Liongate Capital Management, a hedge fund company which manages over $2.5 billion, is having discussions with the University of Malta in creating a hedge fund research centre, according to Ben Funk, a partner at the company who was in Malta for the official opening of Liongate's local office.

"This is something which is in the pipeline and we have been working on for the past six months. The university is very interested in developing a programme which promotes hedge funds," Dr Funk told The Times Business in an interview.

Liongate set up its Malta operation 18 months ago and Dr Funk praised the country for what it has to offer the financial services sector.

Besides being a low tax jurisdiction, he says, there are many advantages of setting up an office in Malta. "One is the very high quality of the regulation at the MFSA. We were able to meet individually and specifically with MFSA chairman Joseph Bannister before deciding which way we wanted to go, and I think he really made us feel comfortable. Having English as the business language makes a huge difference. The short distance to London is helpful, the time change is also helpful, and Malta's European Union membership gives it an advantage over other jurisdictions."

Liongate's work in Malta revolves mainly around finance and research. Dr Funk says he is fortunate to find very competent local employees, most of whom are University of Malta graduates.

Dr Funk said Liongate's official opening in Malta on Monday was very well attended by people from the university, the MFSA, the government, including the Prime Minister, accountancy firms and legal firms.

"It's nice to be so warmly welcomed into the community this way. We believe Malta will continue to grow as an important finance centre," he said.

Dr Funk said that in a recent survey in the City of London, Malta was identified as one of the jurisdictions which is most likely to grow as a finance centre and where most investment companies considered opening an office in the next two to three years.