Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1147846
25.07.19 11 about where they will live in Malta, which schools they will send their children to and which professionals, such as account- ants, lawyers or architects they will use. Foreigners require more help from us when it comes to obtaining permits from local regulatory authorities. Once the UK announced it was leaving the EU, there was a lot of hype surrounding suggestions that Malta, and another couple of destinations, could benefit a lot from Brexit, with the possible move of UK-based multinational companies here, for passporting accessing to the EU. We have not had much news about the outcome of efforts to promote Malta to such companies, however. Was Malta sufficiently promoted, and have we had any success in attracting companies? Malta has been successful in attracting business from the UK for quite some time. We enjoy an excellent relationship with the UK at all levels: economic, po- litical, and even within the EU, our two countries have often worked close. We are getting a good number of leads due to Brexit, with companies in manufac- turing, financial services and wealth management expressing interest. We regret that the UK has decided to leave the EU, because of this close rela- tionship and a certain affinity with Brit- ain. We speak English, have a similar tax- ation system and several UK companies operate in Malta. There are several factories around Malta that are not being utilised but cannot be allocated to investors because they are the subject of some lawsuit or litigation that is awaiting judgement. How much such factory space is currently held up because of lawsuits? What needs to be done? e number of factories which are be- ing misused or are not operational at all is always decreasing. My successor at MIP and I have strongly addressed this issue. In today's climate of strong economic growth, it is necessary to make the best use of our factories, and we cannot close an eye anymore to disused factories. But we are aware that there are still some factories which are not being used in the right way. In cases where only a small portion of a previously large facto- ry is being used, we try to take back the disused part of the factory, or we relocate the operation to smaller premises. It is not always advisable to take legal action take back ownership of an unused factory. When those concerned lose a court sentence, they often appeal, and this process takes a long time. Moreover a factory can significantly deteriorate in this span of time if it is disused. is said, the problem today has been greatly mitigated. I remember a time when the percentage of unutilised space was significant, but this is no longer the case. And thanks to direct debit, bad debts is no longer anywhere as big an issue as it used to be. What would you consider to be Malta Enterprise's greatest achievement while you have been CEO? And a disappointment? My ethos always was that ME couldn't be the most generous organisation in the world, but that we could excel in the quality of service we offer local and for- eign industry. And, in this respect, we don't encounter much criticism. Indeed, our clients are our best-selling story. Another feather in our cap is that, as I mentioned, all FDI has grown over the last six years. e fact that foreign busi- nesses remain in Malta and expand their operations is very healthy. It's important to attract new businesses, but it is essen- tial to take care of what you already have. From the aspect of investment pro- motion, I think we've done well too. We focus on what we want to achieve in- stead of using a haphazard approach. We have also invested a lot in due diligence, around €1 million annually. In terms of a disappointment, I think that if we had more factories which were in a ready-state for businesses to oper- ate within them, our GDP would have grown even more. Take the medical cannabis sector... had we had factories ready to provide for these firms' before, the companies could have started operating much ear- lier. ey will likely eventually increase Malta's exports by around 20%, and had they started operating earlier because our factories were ready, they could have started contributing sooner. On a personal note... Your tenure as CEO comes to an end at the end of this month. When you were first appointed CEO, did you set yourself any targets? Did you achieve them? As a CEO I set the Corporations tar- gets. ME's first target is the number of projects it wants to attract. e second is to be cost-effective and operate within its budget. e third relates to the efficien- cy of the Corporation, in terms of how long it takes, for example, to implement an incentive. e most important of these is firstly the number of projects we attract. Nor- mally, we aim to attract 25 good foreign projects every year. But it is the mean in terms number of projects which one must take into consideration, since there are fluctuations across the years. For in- stance, during an election year, the num- ber of projects might be a bit less. But then this will be made up for by another years, where more than 25 projects were attracted. It is also essential to attract quality pro- jects. We don't go for numbers. I prefer to attract 20 good projects than 30 pro- jects of which 15 could be questionable. As you leave Malta Enterprise, do you think it is still relevant in today's business environment, with all the other agencies, authorities and entities which might overlap in terms of their remit? Our roles remain to attract local and foreign businesses and to devise incen- tives. e first component - attracting businesses - has remained largely the same in importance since we were estab- lished. But our second, incentive-based role, is more recent and has increased our relevance within the Maltese eco- nomic scenario. What lies in the future for you now? I will be keeping an advisory role with- in ME, and I will remain contributing to Malta's economic growth. But I do not have any particular plans at the moment. Could I have a single adjective to describe the following?: Foreign investment - Competitiveness Cost of living in Malta - Stability Setting up a business in Malta - Easier Bureaucracy - Improvable Brexit - Opportunities INTERVIEW challenges and the benefits Mario Galea's career at Malta Enterprise and its predecessor, Malta Development Corporation, spans four decades. In 2013, after holding the posts of Principal Chief Officer and Senior Advisor to the Board at ME, and after having served as CEO of Malta Industrial Parks, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of ME. Galea is also a director at Projects Malta - the government agency responsible for public private partnerships - as well as being Governor on the board of Education Malta. A graduate in Management (MBA - Executive) from the University of Malta, Galea also read for a first degree in Humanistic Studies (Melit) and a post graduate Masters from Turin.