Why Malta?
- The legislative framework is in line with the main EU directives – It is sufficiently flexible and versatile to relate to different legal systems;
- Paramount anti-money laundering standards have nurtured financial services sector;
- Excellent economic track record with sustained growth, economic and political stability;
- Boasts an inflation rate and long-term interest rate lower than EU average and in April 2005 Malta joined the ERM II mechanism and has adopted the Euro Currency on 1st January 2008.
- A modern and competitive tax regime providing an excellent base for setting up tax efficient structures – Highest individual tax rate is of 35%;
- Business Environment - a product-driven economy, established international banking and insurance services;
- High Standard of living – good quality of life, low criminal rate, excellent health services and offers diverse entertainment and sport facilities;
- Social Capital is the prime resource in Malta, having availability of more than 6% of the Maltese population who are graduate and post graduate labour force;
- Open market economy with free movement of capital and labour;
- Excellent country sovereign credit rating – ‘A’ rating with a stable outlook by ‘Standard and Poor’ – indicating a high to medium quality investment.
Facts & Figures about Malta
Nationality: Maltese
Capital City: Valletta
Population: 410,290 (2007 estimate)
Population Growth Rate: 0.6% (2007 estimate)
Local Time: GMT+1 (GMT+2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October)
Official Languages: Maltese, English
Other Spoken Languages: Italian, French, German, Spanish.
Economic Scenario
Gross Domestic Product (2007) €5.4 billion
Gross Domestic Product (2006) €5.1 billion
% annual increase of GDP (2007) 6.1%
GDP per capita 2007 €13,139
Percentage contribution to Gross Value Added (at basic prices) as at 2007
| A |
Agriculture, hunting and forestry |
1.71% |
| B |
Fishing |
0.55% |
| C |
Mining and quarrying |
0.29% |
| D |
Manufacturing |
17.26% |
| E |
Electricity, gas and water supply |
0.59% |
| F |
Construction |
3.71% |
| G |
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods |
12.07% |
| H |
Hotels and restauarants |
5.43% |
| I |
Transport, storage and communication |
9.76% |
| J |
Financial intermediation |
4.35% |
| K |
Real Estate, renting and business activities |
16.54% |
| L |
Public Administration and defence; compulsary social security |
6.80% |
| M |
Education |
5.89% |
| N |
Health and social work |
5.86% |
| O |
Other community, social and personal service activities |
9.01% |
| P |
Private households with employed persons |
0.15% |
Inflation Rate: 3.75% (as at end May 2008)
Exchange Rate: Malta Currency is the Euro as from 1st January 2008. For information purposes only, the Maltese Lira (MTL) exchange rate is 0.4293 EUR/MTL;
Long-term interest rate: 4.4% (2007 estimate)
No. of tourist departures: 1,243,510 (2007 estimate incl. sea passengers)
Malta Rankings
Malta's banks 10th soundest in the world.
Source: The Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 - World Economic Forum
Well advanced in information society, with many benchmarking indicators significantly above the EU average
Source: i2010 mid-term review 2008, Preparing Europe's Digital Future - European Commission
15th in Euro Consumer Heart Index - ranking of European cardiovascular healthcare systems
Source: Health Consumer Powerhouse AB 2008
27th "most networked economy in the world"
Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 - World Economic Forum
Identified as one of the top three financial centres worldwide likely to increase in importance over the next 2 to 3 years
Source: Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) - 3 March 2008
Ranked 6th in inward FDI growth
Source: World Investment Report 2007
Government of Malta ranked 2nd most successful government in the world in promoting ICT
Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007 - World Economic Forum
Malta's Grand Harbour has become the 7th most visited port in Europe by the cruise industry (2005)
Source: European Cruise Council Study 2007
Some Economic and General Data on Malta
Leading export market: European Union
Exports to France (2006): €70,227k
Exports to Germany (2006): €59,768k
Exports to UK (2006): €43,502k
Exports to Italy (2006): €17,047k
*Source: Malta in Figures 2008 - National Statistics Office of Malta
Exports
Europe 1,133,474
of which:
European Union 1,106,180
of which:
United Kingdom 221,818
Euro Area 798,317
EFTA Countries 13,637
Other European Countries 13,657
Africa 121,300
America 279,721
Asia 669,411
Australia and Oceania 6,751
Ships and aircraft stores, and bunkers 26,461
Total 2,237,118
Telephone System:
• General Assessment: Automatic digital system satisfies normal requirements;
• Domestic: Digital Network over fiber and copper local loops;
• International: 2 submarine cables and a microwave bridge station.
International Tel. Code: + 356
Internet Code: .mt
Internet Connectivity Distribution (2006): 43,536 Broadband; 48,294 Narrowband subscriptions.
ISP’s: Broadband 16 (2004) |