The malTa chamber of commerce, enTerprise and indusTry AnnuAL ADMInISTRATIvE REPORT 2016/17
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Policy Committees 2. The Business Councils These are horizontal committees within the Malta Chamber that focus on promoting business exchanges between Malta and specific countries or regions. The concept was developed as an internal policy by the Internationalisation Committee as a way of creating entities within the Chamber, so that the secretariat can ensure greater coordination, control, continuity and integrity. These Business Councils have proven successful in activating members and even generating new membership, and they have become catalysts for the creation of events and activities which benefit the participating members as well as the Maltese business community as a whole. Brokerage Events 8-10 March 2016 – ITB 2016 Five Maltese companies held B2B meetings at the international matchmaking event held during the ITB Fair in Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show. This event was organised by EEN partner in BerlinBrandenburg, and targeted a wide spectrum of start-ups, companies, universities, researchers and clusters from all over Europe interested in expanding their business and sharing new project ideas in the tourism sector. 26-27 May 2016 – Match4Industry Seven Maltese businessmen participated in the Match4Industry matchmaking event held within the SANTEK Industry and Technology Fair. The matchmaking event was organised by Enterprise Europe Network partner ABiGEM East Marmara in Kocaeli, with the support of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Turkey and the Kocaeli Chamber of Industry. The Match4Industry matchmaking event included a dedicated space within the fair where one-to-one meetings took place over the course of two days. The participating countries included Turkey, Malta, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Hungary. The Maltese entrepreneurs held pre-scheduled B2B meetings with entrepreneurs from the participating countries. The delegation also visited the TOSB Automotive Supplier Industrial Park and the Ford manufacturing plant as a leading automotive company in Kocaeli. 20-21 October 2016 – Meet @ K 2016 Four Maltese companies participated at the matchmaking event held during the K Fair, the world’s leading trade fair in Plastics and Rubber, in Dusseldorf, Germany. Participants were able to set up pre-arranged one-to-one meetings according to their co-operation interests. 18 meetings were held by the Maltese companies in total. The program included matchmaking and networking events, direct search for business partners via EEN’s network of stakeholders, presentations/workshops by experts in the sector, a guided tour at the fair to regional companies and company visits within the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. 15-17 November 2016 – MEDICA 2016 MEDICA 2016 international matchmaking event was organised by Enterprise Europe Network partner ZENIT GmbH in Dusseldorf, Germany. Three Maltese companies participated and held 23 B2B meetings. The aim of this event was to assist enterprises, universities and research institutions in finding partners in Europe for product development, manufacturing and licensing agreements, joint ventures or other types of partnership. This international healthcare matchmaking event at MEDICA fair has been taking place for more than 15 years.
Company Missions 8-11 June 2016 - Company Mission to Montenegro A delegation of Maltese entrepreneurs formed part of a state visit to Montenegro led by the President of Malta, H.E. Dr Marie Louise Coleiro Preca. The delegation attended a Malta-Montenegro Business Forum, which was organised and coordinated by the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the European Enterprise Network (EEN). The 20 Maltese companies forming part of the delegation came from the construction and real estate sector, tourism, alternative energy and business materials sectors. The Business Forum was attended by H.E. The President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic, the President of Malta and officials from both countries, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. Dr George Vella and Minister of Environment, Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Hon. Dr José Herrera and other senior officials. The forum was also addressed by Vice President, Tonio Casapinta. Over seventy B2B meetings followed, during the networking session, with the Maltese companies continuing their follow-up contacts the following day. Incoming Delegations 10 November 2016 - Piemonte Business Breakfast Meeting: Introducing Novelty in Interior Design As part of the Malta EEN Consortium, the Malta Chamber in collaboration with the Piemonte Agency for Investments, Export and Tourism, organised a matchmaking meeting between Maltese and Italian companies under the Services and Retail Sector Group. An Italian delegation of front-liners in interior design, highlighted the latest in design, innovation and technology. The Business Breakfast meeting was followed by 42 individual B2B meetings and visits to Maltese companies where requested. Business Councils Asia Pacific Business Council • Mr Ian Mizzi, Mizzi Holdings – Chairman • Mr Pierre Attard, CMA CGM Malta Agency Ltd • Mr Bernard Bartolo, KSI Malta • Ms Dorien Bianco, Toly Products Ltd • Mr David Biron, Airsped Express Ltd • Mr Nick Callus, Computer Domain Ltd • Mr Kenneth Camilleri, Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates • Mr Tonio Casapinta, Casapinta Design Group • Mr Chris Curmi, Deloitte • Ms Josette Gera, Easy School of Languages • Mr Devid Melillo, Foster Clark Products Ltd • Mr Anthony Micallef, Office Group • Mr Nicholas Zahra, Alpine Holdings The Asia Pacific Business Council was set up in 2016 as a result of increasing interest shown by Maltese companies in this region. During the first few meetings of the Asia Pacific Business Council, it was agreed by the Committee members to focus on specific countries at a time. It was agreed to start with Japan, China and Vietnam. The Japan Committee was the most active committee in 2016. With the assistance of H.E. Andre Spiteri, Ambassador of Malta to Japan, this committee held regular meetings and discussed a number of issues and matters related to Malta-Japan trade relations. This included promoting