The Malta Chamber, together with PwC Malta (Gold Sponsors of The Malta Chamber) organised an event titled ‘Elevating your Customer Experience in the Digital Age’. The event aimed at raising awareness on the importance for organisations to re-imagine and re-think customer attraction and leverage digital innovation by moving to more data-driven, customer-centric omni-channel solutions which are tech-powered and human-led.
In his opening speech, The Malta Chamber President, Chris Vassallo Cesareo, highlighted that due to the dramatic increase in e-commerce activity, consumers are moving to digital channels in unprecedented numbers.
“It’s more important than ever for retailers to create a seamless experience across the physical and digital worlds as each channel plays a distinct and critical role in the customer journey. Consumers have clear ideas about where and how they want to shop and where they want to get services from so organisations must ensure that they provide a seamless experience,” he said.
Businesses should continue to improve their product and service quality so as to remain competitive and closer to the customers’ needs,” said President Vassallo Cesareo.
The European Commission has introduced a package of proposals to address the challenges faced by companies in the digital economy in relation to Value Added Tax (VAT). The package’s key actions aim to support the growth of businesses, particularly SMEs and cross-border operators, as well as to help Member States recover billions of euros annually in VAT revenues.
By implementing real-time digital reporting by companies through e-invoicing, the new system will equip Member States with crucial information to combat VAT fraud. Additionally, it will streamline administrative processes and lower compliance costs, fostering harmonization across EU countries and enabling the establishment of national digital reporting systems.
The EU Vat in the Digital Package also proposes the implementation of a single VAT registration system throughout the EU, expanding upon the existing ‘VAT One Stop Shop’ model for online shopping companies. This allows businesses selling to consumers in other Member States to register only once for VAT purposes for the entire EU, streamlining their obligations through a single online portal in a common language.
Moreover, the package introduces updated VAT rules for passenger transport and short-term accommodation platforms in the sharing economy. Under these rules, operators in these sectors will bear the responsibility of collecting and remitting VAT to tax authorities on behalf of their users. This uniform approach across all Member States will not only level the playing field between online and traditional short-term accommodation and transport services providers but also simplifies the VAT compliance process for operators across the EU.
Local businesses are invited to participate in the Malta Business Bureau’s upcoming online webinar taking place on Tuesday 6th June, between 9.30am and 10.30am, that will provide more detailed information on these reforms. Anyone interested in joining this event can register by visiting the Malta Business Bureau website or reach out to the MBB policy team on infobrussels@mbb.org.mt.
The Malta Business Bureau is the EU business advisory business organisation for The Malta Chamber and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. It is also a partner of the Enterprise Europe Network.
HSBC Malta has once again been recognised for its ongoing dedication to the mental wellbeing of its employees. The bank was recently awarded the Richmond Foundation Gold Certificate for a third time after completing mental health first aid training for 10% of its workforce.
The first aid training was administered to line managers and several other willing employees in
order to equip them with the skills necessary to help their colleagues, and themselves, through challenging periods. The training also focused on ways of spotting signs of mental distress in the workplace.
Having been the first corporate entity to receive the certification back in 2018, HSBC Malta is proud to be awarded the Gold Certificate once again – a testament to the bank’s continued dedication to fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment for its whole team.
The award certificate was presented to HSBC Malta Chief Compliance Officer Mandy R Falzon and Interim Head of Human Resources David Perotti by Richmond Foundation CEO Daniela Calleja Bitar and Assistant Manager Learning and Development Denise Brincat.
Richmond Foundation is a leading provider of several community-based mental health services across Malta and Gozo, supporting thousands of people every day through its invaluable work.
In line with this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week, which emphasizes anxiety as one of the most common mental health challenges faced by individuals, HSBC Malta is placing a continued emphasis on mental wellbeing and anxiety at the workplace.
“Our partnership with the Richmond Foundation allows us to provide crucial support and resources to our employees, enabling them to address any mental health concerns they might have, including anxiety. With a 20-year history of working together, we look forward to further strengthening this relationship in the future,” said HSBC Malta Chief Compliance Officer Mandy R Falzon.
The President of The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry Chris Vassallo Cesareo welcomed the meeting with Leader of the Opposition Dr Bernard Grech and stated that The Malta Chamber looks forward to continued dialogue.
President Vassallo Cesareo spoke about the issue of inflation and said that, “ even though the government has done well to protect the economy by absorbing energy prices but the business community needs a clear way forward on when and how government intends to stop or taper off energy subsidies.”
During this meeting President Vassallo Cesareo also spoke about good governance especially in regards to public procurement and urged for a more level playing field. He also made reference to the urgent need for a justice reform.
President Vassallo Cesareo was accompanied by the Board of Management of The Malta Chamber together with the CEO Dr Marthese Portelli.
Bank of Valletta has issued a warning urging customers to be wary of scam phone calls being made by fraudsters pretending to be Bank employees. The fraudsters are making calls that seem to be originating from the BOV number 2131 2020. However, these are not legitimate calls and do not originate from the Bank.
The callers are using a technique called spoofing to disguise fraudulent communication as coming from a trusted source. Victims are being told that ‘suspicious transactions’ have been noted on their cards or their accounts. This is designed to trick them into taking ‘action’ by giving out sensitive financial information such as bank account numbers, passwords, card details, or authorising financial transactions.
It is important to keep in mind that BOV employees will never ask for account or card numbers in full, card CVV details (the 3 digits at the back of the card), card PINS, internet or mobile banking passwords, codes, signatures, one-time passwords, or multi-factor authentication. Bank employees will never ask customers for information that leads them to carry out financial transactions over the phone. It is important not to give out sensitive information over the phone, or through any links received via SMS.
The Bank urges the public to be vigilant and cautious at all times. When in doubt customers are urged to contact the Bank immediately. Calling the number 2131 2020 will direct them to the legitimate BOV Customer Service Centre, where they can verify any calls that they have received.
Calamatta Cuschieri, in collaboration with Moneybase and The Malta Chamber, organised a unique seminar on Capital Markets on Tuesday, 18 April 2023. 13 leading representatives of the capital markets industry together with Mr. Joseph Portelli Chairman of the Malta Stock Exchange and Dr. Marthese Portelli, CEO of The Malta Chamber, gave their views on Capital Markets in Malta.
Interest from local businesses in borrowing money by issuing bonds or raising finance through Equity on the Malta Stock Exchange has continued to grow in recent years. The aim of the event was to help familiarise companies considering a listing themselves with the ins and outs of the listing process. Leading stakeholders participated in the event and shared their experience of raising capital through a listing on the exchange. The attendance at the seminar, which was fully booked, attests to the growing interest in listing locally.
Alan Cuschieri, CEO of Moneybase and Co-CEO at Calamatta Cuschieri opened the seminar entitled, ‘The Capital Markets Boom’ commented “Capital Markets has grown considerably in Malta, and today we all realise the importance for companies to be able to access finance easily to allow them to flourish and achieve their full potential. The success of capital markets in Malta is made possible thanks to a healthy environment for retail investors locally who are able to access capital markets cheaply and easily online or through their financial advisor.”
Calamatta Cuschieri is a leader in capital markets in Malta providing services to companies which help them throughout the listing process and helping them to raise finance swiftly through Bond issues or to raise capital via Equity listings on the Malta Stock Exchange During his keynote, Nick Calamatta highlighted “The Investment and savings market in Malta is circa €15Bn, and this is expected to continue to grow as a function of more affluence and a growing population that has grown from circa 400k to 600k in the last ten years, as a result of this bank deposits of households today exceed €24Bn.” Similarly, there has been an large increase in corporate bond issues since 2013 more than doubled in number, from 50 to 120 whilst the value of Maltese corporate bonds has gone from €1Bn to €2.5Bn. “
In his opening address for a panel discussion Patrick Mangion Head of the Capital Markets Division at Calamatta Cuschieri said “Borrowing money from the bank and borrowing money through a bond issue are no longer seen as alternatives to each other but as complementary to each other. The number of local corporate entities which have a listing on a local exchange stands at an all-time high of 106. This is a testament to the fact that the business community has become much more attuned to the benefits of listing.”
Dr Marthese Portelli, CEO of The Malta Chamber in her closing remarks said “In today’s fast-moving world businesses are facing new realities and new exigencies, including on the financing front. We are firm supporters of agility and adaptability. The alliance between The Malta Chamber and Moneybase is offering businesses an alternative to traditional financial instruments in line with digital evolution and ecosystem transformation.”
In his concluding remarks, Alan Cuschieri said, “We are delighted to have managed to get the best of what Malta has to offer together to share their knowledge, take part in some interesting discussions. I would like to thank all the panellists for their participation and all the businesses who attended this event.” Moneybase has been working closely with the business community, listening to their needs and pain points and this is a first step towards our contribution towards local business. The company announced it plans to organise other initiatives in the future covering other areas of interest to business which will be announced soon. The seminar was held at the Chamber of Commerce premises in Valletta and followed by a networking event. Calamatta Cuschieri also provides Wealth Management services to businesses and intends to organise seminars on wealth management specifically for the benefit of local companies. Calamatta Cuschieri Finance Group is one of Malta’s largest financial services provider which pioneered the local financial services industry as early as 1971. Today the company offers a wide range of services including Investment Advice, Moneybase a digital platform that offers online investing and payments, saving plans, retirement planning and wealth management services amongst others.
Moneybase has won Best App in the Tech.mt e-Business Awards on the eve of it’s first year anniversary, this is the second award it has won in the first year of since its inception, Moneybase also won the Best Financial Institution Award at the Malta Business Awards held last October.
Alan Cuschieri, CEO and founder of Moneybase, said: “Since launching less than a year ago, we have been dedicated to offer the highest standards possible, and we continue to see encouraging results with a client base now reaching 35,000. I would like to thank our customers for their continuous support as well as the passionate team behind such a successful product that has received such a warm welcome in the community at large. We humbly continue our journey to make money simple.”
The awards ceremony took place at the Westin Dragonara Resort, on Wednesday 26th March, where local businesses received the most distinguishing awards from the local Tech scene. Commenting on what comes next for Moneybase, Mr. Cuschieri said, “Following our initial launch we added Google pay and joint accounts, which allow Moneybase customers to switch from their personal account to their joint account and to have a separate card for each, and we have more exciting announcements coming later this year.”
The eBusiness Awards is an annual event that aims to acknowledge unique and innovative ideas and initiatives in the use of web-based technologies and eBusiness for businesses and society at large. Established in 2011, these awards Back in 2011, CCTrader which is now known as “Moneybase Invest” also won best ecommerce platform when it launched Maltas first online trading platform.
The eBusiness Awards are organized by Tech.mt, a Public-Private Partnership by the Government of Malta and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, to promote Malta as a tech centre for innovative technologies. As a next-generation financial platform, Moneybase provides investments and payments in a single ecosystem backed by local ISO certified customer support seven days a week. Customers can send and receive person-to-person payments, as well as make both domestic and international transfers. Users may also opt to receive their salary, pension or stipend directly onto their Moneybase IBAN. Moneybase customers save when travelling or making international payments thanks to the platform’s competitive currency rates and the Moneybase card’s multicurrency capabilities.
Moneybase may be downloaded from the App Store or Play Store and the Moneybase Mastercard may be ordered for free from the app itself. With Moneybase Invest, users can invest locally on the Malta Stock Exchange including new bond issues and IPO’S or tap into over 40 international markets with over 20,000 stocks, ETFs, bonds and funds through the award-winning platform. The platform also offers fractional shares and extended hours trading, which provide an additional 9.5 hours of US market access. Moneybase is part of the Calamatta Cuschieri Finance Group.
Europe Day is an important occasion to look back on the progress achieved to date but also an opportunity to look towards the future and engage in an active discussion. An active dialogue between the European institutions and relevant stakeholders is essential in continuing to revitalize the European dream and deepen the European integration. This is particularly relevant at present in view of the extraordinary challenges the EU has faced in recent years.
In view of the need to address skills shortages in the EU, as well as upgrade the skills of millions of people with a focus on the green and digital transition, the theme chosen for 2023 is the European Year of Skills. The European Commission estimates that the green transition could create up to 1 million additional jobs in the EU by 2030. This is coupled with the fact that 4 out of 10 adults who work in Europe currently lack basic digital skills.
MBB President Alison Mizzi stated that, “Employers and workers operate in markets which are defined by change. While important to take stock and dedicate primary focus in a given year, the skills gaps challenge is a long-term one. Looking beyond 2023, on a macro level, the EU must continue providing policy tools matching the labour market needs. On a micro level, employers will require to continue undertaking consisting monitoring of their workers’ competencies and ensure adequate training takes place to align the skills with their enterprise’s current and future needs.”
Ms. Mizzi continued that, “The European Year of Skills therefore needs to be synchronised with broader efforts to underpin progress in the European semester process, which must be supported with investments, necessary reforms and effective social dialogue aiming to foster skills development.”
“Significant effort is required to increase the interest in STEM-related programmes as well as increasing female participation in tertiary-level STEM subjects. There is also a need to focus more on the content and learning outcomes of traineeships. With improved skills and knowledge trainees are eventually integrated in a qualified and competent workforce,” Ms. Mizzi concluded.
Positively, the European Year of Skills aims to action several initiatives in ensuring that a cohesive tangible effort is achieved across the EU. Through a calendar of activities, the EU will promote upskilling and reskilling opportunities, highlights EU funding possibilities, and organises national events and awareness-raising campaigns encouraging enterprises and workers to take up opportunities for upskilling and reskilling. Furthermore, the EU Pact for Skills, which is an important policy initiative to addresses skills shortages and skills gaps includes a tool aimed at extending the possibility for employers to screen third country national candidates through an EU Talent Pool as part of the Talent Partnerships Initiative, and which is expected to be published later this year.
The Malta Business Bureau is the EU business advisory organisation of The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. The MBB is also a partner of the Enterprise Europe Network.
