A seminar held by the Malta Association of Credit Management in collaboration with HSBC Malta discussed ways how to do business outside Malta with maximum return on investment while managing risks.

The seminar was opened by Richard Cottell, HSBC's head of commercial banking, and association president Louis Bianchi.

Attended by businessmen, bankers, association members and tertiary students of economics among others, the seminar focused on the various factors that influence international trade, mitigation of risks and ways in which Maltese business can finance its trading activities when dealing with businesses outside Malta.

"The Malta Association of Credit Management strives to introduce and update the business community in Malta about good trading practices, which very often include credit," said Josef Busuttil, the association's director general.

He explained that the aim of the seminar was to inform businesses about the services HSBC Malta offered in order to mitigate international business risk and ensure sound cash flow.

Being a small market economy, Malta depended largely on imports and exports, participants at the seminar were told. They also heard how the Maltese business community trading internationally was faced with increased exposure to risk and, therefore, required knowledge on how to get paid when exporting as well as how to pay for imports in an effective and efficient manner.