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COMMERCIAL 20 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 OCTOBER 2019 BEST known for his role as former British Prime Minis- ter Tony Blair's spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strat- egy, Alastair Campbell, writer, communicator and strategist, will be speaking during EY's Malta Attractiveness Event on 25 October. Though he left a full-time role with the Blair govern- ment in 2003, he returned for the subsequent three general elections to help first Blair, then Gordon Brown and then Ed Miliband. He also advised the Better Together cam- paign against independence for Scotland, and the Remain side in the Brexit referendum campaign. Campbell was very recently expelled from the Labour Par- ty for voting Liberal Democrat in protest at Labour's stance on Brexit. His keynote speech in Malta will be delivered just days before the October 31 Brexit deadline. Now a national weather vane on foreign investment trends, the 15th edition of the EY's Malta Attractiveness Event draws together more than 1,000 of Malta's top CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, advisors, business and gov- ernment leaders to discuss all investment, business and technology and the economy . Alistair Campbell will join over 50 speakers from all walks of business, public sector, lo- cal and foreign life. Amongst them there will be a much- anticipated keynote speech by John Simpson, world affairs editor of BBC News, who has spent all his working life at the BBC and has reported from more than 120 countries. Joseph Muscat, Malta's Prime Minister, Adrian Delia, Leader of the Opposition, and Christopher Schmitz, EY Fin- Tech Leader will also deliver keynote speeches. The results of the EY Mal- ta Attractiveness Survey, an annual study conducted amongst existing FDI com- panies in Malta, will be un- veiled. Having now become the national benchmark on the matter, it gives the most up to date and accurate analy- sis of current investors' views on the country's present and future prospects. A range of NextWave: Fu- ture Of… Sessions is designed to help CEOs and business leaders explore future trans- formation. These include the Future of Cities, the Future of Mobil- ity, the Future of Banking and Payments, the Future of Mak- ing and Trading, and the Fu- ture of Tech. The event will take place on Friday 25 October, between 7.30am - 4.30pm at the In- terContinental Arena Con- ference Centre, followed by post-event networking drinks. For more information and to register please visit www. ey.com/mt/attractiveness. For any queries contact events@ mt.ey.com. This event will be accredited by the Malta In- stitute of Accountants in ac- cordance with the AB accredi- tation rules. Alastair Campbell to discuss Brexit during EY's Malta Attractiveness Event 'TAX Incentives - Corporate and Per- sonal Pensions' was the theme of an in- formation session recently organised by Bank of Valletta in collaboration with the Gozo Business Chamber. In her opening address, Vicky Xuer- eb, Director General Strategy and Sup- port from the Ministry for Gozo, said that the issue of corporate pensions is of critical importance within an island region which is characterised by an ageing population where life expec- tancy is increasing. Gozo has a higher concentration of older persons which is above that of the national average. She continued that there is huge potential for corporate pensions tailored to suit the specific needs of Gozo. In light of the special circumstances that char- acterise socio-economic development within Gozo, there is the need to create incentives to make occupational pen- sions attractive. David Spiteri Gingell, leading the ĠEMMA financial education cam- paign led by the Ministry for the Fam- ily, Children's Rights, and Social Soli- darity, explained in detail the Pension Framework, voluntary occupational re- tirement schemes and financial educa- tion for employees. He spoke about the costs of losing an employee, which go beyond recruitment and training costs, saying that a good solid Voluntary Oc- cupational Retirement Scheme can be a strategic tool for companies to retain employees. Mario Farrugia, Head Bancassurance from Bank of Valletta, discussed tax incentives on the setting up of Corpo- rate and Personal Pensions. He said that most people put their mind at rest thinking that being home owners is enough, as this makes them asset rich. While this is a good thing in itself, simi- lar to a business venture, they would require liquidity to meet the day-to-day expenses and ultimately live comfort- ably upon retirement. Farrugia stressed on the importance of changing the mind-set about pension plans and encouraged participants, both on a personal and a corporate basis to delve deeper into the subject and benefit from incentives while preparing them- selves and their employees for the future. Joseph Borg, President, Gozo Busi- ness Chamber concluded the session by thanking 'Bank of Valletta' for their sup- port. While highlighting the upcoming events for the coming months Joseph Borg commented how the Chamber has been of service to its members for the last 20 years, having been set up in De- cember 1999. He commended all those who throughout these years gave up their time on a voluntary basis to sus- tain its efforts. Companies interested in getting more information about corporate and per- sonal pensions can send an email to bancassurance@bov.com. Discussing tax incentives on pensions in Gozo