Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1122280
21 COMMERCIAL THE Malta International Busi- ness Awards (MIBA) celebrates the achievements of Malta-based businesses in international mar- kets. It is an opportunity for busi- nesses to showcase their products and services and to celebrate the capabilities and ingenuity of their leaders and teams. After the resounding success of the 2017 awards, this event is now set to become a regular fea- ture on the national calendar of major business events. The Malta International Busi- ness Awards are conducted with the utmost professionalism, transparency and diligence and, while this may prove a challenge for some, it is a great opportu- nity for ambitious companies to benchmark themselves and their internationalisation efforts against those of other compa- nies. There is no doubt that the com- panies who commit themselves to participate in this competition will learn a lot about themselves in the process and may also find the experience one which im- proves the company's image, while at the same time strength- ening team spirit. The final winners in each cat- egory will be announced at an Awards Night on Friday the 22nd November 2019. TVM's coverage of the 2017 edition of MIBA can be viewed on TradeMalta's YouTube chan- nel. All companies that are short- listed within their category will have a professional video pro- duced, featuring their achieve- ments, and this video will be available for the companies to use as part of their own market- ing collateral. HSBC Malta are the strategic partners of the second edition of MIBA. Furthermore, the awards are endorsed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade Pro- motion and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry. MIBA is being organ- ised in partnership with Grant Thornton, Big Exhibits and BPC International Ltd. Find out more at https://www. trademalta.org/miba-2019/. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 MAY 2019 BENEFITTING from a €4.8 million investment partially funded through the ERDF Programme PBS, which falls within the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government, has embarked on a digitisation project 'Enhancing the Cultur- al Tourism Experience through Digitisation', which should reach completion by 2021. This is the second part of a project which PBS embarked on in 2014, under Priority Axis 5 Protecting our environment, investing in natu- ral and cultural assets. Minister for Justice, Culture and Local Gov- ernment Owen Bonnici explained the impor- tance that this project carries, as it extends our media legacy into the future. "Thanks to this project, we are fully tapping into the informa- tive and educational role which this source of information brings with it, ensuring that pre- cious footage which documents our recent his- tory is preserved and shared with the members of our community, through the interactive as- pect of this project," he said. "This is an impor- tant element of our national heritage, and our intention is to make this available to everyone." He concluded by saying that the ministry's strategy is to make all of this accessible in an experience which will link the past together with the present, with a foresight of the future. With a visual record dating back to 1960, this digitisation project is set to categorise the foot- age legacy in mainly four different categories: culture, events, personalities in history, and lo- cations. Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds and Social Dialogue, Aaron Farrugia, said that the European Regional Development Fund is financing a number of historical and cultural heritage projects which are giving a future to our country's past, for current and future gen- erations. "I held lengthy discussions with Minister Bon- nici in the past weeks on the cultural projects which need to be invested in. I also discussed with Louis Grech, who was the mind behind the project, but is also involved in the EU budget negotiatons. Next year we will close the chapter of EU funds 2014-2020, and have started the ne- gotiations for the upcoming budget 2021-2027, with European cultural heritage and European identity at the top of the agenda", he said. The execution of the project is divided into a number of phases. Phase one was finalised with a complete revamp of the Basement of the Creativity HUB. The project included the set- ting up of eight editing suites, the creation of an open area for indexing and the setting up of a server room for storage and robotics. Editors, directors and metadata inputters are currently engaged with PBS to focus solely on the digiti- sation project. Out of the 24,200 hours, an estimated 19,800 hours of material will be digitised in-house, as formats such as 16mm film, U-matic reels and High Bands are currently being digitised over- seas. The digitisation process is to be followed by indexing and metadata. €4.8 million for the digitisation of 24,200 hours of PBS footage Call for applications for the Malta International Business Awards EQT, a leading investment firm, has signed an agreement to ac- quire Melita Ltd. from Apax Partners and Fortino Capital. EQT Infrastructure intends to support Melita's growth by fur- ther upgrading its fixed and mo- bile networks and opening an additional data centre location on Malta. It will also support Melita's internationalisation strategy including its expansion in Italy as well as its innovative IoT connectivity proposition. Melita will continue to operate under the leadership of CEO Harald Rösch, a longstanding Industrial Advisor to EQT and Melita CEO since April 2016. Ulrich Köllensperger, Partner at EQT Partners and Investment Advisor to EQT Infrastructure IV, comments: "EQT has been built on a passion for developing companies. We invest in good companies across the globe with the aim of turning them not only into great companies but also sustainable ones. This is exactly the formula we aim to apply to Melita, which is already an inno- vator in the Maltese market and beyond in terms of infrastruc- ture, products and customer service. As a result, we are con- fident that the coming months and years will be exciting and rewarding both for Melita's em- ployees and for its customers." Harald Rösch, CEO of Melita, said: "This transaction is anoth- er proof of our success over the last years, built on the hard work from all employees and support from our owners. Thanks to our customers' continued loy- alty and increased trust we have positioned Melita as a telecom market leader in Malta in terms of innovation, technology and customer satisfaction. With the backing of EQT Infrastructure and their extensive experience in our industry, we will continue the journey by developing our networks and providing out- standing customer experience in the years to come. Melita is ideally positioned to grow in the Maltese telecom market and be- yond." The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction. The proposed transaction is subject to custom- ary regulatory approvals. EQT acquires Melita Harald Rösch, CEO of Melita Ltd, will continue to lead the business