Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1105939
18.04.19 15 FINANCIAL SERVICES THE Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce will be holding its annual business forum on 29 April. e forum, themed Doing Business With France, en And In Today's Environment, will take place at the Corinthia Palace Hotel in Attard from 9.30am to 1pm. e Chamber said the forum would be an excellent opportu- nity not only for its members to meet, but also for a discussion to take place on the current business relationship between Malta and France, French busi- nesses in Malta, and on how there can be more collaboration to achieve better commercial results. "is is a special year for us, since the Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce is cel- ebrating its 30th anniversary. ese were 30 years of service to the Maltese and French busi- ness communities, where we grew closer, collaborated and built interest and successful synergies," Chamber president Joseph Bugeja said. e main speakers at the busi- ness forum will be Nancy Caru- ana, permanent secretary in the Economy Ministry, Brigitte Curmi, France's ambassador to Malta, and Helga Mizzi, Malta's ambassador to France. Herald Bonnici, CEO Malta Government Investments Lim- ited, Laurent Zylberberg, Caisse De Depot, Kenneth Farrugia, chief business development officer Bank of Valletta, Philip Martinet, managing director Estate Wines, Bastien Paret, managing director RCI and Stephane Perchenet, deputy di- rector at Business France Agen- cy will also be taking part in the discussion. e business forum is be- ing organised with the help of Transport Malta, Express Trail- ers, ICP-Texinfine, DF Advo- cates, and Cleland and Souchet. Registrations for the business forum should be sent to: odette. vella@mfccmalta.com. Maltese-French Chamber of Commerce to hold annual business forum HSBC Bank Malta plc is making a donation to Hospice Malta for every credit card transaction made by its customers during the month of April. Hospice Malta is Malta's leading organisation committed to support patients and their families who are facing the challenges of a terminal illness through a professional multi- disciplinary team along with the as- sistance of volunteers. Currently, it is caring for around 900 patients and their families. All the services provided by Hos- pice Malta are free of charge. e HSBC campaign is running on all its credit cards and sees any- one using their Premier Credit Card, Advance Credit Card, Visa Classic Credit Card and MasterCard Classic Credit raise money for Hospice Mal- ta. e bank will gather proceeds on behalf of each of its credit cardhold- ers who will use their card in April. Customers will not incur any charges. John Ghigo, Head of Consumer Lending at HSBC Malta, said: "We are proud to support Hospice Malta. We hope that our initiative will help support an institution that brings hope to patients and support to their families as they cope with terminal or life-limiting conditions." Donations can be made directly at hospicemalta.org. HSBC credit card promotion benefits Hospice Malta The forum will provide a platform for a discussion on the current business relationship between Malta and France ALITALIA'S passenger reve- nue has continued its growth trend, with the airline report- ing a 1.4% rise in the first three months of 2019 compared to the same period last year. March was the 16th consec- utive month of passenger rev- enues growth. e result achieved in 2019 is particularly significant when compared with the 2018 first quarter that had seen passenger revenues increase by 6.4% versus the same peri- od in 2017. is figure, however, had benefited from the Easter period – when air traffic tra- ditionally increases – which, contrary to the case in 2019, last year occurred precisely in the first quarter. e Italian carrier's growth was driven in particular by the performance reported in the intercontinental long- haul sector, which increased by 4.3% in Q1 2019, compared to the same period the year before. e airline also saw an increase of 2.8% in interconti- nental long-haul passengers, compared to Q1 2018. Revenues related to the car- go sector increased by 1.9% in Q1 2019 compared to the first three months of 2018, while total revenues in Q1 2019 saw a growth of 2.7% compared to the same period the year pre- vious. Alitalia reports passenger revenue growth in Q1 e Italian carrier saw passenger revenue go up for the 16th consecutive month