Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1151507
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 AUGUST 2019 NEWS Hili Finance Company plc is a subsidiary of Hili Ventures Limited Hili Finance Company plc Nineteen Twenty Three, Valletta Road, Marsa, MRS 3000, Malta T 00356 2568 1200 E info@hilifinance.com www.hilifinance.com APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE €80,000,000 3.80% Unsecured Bonds 2029 Sponsor Manager & Registrar Hili Finance Company p.l.c. (the "Company") is offering to the public €80 million Unsecured Bonds due 2029 at the rate of 3.80% of a nominal value of €100 per Bond at par. The Bonds are guaranteed, jointly and severally, by Hili Ventures Limited (C 57902). For more information one should refer to the Prospectus dated 18 July 2019 ("Prospectus"), which may be downloaded from the Company's website. Copies of the Prospectus are also available, together with application forms, from Authorised Financial Intermediaries listed on the Company's website during oce hours. Applications for the Bonds may be made for a minimum of €2,000. The subscription period for preferred applicants is between 24 July 2019 and 13 August 2019 (both days included). As for the general public, subscriptions open on 30 July 2019 and close on 20 August 2019, or earlier if fully subscribed. The Bonds are expected to be admitted to the Ocial List of the Malta Stock Exchange on 4 September 2019 and trading is expected to commence on 5 September 2019. The value of the investments may increase as well as decrease and past performance is no indication of future performance. Prospective investors are to refer to the Guarantee contained in Annex III of the Securities Note forming part of the Prospectus for a description of the scope, nature and term of the Guarantee. Reference should also be made to the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained in the Registration Document and the Securities Note, forming part of the Prospectus, for a discussion of certain factors which should be considered by prospective investors in connection with the Bonds and the Guarantee provided by Hili Ventures Limited. KURT SANSONE FORMER PN executive member Jean Claude Micallef starts off as favourite to take Helena Dalli's (bottom, pic- tured) parliamentary seat when she resigns. Micallef, who fell out with the PN after the 2013 election, joined Joseph Muscat's Labour Party movement and eventually contested the 2017 election on the third district. Dalli's resignation from parliament in a couple of months' time to become Malta's next European commissioner will trigger a casual election on Dis- trict 3. The Labour Party has six unelected candidates on the third district, who could potentially contest the casual election. Micallef, a former TV host, starts as favourite because when he was elimi- nated from the election race on count 25, Dalli inherited 266 votes from him. This means that Micallef will defi- nitely have 266 votes to his name when Dalli's votes are opened for dis- tribution. Micallef's closest challenger is likely to be Marsaskala mayor Mario Calleja, a former police officer. Calleja will definitely have 97 votes to his name, which are the votes Dalli inherited from him when he dropped from the race on Count 19. To get elected in a casual election, a candidate must obtain half the dis- trict quota, which in this case would amount to 1,947 votes. Micallef's advantage is further strengthened by the fact that on the first count he obtained more votes than Calleja. Although the first count vote is completely ir- relevant to the outcome of a casual elec- tion because all candidates start with zero votes, it is an indication of pop- ularity. Calleja received 460 votes on the first count as opposed to Micallef's 670 votes. Micallef would hope that his popu- larity over Calleja would have retained its strength in subsequent preferences awarded by voters. However, a phenomenon that can- not be ignored is Calleja's surname advantage on a ballot sheet where can- didates are listed in alphabetical order. Calleja is sure to benefit from what is popularly referred to as donkey voting, where voters just award preferences from the top of the list to the bottom after having given their first few pref- erences. The other Labour candidates who could contest the casual election are Edric Micallef, Marion Mizzi, Sebas- tian Muscat and Kenneth Spiteri. Dalli immediately stepped down as minister last week when Muscat made public her Brussels nomination. How- ever, she retained her parliamentary seat until formal confirmation as com- missioner in October. Jean Claude Micallef starts ahead in race for Helena Dalli's seat Pretenders to Dalli's seat Names are in alphabetical order as they appeared on the ballot sheet. The votes are the amounts that Dalli inherited from each candidate when they were eliminated. Each of the candidates will start with these votes to their name in the casual election. Casual election quota: 1,947 Mario Calleja: 97 votes Edric Micallef: 37 votes Jean Claude Micallef: 266 votes Marion Mizzi: 5 votes Sebastian Muscat: 4 votes Kenneth Spiteri: 9 votes