The business case in favour of Malta is clear. During these past 40 years, the country has notched up an impressive record in attracting foreign investors to Malta, and who continue to re-invest in their production and service facilities on the island. How has Malta achieved this? By successfully moving from labour-based to knowledge based industry and in so doing, attracting Foreign Direct Investment from countries like the UK, German, Italy, France, Spain and the United States. Malta’s favourable industrial climate and pro-business policies have been the pillars on which foreign companies have built their success.
Direct labour costs also hold up well, at a competitive 30% to 50% of those in the older EU Member States. However, when labour costs, productivity and working hours are factored together, the picture is even better. Malta’s workforce then becomes cheaper than all established EU economies. What's more, when social security costs and other employment taxes are added in, Malta's total labour costs are competitive with the new EU Member States and significantly lower than established EU Members.
The Maltese industrial relations law follows the British system of industrial relations. The shop steward represents the trade union at shop-floor level and collective bargaining is conducted at enterprise level. Strikes and stoppages are rare occurrences. The legal structure, accounting practices and trading environment run along UK lines as does the education systems.
There are two utilities providers in Malta: Enemalta Corporation, which supplies electricity and bottled gas, and the Water Services Corporation, which supplies all of Malta's water needs.
There is a wide range of quality office and industrial space available in Malta, both from the private and public sectors. These industrial and business centres are linked by a good road network. Commercial office space in purpose-built development or stand-alone blocks is readily available, at costs dependant on the location and size of the premises. Malta also has 10 industrial zones while a number of industrial clusters are being developed,enjoying state-of-the-art infrastructure. These are targetted at specific industries.
Malta Enterprise makes it as straightforward as possible to do business in Malta. There are no restrictions on foreign direct investment, so companies do not need to partner with a local company.
THE BUSINESS CASE FOR MALTA
• Strong national commitment to attracting foreign investment.
• Long-standing experience in foreign direct investment and business activities.
• High levels of productivity and profitability of investment.
• High product quality.
• Qualified, flexible and multilingual workforce.
• International cost competitiveness.
• Availability of industrial premises at competitive costs.
• Incentive packages.
• A modern and efficient infrastructure.
• Excellent educational facilities.
• English and Italian are widely spoken with a good understanding of French, German, Arabic and other languages.
• High professionalism in business support services.
• Support from Malta Enterprise - the one-stop-shop for all investors.
• Economic, political and social stability.
• Valued close economic and cultural ties with neighbouring countries north and south of the island.
• Healthy and safe environment.
Today, Malta is home to more than 200 world-class companies which employ over 30,000 people and account for more than 85% of Malta’s business output. These operate predominantly in five target sectors:
• Healthcare, pharmaceuticals and medical devices
• High-precision engineering
• ICT and Electronics
• Front and back office knowledge-based operations
• Logistic-based services
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has confirmed Malta's place as the 27th "most networked economy in the world". The WEF's Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008, which was published in April 2008, confirmed Malta's high worldwide ranking. Likewise, Malta has also been identified as one of the top three financial centres worldwide likely to increase in importance over the next 2 to 3 years, according to the Global Financial Centres Index report (GFCI) published in March 2008. Malta is also listed among the financial centres where operators might think of opening in the next five years.
The presence of so many renowned names provides a true testimony to the quality and productivity of the Maltese workforce as well as the infrastructure within which they operate. These include firms such as:
• Actavis Malta
• Baxter
• Cardinal Health
• Crimsonwing
• De La Rue Currency & Security Print Ltd
• Dedicated Micros
• Fraser Eagle Group
• Hetronic
• HSBC Bank Malta
• Lufthansa Technik
• Playmobil Malta
• Siegfried Generics
• STMicroelectronics
• Toly Products
• Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Malta
• Uniblue Systems Ltd
Malta Enterprise has put together some Basic Data indicating various costs relevant to setting up a business in Malta [DOWNLOAD]
Contact us on info.bd@maltaenterprise.com
Updated: 24th June 2008