THIS ISSUE
REACHING OUT MBB President George Micallef discusses how the Business Agenda will reach out to enterprise.
page 4
ISSUE 01 I NOV – DEC 2009
business agenda
NEWSPAPER POST
Late payments directive Not a moment too soon
page 30
THE Official Business publication of the Malta business Bureau
Business Outlook:
‘CHALLENGING BUT BETTER’
EU Affairs Meet Richard Cachia Caruana, Malta's Permanent Representative to the European Union.
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interview Albert Mizzi, one of Malta's most successful entrepreneurs and his insatiable appetite for more business.
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case study Air Malta CEO Joe Cappello discusses the airline's competitiveness and plans for the future.
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UN TOURISM BODY: MALTA SHOULD INVEST IN ITS BRAND The President of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) of Affiliate Members, Eulogio Bordas, has advised Malta to invest in its branding if it wants to ensure that it retains its attractiveness as a tourist destination. His advice was given during an interview with the Business Agenda, during which the newly-appointed UNWTO president discussed a number of issues relating to the European tourism industry. This piece of advice may indeed prove valuable in the long-term as Malta, like many other European
destinations, has experienced a drop in tourist arrivals in 2009. As a result, revenue in the hospitality industry has also fallen, causing concern within the hospitality industry. Despite the challenges faced by the global tourism industry in 2009, Mr Bordas points out that there is a general feeling within the industry that 2010 will bring slight growth in demand and many experts “trust that in the summer of 2011 or 2012, the pre-crisis figures will be recuperated.” See page 13 for the full story.
Leading business players in the services, tourism, manufacturing and ICT industries agree that the economy in 2010 should get better, though they still expect a very challenging year. Joseph F.X. Zahra, an economist and business leader, believes that the economy has “structural problems that need to be tackled before it is too late”. He believes that 2010 should not bring a worsening in the economic scenario. Malta’s outlook is dependent on the performance of its main trading markets, which are showing signs of recovery. Hotelier Winston J Zahra says the tourism industry is bracing itself for a challenging
first quarter of 2010. “Hopefully, the international economic scenario will improve and business will return to more sustainable levels mid-way through 2010.” William Wait, deputy CEO of Toly Ltd, believes that competitiveness of the manufacturing industry is a key issue that should be tackled in 2010. According to ICT expert Keith Fearne, the ICT industry is already showing “signs of recovery” and expresses the opinion that 2010 should be considerably better than this year. See page 8 for the full story.
EU Services Directive
COMES INTO FORCE ON DECEMBER 28 The launch of the much-awaited Services Directive is just around the corner and is set to take the European Single Market in services to a whole new level. The main aim of the ambitious Directive is to release the untapped growth potential of the European services markets, which will be tackled by the removal of legal and administrative barriers to trade within the services industry. The Directive is welcomed by both businesses and consumers alike as it will make it easier for services to be provided and made use of across
European borders. The Directive, which is due to be implemented in December, will require Member States to simplify the procedures that service providers need to deal with when offering a service in another Member State other than the one they are registered in. Member States will be required to remove "unjustified and disproportionate" burdens and to facilitate the establishment of business and the cross border provision of services. See page 6 for the full story.