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BUSINESS TODAY 4 Juy 2019

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04.07.19 3 NEWS ZONE 1 ZONE 2 ZONE 3 ZONE 4 ZONE 5 The Central Business District Foundation in collaboration with MaltaPost has launched new customised Postcodes covering all organisations in the Central Business District. The general public can obtain any local Postcode by accessing it at www.maltapost.com/postcode THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT FOUNDATION Vision Exchange Buildings, Level 2, Triq It-Territorjals, Zone 1, Central Business District, Birkirkara CBD 1070 info@cbdmalta.org | www.cbdmalta.org In Collaboration with MaltaPost p.l.c. MASSIMO COSTA THE Malta Gaming Authority cancelled the gaming licenses of eight operators in 2018, a relatively signifi cant rise over the three such licenses which were cancelled the previous year. In 2018, the MGA also suspended four operators, a drop from the three suspend- ed in 2017, issued 16 notices of reprimand and 73 notices of breach, and imposed a total of 139 administrative fi nes on opera- tors following various regulatory breaches. e fi gures emerged from the Author- ity's 2018 Annual Report, published on Monday, which underlined the strong emphasis on eff ective enforcement which the MGA put in place last year. " roughout 2018, the MGA mainly focused on the implementation of the new Gaming Act which empowered the Authority to further strengthen its regu- latory oversight," the MGA said in a state- ment. "Furthermore, the MGA focused on the regulatory compliance through im- plementation of a number of innovative internal and external initiatives which improved overall governance and super- vision of the gaming sector. In 2018, the Authority continued to further strength- en its Anti-Money Laundering/Combat- ing Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) supervision, in order to ensure eff ective- ness in the mitigation of ML/FT risks re- lating to gambling services." In 2018, the MGA and Financial Intelli- gence Analysis Unit jointly issued the Re- mote Gaming Implementing Procedures – Part II that were directed toward the re- mote gaming sector. roughout the year, both Authorities participated in coopera- tive initiatives to strengthen the oversight of the gaming sector. roughout 2018, the MGA conducted a total of 33 AML/CFT full-scope exam- inations, eight of which were conducted jointly with the fi nancial services watch- dog. e Authority's Fit & Proper Committee deemed 63 individuals or companies to be unsuitable for a licence, or for a signif- icant role in a licensee. In particular, 37 of these were related to individuals or com- panies considered as not having satisfi ed the integrity and reputation pillars of the MGA's fi t and proper criteria due to pos- sible connections to money laundering or funding of terrorism. Around 2,000 crim- inal probity screenings were conducted during the course of 2018 e number of gaming license applica- tion received in 2018 stood at 209, rough- ly similar to the 220 issued in 2017. Last year, however, saw a drop in the number of licenses issued, with 93 such licenses having been granted in 2018 compared to the 165 in 2017. e remaining licens- es are still going through the acceptance process. Moreover, eight license applica- tions were rejected in 2018. MGA cancels eight gaming licenses, suspends four operators in 2018 QATAR Airways celebrat- ed the launch of its Doha to Malta route with a host of elite local and internation- al guests during a VIP cor- porate dinner at the Hilton Hotel on 1 July 2019. The evening was hosted by Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, who welcomed VIP guests, including President Dr George Vella, the Charg- es d'Affaires to the Ambas- sador of the State of Qatar to Malta, Khalid Ali Abdul- la Abel, Malta's Minister of Tourism Konrad Mizzi, Economy Minister Christ Cardona, and Foreign Af- fairs Minister Carmelo Abela, as well as the CEO of Malta International Air- port, Alan Borg. In his keynote address, Ak- bar Al Baker said the airline was thrilled to add Malta to Qatar Airways' rapidly ex- panding European network. "With the flexibility of a daily service during the tourism high season in summer, and four weekly passenger flights in winter, we are confident that Malta will quickly establish itself as one of our new key routes in the region," he said. The new direct services to Malta will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft, featuring 12 seats in Busi- ness Class and 120 seats in Economy Class. As well as enjoying the award-winning in-flight service on board, passen- gers travelling to Malta will also have access to Oryx One, Qatar Airways' in-flight entertainment system, offering the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Qatar Airways current- ly operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad Inter- national Airport (HIA) to more than 160 destinations worldwide. Malta has also joined Qatar Airways' air freight network, with the carrier's cargo arm offering a total capacity of 21 tonnes to and from Malta each week, and a direct connection to desti- nations in Europe, the Mid- dle East and the Americas via Doha. Qatar Airways celebrates Launch of direct services to Malta

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