, work in RAK and operate

The industry is not abandoning Malta, but

licences are few, suppliers often gain a

globally with minimal friction.

it is tilting east. For Malta, RAK is both an opportunity and a warning. The opportunity

disproportionate advantage. They become embedded early, shape technical standards,

This proximity matters particularly for

lies in partnership, dual-hub strategies

and build relationships that later entrants find

younger firms and technology-led suppliers,

and renewed relevance. The warning lies in

difficult to replicate. In RAK, this advantage

for whom talent mobility and quality of life

assuming permanence in an industry that has

is magnified by the UAE’s broader economic

are central. It also matters politically. The

never stood still.

appeal - tax efficiency, capital access, world-

UAE’s ability to align regulation, banking

class logistics and a regulatory culture that

and infrastructure at speed is a competitive

“If I were a B2B and wanted to set up shop in

prioritises execution.

advantage in itself. While Malta’s regulatory

the UAE, the first place I would explore would

processes are thorough, they are also slower,

definitely be Ras Al Khaimah,” concludes

shaped by EU frameworks and consultative

Dr Joseph F Borg. “RAK has a dedicated

obligations. RAK, by contrast, can move with

department within the tourism development

a coherence that older jurisdictions often

authority focused on gambling. They guide and

struggle to match.

support operators. They also have RAK Bank, which has pledged openness to companies

Hype versus reality

that set up locally and employ people.”

None of this is to suggest that Ras Al Khaimah

Wynn Resort

MONEY

will instantly become a global gaming capital.

New markets always promise first wins. Ras Al

The hype, particularly on social media, far

Khaimah’s question is not whether it will win

outpaces the facts. Licences remain few. The

but who will recognise the shift early enough

regulatory framework is still evolving.

to win with it.

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

47

BUSINESS

The rise of the side hustle In Malta, the side hustle is no longer a hobby — it's a second track. Stephen Mallia unpacks the rise of the "employee-owner": professionals building businesses after hours while juggling tax, mortgages, and the fear of betting personal savings on an unproven idea. The takeaway is practical: Malta's support schemes — Digitalise Your SME, the Business Development Grant and Micro Invest — are built to lower the risk and turn a 5-to-9 grind into a credible new beginning.

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BUSINESS

T

he Maltese professional landscape is

psychological and financial precipice: the fear

whether it's an architectural rendering

undergoing a quiet revolution. It is no

of draining personal savings to fund a dream

service, a new e-commerce platform, or a

longer defined strictly by the 9-to-5, but

that might fail.

data consultancy, your first barrier is usually hardware and software. You need a powerful

by what happens between 5-to-9. Across the island, accountants are coding apps, engineers

For decades, the Maltese narrative of success

laptop, a cloud subscription, or a Customer

are prototyping devices, and researchers are

was linear: graduate, secure a stable job, buy

Relationship Management (CRM) system.

commercialising data, all while keeping their

a property, and retire. Entrepreneurship was a

day jobs.

separate track, reserved for those with family

Buying these out of your taxed salary hurts.

businesses or significant capital. Today, that

This is where the Digitalise Your SME scheme

line is blurring. We are seeing the rise of the

becomes your first line of defence.

But for many, this "New Beginning" stalls at the

"Employee-Owner", a hybrid professional who uses the stability of employment to fuel the

Unlike complex R&D grants that require

volatility of a startup.

scientific whitepapers, this scheme is pragmatic. It acknowledges that to compete,

Yet, this hybrid state comes with a unique

you need digital tools. Managed by the

anxiety; a feeling of "Imposter syndrome." You

Measures and Support Division (MSD), it

are a manager by day, but a novice founder by

offers non-repayable grants to part-finance

night. You have a salary, yes, but you also have

investment in digital technologies.

a mortgage. You have an idea, but you lack the €10,000 for the high-end workstation or the

»

in Gozo).

This is where the "armour" goes up; we protect ourselves from risk by staying small.

The respite: It typically covers 50% of eligible costs (up to 60% for investments

specialised software license needed to build it. »

The hustler's edge: If you need to spend €6,000 on a specialised workstation

The reality, however, is that specific

and software suite to start your evening

government instruments are designed

business, this grant effectively puts

precisely to lower the stakes for this

€3,000 back in your pocket. It does

vulnerability. They are not just for the

more than save money; it optimises your

"unicorns"; they are for the side-hustlers.

environment. It lowers the barrier to entry

Among the dizzying array of funds, three

from "impossible" to "inevitable," allowing

stand out not just for their value, but for their

you to professionalise your setup without

accessibility: Digitalise Your SME, the Business

depleting your savings account.

Development Grant, and the Micro Invest scheme.

The growth engine: Business development grant

The immediate toolkit: Digitalise your SME Once your side hustle moves past the

MONEY

In the language of habit formation, your

"bedroom phase" and starts looking like an

environment is the invisible hand that shapes

honest company, you face a new set of costs:

your behaviour. If your "5-to-9" involves

relocation, hiring your first employee, or

fighting with a slow computer or pirated

engaging professional consultants to help you

software, the friction is too high, and the habit

scale. This is the "Valley of Death" for many

of building your business will fail.

startups, where you are too big to be a hobby

If you are building a tech-enabled side hustle,

but too small to be profitable. →

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

49

BUSINESS

Malta's workday doesn't end at 5pm — that's when the next economy clocks in.

technologies, and even the wage costs of new employees. »

The hustler's edge: This is the ultimate "cash flow" tool. If you spend €10,000 setting up your business this year, you could receive a €4,500 tax credit. This credit doesn't just disappear; it can be used to offset your income tax bill for future years. For an employee-owner, this is a massive psychological safety net. It validates your risk. It means that nearly half of every Euro you invest in your dream is effectively returned to you in the form of tax relief, allowing you to reinvest that money into growing the business.

To truly understand the value of these funds, one must look beyond the generic label of "startup support." These instruments are not new experiments; they are established pillars This is where you must shift your mindset from

the Business Development Grant helps

of the Maltese industrial strategy, operating

"doing everything" to "buying leverage."

absorb those structural costs. It signals

primarily under the De Minimis Regulation. This

that the government is willing to bet

legal framework is crucial for the "employee-

The Business Development Grant by Malta

on your transition from "freelancer" to

owner" because it simplifies the bureaucracy.

Enterprise is the bridge across this valley.

"employer."

Unlike major GBER (General Block Exemption Regulation) funds, which require complex

While often overlooked by early-stage hustlers who assume it's only for factories, this scheme

The safety net: Micro Invest

state-aid audits, De Minimis aid (recently capped at €300,000 over three years per

is explicitly designed to facilitate "value-added projects," including new business initiatives

If there is one scheme that every Maltese side-

undertaking) allows for faster processing and

and startups.

hustler should have on their radar, it is Micro

greater flexibility in how funds are used.

Invest. Think of this less as a grant and more as »

a reward for your courage.

Beyond tech: A tool for every trade

can support costs related to relocating

Taxation is often the silent killer of early-stage

While often associated with software, these

industrial operations, wage costs for new

motivation. You work all day, pay tax on your

funds are sector-agnostic.

jobs created, and even costs associated

salary, earn a little extra from your business,

with business re-engineering.

and then pay tax on that too. Micro Invest

The hustler's edge: For the employee-

changes this calculus. It offers a 45% tax

starting a bespoke furniture business

owner ready to leap, this grant acts as

credit on eligible expenditure (rising to 65% for

uses Micro Invest to purchase a computer-

a strategic partner. It allows you to buy

undertakings in Gozo).

The respite: This is not just about buying things; it's about funding growth. It

»

speed. If your side hustle requires you to

Manufacturing & Artisans: A carpenter

guided machine or a modern edge-bander. »

Retail & Commerce: A boutique owner

The respite: Eligible costs include

in Valletta uses Digitalise Your SME to

developer so you can focus on revenue-

furnishing your business premises,

integrate an AI-driven inventory system

generating activities (sales and marketing),

purchasing machinery, investing in new

that syncs their physical stock with a new

finally rent a small office or hire a junior

50

»

»

ISSUE 89

MONEY

BUSINESS

online store. »

Professional Services: An architect or engineer uses the Business Development Grant to fund the relocation to a larger office as they hire their first draughtsman.

In a crowded market, trust is your most valuable currency. Becoming a "Key Person

Most side hustles don't die from lack of ambition. They die from friction.

of Influence" in your niche requires that you operate at a higher standard than the "cowboys."

A frequently overlooked aspect of these schemes is their role in product safety and evaluation. For entrepreneurs developing physical products, from food items to electronic devices, compliance with EU regulations is a massive financial hurdle.

This effectively de-risks the regulatory compliance process. A founder can invest in

While the three schemes above represent the

strict compliance with EU procurement

ensuring their product is safe and legal for the

most accessible entry points, they are not the

rules, and a level of reporting that can be

European market, knowing that a portion of

only tools in the shed. The Maltese ecosystem

overwhelming for a solo founder working

that compliance cost will be recovered. This

is deep, but the deeper you go, the more effort

evenings.

transforms "compliance" from a burden into a

it takes to swim.

The narrative of the "starving artist" or the

competitive asset.

Xjenza Malta's TDP (Technology

"broke entrepreneur" is a romanticised myth

These are not flash-in-the-pan incentives.

Development Programme): If your

that benefits no one. It is an excuse to stay in

Micro Invest, for instance, has been a staple

side hustle involves genuine scientific

the comfort zone. In Malta, the infrastructure

of the Maltese business ecosystem for over

innovation, like a new chemical compound

exists to ensure you don't have to starve to

a decade. It has been repeatedly reinstated

or a proprietary engineering mechanism,

build.

and amended to reflect economic realities,

the FUSION TDP is the gold standard. It

most recently extended to cover costs

offers significantly larger funds (up to

The Digitalise Your SME scheme buys you

incurred through 2026, providing a stable

€300,000+), but it demands rigorous

the tools to remove friction. The Business

planning horizon. Similarly, Digitalise Your

"Technology Readiness Level" (TRL)

Development Grant helps you leverage. Micro

SME is part of the robust European Regional

assessments and scientific validation. It is

Invest ensures you survive the risk.

Development Fund (ERDF) operational

not for a simple app; it is for deep tech.

»

Business Enhance (ERDF Schemes): These

For the Maltese professional staring at the

rolling calls until funds are exhausted or the

are larger, EU-funded heavyweights.

ceiling at 2 am, wondering if their idea is worth

programme cycle ends (typically 2026/2027).

They are excellent for substantial capital

the risk, the answer from the ecosystem is a

This longevity gives the "employee-owner"

expenditure, such as buying industrial

resounding "Yes." The financial precipice is

the confidence to plan a multi-year transition,

machinery or retrofitting a hotel. However,

not as steep as it looks. The government has

knowing the safety net won't disappear

the administrative burden is higher.

already built the bridge; you just have to be

overnight.

They require detailed business plans,

brave enough to walk across it.

programmes, ensuring its availability through

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»

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

51

INVESTMENTS

10,000

THE

TRAP

The most common mistakes first-time investors make Saving your first €10,000 feels like a financial milestone. Investing often becomes an emotional minefield. From crypto hype to panic selling and fee blindness, first-time investors in Malta repeatedly fall into the same behavioural traps. Paul Rostkowski explains why the most significant risk isn't markets — it's decision-making.

P

unchy truth: The first loss

money because human behaviour

Instead of asking, "What role

usually isn't market risk —

is predictable — and predictably

should this money play in my

it's decision risk. For many

flawed.

long-term plan?" the question becomes, "What can double this

Maltese savers, the first €10,000 feels like a lot. It's the moment

Here are the most common traps

where saving turns into "real

first-time investors in Malta fall

money". The moment friends

into, and how to avoid turning

This mindset is dangerous

start giving advice. The moment

your first investment milestone

because it reframes investing as

social media algorithms sense

into a financial regret.

entertainment. Markets reward patience, boring consistency

blood in the water and flood your feed with trading gurus, crypto prophets and "passive income" fantasies.

quickly?"

and risk control — not adrenaline.

Mistake #1: Treating €10,000 like a lottery ticket

Your first €10,000 is not meant to change your life overnight.

It's intended to teach your money how to work for you. That

It should be the beginning of wealth-building. Instead, it

When people finally build their

often becomes the beginning of

first meaningful pot, they don't

expensive lessons.

think "portfolio". They think

difference matters.

Mistake #2: Crypto FOMO and trend chasing

"opportunity".

After years of working with investors at different stages,

They want something exciting.

one pattern keeps repeating:

Something that moves fast, that

people don't lose money because

they can brag about. This is how

The hype around digital assets

markets are cruel. They lose

€10,000 becomes a casino chip.

hasn't helped investor discipline.

52

Every cycle produces the same behaviour: •

ISSUE 89

People buy after headlines peak

•

They enter after prices have

MONEY

INVESTMENTS

•

already surged

a dangerous illusion: I now

They panic when volatility

understand markets.

hits •

They sell at the bottom

In reality, markets move for

•

They swear off investing

thousands of reasons unrelated

altogether

to your decision. But the brain credits itself.

Crypto itself isn't the problem.

Behaviour is.

Overconfidence leads to: •

Increasing position sizes too fast

First-time investors often allocate far too much to

•

Ignoring diversification

speculative assets because

•

Doubling down on losses

the upside story is emotionally

•

Rejecting advice

attractive. They ignore •

probability and focus on

What success actually looks like

possibility.

•

What would make you exit

A basic rule: if an investment makes you excited, you're

Without this, every market move

probably overexposed. High-

feels personal. Red days create

risk assets should sit on the

panic. Green days create greed.

edges of a portfolio — not at its

You react instead of managing.

centre. When they become the foundation, emotional decision-

Your first €10,000 isn't a lottery ticket — it's a training ground.

making takes over.

Mistake #3: Overconfidence after one good trade

A plan doesn't need to be complicated. It does need to exist.

Mistake #5: Panic selling during the first market drop Every investor remembers their first crash. It could be a 10% correction. A bad earnings season. A geopolitical shock.

A crypto dip. A sudden red week. For beginners, it feels catastrophic. They refresh apps constantly. They check prices at work. At night. During dinner.

Anxiety takes over. And then

•

Taking bigger risks than

Most Maltese first-time investors

comes the worst decision: selling

income can support

start with a platform — not a

to "stop the bleeding".

strategy. They download an Professional investors spend

app. Open an account. Browse

The irony? Markets historically

careers managing ego. Beginners

products. Click buy. What's

recover. Panic sellers lock in

often let it run wild after one

missing is the framework.

losses while patient investors

green chart. Remember: winning

benefit from rebounds. The

once doesn't make you an

Before investing a single euro,

emotional pain of seeing money

investor. It makes you lucky.

you should know:

drop temporarily feels worse

Nothing builds false confidence

•

Why you're investing

than the financial damage of

faster than beginner's luck.

•

How long the money is locked

selling permanently — but the

in for

long-term cost is real. Volatility is

How much volatility can you

not a malfunction of markets. It is

emotionally tolerate

the price of admission. →

Someone buys a stock, ETF or token. It goes up. Suddenly, they feel skilled. This creates

MONEY

Mistake #4: Investing without a plan

•

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

53

INVESTMENTS

Mistake #6: Ignoring fees because they feel small

boring. It's about survival. It

In Malta's tight social circles,

protects against being wrong,

financial advice spreads fast.

which everyone eventually is.

Friends share wins loudly. Losses

Your first €10,000 should not

quietly. Someone mentions

In Malta, many investors

depend on any one company,

doubling money on a trade.

underestimate the silent

industry, or theme. The goal isn't

Suddenly, everyone wants in.

killer: fees. 0.5% here. 1%

maximum upside. It's staying

Nobody asks about risk, timing or

there. Platform charges. Fund

in the game long enough for

long-term sustainability.

management fees. Transaction

compounding to work.

Social proof feels safe. If others

costs. FX conversion spreads.

They look harmless individually.

Over decades, they compound brutally.

Mistake #8: Confusing social proof with good advice

are doing it, it must be smart, right? Not necessarily. Most people giving investment tips are repeating information rather

A portfolio earning 7% annually with 2% total fees effectively earns 5%. Over 30 years, that difference can mean tens of thousands of euros lost — without a single market crash.

First-time investors often focus obsessively on returns and ignore cost structure. Savvy investors control what they can control. Fees are controllable.

Mistake #7: Putting all €10,000 into one bet

Most beginners don't buy a strategy.

They buy a story.

Concentration feels powerful.

"One strong stock." "One property bond." "One trending sector."

It feels decisive. It feels confident. It is also risky.

Diversification isn't about being

than analysing it. They talk about outcomes, not probabilities. Your financial decisions shouldn't be crowdsourced from WhatsApp groups.

Mistake #9: Forgetting cash flow and emergency buffers Another common trap: investing before building stability. People invest their entire €10,000 and

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INVESTMENTS

then face unexpected expenses

•

Regular contributions

Long-term growth? Different

— car repairs, medical costs,

•

Rebalancing

goals require different

job changes. They are forced to

•

Staying invested

strategies.

sell investments at the worst

•

Controlling behaviour

possible time.

•

Ignoring noise

Investing works best when

The first €10,000 matters not

emotional decision-making.

money is truly long-term. If

because of what it earns this

Regular investing beats

you might need it next year,

year, but because it trains your

emotional timing.

it shouldn't be fully exposed

habits for the next €100,000.

3.

Automate good behaviour: Set systems that reduce

to market volatility. A solid emergency buffer is not wasted money. It's what keeps your investments invested.

4.

Keep costs low: Fees compound negatively.

So what should new investors actually do?

Simplicity often outperforms complexity.

5.

Accept that boring wins: Slow, steady, diversified investing rarely makes headlines. It quietly builds wealth.

The real trap isn't €10,000 — it's ego

Ego is expensive.

Discipline is profitable.

The most significant danger isn't market crashes or bad years.

It's ego. The belief that you can outsmart markets quickly. That you're different. Those rules don't apply to you.

Successful investing is mostly about humility. Accepting uncertainty. Respecting risk.

Letting time do the heavy lifting.

Your first €10,000 is not a test of intelligence. It's a test of discipline.

Final thought Mistake #10: Expecting fast results instead of building systems

Let's simplify. If you're starting

New beginnings aren't about

with €10,000 in Malta, your

dramatic moves. They're about

priorities should look like this:

better decisions repeated consistently. The first loss

Protect your downside first:

usually isn't market risk — it's

First-time investors often check

Before chasing returns,

decision risk.

performance weekly. Sometimes

reduce unnecessary risk.

daily. They measure success

That means diversification,

If you avoid behavioural traps,

emotionally: "Am I up yet?"

sensible asset allocation and

control your emotions, stay

avoiding concentrated bets.

diversified, and keep perspective,

1.

your €10,000 doesn't become a

Real wealth doesn't come from 2.

checking balances.

It comes from systems:

MONEY

Build a clear objective: Is

trap. It becomes a foundation.

this money for retirement?

And foundations matter more

A future property deposit?

than fireworks.

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

55

PROMO

DEFENDER BRINGS ITS “REFINED ADVENTURE” ETHOS TO GOZO

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PROMO

T

his December, Defender translated

message. Capability was evident in the way

its mix of modern luxury and rugged

the route was handled — uneven surfaces,

capability into an invitation-only

changing gradients, and rugged tracks — while

experience set against Gozo’s dramatic,

the overall tone remained easy and elevated.

unfiltered landscapes — the kind of backdrop

Informal discussions and shared insights

that doesn’t need staging. The aim was simple:

into the vehicle’s features and performance

create a day that felt genuinely local, while still

allowed guests to engage with the brand

reflecting the brand’s core promise of refined

in a relaxed, authentic setting. At the same

adventure.

time, owners swapped notes with fellow

Gozo’s harbour views — an elegant close to an experience rooted in movement and discovery.

More than a drive, the Defender Experience positioned itself as a celebration of community and storytelling: bringing together existing owners and like-minded guests, strengthening emotional ties to the brand, and showcasing how Defender fits naturally into the Maltese Designed for a select group of Defender

enthusiasts, and guests got a clearer sense of

lifestyle — adventurous, tasteful, and deeply

owners and guests, the Defender Experience

what living with a Defender actually feels like.

grounded in place. The December edition of the experience marks another chapter in

took participants beyond the polished showroom narrative and into the terrain

The journey concluded with a refined late

Defender’s ongoing commitment to creating

the vehicle is built for. Rather than treating

lunch at Mgarr Marina, offering a slower

immersive moments that go beyond the road

off-road driving as a stunt, the programme

moment to reflect on the day and take in

and leave a lasting impression.

framed it as a form of exploration: a chance to experience Gozo’s quieter routes, varied surfaces, and hidden corners — and to see how the Defender balances comfort, confidence, and control as conditions shift.

The day began with a guided convoy to Gozo, setting the tone from the start: organised, considered, and social. Once on the island, guests followed a tailor-made off-road trail that showcased Gozo’s diverse character — from coastal stretches with open views to historic inland routes that feel a world away from the main roads. Along the journey, participants were introduced to the stories behind the places visited, adding context and a sense of connection to the landscape. It wasn’t just about where the vehicle could go, but why those locations mattered.

Throughout the experience, Defender’s values were woven into the day without forcing the

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THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

57

ECONOMY

BEYOND THE BOOM Malta’s new beginning Malta mastered growth — but the next phase won’t be powered by volume alone. MONEY explores why the country is hitting hard limits in talent, cost and capacity, and why a real “new beginning” now means a pivot: from busy to better, and from expansion to value.

M

alta has become very

we like to tell ourselves we’ve

The productivity problem we

productivity. A packed calendar

good at growth. We’ve

solved the problem. But low

don’t like naming

doesn’t automatically mean a

learnt how to attract

unemployment can also mask a

Malta has been growing through

stronger economy.

business, scale tourism, sustain

different reality: a labour market

activity — more projects, more

employment, and keep the

that’s tight, expensive, and

visitors, more transactions, more

Productivity is the quiet metric

economy moving even when the

increasingly misaligned with what

headcount. But activity is not

that separates countries that

world looks shaky. That is nothing.

modern businesses need.

But “good at growth” is not the same as “good at the next stage”.

If you’re in hospitality, construction, care, logistics,

Because the next stage is already

retail, or even basic admin-heavy

here, and it doesn’t feel like a

services, you’ve lived this: wages

boom. It feels like a ceiling.

edging up, turnover rising, skills

You can hear it in the day-to-

gaps widening, and recruitment

day: employers who can’t find (or

turning into a permanent side

keep) the right people; families

hustle. If you’re in finance, tech,

priced out of the kind of life they

iGaming, professional services, or

assumed was normal; roads that

advanced manufacturing, the pain

turn productivity into brake lights;

looks different in each. However,

public services trying to stretch

it’s still painful: competition for

without snapping; businesses

talent, salary inflation, and a

that are busy, but not necessarily

constant sense that you’re one

building lasting value. The engine

resignation away from operational

is still running. The question

chaos.

is whether we’re still going somewhere or just burning fuel to

A tight labour market is not a

stay in place.

moral victory. It’s an operational constraint. And Malta is taking a

This is where New Beginnings gets

brutal hit.

real. Not the motivational-poster version. The uncomfortable

New beginnings here mean

version: a country has to admit

shifting the national conversation

that the model that got us here

away from “more workers”

won’t automatically get us there.

and towards “better work”: productivity, training, automation

The hidden cost of “full

where it makes sense, and roles

employment”

that create value rather than just

When unemployment is low,

volume.

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get richer from countries that

starts feeling poorer. You see

crack if you keep loading them the

teams, adopt tools that

just get busier. It’s what allows

it in costs, congestion, stress,

same way.

raise productivity, improve

higher wages without destroying

and a creeping sense that “we’re

competitiveness. It’s what funds

doing well, so why does life feel

Malta cannot win a race to

create differentiated products

better healthcare and education

harder?”

the bottom on price, not with

— not just “another option”.

customer experience, and

our space constraints, wage

without turning every budget into a fire drill. It’s what gives

Infrastructure is not “nice to

pressures, and quality-of-life

This is where leadership gets

businesses breathing space to

have” — it’s your margin

expectations.

tested. Anyone can grow when

innovate instead of hustling to

For years, we treated

survive.

infrastructure like background

The real question is whether we

rewards companies that can grow

scenery. But infrastructure is not

can build a yield strategy — a

without swallowing the whole

scenery. It’s a business input.

tourism model that earns more

coastline.

If we’re honest, Malta’s

the tide is high. The next decade

per visitor, supports better jobs,

productivity story is mixed. We have excellent pockets — firms

Transport is time. Time is output.

and protects the product we’re

What government should do:

and sectors that are world-

Output is margin.

selling: the islands themselves.

stop rewarding volume, start

much of the economy stuck in a

When commutes become

That means being honest

Policy can’t create talent

low-productivity loop: labour-

unpredictable, meetings slip,

about trade-offs. You don’t

overnight, and it can’t magic away

intensive models, thin margins,

deliveries are delayed, staff arrive

get “quality tourism” through

constraints. But it can change

and a dependence on constant

drained, and productivity bleeds

speeches. You get it through

incentives.

expansion.

out in micro-doses every day.

choices: standards, enforcement,

rewarding value

class. But we also have too

Add pressure on utilities, public

visitor management, product

A serious new-beginnings agenda

The danger is subtle: when

services, and housing, and you’ve

development, and a refusal to

would ask:

productivity stalls, the country

got a competitiveness problem

treat every short-term spike in

»

doesn’t stop working. It just

dressed up as “normal island life”.

arrivals as success.

Are we rewarding investment that raises productivity or adds headcount?

Malta isn’t running out of ambition. It’s running into a ceiling.

»

Are we funding skills that match tomorrow’s economy or yesterday’s shortages?

»

Are we measuring success through GDP headlines or through wages, affordability, services, and quality of life?

»

Are we making it easier to build credible, exportable businesses or easier to stay small, busy, and vulnerable?

The future isn’t “less growth”. It’s better growth.

If Malta wants a new beginning

New beginnings here are not anti-

The real reset

that isn’t just PR, infrastructure

tourism. It’s pro-Malta.

Malta doesn’t need a reinvention story. It requires a maturity story.

must be framed as an economic strategy, not a political headache.

What businesses should do

Not just roads — public transport

next: build defensively, invest

The next chapter is about moving

reliability, digital systems that

offensively

from expansion to execution:

actually reduce bureaucracy,

The firms that will lead Malta’s

doing fewer things better,

energy resilience, water

next chapter will do two things

choosing outcomes over optics,

management, and a planning

at once:

and building an economy that

system that rewards quality

1. Build defensively: streamline

can pay people more without

outcomes rather than rushing

operations, reduce

breaking the system that

volume.

dependency on constant

supports them.

hiring, tighten governance, Tourism’s pivot: from numbers

and invest in systems that

That’s the new beginning worth

to yield (or we lose the plot)

make the business less fragile.

printing: not a fresh coat of paint

Tourism is a pillar. But pillars can

MONEY

2. Invest offensively: upskill

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

— a stronger foundation.

59

NWO

AFTER CARACAS Power, precedent, and the new rulebook Caracas rewrote the mood. Greenland widened the crack. MONEY examines how power is being exercised in 2026 — through force, energy flows and economic pressure — and why Europe is quietly arming itself with tools like the EU’s “trade bazooka”. The new rulebook is forming in real time, and the risk premium is rising.

O

n 3 January 2026, the United States carried out strikes in and around Caracas and captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, flying him and his wife to New York to face US charges.

Even if you believe Maduro’s removal is justified, the method matters — because it signals something bigger than Venezuela: a more unilateral, enforcement-by-force approach to power, framed as “security”, backed by capability, and defended after the fact.

Markets, allies and smaller countries are reacting in the only way they can: by recalculating risk.

When “rules-based” becomes “results-based” The immediate US political aftershock showed how unusual this was. On 8 January, the Senate advanced a War Powers Resolution intended to restrict further action in Venezuela without congressional approval — a rare bipartisan flare in a moment that, politically, should have been an easy victory lap.

But the warning flare didn’t last. Within days, the pushback was

Caracas wasn’t just an event. It was a precedent.

politically absorbed. The exact parliamentary mechanics matter less than the trajectory: something extraordinary happened, the system This isn’t a sanctions story confined to documents and press

flinched, and then it stabilised.

conferences. The “control of flows” theme has played out physically, That arc is the point. The line between military action and law

through continuing US moves to intercept tankers linked to Venezuelan

enforcement has blurred — and then normalised. Precedent didn’t just

oil exports as part of a broader effort to dominate routes and

appear. It survived.

distribution.

And once the world believes the strongest players will act first and

That distinction matters. Paper sanctions are a warning. Enforcement

justify later, everything downstream becomes more expensive: capital,

at sea is a message. It tells markets that compliance is no longer a

trade, insurance, fuel, compliance — stability itself.

theoretical risk — it is operational, visible, and backed by hard power.

Oil is back at the centre of the story — openly

Alongside that enforcement campaign sits the longer play: rebuilding

The second signal is that Venezuela is being treated not only as a

and monetising Venezuelan oil capacity at scale, with figures as high

security theatre, but as an energy strategy with enforcement teeth.

as $100 billion floated in the background of restoration talk. The stated

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logic is reconstruction and stability. The strategic reality is leverage.

This is also where the petrodollar theory surfaces, because it fits the mood of 2026: oil, force, finance, and the return of great-power muscle.

But Venezuela’s barrels don’t “save” the dollar in any neat, cinematic sense. What they do reinforce is more practical: control of flows, tanker networks, sanctions compliance, and who gets paid — and how.

Less romance, more plumbing.

For Malta, the practical question is how you operate when geopolitical shockwaves travel faster than policy can react.

In this era, energy isn’t simply an input to the economy. It is leverage again—and it is being applied in public.

The toolbox is intentionally broad: tariffs, import restrictions, limits Europe’s nervousness has a name: Greenland

on access to EU public procurement, services, investment, and other

Europe watched Caracas and heard something else: not Latin American

market-access measures. The point isn’t to trigger it daily. The fact is

politics, but a warning about method. Then came Greenland — and

deterrence — the ability to respond if economic pressure becomes a

suddenly the anxiety had a NATO-shaped outline.

standing tactic.

The damage isn’t limited to whether force is used. It’s that “acquisition

It marks a shift in Europe’s mindset: from assuming disputes remain

talk” has returned as a serious instrument of pressure inside an alliance

diplomatic to preparing for an era in which pressure is applied through markets—and must be answered in the same language.

The small-country reality: you don’t get a vote, but you get the bill For Malta — and for any small, trade-dependent jurisdiction — the practical question is not whether you support one side or another. It’s how you operate when geopolitical shockwaves travel faster than policy can react. Three channels matter immediately: Energy and inflation: When flows are enforced rather than merely monitored, volatility carries a geopolitical premium. That premium quickly filters into transport, food, and household confidence.

Trade, shipping, and insurance: Interdictions and escalation risk increase perceived route risk, which raises insurance costs, increases compliance friction, and heightens delay risk across supply chains.

Compliance as strategy: In a world where sanctions enforcement expands and legal categories blur, the safest competitive advantage is boring competence: documentation, controls, transparent counterparties, and rapid risk review. The countries and firms that win

— and it forces Europe into contingency thinking: not “will the US lead?”,

are the ones that can still say “yes” to business — because they can

but “on what terms — and at what cost to predictability?”

prove it’s clean.

This is modern geopolitics: not always tanks, often leverage — applied

The temptation: thinking this is “over” because Maduro is gone

at the level of territory, trade, tariffs, and negotiations framed like

It won’t be. Even “successful” interventions leave a tail: legal battles,

business deals. Greenland turns Venezuela into something Europe can’t

retaliation risk, regional instability, and an energy market that now

quarantine as “over there”. Caracas was the precedent for the method.

knows enforcement isn’t theoretical.

Greenland is the stress test inside the alliance itself.

So the real “new beginning” here isn’t Venezuela’s. It is the world’s: Europe’s answer isn’t military first — it’s economic

a shift toward a more transactional era, where sovereignty, energy,

For years, Europe’s reflex was to regulate rather than retaliate. That

territory and economic pressure are tangled — and where the rules

posture is shifting. Quietly, the EU has built a tool designed for precisely

are increasingly interpreted by those strong enough to enforce their

this era: the Anti-Coercion Instrument — widely nicknamed the “trade

interpretation.

bazooka”.

For business, that doesn’t mean panic. It implies discipline: scenario Regulation (EU) 2023/2675, which entered into force on 27 December

planning, diversified exposure, tighter compliance, and a sober

2023, provides the EU with a framework for responding when a third

acceptance that geopolitical risk is no longer a once-a-decade surprise.

country uses or threatens to impose trade or investment measures to pressure the EU or a Member State into changing a policy choice.

MONEY

It is a standing operating condition.

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

61

NETWORK

MORE ISN’T BETTER ANYMORE At the Malta Business Network’s 2025 Christmas lunch, one message cut through the optimism: Malta’s next phase must be quality-led. MONEY reports on why productivity, standards and long-term resilience matter more than headline numbers — and what “success” needs to mean next.

M

alta’s economic story is still strong. But the mood at the Malta Business

Network’s annual Christmas lunch was clear: the country can’t keep leaning on “more” as its default setting. More people, more beds, more traffic, more strain — and then a clean-up job afterwards.

The argument now is for better: higher standards, sharper benchmarking, and a more precise definition of what “success” actually looks like.

Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg framed the shift through tourism. Visitor volumes may remain robust, he suggested,

Alan Borg

but future competitiveness will increasingly depend on quality and consistency — the kind

The same logic, Borg argued,

align around a long-term vision for

you can measure, compare,

should be applied across the

a higher-value tourism model.

and improve. He pointed to the

wider visitor experience — from

impact of the Michelin Guide

accommodation and transport

Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg,

on Malta’s restaurant scene

to public spaces, attractions

the event’s guest of honour,

as a practical example of what

and service quality. A more

widened the lens to Malta’s

happens when a sector gets clear

structured, data-led assessment

international engagement —

external benchmarks: ambition

of the “visitor journey” could

pointing to new and upcoming

rises, expectations sharpen, and

help industry and policymakers

aviation routes, outreach to

standards follow.

identify gaps, track progress, and

emerging markets, and education

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where it matters: GDP is not the full scorecard. Drawing on the concept of “planetary wealth”, he argued that lasting prosperity depends on balancing six forms of capital — social, institutional, natural, human, knowledge and physical — and building a virtuous cycle that supports resilience and long-term value creation.

He also flagged a structural vulnerability: Malta’s growth model has leaned heavily on labour importation rather than productivity gains—an approach that looks increasingly exposed to global forces such as ageing populations, climate change,

Hon. Ian Borg and Joe Zammit Tabona

artificial intelligence, and rising protectionism. For small island initiatives designed to deepen

Maltese economy as a cake

economies, Pace argued, reality

Malta’s global footprint. Among

that keeps rising — even as the

demands more coordinated,

the examples cited was the

country constantly debates

forward-looking decisions —

launch of an Institute of Tourism

the ingredients and method. On

especially on infrastructure,

Studies campus in Shanghai,

the numbers, he noted, Malta

skills, and environmental

signalling a longer game:

remains one of the EU’s stronger

stewardship.

relationships and capability-

performers, with solid GDP

building, not just transactional

growth, low unemployment,

The takeaway from the room

wins.

stabilising inflation and recent

was straightforward: Malta’s

tax reductions — at a moment

future will be judged less by

Closing remarks from David

when much of Europe is

how fast it grows, and more by

Pace, Partner at KPMG, moved

tightening fiscal belts.

how well it grows — through quality, trust, capability and

the conversation from sectors to systems. He described the

But Pace’s warning landed

sustainability.

David Pace

MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

63

STYLE

QUIET LUXURY,

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MONEY

THE NEW BEGINNINGS EDITION

65

NEWS

giving smaller enterprises access

From 1 January 2026, high-

to AI tools, high-performance

carbon imports — including steel,

computing, and cloud resources

cement, aluminium, fertilisers,

— the sort of infrastructure that

electricity and hydrogen — move

usually requires a hefty spend or

from a reporting exercise to

outsourcing abroad.

compliance. In plain terms: if a product’s emissions profile is ugly,

Budget 2026 also leans into

it gets more expensive to bring

competitiveness through

into the EU.

enhanced SME measures

Malta’s capital markets get a “new year” reset

(including expanded MicroInvest-

For Malta, the impact isn’t

style incentives highlighted by

theoretical. Construction-heavy

local advisory firms) and initiatives

economies feel this first because

that frame innovation as an

“embedded carbon” is embedded

everyday business decision—not a

in everyday inputs: rebar,

luxury for tech companies only.

aluminium systems, cement-

Markets Strategy. It’s the kind of reform that won’t trend on social media — but it’s precisely the

based products, and fertiliser-

The EU’s “Green Tariff” is now live

linked supply chains.

Malta’s capital markets are getting

sort of structural tightening that

a quiet but meaningful upgrade.

signals maturity: fewer shortcuts,

The MFSA has rolled out a revised

more transparent accountability,

Europe has officially switched

invoice — and procurement will

Sponsor regime, applicable

and a market that’s taken

on its most disruptive climate-

start favouring suppliers who

from 1 January 2026, aimed at

seriously by serious money.

trade tool yet: the Carbon Border

can prove their footprint, not just

Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

quote a lower unit cost.

raising standards at the very first gate of the listing process.

A Sponsor is an MFSA-registered investment services firm that guides a company through the

The message for 2026 is simple: carbon is now a line item on the

Budget 2026: “New beginnings” with real tools for SMEs

admissibility-to-listing process on a regulated market — an early

If Malta’s 2026 budget has a

gatekeeper that helps ensure

business theme, it’s this: build

issuers meet the rules before

capability, not just comfort.

securities are admitted to trading.

Measures include a stronger push for SMEs and start-ups —

The updated framework is

from expanded incentives to

designed to strengthen discipline,

practical access to technology

improve application quality, and

that used to feel out of reach.

build investor confidence as

One standout: support for Malta’s

part of the MFSA’s wider Capital

European Digital Innovation Hub,

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MONEY

MALTA’S DEFINITIVE

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