Malta’s Financial Services Sector Continued To Expand Through 2004

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

03 January 2005

Malta’s financial services sector continued to expand throughout 2004, attracting considerable interest from international sources, according to a report in the Times of Malta.

During 2004, the MFSA issued around 50 new licences for financial services operators, while the Registry of Companies had registered over 2,000 new companies in the first 11 months of the year, around 500 of which have a foreign shareholding.

The report pointed to Malta’s entry into the European Union in May 2004 as a significant factor in the jurisdiction’s attractiveness to international business through the European single passport regulatory system.

There were also a number of other legal developments during 2004 that helped fuel additional interest in Malta from abroad, such as newly enacted trust legislation.

Another example was the adoption of new continuance provisions, which allow companies to de-register from foreign jurisdictions and re-register in Malta at minimal cost, since adopted by more than 300 firms.

Further evidence of the health of Malta as an investment services base was seen with the licensing of five new professional investment funds, whilst several asset managers have established on the island from countries such as Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and the UK under licence from the MFSA, the Times revealed.

MFSA chairman Joe Bannister observed: "Malta's legal, regulatory and policy framework continued to develop this year in line with the needs of a financial sector that is becoming increasingly international in its outlook and orientation.”

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