As IIP applications hit 300 mark, Muscat flies out to Singapore

As the applications for Maltese citizenship under the Individual Investor Programme have hit the 300 mark, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is on his way to Singapore where he will address the 8th global residence and citizenship conference organised by Henley and Partners.

Just two months ago, MaltaToday revealed that applications had reached over 200, brining in at least €130 million - €100 million more than estimated by Muscat for the first year alone.

It is now understood that a total of 300 applications under the IIP have been submitted. The citizenship by investment programme is administered by Identity Malta. Its CEO, Jonathan Cardona, is also one of the guest speakers at the conference in Singapore.

According to Henley’s programme of events, Muscat and Cardona will be two of 10 speakers, along with the Premier of Navis Vance Amory, Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Cypriot Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis.

Muscat is expected to open the conference with a keynote address on how Malta was “setting a new standard in foreign direct investment”. Muscat’s address will be followed by a presentation on the island's citizenship programme.

According to the programme, André Zarb, tax partner at KPMG Malta, will brief the conference on Malta’s tax system and tax planning under the IIP while Finance Malta chairman Kenneth Farrugia will discuss the domestic financial services industry.

The government of Malta, Finance Malta, KPMG and Bank of Valletta are among the partners of this conference, to be held between the 29 and 30 October.