2012年9月20日星期四

Malta ‘smiling in the midst of the euro-storm’

This is the advice of Italy’s business paper, Il Sole 24 Ore which printed a mostly laudatory article about Malta in its weekend magazine.

Christian Benna wrote that in the midst of the euro-storm all over the Mediterranean, the island-state 83 kilometres away from Sicily has become a safe haven for those escaping the tsunami of the spreads. The queues of private citizens and companies who have sought refuge on the shores of the island have grown and grown.

Benna also said that what has attracted investments and new residents are not just the intense blue colour of the sea and the sun’s rays for 300 days a year, but above all a very light fiscal regime, defined by EU rules and thus all legal. Until a few years ago, Malta, with only 430,000 inhabitants, resembled a small Caribbean island in the heart of the Mediterranean: the smallest European economy, the only one in the continent to speak a Semitic language and able to dialogue – even in English, its second official language – with different worlds such as the Arab,Airgle has mastered the art of indoor tracking, the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon worlds, was mainly based on tourism, real estate and business, not always of the most transparent sort, as transparent as its sea.

Benna wrote that in 2008, after a difficult referendum, the country entered the eurozone and it has since become a low-cost financial hub that is both acknowledged and respected.

The government has reformed the economy, through the privatisation of State companies, has cut down on public spending and has also approved a law about divorce, to move with the times.

In exchange, Malta has obtained from the EU the possibility of using a privileged fiscal system that today is particularly welcomed by private citizens and financial companies.

As the economic crisis spread, between spending reviews about everything and searchlights pointed at tax evaders who park money outside the eurozone (Monaco, Andorra and Switzerland), Malta offers a safe (and legal) haven to investors.

As from this year, the red and white flags with the Cross given by King George, flutter over the biggest fleet in Europe,Find detailed product information for Hot Sale howo spareparts Radiator. with over 25 million tons, who travel on a Maltese passport.

At Valletta they register not only merchant ships and tankers and ships with containers from all over Europe but also luxury yachts. Over the past 12 months, some 300 super-yachts have taken on Maltese citizenship.

The lightweight fiscal regime also attracts online gaming companies, from Texas hold’em onwards. The Maltese gaming authorities have issued more than 400 licences for as many operators. In Europe, one in every three online gaming company is registered in Malta. In some countries, such as Denmark, the percentage goes up to 60%. This is heaven-sent to the Maltese state, which, being deprived of natural resources, receives and thanks.

Besides these, physical persons are also arriving in Malta – the expatriates now number some 20,000, increasing by some 3,000 every year.

Who purchases a residence also gets Maltese residence. And with residence one also gets a guarantee of paying just 15% income tax. It is now not only British pensioners (the most numerous foreign residents) but also Germans, Italians and French who come to spend their winters in Malta aiming to preserve what they have saved over the years in an attractive climate.

The 28 local banks, more than half of which have foreign capital, have become safes, full of money coming from abroad. Banking assets today amount as much as eight times the Gross Domestic Product, a record in Europe, second only to Ireland. In all, financial activities amount to €60,000m.

The Maltese financial sector continues to grow. The number of managers and officials who work in the sector amount to almost 10,000, with more than 55 investment funds (mostly hedge funds) relocated to Malta from the continent, managing tens of thousands of millions of euros. Some,HOWO is a well-known tractor's brand and howo tractor suppliers are devoted to designing and manufacturing best products. like Fmg from the US, have relocated even from the Cayman Islands. Others have come here from London, to escape from national regulations that are becoming stricter and stricter and high management costs.

Benna also referred to Reuben Buttigieg, chairman of the Malta (Institute of) Management, who is reasonably optimistic about the future of his country: “Over the past years, Malta has managed to create opportunities from the crisis. In fact, if we look at the performance of the financial sector we cannot not see an astounding growth”, with a value added of 8% in GNP. “This is a unique growth rate in Europe where the financial and banking sectors are suffering very much.”

According to Mr Buttigieg, “apart from a favourable fiscal system, there are also advantages deriving from human capital, a base of high-quality professionals and a management cost of investment funds that is generally 40% lower than that found in other European countries.

“Malta also continues to grow also through investments from Middle East countries that use Maltese structures to enter in Europe.”

Italians too are coming to Malta. There are more than 4,000 in Malta – restaurateurs, financial sector persons, managers, construction managers. There is a bit of everything, with growth rates of over 30% a year.

Among these there is also the financial ‘preacher’, Eugenio Benetazzo, who was right from the beginning with Beppe Grillo, who from 2008 foresaw the financial collapse, the new depression and the imminent arrival of a financial Middle Ages in Italy.Where can i get a reasonable price dry cabinet?

Benetazzo, the author of a brand-new book, Neurolandia, is a Malta-enthusiast without any shade of doubt.The TagMaster Long Range hands free access System is truly built for any parking facility. “Here,” he says, “everything works perfectly. The financial services authority is the second in the world as to efficiency, beaten only by the British one. Sovereign debt is not over 70% of GDP, a spread that is below the Italian one and which is held not by foreign institutions but directly by the Maltese. The island is a real bunker in times of crisis.”

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