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THIS WAS THE SECOND DEBATE DURING THIS ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN

Event Supported by Convera and Trust Payments

The Malta Chamber of SMEs organised the “Leaders for SMEs” event during which Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition leader Bernard Grech participated in a pre-election meet up for businesses. The event was held at Villa Arrigo.

In his opening address, Malta Chamber of SMEs President Mr Paul Abela referred to the height of the pandemic and said that following discussions with the government, the salary supplement was issued which he described as a measure that saved some 100,000 jobs and was the success of everything.

Paul Abela warned that problems would not stop once Malta is off the grey list, he added that once Malta comes of the grey list – a list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring by the Financial Action Task Force – the country would have to start from the beginning.

Abela also highlighted the problems businesses face while banking. There is increased bureaucracy, the president said, noting how businesses are being asked to fill in forms by a certain date, otherwise the bank would close their accounts.

Referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said that the country has to consider how it will meet the challenges of energy, gas and grain prices.

 

Following Mr Abela’s speech, Malta Chamber of SMEs CEO Ms Abigail Agius Mamo presented 35 election proposals for the consideration of the political parties.

Agius Mamo presented the election manifest during the Leaders for SMEs event, during which Prime Minister Robert Abela and Opposition Leader Bernard Grech addressed SMEs and replied to questions made by members of the SME Chamber.

Ms Agius Mamo remarked that both the Labour and Nationalist Parties are pledging a reduction in tax for businesses. She appealed that this measure does not discriminate between big companies and the self-employed.

Amongst the SME chamber proposals, the chamber is calling for the removal of excise tax especially on personal hygiene products.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ELECTION MANIFEST

The Chamber of SMEs is proposing that more accountability is needed when awarding direct orders and when dealing with public procurement to ensure a level playing field. It also suggested the setting up of a regulator to oversee public procurement and direct orders.

Picking up on earlier points mentioned regarding banking, Abela said: “Sometimes I feel I am losing my patience with this [banking] sector. Whilst I do understand that the banks have to scrutinize their potential and existing clients and carry out the necessary due diligence checks, there is a lot of ‘extra’ bureaucracy which I fail to understand.”

The PL leader noted that this issue often comes up during meetings with the banks.

Abela noted that the FATF had sent a positive sign, saying that Malta “addressed or largely addressed the action plan at the technical level” and said that they look forward to the onsite visit.

During his speech, Abela also spoke about the Ukraine war, and announced that the first oncology patient would arrive this week. The girl will be treated at the Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre.

“The first girl will be arriving from Ukraine to receive treatment,” Abela said, as he thanked Puttinu Cares for their assistance.

Nationalist leader Bernard Grech said businesses fear repercussions. Grech said the Nationalist Party has been consulting with the stakeholders for the past ten years. He remarked that despite frequent meetings, often the party is asked to meet without the media being present.

“Do you want to open the door to your liberty?” Grech asked, questioning businesses whether they would like to continue fearing government backlash if they criticise or voice their disagreement in public.

The Nationalist leader insisted that if the PN is elected to government, everyone would be free to criticise without the need to fear any backlash.

This event was supported by Convera and Trust Payments

A Malta Chamber of SMEs delegation visited the EXPO 2020 Dubai. during this visit the SME Chamber delegation accompanied by Ms Josephine Farrugia, Events coordinator at the EXPO, visited several pavillions and held bilateral meetings with officials from different countries.

The SME Chamber started off by meeting the Dubai Chamber at the EXPO and both sides exchanged ideas and possible further collaboration between both sides.

Following this, the delegation visited the Egyptian pavillion and before touring the pavillion, met two high officials representing the Egyptian Government. dR. kHALED melad Rezek, the Egypt Pavillion Director stated that both countried could increase their relationship and eventually increase business. Mr Mario Debono on behalf the SME Chamber promised that both sides will meet again to discuss further collaboration.

On its first day the SME Chamber delegation visited also the Saudi Arabia pavillion, one of the most impressive pavillions at the EXPO. This was the second largest pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai with a total area of 13,059 sqm. The Saudi Pavilion offers a glimpse into our shared future, taking you on a journey through our ambitions across four main pillars: people, nature, heritage and opportunities.

The SME Chamber delegation also visitied Malta’s pavillion at the EXPO and met Maltese officials working on the pavillion.

“Il-Luzzu” at Malta’s pavillion

SME Chamber delegation meeting Egyptian government officials at the Egyptian pavillion

The SME Chamber delegation also visited and held meething at the Italy pavillion, Mexican pavillion, Australian pavillion, Columbian pavillion, Oman pavillion, Kuwait’s pavillion, Argentina’s pavillion and Hungary’s pavillion.

During this visit, the delegation met H.E. Maria Camilleri Calleja, Ambassador of the Republic of Malta and Permanent Representative of Malta to IRENA Abu Dhabi.

Dr Robert Abela and Dr Bernard Grech will meet up head-to-head for the first time

As part of its pre-election initiatives, the Malta Chamber of SMEs is organising a business event directly with the leaders of the two main political parties.

Dr Robert Abela and Dr Bernard Grech will be present at the SME Chamber’s event to address businesses and communicate their plans for the 5 years to come.

You will get to ASK your question and put forward your PROPOSAL.

Seating is very limited so it is on a first come first served basis.

This event is being held in Maltese. In line with COVID-19 regualtions, the event is open for fully Vaccinated attendees only.

The event is only open to SME Chamber paid up members. Businesses who are not yet members of the SME Chamber will have their registration accepted upon joining as members.

Click here to register

Malta Chamber of SMEs President Mr Paul Abela. among other meetings at the EXPO 2020 Dubai,  met Mr Edin Forto, Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton at a networking event organised at the EXPO Dubai 2020 during the Bosnia and Herzegovina day celebrations.

Mr Abela and Mr Forto discussed possible future collaborations and the current relations between both countries.

Mr Abela accompanied by Ms Josephine Farrugia, Events cooridinator at the Expo 200 Dubai, met the Dubai chamber and visited several interesting pavillions at the EXPO, such as Saudi Arabia, Slovakia and Hungary among others.

Malta Chamber of SMEs Vice-President, International Relations Mr Chris Vassallo met Dr.Peter Krenn, Hon Consul for Liechtenstein to potential new avenues of cooperation between Malta and Liechtenstein.

Mr Vassallo stated that like Malta, Liechtenstein is a small country and therefore both countries may benefit from each other.

 

The wage supplement was introduced in March 2020 followinga proposal by the Malta Chamber of SMEs

Minister Miriam Dalli announced that the COVID-19 wage supplement has been extended to March.

Minister Dalli said that “the government has and continues to support businesses and entrepreneurs, as despite the COVID-19 situation, we want them to grow and strengthen their operations”.

During discussions with Government officials throughout the past weeks, the Malta Chamber of SMEs had emphasised on the importance to extend the wage supplement  until end of March.

Minister Dalli said the extension was approved by cabinet and that the government would be monitoring the country’s economic situation.

“Several sectors were impacted by the pandemic in January and February,  especially tourism. We now expect March to be a time for recovery, which is why we decided that this aid needs to remain” she said.

Malta chamber of SMEs partners, Trust Payments and APS Bank on Thursday announced a new partnership.

APS bank business customers will now be able to accept card payments through a POS terminal and other forms of electronic payments, with the funds being deposited into their APS Bank account.

APS bank customers can also benefit from Trust Payments’ innovative eCommerce platform which equips merchants with easy-to-use tools to build, scale and sell online.

Mr Steve Grech, CEO of Trust Payments Malta, said: “This is a great opportunity for us to work together with APS Bank, a reputable long-established and fast-growing local bank, to help their business customers to access acquiring and eCommerce services and solutions quickly and easily.”

Mr Anthony Buttigieg, Chief Banking Officer at APS Bank, added: “We are constantly working to continue improving our service for business customers. We have decided to partner up with Trust Payments as our merchant services provider, because of their trusted, well established and easy to use service, account management and around the clock technical support.”

Malta Chamber of SME and Trust Payments partnered over a year ago and through this partnership, Trust Payments offer a competitive card payments charges for the SME Chamber members.

Businesses are encouraged to check this out to see how much their business will save as from day one.  If you wish further details kindly send an email on  or call +356 21232881.