The Companies Registry listed 3,061 new companies in 2010, the highest number ever recorded, according to the Malta Financial Services Annual Report 2010.

Sixty nine new commercial partnerships were also registered, bringing the total to 3,130 new registrations and an increase of 452 new registrations over the previous year. In 2010 there were 137 mergers of companies while 991 companies were placed into liquidation during the year.

Sixty four companies transferred their domicile to Malta in terms of the Continuation of Companies Regulations under the Companies Act, including 21 from Italy, nine from the British Virgin Islands, six from Luxembourg, seven from the Cayman Islands, three from the Bahamas, three from the Dutch Antilles, two from Gibraltar, two from Guernsey and two from Liberia.

The redomiciled firms included 13 involved in property activities, 10 holding companies, nine securities companies, eight marketing businesses, six IT companies, six private investment companies and three real estate companies.

At the end of 2010 the Registry of Companies had 51, 575 companies and 1,405 partnerships registered.

According to the report the MFSA registered growth in the number of new licences issued in 2010 in all areas of activities. Three new credit institutions and six new insurance companies were licensed. Significant increases were registered in the number of investor funds and investment services companies.

“The Gross Value Added (GVA) in the financial intermediation sector, which was almost 5.5 per cent of the total gross value added in 2009 or around €47,000 per capita per employee, increased to 7.5 per cent in 2010 or around €66,000 per capita per employee,” the report said.

Employment in the financial sector in Malta continued to increase during the year. The number of full-time gainfully occupied in direct financial intermediation services stood at 5,871 in October 2010 or about three per cent more than October 2009.

Joseph Bannister, MFSA chairman, said in his introduction to the report that Malta’s economic stability gives international financial business valuable and genuine comfort.

“At no time was this more obvious than during the second half of 2010 when the world was faced with a crisis of confidence in the euro, triggered by debt financing emergencies in a number of eurozone states. Malta, which has a sovereign debt position more robust than many nations, played its part in supporting the euro and thus in helping to avoid what would have almost certainly have been a devastating economic and political event for the world,” Prof. Bannister said.