Just over half of foreign direct investors in Malta believe that the country will still be attractive for investment in three years’ time, according to the EY Malta Attractiveness Survey being launched today.

However, 44 per cent were not able to reply to this question, nearly double the 23 per cent who replied “don’t know” in 2011.

Only four per cent said they believed Malta would not be attractive in three years.

This is one of the key findings of the EY Attractiveness Survey for 2014. The results will be presented at a sold-out full-day conference at the Westin. The keynote speech is being given by Tony Blair’s former spokesman Alastair Campbell.

EY publishes reports on a number of countries as well as one on Europe. According to respondents, Europe’s attractiveness as an investment destination will improve in the next three years, with 45 per cent saying that the main driver will be research and development. Stability and the transparency of political, legal and regulatory environment emerged as the main factor taken into account when investors choose a location, up from second place last year.

Timesofmalta.com will be streaming the conference live today, and the Business Observer will be carrying an eight-page pull-out with the main results and action points tomorrow.

The report will be made available on ey.com/attractiveness at 11am today.