Category: Archive – 2012

GRTU has this week held a successful information session for its members organised by the EU Desk in collaboration with Malta Enterprise. The assistance presented by Mr George Francalanza of Malta Enterprise were:

Business First

Malta Enterprise's one-stop-shop service for businesses, that implements Government's promise and part of Government's strategy to facilitating the day to day operations of local enterprises and support their growth and successful operation. It provides information on what is necessary to start a business, centralised registartion of formalities and a commitment towards a delivery time not exceeding 10 working days.

Address: Main Office at the Former Institute of Health Care at St Luke's

Opening hours: 08.15-17:00 on Mon, Tue and Fri (Extended hours on Wed and Thu till 19:00)

Services:

Provision of support, services and schemes offered by Malta Enterprise

54 services offered by other departments and entities

Company name search and company name reservation

Registration of companies or self-employed

Commencement and termination of employment

Company or self-employed registration for tax or VAT purposes

Trading Licences issued by Commerce Division or Malta Tourism Authority

New electricity and water connections

Employment Licences with respect to third-country nationals, long-term residents, asylum seekers and currently Bulgarian/Romanian nationals

National or Schengen VISA

Residence permits

Tourism Accomodation Development license

More services to be added on demand

 

Business Advisory Services

Enterprises may benefit from the expertise of the advisors that will support them in their particular needs for development. Malta Enterprise would finance up to ten hours of free advisory services to help the enterprises and the assigned advisor to carry out preliminary assessments in the areas of:

Business Start-up Support

Business Planning and Modelling

Market Development and International Competitiveness

Human Resources Management

Product and Service Development

Quality Certification and Improvement

Supply Chain Management

Assistance is capped at €2,500 per annum.

MicroInvest

Supports micro enterprises (less than 9 full time employees) and the self-employed through a tax credit representing 40% (60% in Gozo) of the eligible expenditure:

Refurbishing and upgrading of business premises

Machinery, equipment and technology to improve operations

Machinery or technology which saves or generates energy

Investment required to become compliant with regulations

One motor vehicle used for the carriage of goods

Wage costs covering a 12-month period for new jobs created

These investments can be made until 2012 and the assistance is capped at €25,000. Applying is very easy and original fiscal receipts must be presented.

 

Quality+

Encourages SMEs to continuously improve the quality of their products, services and processes through the achievement of recognised quality certifications and quality marks, environmental certification, franchise licences and licences required for participation in a value chain. The assistance would be a deduction from the taxable income equivalent to 150% of eligible costs (over any normal statutory tax deductions) and is granted on approved projects on a maximum of €20,000 in eligible costs.

Examples of Certifications/Marks:

ISO 9001:2008, ISO17025:2005, ISO17020, ISO 14001 (Environment)

EMAS & Ecolabel

ISO 22000 (Food Safety & Hygiene)

Hazard Analysis Critical and Control Point (HACCP)

MSA EN 14804:2005 (Language Study Tour Providers)

Halal certification & MS1500:2004

CE Mark & BSI Kitemark

 

Create

This incentive aims to support creative businesses engaged in:

visual arts

crafts

film and video

music

performing arts

literary works

design including fashion and architecture

digital media.

The support is given up to €25,000 tax credit equivalent to 60% of qualifying expenditure on:

machinery and equipment

registration of intellectual property

subcontracting of pre-publication costs

subcontracting of translation services for creative works

Qualifying expenditure extended to cover additional costs (e.g. rent and refurbishment costs) to help the development of creative communities in designated artistic zones thus sustaining the development of said zones and interdisciplinary creative cluster developments:

Valletta

Savina Square, Rabat, Gozo  

Arch. Saver Cassar Street, Rabat, Gozo

Saint Mary Street, Rabat, Gozo

The Collachio Area, Birgu 

 

nternational Competitiveness

Supports qualifying enterprises to tap into new international markets, to extend their activities in new markets or to introduce a new service or product in an existing foreign market. Minimum project value is €50,000. Maximum grant value is €100,000. Approved projects may receive reimbursement covering 50% of costs incurred for:

Market development

Wage of newly recruited Business Development Manager

Active participation in trade fairs and conferences relevant to the target market

 

Small Start-up

Supports the growth of new enterprises (within 3 years of operation) having less than 50 employees. Minimum project value is €50,000. Maximum grant value is €100,000. Approved projects may receive reimbursement covering 25% of costs incurred for up to two years on:

Wages

Renting / leasing of equipment and production facilities

Utilities

Who CAN apply?

Manufacturing which include the production, manufacture, improvement, assembly, preservation, processing of any goods, materials, commodities, equipment, plant and machinery;

Information and communication technology (ICT) development activities, software development, and ICT enabled services;

Research and Development and Innovation;

Waste Treatment and Environmental solutions;

Biotechnology;

Start-up enterprises proposing innovative products, services and processes, which are typically more advanced in terms of technology, know-how and skills than those prevailing in their respective market.

 

Innovation Actions

Stimulates innovation within SMEs in selected sectors by supporting the development of innovative processes, products and services. Minimum project value is €50,000. Maximum grant value is €150,000, capped at 50% for small enterprises, 40% for medium enterprises and 30% for SMEs in the transport sector. Approved projects may include:

Subcontracted services acquired for implementing an Innovation Management Technique (IMT)

Investment costs in tangible and intangible assets

 

Innovation Actions (Environment)

Supports SMEs to adopt environmentally-friendly measures by addressing water and air quality; waste streams; and resource utilisation. Minimum project value is €20,000. Maximum grant value is 50% of eligible expenses capped at €150,000 for SMEs (capping for SMEs in the transport sector is €100,000). Approved projects may include:

Plant, machinery and equipment

Costs for attainment of EMAS; ISO 14001; Eco-Label; and other environmental certifications recognized by the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority (MCCAA)

 

Research & Development

Supports enterprises carrying out Industrial Research and Experimental Development activities leading to the development of new or significantly improved products, processes or services. Minimum project value is €60,000. Grant capped at €300,000, ranging from 25% to 70% of eligible expenses. Eligible expenses include costs on:

Personnel

Instruments and equipment

Contractual research, technical knowledge and patents

Material, supplies and similar products

 

Who CANNOT apply for International Competitiveness, Innovation Actions, Innovation Actions (Environment), Research & Development?

Undertakings who's primary production is in agricultural products

Fisheries and aquaculture sector

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Section G)

Tourism activities: Hotels and restaurants (NACE 55 and 56); Travel agency activities, tour operator activities, other reservation services and related activities (NACE 79); Creative, arts and entertainment activities (NACE 90); Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities (NACE 91); Sports activities, and amusement and recreation activities (NACE 93);

the coal, steel, shipbuilding and gaming industry;

financial and insurance activities (NACE Section K);

the synthetic fibres sector.

Helpline on telephone number 144

Websites:

• www.businessfirst.com.mt dedicated website
• http://www.maltaenterprise.com/
• www.20millionforindustry.com

 

 

GRTU is organising an information session during which Malta Enterprise will give a short presentation on support to businesses to expand outside Malta. GRTU emphasises that many types of businesses can be interested in working outside Malta and NOT manufacturing only.

 

Malta Enterprise aims to support SMEs to develop and  diversify their activities, penetrate new markets, increase competitiveness, develop new products and services, and consolidate their existing market share. The support we will be discussing are:

Delegation visits: Malta Enterprise will be presenting the list of Delegations for 2012. The delegation visits provide opportunities for Joint Ventures, Technology Transfer, Licensing and Franchising, Exports and Trading. MaltaEnterprise will assist through the organisation of business seminars, matchmaking events, trade exhibitions, follow-ups and market research. Participants in delegation visits have 60% of the cost of travel and accommodation covered by Malta Enterprise.

Country Specialist Support: Enterprises may benefit from the expertise of the specialists who will support them to carry out preliminary assessments of their plans of investment or expansion in a particular country.

Participation in Fairs: Participation at International trade fairs are a unique and rewarding experience.  Participation will undoubtedly allow enterprises to reap a number of benefits since they will be able to experience the market on a first hand basis, discover new insights, and establish potential business partners. Malta Enterprise will financially support part of the Rental of exhibition space / stand, Stand construction services, Freight expenses incurred for shipping materials / exhibits required to setup and run the stand, Travel and Per Diem

Gateway to Export: Malta Enterprise administers an initiative aimed at encouraging Micro and Small Enterprises to assess whether or not they are ready to venture into new markets through their exports (Not only manufacturing). The initiative's aim is to give participating enterprises the skills, know-how and confidence to excel in the international marketplace.  A Business Specialist will mentor the participating enterprise through the various stages of preparing for this exciting programme and will help towards the company's readiness for export.  It is a structured, yet flexible, programme that can be completed in around 18 months.

Venue: GRTU

Date: Tuesday, 6th March
Time: 14.00hrs

 Contact Abigail Mamo on 21232881/3 or to reserve.

The European Parliament has adopted a non-legislative resolution that called for action to halve food waste by 2025 and improve access to food by the needy. According to EU Commission figures, households, supermarkets and restaurants, along with the rest of the food supply chain, are currently wasting up to 50% of edible food. To combat such waste, which is occurring at all stages in the chain, MEPs have called on the commission to implement a coordinated strategy combining EU-wide and national measures to improve the efficiency of the food supply and consumption chains sector by sector – and to tackle food wastage as a matter of urgency.

 

The resolution laid out areas which such a strategy would need to address. New awareness campaigns should be run at both EU and national levels to inform the public how to avoid wasting food. In addition the resolution called for Member States to introduce school and college courses explaining how to store, cook and dispose of food and also exchange best practices to this end. MEPs also called for 2014 to be designated as "European year against food waste".

The EU27 currently wastes 89 million tonnes of food each year – equivalent to 179 kg per person. In an effort to tackle this still growing problem the resolution called for the adoption of dual-date labelling to show when food may be sold until (sell-by date) and until when it should be consumed by (use-by date). It was claimed that this would help to avoid situations in which retailers offer food too close to its expiry date – thus increasing the potential for wastage.

MEP, Liam Aylward (Fianna Fáil, Ireland), who negotiated on behalf of the Alliance of Liberal Democrats for Europe (ALDE) Group, said: "It is outrageous that almost 90 million tonnes of perfectly fine food gets wasted each year while an estimated 79 million people in the EU live beneath the poverty line and around 16 million depend on food aid from charitable institutions."

Furthermore, public institutions should favour responsible caterers. According to the resolution public procurement rules for catering and hospitality should be updated to ensure that where possible, contracts are awarded to catering companies that use local produce and give away or redistribute leftover food to poorer people or food banks free of charge, rather than just disposing of it.

"To improve resource efficiency at all stages of the supply chain we need both a coordinated EU strategy as well as sharing of best practices across Member States. Most importantly, however, all players in the food supply chain need to be brought on board and help devise guidelines to improve efficiency and minimise waste," added Aylward.

However, retail, wholesale and international trade representative, EuroCommerce pointed out that official reports from the EU Commission suggest that the commerce sector is responsible for only 5.5% of total food waste, but added that commerce recognised that all actors in the supply chain must take measures to combat waste and be willing to assume their share of responsibility.

According to the organisation, thanks to modern distribution techniques, just in time delivery has led to a better working of supply and consumer demand, and actions have also been taken by retailers to recover food that can no longer be eaten for use as a feedstock in energy production.

EuroCommerce director general Christian Verschueren commented: "The commerce sector has long engaged in practices designed to help consumers reduce their food waste, such as promotion of information in stores and the development of awareness-raising campaigns. Retailers have voluntarily taken on this responsibility and we are glad the European Parliament recognises our commitment through such platforms as the Retail Forum for Sustainability."

Meanwhile, representative of the food and drinks industry, FoodDrinkEurope said that its members welcomed the acknowledgement of the role that packaging can play in preventing food waste and the need for clarification on date labels to help raise consumer awareness and knowledge. However, it added that in order to compare data and design food waste policy measures across EU Member States, efforts to improve the consistency of reporting on the figures and waste categories used by some Member States could have been highlighted.

The recently published Legal Notice 117 of 2010 – Part-Time Employees (Amendment) Regulations, 2010 which came into force on the 12th March 2010 have changed significantly the contents of this leaflet. The definition of ‘Part-Time Employee' was also revised on 16^th March 2010 by amendments made to the various Wage Regulation Orders. The important changes as listed below have affected part-time employment and the relevant regulations now apply to all part-time employees, irrespective if the part time employment is their principal or their secondary employment.

 

Who is to be considered a Part-Time Employee?

A part-time employee is one whose normal hours of work, calculated on a weekly basis or on an average over a period of employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of work of a comparable whole-time employee and who is not a whole-time employee with reduced hours.

In this regard, an employer should ensure that the total number of hours worked by a part time employee over a period of one year, do not reach or exceed the total number of normal hours (excluding overtime) worked by a comparable whole-time employee over the same one year period. If the total number of hours worked by the part-time employee equal or exceed those of a comparable whole-time employee, then that employee shall thenceforth be considered as a whole-time employee.

Eligibility for Pro-rata entitlements

The pro-rata entitlements apply to part-time employees as follows:

1. as from 12th March 2010, to all part-time employees who are engaged as such.

2. as from 12th September 2010, in the case of part-time employees whose part-time employment is one in respect of which social security contributions are not payable in terms of the Social Security Act, who were already in part-time employment prior to 12th March 2010 and were still in their part-time employment on the latter date.

Those part-time employees who were already eligible to pro rata entitlements prior to 12^th March 2010 and were still in their part-time employment on 12th March 2010 will continue to enjoy such pro-rata entitlements after 12th March 2010.

Equal Treatment

With respect to the entitlement of a part time employee for the same rate of pay as applicable to the comparable whole-time employee, the recent amendments have further clarified that:

1. where the weekly hours of work exceed the normal weekly hours of a comparable whole time employee, any such hours are to be paid at the same rate as that applicable to the comparable whole-time employee.

2. any hours worked on Sundays and Public Holidays, including hours worked within the normal schedule or hours worked in excess of the normal schedule of a comparable whole-time employee, any such hours are to be paid at the same rate as that applicable to the comparable whole-time employee.

 

Double non-taxation deprives Member States of significant revenues and creates unfair competition between businesses in the Single Market. It occurs when cross-border companies escape paying taxes due to mismatches between national tax systems. Aggressive tax planners often focus on exploiting loopholes between Member States' systems specifically to avoid taxes.

 

As a first step in combating this problem, the Commission has today launched a public consultation on the double non-taxation of cross-border companies. The aim of the consultation is to gauge the full scale of the problem and see where the main weaknesses lie. On this basis, the Commission will develop the most appropriate policy response before the end of 2012. In order to encourage participation by those who may have insight into real-life exploitation of double non-taxation by companies, anonymous contributions will be accepted. The consultation is available in all official EU languages and will run until May 30 2012.

Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner for Taxation, Customs, Anti-fraud and Audit, said: "Fairness must be at the heart of our tax policies. Double non-taxation undermines fair burden sharing in taxation and allows an unjust competitive advantage to companies that seek to exploit it.  Tackling double non-taxation will not only deliver important revenues to Member States, but it will also ensure a stronger, fairer Single Market for all EU businesses."

The public consultation covers cross-border double non-taxation of companies i.e. cases where divergent national rules and/or inadequate national tax measures in two countries lead to non-taxation. For example, this may be the case if two countries define entities in a different way, resulting in income not being taxed in either state. The consultation concerns direct taxes such as corporate income taxes, non-resident income taxes, capital gains taxes, withholding taxes, inheritance taxes and gift taxes.

The Commission asks all interested parties including tax professionals in practice, in business and in academia for factual examples of double non-taxation within the EU and in relations with third countries.

Background

In the Annual Growth Survey 2012, the Commission acknowledged that Member States have to consider revenue-raising measures. Better tax coordination at the EU-level has a role to play in this context.

The European Council conclusions of 24 June 2011 asked the Commission to ensure the avoidance of harmful practices and proposals to fight tax fraud and tax evasion.  

The Commission set out in the Communication on Double Taxation in the Single Market that in a period when Member States are looking for secure and additional tax revenues, it is important for their credibility towards their taxpayers that they take the necessary measures to remove double taxation and double non-taxation.

Contributions may be sent to   no later than 30 May 2012.

For the consultation paper see :

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/common/consultations/tax/index_en.htm

The European Commission has published its second Trade and Investment Barriers Report, which describes the progress achieved in dismantling barriers to the markets of six strategic economic partners – China, India, Japan, Mercosur, Russia and the US.

The report recognises some success stories in the removal of certain trade barriers, such as in India, but also underlines the overall persistence of barriers for European business to access key markets.  Dismantling these barriers would improve and open up new export and investment opportunities for European companies and people. The report will be presented to the European Council on 1-2 March.

"With protectionism an ever present threat, we need to make sure that trade remains open in order to boost jobs and growth. Today's report shows that our enforcement strategy is paying off in fighting unfair barriers to trade and investment; yet, we need to strengthen our vigilance and double our efforts in order to make sure that openness is maintained worldwide. The EU's commitment to ensuring trade openness remains firm", stated EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

The Trade and Investment Barriers Report 2012 assesses the progress achieved on the 21 barriers which were selected in 2011 in the first edition of the report:

Two trade barriers were fully removed in India: export restrictions on cotton and security requirements for telecommunication equipments.

Progress was achieved in:

China: indigenous innovation and export restrictions on raw materials (on the latter, WTO Appellate Body report confirmed the incompatibility of the Chinese measures with WTO rules and China's WTO accession commitments IP/12/87)

India: sanitary and phytosanitary rules

Japan: government access to procurement and regulatory requirements for medical devices

USA: 100% scanning of containers and "Buy American"

-No positive movement could be seen in the following cases:

China: investment catalogue and IT security

India: equity caps

Japan: financial services

Argentina and Brazil: restrictions in maritime transport and export restrictions on raw materials

Argentina: import licensing

Brazil: 25% preference margin in government procurement.

A specific section of the report is dedicated to Russia due to the nature of the WTO accession process, which can potentially lead to the removal of the selected priority barriers (trade-related investment measures in automotive and car components sector; customs practices; Intellectual Property related issues; Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues).

The report also identifies 6 new priorities of barriers to trade and investment:

China: national security review mechanism for mergers and acquisitions involving foreign investors and export financing and subsidies

India: National Manufacturing Policy

Brazil: tax on industrial products (IPI) and import procedures for textiles and clothing

Argentina: restrictions in reinsurance services.

 

The report highlights a recent trend in emerging economies where industrial policies contain trade-restrictive elements. These often take the form of:

local content requirements (such as in investment policy and government procurement),

overly burdensome standardisation and conformity assessment requirements, which discriminates against foreign products,

measures having an equivalent effect to quantitative import restrictions,

and export restrictions particularly applied to raw materials.

Background

The Trade and Investment Barriers Report is part of a broader enforcement strategy that aims at ensuring that the EU's trade partners abide by their commitments and maintain open markets. The purpose of the report is to focus attention on efforts needed – including at the highest political level – to ensure market access for European companies in important markets outside the EU. In order to make this effort more effective, the Member States also have to share it by conveying commonly agreed messages in their bilateral contacts with these countries.

The report is a vehicle to set priorities on an annual basis among the market access barriers to 6 key trading partners (China, India, Japan, Mercosur, Russia and the US) and provides an assessment of progress achieved. These 6 countries together covered 45.7% of the EU's trade in goods in 2011 and 44.8% of EU's trade in commercial services in 2010. As far as foreign direct investment is concerned, these countries counted for 47.7% of EU's FDIs in 2010.

For further information:

Trade and Investment Barriers Report 2012
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/149143.htm

Trade and Investment Barriers Report 2011
http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/147629.htm

On the Market Access Strategy

http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/trade-topics/market-access/index_en.htm

MEUSAC together with MEPA are organising and information session on regulations that emend existing laws on waste management for end of life vehicles. These regulations are necessary so as to bring into force the amendments to the Directive of the European Union for the year 2000 on vehicles which are no longer in use (Directive 2000/53/EC). This Directive stipulates measures for the prevention of waste from vehicles and for the renewed use, recycling, and other forms of recovery of vehicles that are no longer in use, including their components, so that the waste is separated.

 

The aim of this information session is to inform the affected parties of the obligations under the amendments. This meeting should be of particular interest to importers and agents of vehicles as well as manufacturers of materials and other related to production of vehicles.

The session will be held in Maltese:

Venue: Dar L-Ewropa, 254, St Paul's Street, Valletta
Date: Monday 5th March 2012
Time: 10.00am

 Registration is required. Contact GRTU for further information.

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON DIRECTIVE

Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles1 (ELV) as transposed by Legal Notice 99 of 2004 aims to reduce the amount of waste from end-of-life vehicles. In particular it:

1. restricts the use of certain heavy metals in the manufacture of new vehicles;

2. requires the establishment of adequate systems for the collection of ELVs;

3. states that owners must be able to have their complete ELVs accepted by these systems free of charge, even when they have a negative value provided it still contains the essential components of a vehicle, in particular the engine and the coachwork and does not contain waste which has been added to the end-of life vehicle.

4. requires producers (vehicle manufacturers or importers) to pay ‘all or a significant part' of the costs of take back for complete ELVs with a negative or no value;

5. requires that ELVs are stored (even temporarily) and can only be treated/dismantled at authorised treatment facilities, which must meet tightened environmental treatment standards;

6. introduces a Certificate of Destruction system for the removal of a scrapped vehicle from the national register; and

7. requires that certain components are marked to aid recovery and recycling, and that the relevant information is provided to aid dismantling.

In addition, Article 4 of Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles prohibits the use of lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent Chromium in materials and components of vehicles put on the market after 1 July 2003 other than in cases listed in Annex II under the conditions specified therein. The aim is to prevent their release into the environment, make recycling easier, and avoid the need to dispose of hazardous waste, exemption/prohibition of materials and components.

Annex II of Directive 2000/53/EC has been amended a number of times by means of Commission Decisions. However, the European Commission has recently adopted Commission Directive 2011/37/EU2 which further amends this Annex II to Directive 2000/53/EC.

Commission Directive 2011/37/EU of 30 March 2011 amending Annex II to Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on end-of-life vehicles:

1. includes new exemptions to enable the repair of vehicles with parts containing heavy metals, when in certain cases it is technically impossible to repair vehicles with spare parts other than original ones

2. prolongs the expiry dates for certain materials and components containing lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent chromium until the use of the prohibited substances becomes avoidable

3. includes labelling requirements for certain materials or components in accordance with Article 4(2)(b)(iv)

4. includes temporary exemptions from prohibitions for the use of lead in automotive thermoelectric materials in applications reducing CO2 emissions by recuperation of exhaust heat since it is currently technically and scientifically unavoidable

5. continues to provide exemptions without an expiry data for certain materials and components containing lead, mercury, cadmium or hexavalent, since the use of such substances in the specific materials and components listed in Annex II to that Directive is still technically or scientifically unavoidable.

6. removes existing exemptions including the removal of a general exemption from "solder in electronic circuit boards and other electric applications", to specific exemptions; the removal of the exemption for "copper in friction materials of brake linings containing more than 0.4% lead by weight; the removal of a general exemption from "electrical components which contain lead in a glass or ceramic matrix compound except glass in bulbs and glaze of spark plugs" to specific exemptions; the replacement of thick film pastes as regards to cadmium with that for batteries for electrical vehicles (cadmium).

2. NATIONAL REGULATIONS

Malta will be transposing the above listed provisions into its national regulations and would like to inform affected parties about the relevant obligations. The draft Legal Notice may be viewed on: http://www.mepa.org.mt/waste_elv.

GRTU President Paul Abela participated on behalf of GRTU to the Malta Enterprise business Delegation to South Africa. It is important for the GRTU to take part in such delegations so that we ensure Malta is marketed correctly and opportunities for members are not missed.

Other than being an immensely beautiful country South Africa has good business opportunities such as in renewable energy, agriculture, food and beverages, financial services, etc.. There are several who are seriously interested to invest in Malta. They have very good infrastructure and are very organised.

They are the major investors in Africa. They were very interested in hearing about the schemes for small businesses such as loan Guarantee and employment schemes.

Why did you become an entrepreneur? You could say I'm an accidental entrepreneur as I never had anyone in my family connected in any way with business. After 38 years in business, I'm still fascinated and thrilled when I come up with an idea and manage to sell it profitably.

 

How have you come to chose your line of business?

I suppose the creative side of me that eventually pushed me towards the printing trade. When I started, artworks were all done manual since computers were virtually non-existent. Seeing my designs come into fruition is, to say the least, exhilarating!

Where did you go on your last holiday?

A lovely Italian island called Procida. It is slightly larger than our Comino. It's about an hour's ferry drive from Naples. If ever time stood still, it is absolutely here. Anyone who remembers Gozo about 35 years ago will faintly get the picture. Tranquility, Sincerity and "the living is easy" straight out of Aretha Franklin's lyrics. I recommend it to anyone to really get away from it all.

What is your earliest memory?

A remote controlled Jaguar Car I got as a present when I was about 4 years old, given to me by my father's uncle who visited Malta after 40 years abroad. It was my pride and joy for a very long time to come. Jags are still my favourite brand and hold a special soft spot till this very day for me since then!

If you could chose to be someone famous who would you be?

Mother Theresa. Not owning anything is to own everything!