In a country for years accustomed to hearing regular political sermons of doom and gloom from the Labour Party about the island's economy and state of affairs generally, confirmation from official sources in Malta and abroad that the banking sector is sound comes as a relief.

Amid all the negative developments that have cast so much distress in so many countries these past few days, Malta has, at least, been spared such anxiety, though, of course, as it has been said by economic and trade experts, the island is bound to feel, in time, the impact of the financial turmoil abroad. Still, the news from the World Economic Forum that the island has improved its competitiveness position, climbing four places to rank in the 52nd place among the 134 economies surveyed, shows that Malta is not doing half as bad as the political purveyors of negative news would want the people to believe.

What is particularly uplifting, insofar as Malta is concerned, is the ranking given to the soundness of the island's banks, 10th. Canada takes first place, followed by Sweden, Luxembourg, Australia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, and Ireland, though even Canada and Australia have felt the need to take measures to support any banks that may need capital injections. Malta has also obtained a high ranking in the financial institutions index, 18th place. This has been mainly attributed to the well-regulated and conservative banking policies.

Such high rankings, showing the seriousness of the financial regulatory system, will surely not go unnoticed by financial movers and players abroad, especially in Europe.

It is a good advertisement for Malta, one that ought to be jealously sustained and guarded all the time through keen observance of the regulatory framework.

The island does not do as well in terms of venture capital availability and when the WEF goes into the most problematic factors facing investors interested in doing business in Malta, "inefficient government bureaucracy" and "access to financing" top the list.

There are other factors considered to be disadvantageous to development, but, at the same time, however, the overall index shows that the island also scores a high ranking in a number of other areas, such as the quality of primary education and of the educational system; internet access in schools, which is very important in this growing age of information technology; FDI and technology transfer, and business impact of rules on FDI.

So, despite its size and all its limitations, the island has been making continued progress, a matter that does not appear to be well appreciated under the weight of new challenges presenting themselves in the course of development. Clearly, however, harder efforts will be required for Malta to reach the living standard of its partners in the European Union. The problem is that changing circumstances are expected to make the exercise more difficult than ever, particularly if the forecast recessionary times deal a blow to exports and tourism. In such uncertain times, it is, therefore, doubly important for the island to remain competitive, a matter that ought to be kept well in mind by the government, which is eager to get rid of the remaining subsidies, by the private sector and also by the trade unions. Changes, such as any revised water and energy tariffs, have to be carried out carefully and, possibly, spread over time, even, if necessary, at the cost of the government adjusting its own financial targets.