The Maltese financial services sector has grown very rapidly during the last few years and is now providing a strong positive contribution to the country’s productivity and employment levels. In a relatively short time, this sector has developed into one of the major pillars of the Maltese economy together with tourism and manufacturing.
There have been a number of key factors which have helped the Maltese financial services industry achieve such positive results. Malta operates an EU-compliant regulatory regime encompassed within a single supervisory authority, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), which addresses the need for speed, flexibility and minimal bureaucracy. The use of English as the local business language, the availability of a professional, multi-lingual and skilled labour force providing efficient services at a fraction of the cost found elsewhere in Europe, a modern and competitive tax environment, a world class IT and telecommunications infrastructure and an advantageous geographical position right at the centre of the Mediterranean, make Malta an ideal place to act as a regional hub.
The process leading to Membership of the European Union in 2004 and the adoption of the Euro in 1 January 2008 as the national currency, have pushed the Maltese economy, including its financial services industry, into the realities of an increasingly globalised market. New technologies are opening up new business opportunities and new economic realities are creating the platform for more and more competitive forces to come into play not only within Europe itself, but on a global dimension.
Malta Stock Exchange plc has also shared in this success and today we can safely say that it is an institution occupying an important niche in the Maltese financial and economic infrastructure with a strong tradition of integrity and efficiency not only domestically but internationally. Malta Stock Exchange plc is, in fact, an active member of important standard-setting international organisations such as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions Organisation, the World Federation of Exchanges, the Federation of European Securities Exchanges and the European Central Securities Depositaries Association. The Exchange is very sensitive and actively participates in the international debate on the major issues related to the workings of securities markets.
I believe that the Exchange's website provides an important source of information about the operations of the Malta Stock Exchange plc as well as about the capital market in Malta.
About the MSE
