Sai Mizzi Liang’s successor as Malta’s business envoy in China will be chosen through a public call but the selected candidate will not necessarily get the same €13,000 monthly package enjoyed by his/her predecessor.
This was confirmed by a Malta Enterprise spokeswoman who told this newspaper the grade or position of the new representative of the State investment arm in China would depend on the candidate’s “qualifications and experience”.
The spokeswoman was replying to questions in connection with a public call published in the press by Malta Enterprise. She said the selected candidate would be engaged within the entity’s structure.
Appointed a few months after Labour was elected to power in 2013, Ms Mizzi Liang’s position had immediately raised questions not only due to her remuneration package but also because she was the wife of then energy minister Konrad Mizzi.
In an unprecedented move, her employment conditions were pegged to those of an ambassador even though Malta already had an accredited diplomat in China.
Throughout her three-year tenure, the government faced a barrage of criticism from the Opposition, which claimed that her appointment defeated pre-election meritocracy pledge.
“Judge me by my results and not by what people say. Judge me by what I do for you”, she had told journalists at Smart City when Prime Minister Joseph Muscat inaugurated a representative office of Chinese telecoms company, Huawei.
Despite being continuously under the spotlight, Malta Enterprise refused to disclose Mr Mizzi Liang’s list of achievements citing “commercial sensitivity”. Last February, Dr Mizzi announced that his wife would not seek another term as special envoy. She left the post when the contract expired at the end of August.
According to the job description issued by Malta Enterprise, its Shanghai-based representative would be expected to identify development opportunities, target potential investors, facilitate commercial ties and support Malta’s diplomatic representatives in the region.
“This will entail research, negotiations with top-level decision makers, fostering economic ties between the two countries, while also assisting other Maltese agency interests in China,” according to the call.
The selected candidate would be answerable to the CEO or his delegated authority and must preferably have a degree in a long list of areas. These include diplomatic studies, international relations, business administration, public policy, management, trade entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.
A good command of the English and Mandarin languages is also required.
The call closes on Friday at 4pm.