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The discussion focused on the Voluntary Occupational Retirement Pension

SME Chamber Vice President, Michael Galea, participated in a panel discussion during a conference by the Malta Sustainability Forum organised by APS Bank.
The panel discussed the outcome of the survey findings held recently by Misco for APS bank with the theme “Voluntary Occupational Retirement Pension” bridging the pension gap.

The conference focused on the pension sustainability and adequacy which were held through a broad spectrum of speakers, including the finance minister Mr Clyde Caruana, social partners, employers, unions and other local and foreign experts.

The topics addressed by Mr Galea revolved around the property dynamics, the knock on effect of the property market on the Maltese economy. The trust that the Maltese people have towards this sector in terms of capital appreciation and return on investment which can serve as a second pension when the owner of the property arrives at retirement age.

The take up of the Voluntary Occupational Retirement Scheme was also addressed and what challenges the market is facing to reach the targets that one expects after seven years from the launch in 2015.

As a way forward it is being recommended that an automatic enrolment pension scheme will replace the existing scheme so as to encourage more people taking on the second pillar pension even from an early stage from when a person gets employed. It is being recommended that this scheme will also have an opt out option.

Visit www.blackfridaymalta.eu for the latest black friday offers in Malta

The Malta Chamber of SMEs on Friday launched this year’s black friday campaign. For this year’s edition, the SME Chamber launch a new website, www.blackfridaymalta.eu, a website to promote businesses black friday offers but also provides an easy tool for customers to search for offers.

This initiative was launch during a press conference addressed by the Minister for the Economy, European Funds and Lands Silvio Schembri. Minister Schembri said that this initiative provides a new tool for businesses and customers which makes Black Friday a more successful initiative.

Paul Abela, President of the SME Chamber, said that Black friday makes November a very important month for businesses. He encouraged more traders to offer offers on the new website.

Abigail Mamo, CEO of  the Malta s Chamber, said that customers will have the opportunity to search for offers either by category and sector or by the offer percentage, with available offers up to 70%, Ms Agius Mamo explained that businesses may include their offers by creating an account.

On Friday evening 24 local businesses received the highest honours in the local business scene at the very first edition of the Malta Business Awards which took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs welcomes the continued confirmation that the Government will be extending the safety net of protecting Malta from the international hikes of energy prices. This is by far the biggest threat Malta is facing at the moment.

Another positive element found in this Budget is the extension and widening of the Rent Subsidy Scheme, as proposed by the Malta Chamber of SMEs, that will help Malta mitigate the impact of freight costs. Positively noted is the work being done to tackle issues with banking services and the increased importance being given to aesthetics in the development of buildings.

Apart from this the budget is a continuation of the 2022 budget, where it concerns SMEs.

Disappointingly, the Budget fails to effectively tackle other major challenges which are choking businesses. Very serious issues have merely been given a mentioned in this Budget speech, which falls too short from the action that Malta should be taking at the moment, as a stage of implementation.

The serious employment crisis, suffocating bureaucracy and impossible traffic, merited more than simply being mentioned in this budget. These issues are seriously affecting productivity and we cannot afford to start thinking of policies now, with no solution, nowhere on the horizon.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs welcome European Parliament President Roberta Metsola at its offices in Floriana. During this meeting, the SME Chamber discussed several issues currently effecting Maltese SMEs, such as employee shortage and shipping costs.

Both sides discussed also the energy crisis, currently effecting most European countries.

Pesident Metsola pledged she’ll continue to work in favour of Malta;s SMEs in the European Parliament and other European fora.

The SME Chamber was represented by President Mr Paul Abela, Deputy President Philip Fenech, Vice-President Noel Gauci, CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo, Head of Policiy Mr Andrew Aquilina, Head of Communications Mr Fabian Demicoli and Jamie Tanti.

Malta Chamber of SMEs representatives attended the first Superyacht Steering Committee, appointed by the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Hon. Aaron Farrugia. This committee is tasked with identifying the main challenges in place and to recommend changes aimed at improving the Superyacht industry.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs recognizes and understands the importance of the Superyacht industry in Malta. Moreover, we also acknowledge the current challenges in this industry, and the shortcomings and the deficiencies in this sector. ​​

Through recent discussion with a number of stakeholders and other representatives, have enabled the SME Chamber to make an objective analysis of the main issues encountered and the possible measures that can be taken to resolve these issues. This with the close collaboration of all industry players including the respective operators and authorities.

Malta Chamber of SMEs President Paul Abela attended a meeting for the mediterranean countries organised by CNA in view of the Energy Prices.

With the presence also of SME United, our umbrella organisation in Brussels.