Next week we are delighted to present to you a new newspaper, The Business Observer, with a fresh new design and an exciting format.

For over a decade and a half, the Times of Malta Business pages have grown not only in number but also in depth. We have featured interviews with all the leading players in the economy, but we have also rooted out entrepreneurs that you would otherwise never have known about. Our sectoral analyses reflected the trends of the day and predicted those of the future. Our i-Tech section captured the new and the exciting, outlining the opportunities and pitfalls of the digital age.

We were privileged to offer space to a stunning line-up of contributors, who poked their noses into situations that would otherwise never have seen the light of day, who offered unbiased analysis, expert insight and provocative advice.

Clearly, we made our mark. It is now time to take the next natural step: turning the supplement into a newspaper in its own right. The Business Observer will be different. It will – in the fine tradition of business newspapers – be printed on pink paper. It will be published in collaboration with leading communications and media company Content House Group and distributed free every fortnight with Times of Malta on alternate Thursdays.

Some of the line-up will change and we cannot express enough thanks to those contributors who have so faithfully provided us for so long with their unique skills.

But some things will not change. The Business Observer will still have all the news, analysis, insight and information that our readers want and need, whether they are decision-makers, investors, shareholders or members of the public who want to understand the ebbs and flows of the economy that have such an impact on their everyday lives. Times of Malta will of course continue to dedicate pages to Business and Finance, which will ensure regular updates of breaking local and international news, as well as commentaries.

I and my team – especially those in the design studio and the features department – are looking forward to the challenge.