[WATCH] Scicluna wants press to be 'at the service' of investment

Scicluna wants press to be 'at the service' of investment

Malta's economic growth hinges on the government's success in attracting investment and tapping into markets beyond Europe.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna said the opportunities for the biggest investments for Malta were in Asia and Africa, going beyond Libya. 

"There is strong interests by Maltese companies who were operating in Libya but are now seeing huge opportunities in other African countries, including Ethiopia. With a growing economy, for example, Maltese companies could tap into technology and printing markets," he said.

Scicluna added that Malta had the ideal location to start "exporting" health and educational services.

The finance minister, who was closing a series of media conferences organised by the government on the latest Standard and Poor's report, said the Labour government had "done away with prejudice and is seeking investment from elsewhere other than Europe".

The government has come under fire from the opposition over the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The PN is insisting that the Huawei investment has not been quantified.

"These arguments are ridiculous. Why else would Huawei want to come to Malta? To sunbathe and swim in the summer? It is seeking opportunities beyond Europe and in Africa. They have offices in Frankfurt and the UK chased them. So should we close our doors if the biggest telecommunications giant wants to come to Malta?"

Asked to quantify Huawei's investment, Scicluna said that such a question should be directed to the Economy Minister before adding that having Huawei, like Microsoft, placed in Malta was of positive branding to the island.

"When Microsoft opened their office in Malta no one had asked them how money will they be putting on the table because that is not how things are done. The investment came afterwards," he said.

Huawei plans on testing 5G in Malta, having already signed the 5G-PPP coalition, a project of the European Commission to deliver solutions, architectures, technologies and standards for the next generation communication infrastructures of the coming decade.

'We should be on investment's side'

The finance minister appeared to be wary of the media's "constant hovering" over investors, suggesting that investors "could be put off".

"I'm not saying that questions shouldn't be raised or that the media shouldn't report about stories like Gaffarena's because they are extremely important. But we should put everything in its proper context. A few incidents which took place, such as chasing after an investor with a mic...On their own I have no problem with it, but taken together..."

Scicluna said he's seen governments and opposition parties abroad coming together to promote their country's competitiveness.

"We should take investment's side and put everything in its proper context."

'A politically difficult deal that must be implemented'

Turning to the financial crisis in Greece, Scicluna once again sprung to the defense of Germany, insisting that it wasn't a case of "Germany being a bully".

"Those who were present for the Eurogroup meetings know that this wasn't the case. The media  have a different picture of what was going, depending by whom the statements were made. The reality is that all member states were on the same side on this one," he insisted.

Reacting to concerns that the latest Greek deal was too tough to be seen through, Scicluna said the probability was that it doesn't success because the departing point by the Greeks was one of "blackmail".

"The deal requires ownership. Talking about it being imposed is not fair. Agreeing to a third bailout was a solid sign of solidarity and it's obvious that the deal can't be agreed to without conditions," he said.

Greece had pushed for a haircut, a proposal that was strongly opposed by Eurogroup members. The minister insisted that what should be given importance was not the amount of debt but the interest requested on that debt.