Malta’s excellent air, sea and road infrastructure and long-standing trade links with major ports in Europe, North Africa as well as Asia, mean that goods and raw materials are easily imported and exported. The Malta Freeport is the country’s transshipment facility, strategically located on the main trade routes in the Mediterranean, and providing regular network connections to over 100 ports worldwide.
On the other hand, air connections with major European and Mediterranean countries are efficient and frequent. The country’s modern, spacious and efficient international airport handles 2.5 million passengers annually. It offers direct flights to around 37 major centres in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Major cities like London, Rome, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid are less than 3 hours away.
Malta also has a sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure with large bandwidth networks providing high capacity communications to and from the island. Networks are digital and international connections have been significantly expanded through satellite technology and high capacity fibre-optics linking Malta with Europe. Mobile telephony operators provide wireless Internet connections based on GPRS technology, and Voice Over Internet Protocol Services (VOIP), WiMax and 3.5G are widely available, enabling companies to make substantial cost savings on telecommunication expenses. Malta also has two forms of broadband delivery technologies – DSL and Cable Modem Access.
The World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 published in April 2008, confirmed Malta's high worldwide ranking. The WEF has confirmed Malta's place as the 27th "most networked economy in the world". It continues to lead major competitors such as Italy, Slovenia, Spain and several other countries. The report for 2006-2007 had also ranked the Government of Malta as the second most successful government in the world in promoting ICT.
In Malta, one also finds a strong financial and business infrastructure offering legal and other related support services at world class levels, while all major international accounting firms are represented on the island through local offices. 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.
Malta's banking system is well regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority. On 1st May 2004, the Central Bank of Malta joined the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and on 1st January 2008 it became part of the Eurosystem.
Updated: 25th June 2008
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