Malta 'off foreign investors radar'
The urgency of the situation stressed
Malta got the dubious honour of being dubbed one of the "best kept secrets" around at a conference on foreign direct investment in which businessmen complained of the island's lack of visibility in international markets.
A panel of industry heavyweights called for a more comprehensive and faster action to attract investment before "it is too late".
It was Jan Siemons, partner of the Dutch branch of Ernst & Young, who commented on Malta's virtues as a secret business location, pointing out that its invisibility was one of the country's main challenges.
Mr Siemons was speaking during the launch of the 2009 Ernst & Young report, which asked 101 companies which were the key issues with Malta's competitiveness. The survey was carried out by the same audit company between March and April.
Investors' perception of Malta as an investment destination improved, according to 42 per cent of respondents, while 15 per cent said it deteriorated.
The companies called for less bureaucracy, more online services or, instead, the creation of a one-stop shop. However, Margrith Lütschg-Emmenegger, president of the FimBank Group, said Malta needed a corporate identity because, abroad, "no one knows about Malta".
She also pointed fingers at the Maltese mentality, expecting the government to make amends instead of taking action.
The private sector must be the driver for the government to make the moves or else it would wait a long time, she said.
Ms Lutschg-Emmenegger criticised the fact that Malta still offered a cheap option instead of focusing solely on an expensive, top quality service.
"Malta is small and can afford to offer a high-quality service but doesn't and this is still fundamentally wrong," she said.
Similarly, Central Bank Governor Michael Bonello said Malta had to be highly selective in attracting foreign investment. "Once the crisis is over, foreign companies will be fewer, more selective and with weaker purchasing power," he said. All of the speakers stressed the urgency of the situation. Helga Ellul, president of Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, said the country needed to question the wage increases while keeping in mind that socially-disadvantaged people had to be helped.
The system should make it pay to work and the country should reward productivity, she said.