Business Bureau calls for stronger cross-border trade and investment activity

The Malta Business Bureau has appealed to government to remain focused on creating the right macroeconomic environment to nurture entrepreneurship and encourage businesses to expand operations, the business group said after meeting Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi today in Castille.

The MBB, which is the advisory office for the Chamber of Commerce and the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, discussed the findings and recommendations of a study that it conducted with key local SMEs and micro-enterprises. Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Minister for Small Business Jason Azzopardi were also present.

MBB President George Vella, who led the business delegation, said SMEs were feeling challenged inside the EU due to Malta's small island-state status. "Government must remain focused on creating the right macroeconomic environment as to nurture entrepreneurship and allow businesses to expand and further contribute towards economic growth and employment. This is particularly important during these current turbulent economic times," Vella said.

Vella also said firms participating in the MBB study claimed that Maltese companies have restructured their operations but Malta's insularity highly affected their competitiveness especially when it comes to purchasing raw materials and transportation costs.

"For instance, Maltese companies have to factor in the cost of double-freighting when importing raw materials and exporting a manufactured product," Vella said. "Government should do more to incentivise private operators to produce new and more frequent maritime routes to Malta. This is crucial in order to have reliable access to more time and cost-effective routes for distributors and manufacturers in particular."

Vella added that the tourism industry also needed better intra-EU connections and air-transport accessibility for a higher attraction of long-haul non-European tourists to Malta. "In light of the European Commission's ambition to make Europe the world's number one tourist destination, peripheral countries such as Malta should not fall behind other continental destinations," he said.

Vella also said the MBB supported national clusters policy to boost productivity, promote products in an innovative manner and identify new markets for Maltese businesses.

He encouraged government to remain proactive by continuous investment in e-skills due to the very fast pace of technological progress and the diversification of the Maltese economy. He also noted that the MicroInvest and MicroGuarantee schemes were supporting small businesses in ensuring availability of liquidity and capital for businesses to undertake new ventures or develop existing ones.

The MBB is conducting a study to identify market gaps in the provision of right access to finance for small businesses that will enable them to operate effectively within the EU single market.