'Trade Malta will help businesses experience a quantum leap' – Chamber President

Trade Malta will help local businesses experience a “quantum leap” when attempting to branch out into foreign markets, Chamber of Commerce President David Curmi said.

He was speaking at the opening of the Chamber’s annual general meeting.

Trade Malta, a public private partnership between the government and the Chamber, was launched earlier this month and is expected to start operating in May. Its first trade mission will involve exportation to Algeria, and Curmi announced that 33 companies have expressed their interest in forming part of this operation.

“Only around 15 of them will be selected but we are encouraged by this high level of interest from our members for this mission,” Curmi said, adding that a CEO for the company will soon be recruited.

Curmi said that the establishment of Trade Malta represented the government’s “ultimate sign of confidence” in the Chamber.

“Our views and positions have been actively sought after by government,” Curmi said. “Our increased influence on the country’s policy makers was made possible by further developing working relations with the authorities who appreciated our focused, objective and evidence-based approach.”

He warned that economic policies should never “in any way create bottlenecks to growth for business”.

“On the other hand, long overdue decisions on improving our business environment must be taken without further delay,” Curmi said. “These include addressing our ‘Ease of Doing Business’ rankings, reviewing the COLA formula to reflect productivity growth besides inflation, ensuring comparable utility tariffs to other competing locations, and reviewing our employment and industrial laws to bring them in line with the realities of today’s labour market.”

The meeting brought Curmi’s two-year tenure as Chamber President to a close. The Chamber have a long history of rotating their presidents every two years, and Curmi’s closing words- a wish of best luck to “his successor”- indicates that this trend could continue. The Chamber’s incoming Council will be voted in before the end of the week, while their next President is expected to be announced on Monday.