In the last month and a half requests from industry for government aid have declined and only two requests for help were made to Malta Enterprise, chairman Alan Camilleri said in an interview.
Mr Camilleri, who said the government-appointed task force for industry has so far negotiated with 30 companies for possible help called this decline in requests "positive" and said the initial shock of the international recession on local industry "seems to have subsided".
He said: "Obviously, we must keep our feet on the ground and remain cautious, but we are optimistic. My reading of the situation at the moment as far as industry is concerned - of course excluding tourism - is that the initial panic or shock seems to have subsided.
"This does not mean that industry is recouping but it seems that the slowdown has somehow bottomed.
"There are fluctuations between companies - some are registering modest improvements - some are at the same level - but I think the fact that there is no sliding down in orders has given a bit of a breather for industry to readjust its strategy for the future and plan growth in more modest terms."
Mr Camilleri said it was encouraging to note that some of the companies which were helped by the government were investing even more than was origionally planned.
"This is important because at the end of the day this translates not only in no redundancies being made - these companies committed themselves not to make anyone redundant in a 12 month period - but over and above that some of the companies are employing people again.
"I have also been informed that some companies are actually recalling people who were previously made redundant which is significant given the prevailing circumstances."
Mr Camilleri explained that over the next six months Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks will be integrated into one entity. MIP will remain a company to raise the finance for the development projects, however, from a functional perspective everything will be integrated.
"There will be one single management structure and one chairman. A new department - the enterprise, trade and support division - will be created - where trade promotion efforts will be bolstered. We are going to recruit about 10 new people whose focus will be solely investment promotion," he said.
Mr Camilleri also said that Malta Enterprise is to place people in strategic markets as well as new and emerging markets such as London, Milan, Munich, Paris and Delhi.
He also revealed that Malta Enterprise is going to open a business support centre (including a mini business support centre in Gozo) - a one stop shop, where industry can access all ME's services at a desk to desk level, and from where consultancy services will be provided.
Mr Camilleri said that no redundancies are planned as a result of the merger between Malta Enterprise and MIP and work conditions will remain the same. Both the GWU and UĦM have been kept informed about developments and have both been positive in their reaction, he said.
Regarding developments at the Ta' Qali Crafts village, Mr Camilleri said this will "definitely" remain at its present location.
"The whole project is a redevelopment and from the business angle we want to ensure that the crafts village is sustainable. It will be sustainable if it is attractive to visit and tourists actually go there and spend some time there. We don't only want to give the tenants nice buildings but we want to look after their business model and ensure that this is sustainable," he said.