Malta Enterprise is to lead a delegation of 15 business people to a four-day trade mission to Dusseldorf and Berlin to support them as they seek to strengthen commercial ties in Germany. The mission will also promote Malta as an investment location. The delegation leaves on Monday.
The business people represent firms in the renewable energy sector, ICT, electronics, food and beverages, and conference and incentive travel. They will hold one-to-one meetings with prospective business partners at events in both cities.
Malta Enterprise is also organising a business forum in Dusseldorf, besides a further six events promoting opportunities for foreign direct investment. These events are being planned in conjunction with FinanceMalta in Berlin.
Germany is one of Malta’s major trading partners and in the past years it was the market to which the island exported most goods.
Total exports from Malta to Germany amounted to over €270 million last year, mostly electrical machinery and equipment, pharmaceutical products, aircraft or parts, as well as rubber and kitting.
The global figure represented an increase of almost €50 million over the previous year, when Germany was again the country to where Malta exported most. Imports stood at €287.5 million last year, implying there was a trade deficit of just around €17 million.
The main sectors included aircraft or parts, machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and equipment, as well as plastics.
The affinity between Malta and Germany is evidenced by the number of German companies which have chosen to set up their operations here and which have flourished in the island’s business-friendly environment.
Malta has managed to attract high value adding manufacturing companies from Germany mainly in the sector of electronics, ICT, medical technology, pharmaceuticals, and aircraft maintenance.
Dusseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs, while in the last few years the city on the Rhine has become one of the top telecommunications centres in Germany.
The capital, meanwhile, features an economy dominated by the services industry, with communications, life sciences, and transportation being among its fast-growing sectors.
Malta Enterprise is assisting companies participating in the delegation by setting up meetings through its networks, and granting a representative of each company up to 60 per cent reimbursement of the cost for an economy-class air fare and a daily allowance.