Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1164933
12.09.19 2 FROM PAGE 1 THE CEOs formed part of a discussion panel at an iGaming Next conference earlier this week about the future of the industry in Malta, with the subject of rent prices dominating the debate. Betsson Group CEO Jesper Svensson, who was on the panel, told Business- Today on Wednesday that the industry was very concerned that the island's in- creased cost of living, mainly driven by higher rent costs, was putting a burden on the salary levels required for their employees. is, he underlined, was making it less viable to scale up operations local- ly. "e price of rent has increased sig- nificantly since we started operating from Malta in 2004, which means that the cost of living for our employees has gone up at a fast rate," Svensson said, "At Betsson we employ 60+ nationali- ties, with the largest cohort being Mal- tese. A too high rent level risks to affect Malta's competitiveness for scaling up further operations in Malta." "e island has a lot going for it – a robust gaming regulatory framework, a huge talent pool of gaming profes- sionals, and much, much more, howev- er the increased cost for salaries due to the higher cost of living is something that concerns us," he emphasised. Asked whether the government was being receptive to the industry's con- cerns, Svensson said that the gaming industry representative body, iGen – which represents most of the large gaming operators in Malta, including Betsson – was one of the stakeholders which was being consulted regarding the proposed rent reform. "I believe all involved understand that it is important that the cost of living does not increase at too high a rate," Svensson added. Government addressing rent challenge When asked for a reaction to the con- cerns, Digital Innovation parliamenta- ry secretary Silvio Schembri insisted that the government had been address- ing the issue through the rent Bill. "is government is not shying away from addressing the challenges the rental sector is posing, and, to that end, a reform in the sector was tabled in Parliament following a wide consul- tation period with all the stakeholders involved," Schembri said. "To date, the government is still open for dialogue and is conducting discus- sions with different segments of our society including gaming companies' representatives," he added. e new rent laws, which still have to be approved in Parliament, would come into force in January 2020. ey lay out that annual rental increases are capped at 5% and set a minimum res- idential lease term of one year. ey also establish a system of tax credits for landlords who give long-term con- tracts, and make it obligatory for all rent contracts to be registered. e Malta Gaming Authority, whose view on the matter was requested by this newspaper, said that, as a regula- tor of the gaming industry, it was not within its remit to be directly involved on such an issue. It acknowledged, however that dis- cussions about the problem between the industry and the government were ongoing. "As the Regulator we do not get in- volved in discussions related to rent laws," an MGA spokesperson said. "Our role is to make sure that compa- nies in possession of an MGA licence are compliant with the laws and reg- ulations governing this industry. is said, we are aware that through the in- dustry representative associations, this area was discussed with GamingMalta, and suggestions were put forward to the respective government entities," the spokesperson said. Betsson CEO says increased cost of living is putting burden on salary levels MC Gaming rent Betsson Group CEO Jesper Svensson MASSIMO COSTA THE total output of the agricultural sec- tor registered a 0.2% increase in 2018 over the previous year, while expenses in- curred under intermediate consumption rose by 3.8%. Gross value added (GVA) in agriculture, however, registered a 3.5% drop compared to 2017, settling at a total of €57.3 million. e rise in total output, which reached €122.1 million last year, together with a 3.8% increase in consumption outlays, which registered at €64.8 million, were contributory factors behind the decrease in GVA. Consumption of fixed capital increased by 6.4% to a total of €6.8 million, while compensation of employees rose by 7.9% to a wage bill of €4.5 million. Nevertheless, the sector was parallelly assisted through the delivery of a range of financial aid through EU-funded pro- grammes. e latter, which amounted to €25.4 mil- lion, helped the net operating surplus of the sector to increase by 31.4% to €71.4 million. Ultimately, upon adding the latter surplus to the negative net property in- come of €1.1 million recorded in 2018, the net entrepreneurial income of the sector is estimated to have improved by 32.1% to €70.3 million. e output in this sector has registered increases in the produce coming from secondary agricultural activities carried out by farmers on their agricultural hold- ings, animal products and livestock prod- ucts of 7.3%, 1.9% and 1.6% respectively. ese, however, were almost completely offset by decreases in crop production of 2.9%. Intermediate consumption, which measures specific expenditure incurred during the production processes of the agricultural sector, was mainly marked by increases in livestock feeding expens- es, energy and fuel costs by 5.7% and 2.9% respectively. Less pork, more sheep and goats e total production of pork saw a 6.3% drop in 2018 compared to the year before, continuing the downward trend regis- tered in the previous years. On the other hand, sheep and goats, poultry, and rabbit production was up by 9.9%, 4.8% and 5.2% respectively. e pro- duction of beef dropped by 0.4%. e production of milk, eggs and other animal products, together with that of wine and cheese all registered increases. In terms of crop products, vegetable production dropped by 8.9%, while that of forage, potatoes and fruits was up by 7%, 5.1% and 13% respectively. Agricultural sector output up 0.2% in 2018 Production of pork decreases by 6.3%, while that of sheep and goats rises by 9.9%