Maltese business, trade with Libya at complete standstill

Millions of euros in payments due to be received by Maltese businesses have been indefinitely suspended, while many investors in Libya are starting to fear the worst after they had to abandon everything and evacuate their employees leaving all their assets behind them.

As the GRTU set up a task force to assist Maltese companies who have considerable investments in Libyan tourist accommodation, construction and in the medical sector, a spokesman for the organisation has described the situation as “very desperate.”

The GRTU is concerned at the fact that while millions of euros in investments seem to be endangered by the situation in Libya, as many as 300 high-end earning workers seem to be close to losing their jobs, as the companies they worked for have abandoned all they had.

“Some of the properties have either been ransacked, looted, burnt or destroyed,” he said, adding that this crisis could potentially hit the Maltese economy hard.

As the Maltese government continued with its efforts to evacuate the remaining Maltese workers in distant oil fields, work was also underway to look for assets belonging to Muammar Gaddafi and members of his family.

A government spokesman told Business Today that investigations were initiated immediately after Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi announced that he had signed the instruments by which Malta was fully complying with the United Nation’s resolution that imposes sanctions on Gaddafi and his family.

Malta also immediately adhered to the EU imposed sanctions, and is set to freeze all assets belonging to Gaddafi and family, should any be found.

Official figures show that Malta imported €34 million worth of products from Libya last year, while Maltese exports totalled €85 million. The number of companies with Libyan shareholding in Malta stands at 310.

Trade exchanges have been on the rise, increasing by a third last year on 2009 on the back of a 50% rise in 2009 from the previous year.

Imports from Libya are mainly in mineral fuels (70%), fish and crustaceans (20%) and electrical machinery (9.6%).

Exports consist mostly of electrical machinery (55.5%), machinery and mechanical appliances (5%), textiles (4%), precious metals and jewellery (4%), essential oils (4%), and tobacco (6%).