Author: SME Chamber

Il-Budget 2013 jolqot hafna
mill-perspettivi li l-GRTU iddiskutiet mal-Gvern sa minn Gunju 2012. L-Aktar
punt li shaqna fuqu hu li fi klima Ewropeja li ghadha difficli, l-Gvern ma
jipperikolax dak li gie akkwistat b'tant sagrificcji fl-ahhar snin billi
f'daqqa wahda jiftah idu izzejjed. Il-Bazi tal-proposti tal-GRTU infatti kienu
immirati biex jissahhah is-settur produttiv fil-waqt li jkun mghejjun min hu
batut, izda mhux li jkun hemm tberbieq ta` finanzi bla bzonn. Il-GRTU issostni
li l-istabbilita' ekonomika u l-kredibbilta' li Malta tgawdi fis-swieq
finanzjarji, u fiz-zona Ewro b'mod partikolari, m'ghandux ikun ippregudikat.

Il-GRTU ghalhekk hi sodisfatta li
l-istrategija generali tal-Budget 2013 hi wahda ta' stabbilita' u ta' aktar
inkoraggiment lill-produzzjoni u skemi ta` tishih fl-investiment pubbliku u
privat, fl-infrastruttura, fl-edukazzjoni, fis-sahha, fit-tahrig, fis-support u
assistenza lill-intrapriza u t-tishieh tad-dhul, u ghalhekk l-infieq tal-familji
Maltin. Fuq kollox il-GRTU hi sodisfatta li Budget 2013 qed ikattar b'infieq
meqjus biex tkompli tittaffa l-problema ta` nfieq ta' familji bi qliegh baxx,
pensjonanti u ta` nies li minhabba f'dizabilita', mard jew cirkostanzi socjali
mhux normali jbatu jekk ma jkunux mejghuna b'mod dirett u adekwat. Il-GRTU
tifrah b'mod partikolari li l-Gvern accetta numru konsiderevoli ta' proposti li
ressqet l-GRTU biex is-sidien tan-negozji micro, zghar u self-employed jkunu
inkoraggati jahdmu u jkabbru. Fuq kollox, is-self-employed u s-sidien
tan-negozji mhux biss huma nies importanti fis-settur prodduttiv imma
jirraprezentaw sezzjoni qawwija tal-popolazzjoni Maltija li ghalihom il-Budget
hu importanti wkoll minn aspett socjali u fiskali.

Il-Bicca l-kbira tal-iskemi li
l-Gvern qed jestendi u jkattar favur in-negozji z-zghar u l-familji huma skemi
li l-GRTU ilha tinsisti fuqhom is-snin.

Il-GRTU tifrah li l-Gvern fl-ahhar
qed jibda jimplimenta l-iskema li ilha tipproponi l-GRTU sa mill-2005, dik li
l-Gvern fuq mhedda ta' snin jibda jbaxxi l-ghola rata ta' income tax minn 35%
ghall-25%. It-taxxa ta` 35% fuq id-dhul ta` hafna familji bi-dhul medju u b'mod
partikolari l-bicca l-kbira tas-self-employed hi qawwija hafna u tiskoraggixxi
x-xoghol u l-produzzjoni. Il-Gvern qabel ma faqqet ir-ricessjoni ekonomika li
f'Malta nhasset l-aktar fl-2009, fl-2010, fl-2011 u fl-2012, kien wieghed
lill-GRTU li jibda jatwgha it-tnaqqis sa mill-2009. Issa li l-ghawg, tajjeb jew
hazin qed jitrazzan, hu xieraq li l-Gvern se jibda jwettaq dan it-tnaqqis.

L-Iskemi kollha li l-Gvern qed
jipproponi f'dan il-Budget jolqtu lil eluf ta' self-employed u sidien ta'
negozji zghar, lil eluf kbar ta' haddiema u b'mod partikolari liz-zghazagh u
lil familji fil-bzonn. Il-proposti tal-GRTU ghal Budget 2013 kienu estensivi u
l-Gvern kien jaghmel tajjeb kieku nkorpora hafna aktar min dak li proponiet
il-GRTU. Dan ghaliex dak kollu li ipproponiet il-GRTU kellu l-ghan ahhari li
jkattar il-gid nazzjonali billi jirdoppja r-rata ta` tkattir tal-GDP li skond l-aggar
estimi huma 1.6 fl-2013 u 2.1 fl-2014. Il-GRTU issostni li dawn huma rati baxxi
wisq anke fic-cirkostanzi tal-lum ghal ekonomija miftuha bhal Malta.

Fit-totalita' tieghu il-Budget izda,
bla ma naqqas xejn mir-rittmu ta' tkabbir u stabilita' li Malta akwistat f'dawn
is-snin difficli, qed jipproponi li jwettaq bizzejjed biex igieghel lil GRTU
tappella lill-Membri Parlamentari biex japprovaw dan il-Budget. Budget mhux
approvat ikun ifisser li l-Gvern ma jista' jwettaq xejn mill-proposti kollha
ta' fejda u ta' estenzjonijiet ta' skemi li qed ikunu proposti f'dan il-Budget.
Ikun ifisser li ahna kollha fis-settur privat li hdimna mal-Gvern u s-settur
pubbliku biex il-Gvern ikun f'pozizzjoni li jressaq Budget ghaqli, inkunu
inghatajna il-genb. Ikun ifisser li haddiema tal-privat u tal-Gvern, sidien ta'
negozji, pensjonanti u tant setturi fil-bzonn fis-socjeta' ma jkunux jistghu
jgawdu dak li qed jigi propost ghalihom f'Budget 2013. Ikun ifisser li
ghall-ewwel tlett xhur tas-sena, ta` l-anqas, xejn gdid ma jkun jista jigi
finanzjat u l-ebda skema li skadiet fl-2012 ma tkun tista' tiggedded. Malta
jkollha taqa` ghall-finanzjament li kellha fil-Budget 2012, bin-nuqqas izda ta`
l-iskemi li skadew u bl-ebda zidiet lill-haddiema u setturi ohra li skont
Budget 2013 ikunu effettivi b'effett immedjat.

F'Dan il-kuntest il-GRTU qeda
tappella li l-programm estensiv li proponiet il-GRTU ghandu issa jaghmel parti
mid-diskussjoni aktar wiesa li ghandha issir fix-xhur li gejjin fit-tfassil
tal-programmi elettorali tal-partiti politici. Budget 2013 jaghmel sens ghaliex
jinkoragixxi t-tkattir ekonomiku u t-tishih tal-koezjoni socjali u huwa pass
iehor il-quddiem biex Malta takkwista aktar kredibilita' bhala membru shih ta`
l-Unjoni Ewropeja u l-Unjoni Monetarja, kif ukoll biex tibqa` kompettitiva'
fl-2013 u s-snin ta` wara. Budget 2013 ghandu jkun approvat halli pajjizna
jkompli fit-triq li qabad u li jhares il-quddiem b'aktar fiducja lejn il-futur.

Il-GRTU  tibqa
tinsisti ghall-gustizzja mas-sidien tal-hwienet li weggghu hafna bl-ingustizzja
fil-ligi tar-riforma tal-kera – Il-GRTU tifrah
lill-Ministru Jason Azzopardi u lill-Kabinet tal-Ministri li approvaw l-iskema
vantaggjuza ghas-sidien tan-negozji tal-Belt Valletta u tittama li dan hu pass
wiehed pozittiv u importanti 'l quddiem biex jibdew jittaffew id-dwejjaq kbar
li qed isofru sidien ta' negozji f'postijiet mikrija minghand il-privat wara
r-riforma sostanzjali fil-ligi tal-kera li kemm il-Gvern u l-Oppozizzjoni kienu
qabblu dwarha fil-parlament. 

Bir-riforma tal-lum
sidien tal-hwienet li kienu fuq kera ghal zmien qasir u qatt ma kienu jafu fejn
huma u qatt ma setghu jinvestu u jippjanaw ghat-tul issa ghandhom zmien
twil ta kera u mhux biss jistghu jippjanaw fit-tul imma jistghu jhallu
negozju lill-uliedhom u jistghu jwellu jekk jippreferu bla ma jbatu
telf fuq l-investiment taghhom. Ghall-GRTU din hi rebha kbira ghax ghall-GRTU
dan hu principju fundamentali li min jinvesti f'negozju anke jekk il-post
mhux tieghu ghandu jgawdi il-frott tal-investiment u l-impenn tieghu u li
l-imprenditur kummercjali ghandu drittijiet bhal ma ghandu imprenditur
fil-proprjeta u ligi li tirrikonoxxi id drittijiet tas-sid biss u mhux
wkoll tal-inkwielin kummercjali, hi ligi zbaljata u anti socjali u
anti imprenditorjali. Il-GRTU hekk tikklassifika il-ligi tal-kera l-Gvern
 Nazzjonalista bi qbil mal-Oppozizzjoni Laburista ghadda mill-parlament
fl-2009.

Il-ligi tal-kera kif
riformata tefghet numru kbir ta' sidien ta' negozji zghar f'inkwiet
kbir ghax sabu li dak li haddmu ghalih ghomorhom kollu, jekk mhux ukoll
generazzjonijiet shah ta' sidien fl-istess familja, qieghed issa kawza tal-ligi
gdida tal-kera idubilhom ghax b'daqqa ta' pinna il-ligi qed taghti poter
lis-sid tal-kera johdilhom kollox wara perijodu ta' ghoxrin sena (u li
minnhom baqa' ftit aktar minn 15-il sena)

Il-GRTU ilha s-snin
tipprotesta kontra din l-ingustizzja imposta fuq eluf ta' sidien
ta' negozji ghax il-ligi ma ipprovdiet ghal ebda forma
ta' kumpens jew rimedju ghal min se jitlef l-investiment kollu tieghu
u ta' familtu.

Il-GRTU ghamlet
zewg talbiet fundamentali:

L-
ewwelnett li l-Gvern jiehu passi biex ta' lanqas jirrimedja
l-ewwel ghall-inkwilini kummercjali fi proprjetajiet li taghhom
hu sid. Il-GRTU sostniet li dawn is-sidien ta' negozji zghar ghandhom
jgawdu minn terminu ta' kera twil bizzejjed biex ikunu jistghu
jinvestu u jkabbru bla biza' u jkunu f'pozizzjoni li jghaddu in-negozju
taghhom lill-uliedhom meta jigu biex jirtiraw jew li jwellu u jigbru
flushom jekk ma jkollhomx werrieta jew jekk ikunu jippreferu li
jieqfu jew jibddlu n-negozju. Il-Gvern issa b'sodisfazzjon kbir
ghall-GRTU laqgha din it-talba tal-anqas ghan-numru kbir
ta' hwienet b'kirjiet tal-Gvern li hemm il-Belt Valletta. Il-GRTU
issa tittama li din l-iskema tespandi  ghal hwienet kollha f'Malta u
Ghawdex.

Il-GRTU
insistiet ukoll u tibqa' tinsisti bla waqfien, li l-Gvern u
z-zewg nahat tal-Parlament ghandhom bla aktar dewmien jsewwu l-ingustizzja
kbira li saret mas-sidien tal-hwienet li ghandhom kuntratt ta' kera privat
li qabel il-ligi tal-kera kien indefinit u li bil-ligi tal-kera kif
riformata issa sabu li gie impost fuqhom li dak li kien indefinit sar biss
ghal ghoxrin sena u wara eghluq tal-ghoxrin sena jitilfu l-investiment
taghhom u hobzhom. 

F'Malta issostni
il-GRTU li qabel ma saret ingustizzja bhal din ma numru tant kbir ta sidinien
ta negozji . F'isem tant negozji milquta il-GRTU ripetutament talbet u tibqa
titlob rimedju u l-GRTU tibqa' issostni li il-Gvern ta' Lawerce Gonzi li wettaq ingustizzja
kbira li l-ebda Prim Ministru qabblu Nazzjonalista jew Laburista qatt ma
accetta li jwettaq, kienet x'kienet il-pressjoni li saret fuqhom.

Din hi pjaga li
tibqa tnixxi d-demm sa mal-Gvern jfejjaqha. Il-GRTU ma tiqafx tappella
lill-Gvern li qabel l-gheluq ta' din il-Legislatura ghandu jkollu
il-kuragg li din l-ingustizzja jsolviha. Il-GRTU tappella ukoll
lill-Oppozizzjoni Laburista li ghagglet taqbel mal-Gvern fuq din l-ingustizzja
li tirsisti biex din l-impozizzjoni kiefra titnehha b'emenda gusta fil-ligi
kif ilha tipproponi il-GRTU.

Il-GRTU
tawgura li l-pass pozittiv ta' llum hu pass importanti biex is-sidien
tal-hwienet li illum ma jafux fejn huma u huma tant inkwetati titnehhilhom
din l-ingustizzja u jiehdu  s-sodisfazzjon li jixirqilhom.

F'konferenza stampa li saret kmieni dalgħodu li ghaliha kien
Prezenti l-President tal-GRTU Paul Abela, il-Ministru għall-Kompetizzjoni
Ġusta, Negozji Żgħar u l-Konsumatur Jason Azzopardi, ta dettalji ta' skema
volontarja ġdida tal-kiri, li l-Gvern se jkun qed joffri lis-sidien tal-ħwienet
tal-Belt Valletta li bħalissa qegħdin jikru l-ħwienet tagħhom minngħand
il-Gvern b'kera ta' 6 xhur, 6 xhur.

Mill-500 ħanut li jinkrew mid-Dipartiment tal-Artijiet
fil-Belt Valletta, madwar 470 ilhom snin kbar jinkrew b'kera ta' 6 xhur 6 xhur.
Huwa spjega li kull min ghandu kera ta 6 xhur 6 xhur, issa se jkun jista jkollu
kirja ta' 45 sena, maqsuma fuq tlett perjodi ta' ħmistax-il sena il-wieħed.
Spjega li l-iskema volontarja se tkun miftuħa għal perjodu a' 12-il xahar li
tibda mill- 1 ta' Dicembru li ġej u tagħlaq fl-1 ta' Dicembru tal- 2013.
Il-kirja tinkludi l-kundizzjoni li l-kerrej li qed jikri l-post mingħand
il-Gvern, ikun jista' jwilli l-ħanut tiegħu lill-terzi persuni, benefiċċju
ieħor li qed jingħata peress li sal-llum dan hu pprojbit u jagħti lok għal
diversi kawzż fil-qorti. Il-ħanut għandu jinżamm f'kundizzjoni tajba. F'każ ta'
manutenzjoni u xi riparazzjonijiet li jinkludu xi strutturi, dawn għandhom
isiru kollha minn min qed jikri l-ħanut. Permezz ta' din il-kirja għal 45 sena,
in-negozji se jkollhom aktar aċċess ħieles u faċli għal kreditu mill-banek,
sabiex ikunu jistgħu jirranġaw u jirristrutturaw il-ħwienet tagħhom. 

Sabiex wieħed japplika għal din l-iskema jista, jew jimla
l-formola online mis-sit tad-Dipartiment tal-Propjeta tal-Gvern fuq
www.gpd.gov.mt mill-1 ta' Dicembru li ġej, jew imur id-Dipartiment, fil-Baviera
fil-Belt Valletta u jigbor il-formola mis-sezzjoni tal-Customer Care.

Il-President tal-GRTU Paul Abela irringrazzja lill-Ministru
Jason Azzopardi li wara t-tahdidit twal li kellna mhux biss sema it-talbiet
tal-GRTU izda ha passi wkoll. Din hija rebha mportanti ghall-GRTU. Paul Abela
gibed l-attenzjoni li meta tigi stabbilita l-ammont tal-kera ghandu jittiehed
f'konsiderazzjoni il-goodwill li matul dawn is-snin kollha ghamel sid il-hanut.

Il-GRTU tifrah bl-introduzzjoni ta` din l-iskema pero tfakkar
li ghad hemm kwisjoni important li ghada pendenti. In-negozji li ghandhom
kuntratt tal-kera antik mall-privat xorta ghand ghandhom il-kwistjoni li
l-Gvern impona 20 sena Ii issa ghad fadal 17 is-sena minnhom. Dawn huma
kuntratti li gew maqbula min zewg partijiet private. L-Gvern, parti terza,
iddecieda li jaghmel gustizzja ma sid il-kera billi jiehu minghand is-sidien
tal-hwienet li qeghdin bil-kera dak li ilhom jahdmu ghalih hajjithom kollha.
Wara li jghaddu dawn is-17 il-sena hafna sidien tal-hwienet se jispiccalhom
il-kuntratt u jittihdilhom il post li minnu ilhom joperaw dan iz-zmien kollu.
Il-GRTU u l-hafna membri affetwati ghadhom imwegghin hafna fuq din
il-kwistjoni. Il-GRTU bhalissa qeda tistenna data ghal-laqgha li l-ghan taghha
hu li jinsab bilanc. Il-GRTU hija kunfidenti jekk dan il-bilanc irid jinstab
jista jinstab u l-gustizzja issir mhux biss ma sid il kera izda ma sid
in-negozju li qed jikri ukoll.

GRTU Director General and EESC Employers
Representative Vincent Farrugia has this week attended the Section for Economic
and Monetary Union and Economic and Social Cohesion. A major opinion was
discussed in this week's meeting on a macro-regional strategy in the
Mediterranean.

The EESC believes that funding sources in the form of
the considerable resources that have already been committed by the EU for
measures and programmes through the structural funds and the financing
instruments of the EIB represent adequate means that must be used transparently
as well as flexibly. It also advocates the setting up of a Euro-Mediterranean
investment bank through the EIB, as well as an open policy on funding from
various financial.

The report particularly makes mention that Cyprus and
Malta will play a particularly important role in any new strategy framed by the
EU, as will all the islands of the Mediterranean, which face a very difficult
situation owing to their poor connections and communications with the
continental EU countries. The EESC believes it is necessary to generally
improve maritime and air links between the countries of the Mediterranean and,
more broadly, with the rest of the EU.

GRTU Director General Vincent
Farrugia has this week represented UEAPME, the European Association of Crafts,
Small and Medium Enterprises, in the negotiations for a Framework of Actions
for Youth Employment. Leading discussions on behalf of employers are UEAPME and
Business Europe.

In his address Mr Farrugia said that
"it is extremely important to define first what kind of jobs youths in Europe
today really want. A lot of the proposals that are being made are top down and
not enough consideration is given to bottom up proposals from youth
representatives that in their majority seek jobs that relate to the kind of
professional  courses they are following
in university and technical collages of specialization. The end result is that
jobs are created that do not reflect the kind of jobs that youths are seeking.
Jobs that youths are seeking are also being created in areas and regions where
supply is bigger than demand and Europe has not taken sufficient cognizance of
the removal of obstacles that slow down the mobility of youths willing to move
from zones of poor employment prospects to areas where jobs are more abundant".

It is becoming easier for immigrants
outside the EU to take up the jobs being created than for youth within the EU
to move out of their region and seek the jobs that are being made available
elsewhere within the EU. Vince Farrugia appealed to employers` associations and
trade unions to work together and assist more micro and small enterprises to
create the jobs that the youth of today are seeking.

He continued citing the case of Malta
where the development of new courses and studies in the establishment of MCAST
work hand in hand with the new policies of Malta Enterprise and of Government
to create the new jobs in IT technologies, financial institutions and a wide
cross section of services to enterprise such as -gaming and services related to
tourism and internationalization. The end result is that Malta has one of the
lowest levels of youth unemployment. Statistics also show that where economic
policies are geared to create the jobs that youths really prefer, including the
promotion of entrepreneurship in support of new initiatives by newly qualified
young persons, and when the educational establishments operate in close
cooperation with organizations representing business, the level of unemployment
remains low.

GRTU
has invited importers of PVs and key components originating in China to discuss
with GRTU and Government officials the investigations launched by the EU
Commission and how these will affect them. The aim of the meeting was to inform
interested operators of the possible upcoming changes and give direct feedback
to Government in order to reflect the views of SMEs when presenting Malta's
views and arguments.

What
products are concerned?

The Economic Policy Division
explained to importers of the European Commission's plans on introducing both
an anti-dumping and an anti-subsidy duty on imports of solar panels and their
key components, i.e. solar cells and solar wafers. In order to produce a solar
panel, solar wafers are converted into cells and then cells are assembled
together into modules, i.e. panels. Some producers have integrated production
covering all three segments, whilst others produce only wafers, cells and/or
modules.

The
products concerned are classifiable under the following Combined Nomenclature
(CN) codes: 85414090; 85013100; 85013200; 85013300; 85013400; 85030090;
38180100; 38180010; 8501 33 00; 85016120; 85016180; 85016200; 85016300 and
85016400.

Origination
of complaint

The
investigations were launched late this year following a complaint by EU ProSun,
an ad hoc association representing more than 20 European companies producing
solar panels and their key components. Their collective output represents more
than 25% of Union production. EU ProSun claims that solar panels imported from China benefit from unfair government
subsidies and are sold at a cost lower than the market price in order to
enter the European market at prices below market value, making their prices
much lower than those of the EU industry and gain a dominant position on the
market. In terms of import value affected, this is the most significant
anti-dumping complaint the European Commission has received so far: in 2011,
China exported solar panels and their key components worth around €21 billion
to the EU. 

Timeline

The investigation takes 15 months but
if the Commission investigation concludes that the situation is leading to
injury of the EU industry and that the imposition of measures does not go
against overall Community Interest, provisional measures will be implemented
within 9 months of the initiation of the investigation (6th June 2013 for
anti-dumping measures and 5^th August 2013 for anti-subsidy
measures). If the Commission decides on imposing definite measures,  both anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures
would be imposed on 5^th December 2013 these would be applicable for
5years (6th June 2013 for anti-dumping measures and 5^th August 2013
for anti-subsidy measures)

Duties

As
soon as the measures are imposed, imports, whether from China of from the EU
which are China originating, will become subject to a duty on import making
such products much more expensive to sell and possibly unsustainable.
Information to date is that anti-dumping duty will amount to 60-70% for
modules, 70-80% for cells and 80-90% for wafers.

Maltese
Imports

Maltese imports of such systems
originating from China are significant and amount to over 30% of total imports
which amounted to almost €3 million in 2011.

Position of
Importers

Importers acknowledge the price
difference between EU and China originating PVs and the absolute majority of
importers of China originating systems also import EU originating systems in
order to offer products at different prices, provide more choice to the
consumer and be more competitive. There is a concern among importers of such
systems that should the duties be imposed, consumers that afford to spend less
will have very limited choice or will have to choose not to invest in such
systems because they would be too expensive for them.

Importers also reported that their EU
suppliers tell them that in order to remain competitive and maintain presence
in the market they sell at low profit prices and sometimes even at a loss. If
the duties are imposed China originating systems will probably become more
expensive than EU products and the EU industry will most likely increase their
prices to a level with which they are more comfortable. It is pertinent to note
that this is already a relatively expensive technology and further increases
will mean that consumers will get smaller systems and lesser return for the money
they invest compared to today.

The duties will not only be imposed
on finished systems but also on parts and components such as wafers. This rules
out the possibility of at least having the assembly of PVs taking place in the
EU, which Maltese operators would be very interested to look into. The process
of producing the wafers involved high energy consumption, thus manufacturing
such parts in Malta would be unsustainable simply due to our high electricity
rates and burden our energy providers.

GRTU
and its members believe such impositions are not in the interest of the local
industry and consumers. Any duties imposed would mean unnecessary extra costs
upon EU consumers and these would outweigh any benefits to European producers.

Background

China is the world's largest producer of solar panels.
Approximately 65% of all solar panels are produced in China. The EU is China's
main export market, accounting for around 80% of all Chinese export sales. In
terms of import value affected, this is the most significant anti-dumping
complaint the European Commission has received so far: in 2011, China exported
solar panels and their key components were worth around €21 billion to the EU.

"Lili personalment u lill-GRTU ittina sodisfazzjon kbir naraw lil Jean
De Valette jirritorna fil-Belt Valletta. Il-GRTU ilha s-snin tippromwovi
il-progett ta' bini ta' monument xieraq lil De Valette fil-Belt li mhux biss
bena u assigura li tkun Belt fortifikata gawrha li hi imma wkoll li taha
isimha. Kien ghajb ghalina lkoll li l-Belt Valletta ma kellix il-monument
xieraq tal-fundatur taghha", jghid Vince Farrugia id-Direttur Generali
tal-GRTU.

Il-GRTU ma tistax ma tiddeskrivix
is-sodisfazzjon taghha li l-Gvern matul dawn l-ahhar snin iddedika fondi rekord
u implimenta progetti li bhalhom hadd qabel ma kien biss holom li ghad xi darba
isiru, ghad baqa' hafna xoghol xi jsir pero' il-GRTU sodisfatta u konvinta illi
meta l-maggor parti tax-xoghol ikun lest, il-Belt Valletta tkun lahqet
il-livell li verament jixirqilha dik ta' Belt Kulturali ta' stima. Is-settur
kummercjali hallas il-prezz qawwi tieghu ukoll matul dawn is-snin ta'
rikostruzzjoni u tisbih u hu ghalhekk li l-GRTU qed tipproponi aktar
inizjattivi mill- Gvern biex is-settur li investa issa jkun f'pozizzjoni li
jgawdi minn tant infiq pubbliku li sar u minn tant sagrificcji li saru.

Il-GRTU tirringrazzja lill-Gvern
ghal-monument li sar f'isem Jean Parisiot de la Valette u taghtih merhba
kbira  li rega' qieghed fostna fil-Belt
Valletta.

World Bank's IFC speaks at
CREDITINFO's 10 th Anniversary celebrations – Mr Fabrizio Fraboni, principal
Operation Officer and Credit Bureau specialist with the International Finance
Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Corporation, who was the main speaker in a
conference organised by Creditinfo Malta, dealt at length on Harnessing the
Power of Credit Reporting within a Credit Bureau model.

Mr Fraboni, went on to explain how
Malta, as a result of such a Credit Bureau, would improve its world ranking in
the credit sector from its current 102 position.

Creditinfo Malta, organised a
mini-conference entitled "Credit
Bureaux – Reducing Risk by Collaboration" at Corinthia Hotel, St
George's Bay, last Wednesday, 14th November as part of its 10th Anniversary
celebrations.

Mr Simon Camilleri, Country Manager for
Creditinfo Malta, opened the conference by introducing Mr Reynir Grétarsson,
the founder of the Creditinfo Group and Mr Almar Hilmarsson, the CEO of
Creditinfo International GmbH.

Mr Paul Randall, Head of Business
Development of Creditinfo International GmbH, described the workings of a
Credit Bureau and its Concept and the relative Data Sharing complexities within
Credit Bureaus. The importance of Data Quality and its three levels of
strategy: Education and Awareness, Prevention (Data Verification and Data
Input) and Periodic Reviews where also touched upon as well as how in-depth
Data Analysis of the data would eventually lead to Fraud Detection or attempts
thereat.

Finally, Ms Maria Rachel Pullicino,
Credit Scoring Analyst at Bank of Valletta plc, explained how credit scoring
was one of the earliest developed financial risk management tools. Many
financial institutions, being aware of the tremendous benefits credit scoring
provided, including predictive possibilities, incorporated it in their internal
loan assessment procedures.

Following, the conference, the
participants were invited to a reception, also held at the Corinthia Hotel,
where Mr Reynir Grétarsson cut the 10th Anniversary cake.

Large European companies will now be
required to have higher female representation on corporate boards following the
European commission's approval of a proposal which requires that women account
for 40% of non-executive directors listed on EU stock exchanges. Private companies will have until
2020 to achieve this goal, while public companies will have until 2018.

European justice commissioner Viviane
Reding had to postpone the launch of the policy last month when warned by EU
lawyers that compulsory quotas might not be enforceable, while others are
arguing that the directive had been watered down and would be largely ignored.
While the new EU-wide plan however does not in fact set mandatory quotas, as an
early draft proposal suggested, it will introduce a range of administrative
burdens to coerce companies to abide by the guidelines.

Companies will have to prove they are
trying their best to increase the number of women in top management positions
by setting their own transparent mechanisms for selecting new board members and
reporting annually on their progress.

Not all Member States and
stakeholders agreed with this proposal arguing that the way to do this is not
through special treatment or regulation like the European commission's quotas
idea, which patronises women and undermines the business case. It is about
removing the barriers to achieving women's goals, so that women are supported
all the way from the shop floor to the boardroom.