The Treasury announces that due to the strong demand for the stocks offered in the latest Malta Government Stock issuance, the subscription in the Malta Government Stock was closed on Tuesday 2nd August 2016 at 11.30am shortly after the amount of applications received from members of the public exceeded the amount on issue and the overallotment option.  In addition to the amount on issue, that is €100 million, the Treasury shall exercise its option to utilize the additional sum up to a maximum of €60 million such that the aggregate amount to be allocated will be increased up to a maximum amount of €160 million.
In this regard, the aggregate amount up to €160 million shall be allotted to the members of the public in terms of the Allotment Policy stipulated under Paragraph 4 of the Prospectus dated 22nd July 2016. The details of the allotment policy will be published by a Press Release and communicated on the Treasury’s website immediately after the vetting of applications for compliance with the provisions of the prospectus.
In view of the above, no further applications from the members of the public will be accepted and the auction which was scheduled to be held at noon on Monday 8th August 2016 is being cancelled as no volume is available for allocation under the auction/bid system. 
The Pharmacy of Your Choice unit won Malta’s Best Healthcare Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 Award in recognition of ‘Setting Organizational Standards for Excellence and Outstanding Achievement’.
The award recognises the accomplishments of the top local entrepreneurs for their positive contribution towards our country’s economic growth, for improving the country’s business community and acting as role models for tomorrow’s leaders. 
During these last three years, the POYC Unit secured exceptional achievements at both national and international landscapes with five top awards from the Foundation of Human Resource Development, the Equality Mark Certification from the National Commission Promotion for Equality, the 2016 runner-up in the National Enterprise Support Awards and the Silver Plate from the University of Malta for Services rendered to the Pharmacy Profession.
POYC has an instrumental role in achieving the very low levels of out-of-stock medicines in the community, thereby ensuring full accessibility to the 140,000 clients who are entitled to free medicines.
 
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The Malta Employers’ Association called for a political consensus concerning the operation of the Malta Freeport, one of the country’s major employers which has established Malta as a major logistical hub in the Mediterranean. The Malta Freeport has generated thousands of high value added jobs to Maltese people since it was established, and its future should not be subjected to uncertainty generated by political agendas. The Association stated that there should be constructive dialogue between the relevant stakeholders to seek ways to reconcile the operations and growth of the company with environmental objectives, without resorting to categorical statements that may harm the competitiveness of the company and the jobs of its employees.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

MALTA, international trade in June 2016 Provisional data for international trade show that the trade deficit in June stood at €241.6 million, down by €38.0 million when compared to the corresponding month in 2015. Both imports and exports decreased by €43.9 million and €5.8 million respectively (Table 1a).
The decrease in the value of imports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€92.6 million), which was partly outweighed by an increase of €75.5 million in machinery and transport equipment. On the exports side mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€70.8 million) and machinery and transport equipment (€23.7 million) accounted for the main decrease. This was partly outweighed by an increase of €94.9 million in chemicals January-June 2016 During the fi rst six months this year, the trade defi cit widened by €136.9 million when compared to the corresponding period last year. Imports show an increase of €54.6 million, with exports decreasing by €82.3 million (Table 1a). Higher imports were mainly due to machinery and transport equipment, which increased by €308.3 million. This was partly outweighed by a decrease of €214.2 million in mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials. The decrease in the value of exports was mainly triggered by lower mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€279.1 million), machinery and transport equipment (€48.8 million) and miscellaneous manufactured articles (€41.1 million). This was partly outweighed by an increase of €303.1 million in chemicals.
Malta’s trade imports from the European Union reached €1,428.5 million, or 42.3 per cent of total imports. There was a decrease of €350.0 million in imports from euro area countries when compared to the same period last year. Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from the Caribbean and Bahamas Islands (€555.7 million) and the Netherlands (€226.6 million) respectively. On the export side the main increase was directed to the United States of America (€327.4 million), whereas Hong Kong (€56.3 million) registered the highest decrease.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The Tunisian Ministry of Energy and Mines plans for oil production fell by up to 10% by year-end with a total volume of 2.14 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE), compared with 2.37 last year. In the first seven months of the year, oil production fell by 8.6%, or 9.48 million barrels, that of natural gas by 12.8%, by 1202, 5 million cubic meters. The reasons are due according to the same ministry stop of production for technical reasons, social and trade union movements of protest, or loss of productivity due to the natural regression of most of the mining sites. Emblematic with regard to social protests halted all production at the gas site “Chargui” to the Kerkennah islands, blocked from January 19 to April 6, 2016, and after a brief resumption of activities from April 22 until today.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

Minister for Finance, Edward Scicluna attended a meeting of the working group tasked with recommending a scheme which provides fiscal benefits for employers who set up a voluntary pension scheme at the place of work. The scheme was proposed in the Budget for 2016.

The working group is composed of Mario Grech as chairman, with Alfred Camilleri, Permanent Secretary Ministry for Finance, Mark Musu Permanent Secretary Ministry for Family and Social Solidarity, Marvin Gaerty, Commissioner for Revenue, Marisa Attard, Director Insurance at the Malta Financial Services Authority and Aaron Grech, Deputy Chair of the Malta Statistics Authority as members.

Once completed, the working group’s proposals will be discussed with the social partners at the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development and other interested parties.

(Photo credit: MFIN)

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

A total of 166,607 inbound tourist trips were carried out for holiday purposes, while a further 14,207 were undertaken for business purposes. Inbound tourists from EU Member States went up by 7.2 per cent to 166,266 when compared to the corresponding month of 2015.

The largest proportion of inbound tourists was aged between 25 and 44, followed by those within the 45-64 age bracket .

Total nights spent went up by 8.6 per cent when compared to June 2015, amounting to 1,444,104 nights. The largest share of guest nights (60.5 per cent) was spent in collective accommodation establishments.

Total tourist expenditure was estimated at €169.5 million, an increase of 4.0 per cent over the corresponding month of 2015.

January-June 2016 Inbound tourist trips from January to June amounted to 829,850, an increase of 9.9 per cent over the same period in 2015. Total nights spent by inbound tourists went up by 8.6 per cent, surpassing 5.8 million nights .

Total tourism expenditure was estimated at €656.4 million, 5.7 per cent higher than that recorded for 2015. Total expenditure per capita stood at €791, a decrease of 3.7 per cent when compared to 2015.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

Minister for Foreign Affairs G. W. Vella  received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mr Igor Crnadak, for official talks. The two Ministers welcomed the positive bilateral relations that exist between Malta and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and discussed the possibility of furthering these ties through exploring ways of improving accessibility between the two countries with the view to develop tourism links in the future. 

Minister Vella underlined Malta’s continuing support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU Perspective, and commended the progress that was achieved by the country this year on its path to EU accession, positively recalling Bosnia and Herzegovina’s bid for EU membership which was submitted in February 2016. He welcomed the cooperative spirit which was recently demonstrated by the three members of the Presidency, and expressed his hope that this unified approach will continue. 

Minister Crnadak thanked Minister Vella for Malta’s consistent support to his country’s EU aspirations. He gave an overview of the reforms taking place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly those relating to the Reform Agenda, and the Government’s efforts to implement the Stabilization and Association Agreement. Minister Vella welcomed the positive developments, and the two Ministers agreed on the importance of such tangible reforms, particularly for the youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The two Ministers discussed the ongoing challenges in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, particularly with regards to the issue of migration and radicalization. Minister Vella noted that during Malta’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, migration will be one of its key priorities and Malta will strive to keep this issue high on the EU agenda. The importance of political stabilization in the Western Balkan region was also emphasised by the two sides.

(Photo credit: MFA and DOI – Jason Borg)

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

According to the Algerian Customs, the imports value of vehicles is state of 691 million dollars during the first quarter of 2016, a decrease of 67.53% compared to 2.13 billion dollars to same period in 2016. The Algerian National Centre of Statistics (CNIS) indicated that the imported quantities were down of 73.63% with 47,484 units imported from early January to the end of June 2016, compared to 180,082 units from the same period of 2015. The value of imports of automotive accessories was 198.1 million as compared with $ 201.15 million of dollars of 2015 (-1.52%).
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The current turmoil in the EU, the Middle East and North Africa is undermining economic growth in the region. Dialogue, networking and cooperation are the tools through which this impasse can be overcome.
Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna made this statement whilst addressing the Malta-Libya-Tunisia-Algeria-Morocco Trade Exhibition & B2B Networking Forum event entitled Bottom-Up Economy. Minister Scicluna explained that the current international monetary system was devised during World War II, as the engagement of countries through trade was seen as an effective measure leading to long-lasting peace.
In drawing comparisons with the current era, Minister Scicluna stressed that countries can achieve peace through networking between private investors and entrepreneurs hailing from the region. To this end, he explained that the terrorism should be countered with education, as “we want business, we want peace, and we want to create jobs”. The Minister for Finance also said that the EU should look beyond its borders and concentrate on fostering trade and communication south of its borders, as the Mediterranean countries are eager for stability and innovation.

To this end, he referred to the role of the international development banks, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and, more recently, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development which has started operating in Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon, and which intends to extend its operations to neighbouring countries in the near future.
 Minister Scicluna described Malta as an “honest broker” given that its sole agenda is that of fostering investment, employment, economic growth and opportunities in the region. The Maltese Presidency of the EU will seek to divert attention to this crucial region. Malta will also act as an honest broker during the negotiations over Brexit, as Malta wants the UK to remain a strong country.
(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business Chris Cardona and Minister for Education and Employment Evarist Bartolo attended the launch of the results of the Employee Skills Survey held by the National Commission for Further and Higher Education (NCFHE), in collaboration with Malta Enterprise and Jobsplus. This research forms part of the Erasmus+ project “Promoting the Bologna Process in Malta 2014-2016”. The Employee Skills Survey was launched earlier this year with the goal of a research project aimed at identifying shortages in skills, whilst gaining insight on the supply and demand in different sectors of the labour market in Malta. The population for this study included all employers in the Jobsplus’ database, excluding self-employed (without employees). The sample size was weighted according to the company size and NACE sector. The data collection was carried out among a representative sample of employers during the first quarter of 2016. A panel discussion and workshops were held after the presentation of the results. Minister Cardona congratulated the innovative venture which provides useful information and expressed himself in favour of it being replicated in the years to come so as to allow comparative studies to further idenitfy local labour market needs and trends. Such a study gives insight into the micro-decisions that employers make about factors such as recruitment and use of skills in the workplace, whilst also underpinning the macro-level trends that drive Maltese economic growth and productivity. It also gives insight into how changes in the economy are impacting on different types of business and raises important questions for policy makers and business owners alike.

“At the heart of this study is a desire for the worlds of education and business to collide. At a micro-level, these factors may be damaging for business. At a macro-level, they could be damaging for the Maltese economy and our future success,” said Minister Cardona.
Education Minister Evarist Bartolo emphasised the need for education to be contaminated with reality. This can take various shapes, one of which is experience in the industry. He said that for education to become relevant and stimulating there needs to be a stronger link between what happens in class and what happens outside. Businesses no longer require just academic skills but are constantly emphasising the need for social and collaborative skills which are so crucial in the working environment.
Skills gaps can mean heavier workloads, higher operating costs and difficulties in introducing new techniques and work practices for businesses. A need for softer skills, such as time management and prioritising tasks, were observed in the study, with 56.2% of employers declaring that hard-to-fill vacancies were down to the lack of applicants with the required skills, with 43.7% saying that this was down to the lack of the required attitude and personality. Skills lacking in applicants for vacancies that are hard to fill were: written communication skills (32.9%); technical skills (32.1%); problem-solving skills (30.9%) and team-working skills (29.3%). Minister Cardona noted how a skill shortage reduces competitiveness and productivity, and can hinder Malta’s economic performance.

Minister Cardona also noted how we are currently achieving significant results, with a rate of economic growth which outstrips most of our European neighbuors, but in real terms for employers and employees alike in their business demands and quality of life. The latest Eurostat figures showed that in the three years under this administration, more than 20,000 jobs have been created, this whilst also registering the second lowest unemployment rate in the European Union. Of note is Malta’s current standing with the best youth unemployment record in Europe, aided by such measures as the Youth Guarantee which ensures that all school leavers are earning or learning. With the Government’s diversifying strategy for the economy and projects in the pipeline, collaboration is necessary so Malta keeps attaining such positive results for the economy.
“I want each individual to reach their full potential and I want Malta to punch above its weight in the world, with a reputation that others will admire. There is a need for synergy at all levels. This is good, valuable research and we should use this resource wisely,” concluded Minister Cardona. 
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews