Developing the capital markets of the EU would be a priority during Malta’s presidency of the EU between January and June – but discussions on Brexit were bound to complicate this process, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said.

Speaking at the launch of Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates’ new corporate advisory arm – Prospecta – he said that he was getting positive feedback from his ministerial counterparts and Commissioners that Malta could deliver on what he described as “an enormous workload”.

He expressed confidence that two major directives on securitisation and prospectuses would be closed under the Slovakian presidency before the end of the year.

“Compromise will be the key,” he said, adding that this would also apply when Malta has to try to nudge along controversial issues on taxation and the relaunched Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base.

Two major directives on securitisation and prospectuses would be closed under the Slovakian presidency before the end of the year

Another tricky project will be the Banking Union, with controversy raging over risk reduction and risk sharing, with Germany lobbying for overall risk to be reduced before responsibility starts to be shouldered.

Prof. Scicluna also stressed that other issues had to be tackled, such as venture capital and social entrepreneurship.

He was given a handover on the current state of play during an extended Ecofin meeting some days ago.

Chetcuti Cauchi launched Prospecta Corporate Finance after the firm was approved as a corporate advisor for the Malta Stock Exchange’s Prospects, aimed at enabling small to medium enterprises seeking to raise between €1 million and €5 million in risk capital by issuing bonds, new shares, or existing shares to investors beyond their own family and business partners.

Maria Chetcuti Cauchi, chairwoman of Chetcuti Cauchi and head of the capital markets team, said that SMEs’ success would depend on having a sound business plan, which would be facilitated by their corporate adviser: “A high level of corporate governance will be instilled in such companies.”