Metco Head Says Malta Could Be Centre For International Trade

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, Malta

07 May 2002

Speaking to the Malta Business Weekly last week, Chairman of the Malta External Trade Commission (Metco), Anthony Diacono predicted that Malta will soon become a centre for regional business and international trading in the Mediterranean, and announced that the International Trade Centre project announced by the Maltese government late last year can only serve to strengthen the jurisdiction's position as a location for international business.

However, the Metco chief explained to the MBW that although the development of new business facilities and infrastructure as part of the International Trade Centre initiative would be important in persuading international businesses to locate in Malta:

'The promotion and development of Malta as a hub for foreign and local companies interested in doing business in North Africa and the Mediterranean does not rest and fall with this project.' He continued: 'Promoting Malta as a hub for trade in the region and the Government's International Trade Centre project should be seen as two independent but complementary and mutually reinforcing initiatives.'

He admitted to the weekly newspaper that it was unlikely that Malta could become a 'Singapore in the Mediterranean', but argued that some of fast developing economy's techniques and approaches could be employed in order to capitalise on Malta's central presence in the Mediterranean.

However, he warned that that the low tax jurisdiction's potential as a regional hub is not always self-evident to other countries, and that aggressive promotion and marketing will be necessary in order to secure a reputation as an attractive location for multinationals:

'Hand on heart, Malta is not that well-known nor is it considered as the automatic centre from which to do business in the Mediterranean,' Mr Diacono observed.

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