THIS ISSUE
Issue 25 | WINTER 2015
Cover Story
business agenda
NEWSPAPER POST LIFESTYLE
The festive season is often a flurry of events, activities and things to do. Here’s how you can plan ahead to celebrate this Christmas in style.
page 21
TH
Industry frontrunners discuss the nature and meaning of gamification, and reveal how it is beginning to change traditional methods of conducting business.
page 5
Tourism MHRA CEO Andrew Agius Muscat discusses the upcoming Mediterranean Tourism Forum, and how this annual event, now in its third edition, is aiming to help unify the region’s approach to attract tourism.
anniversary 2009 2014
THE Official Business publication of the Malta business Bureau
“Making Malta an attractive place for foreign investment is not a onetime thing” – Finance Minister nomic growth. “We are trying to prioritise the problems that need to be tackled with urgency, and we have to do so whilst ensuring that Malta is living within its means; that is what our past set of Budgets aimed to achieve. But we can’t give everything to everybody at the same time.”
page 17
Business Events Showcasing Innovation Leaders and Innovation through Design initiatives.
page 25 & 26
Policy Business Agenda examines the European Commission’s efforts at simplifying the cross-border establishment of singlemember private limited liability companies across the EU.
page 41
Is the Government doing enough to secure and maintain the island’s economic growth? Finance minister Edward Scicluna tells Business Agenda that Government is addressing
the areas where Malta is weakest and most vulnerable first and foremost – an exercise, he argues, that needs to be carried out before turning its attention towards securing future eco-
Minister Scicluna is optimistic about the future of the economy and argues that “making Malta an attractive place for foreign investment is not a one-time thing,” and that while obstacles and threats will continue to face the economy, he is “confident that Malta has enough resources and talent to overcome them.”
Commenting on the nation’s economic prospects for 2016, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, Anton Borg, asserts that while he acknowledges that Malta’s economy is experiencing one of the biggest crests in its history, he is concerned that the country is about to fall victim to its own success. The country’s economic boom, he explains, has given rise to a widespread climate of passivity and inaction, with not enough work being done to ensure that growth, stability and investment maintain their upward course. See full story on page 9.
The rise and rise of eCommerce Denise Borda, eCommerce analyst at the Malta Communications Authority (MCA), offers insight into the rise of eCommerce locally and across Europe, in view of the official launch of the National eCommerce Strategy (2014-2020). “eCommerce has radically transformed the way the world is doing business at every conceivable level,” Ms Borda explains. Apart from altering the practice,
timing and technology in relation to Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) commerce, it has also affected pricing, product availability, logistics and consumer behaviour. “With the growth of B2B eCommerce, we are witnessing a substantial reduction in transaction costs, improved supply chain management and reduced costs for domestic and global sourcing.”
Malta’s eCommerce Strategy, she says, “aims to support the take-up of eCommerce and the provision of eCommerce-related services by local businesses. To this end, a number of ambitious initiatives were outlined and these are being implemented across a seven-year period by Government, in collaboration with the Authority and other entities.” See full story on page 13.