Malta has continued to gain ground in its attractiveness as an investment destination, according to an annual survey by EY, but transport and the logistics infrastructure were seen as the areas most in need of improvement.
The survey, which is held every year, found that 84 per cent of Malta-based executives surveyed found Malta attractive for foreign investment, a gain of five per cent over last year.
The survey results are being discussed today in a conference entitled 'Malta open for business'.
The survey found that respondents in the financial services sector tended to be the most optimistic, while those in manufacturing had the lowest rating for the country.
Malta was praised for the stability of the social climate and stability and transparency of the political, legal and regulatory environment.
The points in need of improvement were transport and the logistics infrastructure, the research, development and innovation environment and domestic and regional market.
The flexibility of employment legislation and the level of protection of intellectual property rights were among the least important factors the decision-makers considered.
Fifty-five per cent of companies surveyed said they have some form of expansion plans in Malta for next year.
Sixty per cent said iGaming would be the business sector driving Malta’s growth in the next five years, followed by fund administration and asset management (43 per cent and 41 per cent respectively).
The conference was addressed by, among others, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil who said the Opposition wanted economic growth to be sustainable. It also wanted to see a fairer distribution of wealth.
“The economy should work for the people, and not the other way around,” he said.
Dr Busuttil said Malta was reaping the fruit of the clear vision of successive Nationalist governments and the Opposition was pleased that the present government maintained the economic direction which the former government had set. However the government needed to develop new areas of economic activity to maintain growth momentum.
The government also needed to stamp out corruption, which was bad for business and bad for the country’s reputation.
He said the Opposition was backing the government in resisting tax harmonisation in the EU.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said he was proud to be called the country’s salesman, a tag he has been given by the Opposition for his participation in promotional events for the Individual Investor Programme.
Dr Muscat said the salesman tag was a compliment because it was his duty to promote the country and business. Furthermore, the IPP had been widely praised and had attracted investors and investment to the country. It was no accident, he said, that investment interest in Malta was being shown by companies and individuals in China, Singapore, Israel, Azerbaijan and Turkey, among others more closer to home.
Dr Muscat underscored his government's record, saying GDP growth of five per cent in real terms was the highest in many years and unemployment was at an all time low. The deficit had also been narrowed to 1.6 per cent.
Malta, he said, needed to continue to prepare itself for ‘the next big opportunity’ for further growth and the government was commited to further training of the workforce and improving the infrastructure.