The Business Observer Issue 6 - July 31

NEWS

Issue 6

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July 31, 2014

Distributed with Times of Malta

SMALLER PETROL STATIONS WITHOUT ANCILLARY SERVICES LIKE CAR WASHES AND A SHOP MIGHT FIND IT HARD TO JUSTIFY THE INVESTMENT NEEDED. Photo: Jason Borg

e Marsa Power Station has accumulated €2.5m in fines and the figure will continue to rise until the last two power plants are turned off. see page 3 >

NEWS Investor Mark Weingard has already bought into the business centre at Tigné Point and is now turning his attention to several buildings in Valletta. see page 5 >

€21 million needed to upgrade petrol stations A total of €21 million will be needed to upgrade petrol stations to bring them in line with an EU directive, according to the Malta Chamber for Small and Medium Enterprises (GRTU), which is concerned that many might have to close down.

According to a GRTU study, around 80 of the 90 petrol stations in Malta need to change all their equipment, from the underground storage tanks and petrol pumps, to all the piping, which will cost hundreds of thou-

sands of euros. The intention is to make them safer, as well as more environmentally friendly by cutting down on fumes, leakages and emissions.

The substantial works mean it would take around six months to complete each petrol station. Although they have until the end of 2019 to comply, Malta could end up with the operation of several stations disrupted at the same time unless works start soon and in a planned and managed sequence, the GRTU warned.

However, delays are likely because few petrol station owners have funds for the work, GRTU chief executive Abigail Mamo said.

“Petrol station owners are hoping they can get help from the government or the EU. There were funds at one stage but no one was aware of them and we are now trying to find out whether they are still available,” she said.

“The problem is that EU funds cannot be used for works relating to compliance. But since this does

not become a compliance issue until 2020, we are trying to find a way for the work to be seen as an upgrade investment.

“There was also a fund built up over the years from a percentage of the revenue, which was recently distributed to the station owners, but this was barely enough to cover their normal maintenance and upgrading costs, let alone something on this scale.”

Continued on page 3 >

INERVIEW John Bencini believes the government could have avoided a number of controversies had it heeded the advice of MCESD members. see pages 8 and 9 >

CASE STUDY Electrofix’s vast photovoltaic installation at Medserv has been attracting attention from around the world. see pages 12 and 13 >

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Marsa Power Station fines reach €2.5m Enemalta fines for the operation of Marsa Power Station have reached around €2.5 million, according to the Energy Ministry.

Enemalta has already paid a €50,000 lump sum for each of the four plants, all of which have exceeded the 20,000-hour limit of operation imposed. The utility corporation is now in discussion with Mepa over the daily fines accumulating.

The limits were reached between 2011 and 2012. Since then, two of the plants have been decommissioned but the remaining two cannot be turned off until the interconnector with Sicily is put into action.

Enemalta was given a 20,000hour derogation by the European Commission as from January 2008, as it was operating at higher emission limits than those allowed in the EU’s Large Combustion Plant Directive directive. The Commission opened an infringement procedure against Malta in 2012 concerning its failure to fulfil its obligations under the directive by allowing the plants to exceed this limit. A letter of formal notice was issued in February 2012, followed by a reasoned opinion in June 2012.

The European Commission office in Malta said that it would monitor the situation to ensure that the necessary works leading to the completion of the interconnector

< Continued from page 1 The cost of the works will be complicated by the fact that many stations would have to close down while the installation is underway, although Electrofix, which has set up a petroleum division, believes that it would be possible to do the work without interrupting operations.

and the subsequent taking out of service of the two remaining combustion units was carried out within the shortest time possible.

“The Commission has also been informed that the Maltese authorities decided to issue penalties to the operator Enemalta. It is understood that these penalties will continue to be levied until the combustion plants in question are taken out of service,” a spokesman said.

A spokesman for Enemalta said that the corporation and Mepa were “discussing” the daily fines.

“This is being done with a view to concluding this matter ahead of the eventual decommissioning of the Marsa Power Station, as soon as the necessary alternative capacity is made available,” he said.

“Enemalta is committed to stop the use of its older power plants at Marsa and Delimara as soon as possible and to fully implement its plans to shift the country’s electricity generation mix to one that is more sustainable, eco-friendly and efficient.”

When the fines were originally applied by Mepa, it was envisaged that the daily fine of €428 per plant would only apply until October 2013, anticipating that the interconnector would have been in place by then. Beyond that date, the fine was to rise to €857 per plant per day for a further 12 months.

In calculating the penalties, Mepa was guided by the general principles established by the European Commission for requesting the Court of Justice to impose lump

sum and penalty payments in infringement proceedings.

All the funds collected from these penalties are being directed into the Environment Fund. This fund was

“We are offering a turnkey service from design to installation and we believe that we could do a station within three months or less while operations continue. But clearly, it does not make sense for all the petrol stations to want the work done at the same time. They need to start thinking about it sooner rather than later,” director Debbie Schembri said.

The GRTU believes that without assistance, a number of the petrol station owners will not afford the works – especially those without enough space to offer ancillary services like a car wash, shop and mechanics. As a result, they will close down and sell their licences.

“There is now a Mepa fuel policy which identifies possible

locations. But there are still a lot of complicated procedures involved with getting a permit, both from Mepa and the Malta Resources Authority. The goalposts keep changing too as Mepa is also taking this as an opportunity to bring other aspects of the stations up to scratch or to regularise them,” Ms Mamo said. “There does not seem to be any sense of

“Enemalta is committed to stop the use of its older power plants at Marsa and Delimara as soon as possible and to fully implement its plans to shift the country’s electricity generation mix to one that is more sustainable, eco-friendly and efficient” established under the 2010 Environment and Development Planning Act to finance environment projects, programmes and schemes.

urgency because there are years left but we want to make it clear that there could be delays with permits and that the changeover needs to be done in a planned way. There will be problems if everyone leaves it too late.”

The GRTU has sent its study, which was conducted by an auditor, to the MRA and is awaiting guidance.

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NEWS

Tigné Point investor eyeing three more projects Investor Mark Weingard is planning to get involved with at least three major projects, with his time currently being taken up by a luxury boutique hotel on St Barbara’s Bastions and another site on St Paul Street in Valletta.

The British entrepreneur recently bought into the Tigné Point business centre through his company Benny Holdings, in which he holds a 92 per cent shareholding.

The 2,000 sq.m. site will host a 12,500 sq.m. business centre as a joint venture with Midi. Benny Holdings paid €11.7 million for the 50/50 partnership.

Mr Weingard made his fortune when he sold his financial services company a few years ago and decided to focus on sustainable projects with a strong emphasis on philanthropy: he set up a charity, Inspirasia, which is supported by a percentage of his company’s revenue. He moved here two years ago.

The fact that he does not really need to work for a living any more gives him the freedom to focus on projects which he can pursue with a passion – and the business centre is clearly not enough.

“It’s a great investment but there is not much I can do there; it is pretty much all sorted out already

by Midi. I needed to get something more challenging, something that I could pursue with passion,” he said.

Mr Weingard bought adjacent buildings on the bastions, which he is converting into a hotel which will be branded Iniala, a name already used for his flagship hotel in Thailand. One building will be used to create two 2-bedroom and three 1bedroom apartments, while

another will have eight rooms, with prices ranging from €350 to €2,000 a night. The intention is to complete them by the end of 2015.

“Our property in Thailand was built in record time – we had 300 people working on the site at one point. We were all close to cracking.

I don’t want to do the same thing again!” he said. “But I want to do something very different with this hotel. I will probably use some of the amazing designers that we used in Thailand but the hotel will have a more commercial feel.

ONE OF THE APARTMENTS IN THE HOTEL WILL HAVE ITS OWN INDOOR POOL IN THE VAULT.

“I see so much potential, such amazing opportunities” “The top floor will be a restaurant with stunning views of Valletta; I plan to open other fine-dining restaurants. I believe that Malta should be known as a gastronomic experience – which is lacking at the moment. Malta is simply not talked about for its food.”

He is one of the bidders for the old covered market in Valletta, and has bought the building behind it on St Paul Street – tenants and all – hoping to turn it into a gastrohotel at a more accessible price.

“Valletta deserves to have a whole cluster of new hotels and restaurants before it becomes the capital of culture in 2018. These attract a very different sort of clientele,” he said.

He already has itchy feet and is constantly looking into new projects – multimillion euro ones – and

might even rope in other investors, although he admitted with a grin that he gets more out of projects when he can keep them as his own personal “meaningful experience”.

These could be anything from restaurants and a hostel to a highend, modern apartment block, as he believes that there are numerous clients who would love to live in Valletta but who do not want to get involved in conversion projects.

How fast he moves onto new projects will depend a great deal on finding the right people for his team and he is currently on the lookout for good Maltese designers and architects.

“I see so much potential, such amazing opportunities. This is what drives me. This is what adds meaning to my life,” he grinned.

INVESTOR MARK WEINGARD BELIEVES THESE TWO ROOMS COULD HOST ROYALTY ONCE PROPERLY CONVERTED. Photo: Jason Borg

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e Business OBSERVER |

July 31, 2014

APPOINTMENTS

More retirees are still working There were 8,500 retirees still working at the end of 2013, of which 2,800 are over 65, according to Eurostat.

The number has been rising steadily year-on-year, rising from 3,100 in 2007. In the first quarter of this year, the over-65s increased yet again to 3,219, according to the National Office of Statistics. In Budget 2008, retirees were allowed

to continue working without losing their pension.

There are 2,400 men aged over 65 who work, up from 700 in 2007.

There are 1,200 women aged between 60 and 64 who work, with a further 400 women aged over 65 in employment.

There are also nearly 2,000 people over 65 who are working part-time, up from just 500 in 2007.

New principals at Deloitte

Michael Bianchi, Ian Coppini and Paul Manduca (clockwise from left) have been promoted to the position of principal within the audit service line of Deloitte Malta.

Mr Bianchi joined Deloitte in 2000 and during his time with the firm has worked on a varied client base of local and international clients. In 2007 he spent two years working at the Deloitte office in London.

Mr Coppini joined Deloitte in 2000 and has over 10 years experience in audits of a number of public and private entities, specialising in entities operating in the financial services industry. He has worked with Deloitte offices in Luxembourg and New York.

Since joining the Malta firm in 2002, Paul Manduca has worked on

Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Head of finance for Vodafone Malta Vodafone Malta has appointed Caroline Farrugia as the new head of finance, succeeding Michel Macelli.

Ms Farrugia has since September 2004 occupied various roles within Vodafone’s finance department including accounting, planning, treasury and inventory management and logistics.

She left Vodafone Malta in January 2011 to spend six months with Vodafone Italy, returning to Malta to work on consumer post-paid and on enterprise marketing within the marketing department for around three years.

Council for Malta Institute of Accountants Maria Micallef has been re-elected as president of the Malta Institute of Accountants, with Franco Azzopardi as vice-president, William Spiteri Bailey as secretary and Fabio Axisa as treasurer.

The council members elected at the recent AGM 2014/6 are Mr Axisa, Christopher Balzan, David Delicata, Anthony Doublet, Hilary Galea-Lauri, Ivan Grixti and Stephen Paris. They join the persons elected at the previous year’s AGM: Mr Azzopardi, Etienne Borg Cardona, Simon Flynn, Kevin Mahoney, Ms Micallef, Mr Spiteri Bailey and Anthony Zarb.

Banif appoints director

a number of local and international audit engagements with particular emphasis on the companies operating in the banking sector.

He has had experience on a number of overseas engagements within the Deloitte network.

Adrian Coppini has been appointed a director of Banif Bank (Malta) plc.

Mr Coppini was instrumental in the setting up of the bank’s operations in Malta where he led the bank’s HR and corporate services departments.

Today he occupies the post of chief officer corporate services with responsibilities for people management, properties, administration, marketing and communications. He serves on the bank’s executive committee.

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e Business OBSERVER |

July 31, 2014

INTERVIEW ??

Revisiting the role of the MCESD JOHN BENCINI was appointed chairman of the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development over a year ago. VANESSA MACDONALD asked him about his role and that of the council.

Does the lack of real controversy and conflict mean you are not pressing hard enough on issues which matter?

When appointed, I knew it would not be an easy job. I was really astonished as how often we manage to reach consensus on issues, as this is very good for the country. But there are times when discussions get a bit hot and that is when the role of the chairman comes in: to try to defuse any problems.

We have been meeting twice a month on average – almost a record, I think – and we have tackled issues which could have prompted controversy.

In the past 16 months, we have discussed access to finance, justice reform, lifelong learning and competitiveness, to name but a few issues.

We also had a few meetings on precarious work and all the social partners contributed towards a very

“I made it a point to make MCESD more proactive. We need to give our opinion to government on a regular basis” positive discussion. We presented a memorandum to our minister, Helena Dalli, which was then discussed at government level. Of course, some ideas were not necessarily accepted by all the social partners but they all agreed that the vast majority of employers do not accept precarious work. However, they also all agree that the few who do blatantly abuse employees should be hit hard.

Has anything happened since you presented the report to Minister Dalli?

Minister Dalli has worked very hard on this. It was discussed at Cabinet level too. The government has already taken action and we expect more will be taken as Parliament approved some changes to the employment legislation.

Eyebrows were raised because the MCESD is meeting at the ministry. Could this give rise to conflict of interest?

We used to meet at different hotels which cost a lot of money. The ministry asked whether we could

meet there to reduce costs. At the beginning there did not seem to be any objections and no one complained. But some social partners would have preferred if we could have continued to meet at hotels.

There is a risk that you could lose your independence – or perceived independence...

Malta is a small country and it does not mean that meeting at someone’s house means that the host has an advantage...

Your predecessor set up a system for reports to be prepared prior to discussions so there would be a more solid agenda. Are you keeping the same formula?

I made it a point to make MCESD more proactive. We need to give our opinion to government on a regular basis, not the other way round. We have to tell government what is worrying us – although the government is welcome to come to us when it has issues.

But yes, we want to do research first. But sound research requires money to pay researchers. No one

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will ever say that they have enough financing but I am convinced – because I have information to this effect – that the government is ready to increase our funding, which is currently €240,000 a year. We have five full-timers to pay out of that. We think the figure should go up by 4050 per cent, if the MCESD is to make a valid contribution in line with its obligations under the law. But it is up to the government, which has its own priorities.

At the beginning of the year, we write to the social partners and ask what they want to discuss. I am also taking our consultant Joe Falzon and having meetings with the members to find out what their concerns are.

I also take private initiatives when I feel there is some subject that requires a bit of pressure.

We are a consultative body with no executive powers but the government should take heed of what we say. I think three-quarters of the government’s problems would be solved if they paid attention as MCESD’s members represent all of society.

“We believe there is a real risk that poverty will rise”

For example, the Prime Minister came to talk to us twice about the Individual Investor Programme, as the members were concerned. He subsequently said he thought the meetings should have preceded the original proposals as many problems and misconceptions could have been avoided.

Social dialogue works. Minister Dalli has made it her mission to ensure that our suggestions get to where should get and are not just left on a shelf.

There were calls before the MEP elections for more liaison with the social partners and the MCESD was suggested as the best forum.

We had a meeting with the MEP candidates before the elections and all agreed that we should not forget the intention to forge closer ties once the elections were over. We are now going to set appointments with the six elected MEPs. But I am disappointed that we get so little feedback from the five Maltese representatives sitting on the European Economic and Social Committee of the EU. They forward us massive documents which are very effective at putting you to sleep.

It is important that we get more effective feedback from them even though they spend so much time in Brussels.

A number of issues have cropped up repeatedly over the years, the most important of which are Cola, minimum wage and pensions...

In the past 16 months, there were no discussions on these issues al-

though they will obviously crop up again. The government wants the minimum wage to stay as it is. The European Commission had problems with it but the government convinced them that we saw it differently. There is an indication from the employers that the cost of living should depend on productivity but the unions disagree.

On pensions, on the whole, there is consensus among social partners that mandatory occupational schemes should not be introduced.

All agree, however, that youths are not getting into the discussion because they do not feel that time will

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catch up with them. Unless something is done now, within 20-30 years, pensions will certainly not be sustainable. We all agree that something has to be done. We just cannot agree what that something is.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said at the recent Business Observer’s business breakfast that you cannot take pensions in isolation. For example, the female participation rate improved, so there are more women paying taxes and national contributions. More is being done to encourage those in their 20s and 30s to work, like free childcare. But we also need to look

at those thousands who stay at home, especially the older ones.

If the participation rate improves drastically, then we might – I am not saying it definitely won’t but it ‘might – not need a mandatory occupational pension.

We are all worried – especially the unions – about current pensioners.

There are people who are surviving on €500-€600 a month, even though it is now going up in line with the cost of living.

We believe there is a real risk that poverty will rise. There are people who are struggling and the numbers are now worrying.

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e Business Observer is a new business newspaper distributed with Times of Malta every fortnight.

EDITORIAL

Turning down pension alarm level Finance Minister Edward Scicluna was unequivocal when he spoke at The Business Observer breakfast about pensions: the approach needs to be a continuous updated effort, instead of sporadic and intermittent steps.

He also stressed that long-term stability in the pension system can only be achieved through sustained economic growth.

All this is beyond reproach. However, there is a “but”...

There are two aspects that need to be considered with regards to pensions: whether the government can afford to provide them and whether retirees will be able to maintain an appropriate lifestyle after they finish work.

Discussions on the “pension time bomb” have been under way for years.

In 2004, a working group did a profound analysis of the present and future situation. As a result, the government made radical changes to the state pension, which affected both sustainability (by having people work longer, for example) and adequacy (by raising the cap on maximum pensionable income, for example).

The projected average replacement rate by 2060 would have been just 18 per cent with these reforms; it is now up to 45 per cent.

Five years later, it reviewed the impact of the 2007 changes and made 45 recommendations – a number of which were adopted. However, the introduction of mandatory occupational schemes is clearly not on the cards for the foreseeable future, even though they are viewed as the most efficient way to save for supplementary pensions through economies of scale and greater risk pooling. Malta is one of only nine member states that did not offer them in 2013.

And the launch of voluntary private ones has been delayed several times over the past few weeks, with stakeholders warning that the proposed fiscal incentives would not be enough to persuade those who do not currently save to give up instant gratification for a future that seems way, way off...

And yet Minister Scicluna insisted that the situation was not “alarming”.

Is he right? What has changed since the dire warnings of the past?

Start with occupational pensions. These would reduce a worker’s disposable income at a time when the island is trying to stimulate domestic demand. It will also add to a company’s costs at the very time that they are seeking to cut them to remain competitive. Add to that the need for the government to offer fiscal incentives – as are 90 per cent of the schemes catalogued by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority – in the middle of an effort to bring the deficit under control. Can it afford them? The short-term myopia that applies to young savers applies equally to governments that need to balance long-term objectives against short-term Excessive Deficit Procedures.

Population predictions also changed. Modelling seen by The Business Observer reveals that the forecast decline in population after 2030 now shows growth as a result of migration – although the models do not distinguish between irregular migrants, citizenship scheme applicants and Scandinavian gaming company employees.

Two other factors that have changed dramatically since 2007 are the female participation rate and the retirees who have continued to work, both incentivised by government policies. Both these factors will have an impact on the old-dependency ratio, which was originally forecast to grow from 24.1 per cent in 2010 to 60.9 per cent in 2060.

These are such a few of the complex issues and the implications of any measures are long-term. But the government should have taken some unpopular and paternalistic decisions years ago.

The risk is that playing down the time bomb could send the wrong signal. We should be worried enough to work out whether we have enough savings to survive around 20 years of retirement. What else will jog us out of complacency enough to force us to change our savings behaviour?

Editorial Vanessa Macdonald, Head of Content (Business), Times of Malta.

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BUSINESS OPINION

Why we need economic transparency Malcolm Bray Economic statistics increasingly make headlines in Malta. A country can only evaluate its progress correctly if the debate focuses on hard evidence rather than perceptions.

Unfortunately, the search for sensationalism and summary information quite often results in a superficial analysis of economic statistics at best, or biased conclusions at worst. The devil lies in the details.

A positive headline could at times mask negative underlying economic developments. For example, a drop in the unemployment rate could be attributable to job creation (which is positive), or people stopping to actively look for a job (which is negative).

Likewise, low inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices could reflect the containment of cost pressures (which is positive), or a slump in hotel prices (which is negative).

These are just two examples to highlight that what matters most is the story behind the numbers, and not the numbers per se. While the role of the National Statistics Office is primarily that of compiling statistics to meet mandatory requirements such as the compilation of GDP and public finance statistics, it is equally important that the reader is presented with sufficient additional information to enable a sensible interpretation of the figures.

This gives an equally important role to other local authorities, which issue publications on the Maltese economy, to provide additional explanations, in a timely manner. This is particularly important since unfortunately, to date, in Malta there

are no privately-funded economic think-tanks which can offer further interpretations of economic statistics and thus act as a counterbalance to the views offered by public authorities.

The country seems to lack appetite for economic transparency, for disseminating information among private agents. How can one evaluate whether a decision is economically justified or otherwise if the hard facts are unknown?

Would a company’s board members approve an investment if the costs and benefits were not presented?

For example, the Maltese government has for the years spent money on the Isle of MTV event, but how can taxpayers be reassured that they are getting value for money if the cost of the deal and the estimated returns are not publicly known? On a similar line, the IMF, in its consultation report for Malta in July 2013, advised that because of forthcoming changes in statistical methodologies “the release of new estimates should be preceded by a thorough analysis of their impact on the external sector accounts and other macroeconomic indicators, including GDP”.

However, as at the time of writing, no such analysis has been made publicly available. So how can analysts form an informed outlook for the future deficit and debt to GDP ratios, if there is no indication of the magnitude of the possible change in the GDP level?

Likewise, year after year the finance minister presents tables with targets to show how the deficit will narrow in future years, but at the same time does not provide information on the

TAXPAYERS CANNOT EVALUATE THE BENEFITS OF EVENTS LIKE ISLE OF MTV UNLESS THEY KNOW THE COSTS AND RETURNS. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

policies which need to be implemented beyond the next year.

The demand for greater economic transparency is justified because there is a link between economic transparency and economic growth.

The following extract from a speech by the deputy managing director of the IMF in 2005, provides a logical framework for transparency: “In most societies, many powers are delegated to public authorities. Some assurance must then be provided to the delegators – that is, society at large – that this transfer of power is not only effective, but also not abused. Transparency ensures that information is available that can be used to measure the authorities’ performance and to guard against any possible misuse of power. In that sense, transparency serves to achieve accountability, which means that authorities can be held responsible for their actions.

“Without transparency and accountability, trust will be lacking between a government and those whom it governs. The result would be social instability and an environment that is less than conducive to economic growth.”

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e Business OBSERVER |

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CASE STUDY

Putting solar energy to work

“ere have been large solar farms around the world but they are usually split up into smaller sections” – Debbie Schembri Joseph Schembri took one last look at the people gathered in the inverter room at Medserv and took a deep breath.

He reached out and flicked the switch on the first one. You could have heard a pin drop.

A low hum filled the room and lights flickered on the control panel in the huge cabinet. His team of five from Electrofix, the representative from Conergy and Medserv engineer Edward Magro waited for some time, monitoring the temperature of the equipment, the impact on the Enemalta distribu-

tion centre and myriad other aspects. Throughout the day, they switched on the other five inverters, not finishing until around midnight.

“No, we did not celebrate with champagne,” Electrofix general manager Julian Borg laughed.

“We were all too exhausted. We had been working round the clock to meet the project deadline – which we reached to the day, in spite of all the delays caused by weather and so on since the project started in January. And even once everything was turned on and working, we were still working round the clock for several

days until the official opening on July 2. But then the next day we gave everyone a day off and went out for roast suckling pig! Believe me, it was well deserved.”

The power – 2MW of it – is being provided by 8,000 Conergy photovoltaic panels, which would be an impressive solar farm in its own right but one which is even more impressive when you consider that it is suspended, not roof-mounted.

“This means that Medserv has not ‘lost’ that space and is using the area below the PV panels for everything from parking to storage to

production,” director Debbie Schembri explained.

“It is impressive even by international standards and in fact we have been contacted by international media as well as by investors in Dubai,” she added.

“Our engineers had to connect all the panels to each other and to the grid using some 12km of cables, very often suspended above the ground on harnesses as there was nowhere for them to walk! Imagine the panels were the leaves and everything had to be fed down from twigs to branches to trunk... And we

ABOVE: THE INSTALLATION AT MEDSERV IS SUSPENDED IN THE AIR, ALLOWING THE SPACE UNDERNEATH IT TO BE USED FOR EVERYTHING FROM PARKING TO STORAGE AND PRODUCTION.

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managed to do it on time, without interfering with Medserv’s operations.”

Medserv had already invested in alternative energy to cover their own use. The 20,640sq.m. solar farm – the size of five football grounds – will be saving over 3,100 tons of carbon emissions a year, the equivalent of 520,000 trees.

The €4 million project was a pure investment based on the expected return from the sale of the power generated through feed-in tariffs.

Conergy left everything in Electrofix’s hands and their representative only came down for the last few days before the farm went live.

“I don’t want to show off but he was impressed; there have been large solar farms around the world but they are usually split up into smaller sections, which has an impact on the engineering of the project as well as the complexity of the grid connection. We are talking about a lot of power here!” Ms Schembri said. “We are going up to Conergy’s head office to discuss further collaboration.”

The project has already paid off.

Conergy sells its products in numerous countries across Europe but realised that it was not getting the full potential of the market through retailing. It has now been entrusted by the German company to open offices in four countries to offer the added advantage of installation.

“Conergy is a manufacturer. That is what they do well. The company felt that it would be better to leave it in our hands as we would be able to offer installation and maintenance.

We will use the expertise that we have accumulated in Malta over the past 15 years, supplemented by local labour,” she added.

Electrofix started out doing mechanical and electrical work but its foray into alternative energy set it apart and it is now a recognised leader in the field, having handled some of the largest installations in Malta, including several for the Private Schools Association, Malta International Airport and Mcast.

“I am a great believer in solar energy and I have become a bit of an evangelist for it. I believe that the time has come for a lot more awareness about photovoltaics and this is a long-term investment – whether you are looking at domestic or industrial installations.

“We really encourage our customers not to consider only the original outlay but to look at the return over the years, which depends on the efficiency and output you get, as well as the lifespan and maintenance costs. And people overlook the fact that installation can affect output by up to 40 per cent!

“Conergy is actually very competitive, even with regards to other major brands, but its equipment gives much higher output. I do not

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forecast any major changes to efficiency in photovoltaics in the near future. The technology for more efficiency exists but it is very expensive. The photovoltaics are designed for use in Northern Europe, not here in the Mediterranean where the sun’s intensity is so much higher,” she lamented.

She also expressed her disappointment with the current policy which is aimed at feed-in tariffs for roof-mounted photovoltaics but which does not encourage ones on land.

“I can understand this. The policy should look at exploiting all the roofs before it allows people to use up valuable land. But there are disused quarries and other parcels of disturbed land which could be used,” she said.

“It is impressive even by international standards and in fact we have been contacted by international media as well as by investors in Dubai”

ELECTROFIX DIRECTOR DEBBIE SCHEMBRI.Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

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July 31, 2014

BUSINESS UPDATE

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Creating a better climate for businesses The setting up of a new Business Development Unit within the Planning Directorate is enabling the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) to provide a more efficient and business-oriented service, with a strong emphasis on reducing bureaucratic procedures, thus increasing efficiency.

Over the past months, the authority introduced a number of new measures and initiatives to create a better climate for businesses to operate and grow.

One of the first measures is the substantial reduction of fees when submitting a planning application. On average, planning application tariffs for a proposed commercial development has seen a 34 per cent reduction.

To further encourage businesses to invest and regenerate our village cores, works associated with the restoration and rehabilitation of old buildings are exempt from a planning application fee.

To reduce red tape and bureaucracy on development applications, the authority extended the validity period of all expired planning development permits issued after August 3, 2006, until March 2015. It also increased the validity period of a compliance certificate from six weeks to three months.

The authority has worked intensely on updating and enacting a number of new planning policies, making them more pertinent to today’s realities. Such policies which have a strong bearing on the commercial sector include the publication of a new legal notice regulating the Use Classes Order, the Floor Area Ratio Policy regulating tall buildings and the revision of the Hotel Height Limitation Policy.

Other policies and plans that are relevant to businesses and are being updated include the Structure Plan and Local Plans, the Solar Farm policy, the Development Control Policy and Design

Guidance and the Fuel and Service Station Policy.

A protocol aimed at addressing grey areas regarding accessibility for people with mobility problems has been agreed with the National Commission for Persons with Disability (KNPD). This protocol will facilitate that certain commercial activities will be exempt from the ‘access for all’ regulations.

In the coming weeks, the authority will further enhance the one-stop shop concept, which will make the procedure and system for applying for a development permit simpler and cheaper.

Furthermore, Mepa continues to welcome suggestions from the public and the business community on how to further reduce bureaucratic procedures and increase efficiency within the Authority. These suggestions can be made by calling the coordination unit on 2290 2005. For more information about the Businessense measures and initiatives visit www.mepa.org.mt/ businessense.

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Official inauguration of ECCM Bank ECCM Bank plc will be officially inaugurated tomorrow evening by the Prime Minister of Malta, Dr Joseph Muscat. ECCM Bank plc is owned

by Banasino Investments Limited and Douglas Insurance Company Limited, part of Kronospan.

ECCM bank forms part of Kronospan – a diversified organisation involved primarily in wood based products but also involved in insurance, finance, logistics, property, IT and intellectual property. The organisation originated in Austria in 1897, where it established its first saw mill. Today it is the world’s number one wood-based products manufacturer with 40 manufacturing sites around the world, employing around 14,000.

ECCM Bank will initially offer its services to members of the organisation and later to customers and suppliers. The Bank will cater for the short and long term refinancing requirements of the manufacturing companies belonging to the organisation, taking excess liquidity from

ANTHONY SCHEMBRI, CEO AND MANAGING DIRECTOR

other companies and offering treasury products. ECCM will not be offering its services locally.

Mr Anthony C Schembri, who was Managing Director under the previous shareholders having joined Raiffeisen in 1997, has been retained as CEO and Managing Director to ensure stability and continuity.