It is not unusual for presidents or prime ministers to try and attract foreign investment for their country when on official visits abroad. It is part of their job, which is why they often take trade and investment missions with them. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat does it regularly, as did other prime ministers before him.

It would seem, however, that Dr Muscat is tending to redefine his role. Take the sale of passports. Irrespective of whether the idea is intrinsically right or wrong, is it not odd for a prime minister to act as a passport salesman at specially-organised meetings abroad?

The story about a plan by an American currency printing company to branch out to Malta justifiably raised eyebrows over the possible future involvement – albeit indirectly – of the Prime Minister’s chief of Staff, Keith Schembri, whose private business stands to gain if the company buys equipment from a firm represented by Mr Schembri’s business.

But there was something else that jarred. If, as it has been stated, the talks with the American company were carried out with Malta Enterprise, the agency charged with the attraction of foreign investment, it would have been more proper for the investment to be announced by the head of the agency rather than by Dr Muscat. This shows he is projecting himself as being over-anxious to exact every ounce of political propaganda from anything that turns out to be favourable to his government or the country.

This was even more glaringly seen in the announcement – at Castille to boot – of a private share transaction between a commercial bank, Banif, and a Qatari company.

It would not have appeared so had the government had a financial interest in the bank as, for instance, was the case with Mid-Med Bank when part of its shareholding was sold to HSBC (at a price far below what financial experts would have, at the time, deemed correct, though that is another story).

Of course, this is not to say that the Qatari company, Al Faisal Holdings, is not welcome in Malta. It definitely is. Hopefully, it would find its place in the local economic environment and help to strengthen the bank’s position even further. According to the company’s managing director, Mohamed Shafiek, they are also looking into investment possibilities in the hospitality, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and education sectors too.

Banif (Banco Internacional do Funchal) had to be bailed out by the Portuguese government at a cost which, in the words of the country’s socialist Prime Minister was “very high for taxpayers”. The bank was unable to repay €700 million provided by the government during the country’s economic crisis and was forced to put all its foreign investments up for sale. The deadline for doing this was 2017, which explains the urgency for the sale of its Malta subsidiary.

The purchase of the majority shareholding (78.64 per cent) in Banif Bank in Malta has been hailed as an investment, which it is for the company, but it is not a new investment for Malta. It is the owner of the shares that is new. The deal is good news for the Portuguese bank and for Malta, too, particularly if it leads to the Qatari company taking up other interests that are also of direct benefit to Malta.

However, it would appear to be more in order if the Prime Minister were to restrict his urge to take political credit even in strictly private commercial transactions.