Muscat pitches IIP in Singapore: ‘we’re looking for the best candidates’

Malta is nowhere yet its full economic potential, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has told the Global Residence and Citizenship Conference in Singapore, and can still be a ‘Dubai in the Mediterranean’.

“We firmly believe that economically, Malta can be to the Mediterranean what Dubai is to the Gulf, what Singapore is to Asia,” Muscat said. “The Citizenship by Investment programme, through which we want to attract best talent, is one of the ways in which this potential can be achieved,” Muscat said in his latest pitch for the IIP passport sale.

Muscat told the conference that Malta’s economy was out-performing the European average, while creating jobs and attracting record-breaking tourist numbers, with fledgling education and health sectors.

“Over the last twelve months, our real growth rate averaged 3%, six times as much that of the Euro area,” Muscat said, citing Eurostat statistics. “Employment growth in Malta has outstripped by far that in the rest of Europe. In the second quarter of 2014, according to Eurostat, employment grew by 2.6% over the same period in the previous year, while the unemployment rate is at an all-time low.”

“We have a strong manufacturing base, a world class financial services centre, and Europe’s top remote gaming base,” Muscat added. “Not only does Malta not charge its tertiary students for education but it pays them to encourage further specialization, offering free childcare services, and consistently cutting direct taxation.”

He said that credit-rating agency Moody’s latest financial assessment of Malta helped confirm the resilience of the country’s economy.

“Moody’s gave an enviable account of Malta’s economy, describing it as ‘diversified’ and ‘healthy’,” Muscat said.

“We have great ambitions for our country, and we want the very best candidates to undergo a world class due diligence process and join us.  Why are we being so strict?  Simply put, the people we want to attract are as concerned with their application as they are with that of the person next in line.  The people we want to attract have worked hard for their reputation, as much as our country did, and we both want to be associated only with those people who have a similarly good reputation,” Muscat said.

“There will be others who will try to imitate us…. imitation is a form of flattery. To be successful, one should not aspire to be alone but rather to be the best. So, if you are after the cheapest route to citizenship, Malta is not for you. If you are after flimsy due diligence, Malta is not for you. If you are after a programme that allows in all and sundry, Malta is not for you. But if you are after the best, share our vision, and want to join the highest end talent programme in the world, then Malta and our premium Citizenship for Investment programme are for you.”