FT-Finance Malta event to showcase jurisdiction at Stockholm briefing

Business opportunities in Malta for Nordic financial institutions will be showcased at a Stockholm event organised by The Banker, the global financial intelligence publication, in association with Finance Malta on October 5.

Themed simply ‘Financial Services in Malta’, the morning briefing is part of Finance Malta’s bid to venture further afield with its efforts to market the jurisdiction as a financial services hub. Finance Malta’s first foray into Scandinavia was the subject of a full-page advertisement in the Financial Times on Monday.

“This is a Financial Times event that follows on the success of similar ones held in Bahrain and Frankfurt over the past two years,” Finance Malta’s head of business development Bruno L’ecuyer told The Times Business on Tuesday. “We continue working to heighten Malta’s visibility outside of our ‘comfort zone’ as we venture further north, and in regions like the Middle East and Asia.”

Mr L’ecuyer is currently accompanying a joint Finance Malta-Malta Enterprise trade mission to Düsseldorf and Berlin where high-level business events are to be held this week.

He added the organisation of the Stockholm briefing was instigated by encouraging feedback from Finance Malta members who have increasingly been doing business with high net worth Scandinavians establishing firms and buying property on the island.

While planning the event, Finance Malta contacted the Scandinavian Business Forum (Malta), the body established under the aegis of the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry a few months ago. The forum nominated Stefan Magnusson, chief executive officer of Living Capital Group and an executive SBF committee member, who is from Stockholm but moved to Malta a year ago.

The programme includes presentations by The Banker contributing editor Michael Imeson, Malta Financial Services Authority chairman Joe Bannister, HSBC Bank Malta’s head of financial institutions Monika Dik, Finance Malta chairman Valletta Fund Services chief officer Kenneth Farrugia, Curmi & Partners managing director David Curmi, and Malta Insurance Management Association secretary general and Ganado and Associates Advocates partner Matthew Bianchi.

There will be panel sessions on personal experiences and viewpoints on the establishment of overseas banks in Malta with the participation of HBSC’s Ms Dik, PiscoPartners’s tax partner Ramona Piscopo, and Fimbank president Margrith Lutschg-Emmenegger; and another on funds with Mr Farrugia, Apex Fund Services (Malta) managing director Anthony O’Driscoll, and Qube Services partner Thomas Jacobsen.

A third, ‘honest perspectives on wealth management’, will see the participation of Mr Curmi, Mr Magnusson, and Fenech and Fenech Advocates partner Joseph Ghio. Dr Bianchi will also be a panellist on a session focusing on ‘Assessing the opportunities in insurance’.

The target participants include chief officers, heads of strategy, business development, international business and outsourcing, private bankers, wealth managers, asset and fund managers, accountants and client advisors.

‘Financial Services in Malta’ which will be held at Stockholm’s Grand Hotel, coincides with the three-day bi-annual conference of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations. Held at the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre, it is expected to be attended by 1,500 risk managers from across the European Union. The Malta Financial Services Authority is supporting Finance Malta as it shares a booth with the Malta Insurance Managers Association at the FERMA event.