MFC Industrial Ltd, a Canadian company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has invested €91 million in Malta through the acquisition of Bawag Malta Bank Ltd, a bank that has been fully-licensed in Malta since 2003 and was previously owned by Bawag PSK of Austria.
Bawag Malta Bank Ltd has been renamed MFC Merchant Bank Ltd and will now begin operations as part of the MFC Group. It will focus on trade and structured finance and merchant banking.
“We are excited about the opportunities Malta offers as a business hub. In Malta, there is a very positive business climate and its economic performance has been one of the best in the European Union. Malta also offers an investor-friendly regulatory environment and certainty in doing business,” said Gerard Cortina, CEO of the MFC Group.
Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said: “We welcome MFC Merchant Bank Ltd in the Maltese banking sector. Malta offers investors in financial services not only a guarantee of good fiscal and economic governance as well as political and economic stability, but also the services of highly-qualified, experienced professionals in the financial, accountancy, IT and legal spheres.”
MFC provides supply chain services to industrial companies around the world. It specialises in industrial products such as metals, minerals, steel products and alloys, chemicals and wood products.
The group conducts business in various continents, such as Europe (mainly Germany, Austria, France and Norway), the Americas (mainly Canada, US, Argentina, Mexico) and China.
MFC Merchant Bank Ltd retains its current staff of eight and will continue to operate from its domicile at the Plaza Centre in Sliema.