Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1287818
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 SEPTEMBER 2020 NEWS Cases 2274 Active 409 Recoveries 1850 Deaths 15 Swabs 212,833 LATEST COVID-19 www.maltatoday.com.mt/covid19 † BALZAN, on September 10, REYNOLD aged 82, ex-Malta Dock- yard and Malta Shipbuilding manager, and ex-football referee, passed peacefully at Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre, comforted by the rites of the Holy Church. He leaves to mourn his loving wife Antoinette née Gauci, his dearest son Saviour and his wife Joanna, his dearest daughter Mariella and her husband Alan, his grandchildren Francesca, Matthew, Julia and Sarah, his sisters Doris and Rosa, and his sister-in-law Miriam, other relatives and friends. The funeral cortege leaves Mater Dei hospital tomorrow at 2pm for the Parish church, Ħ'Attard where mass praesente cadavere will be celebrated at 2:30pm followed by interment in the family grave at Santa Maria Addolorata Cemetery. May the Lord grant him eternal rest. The directors and staff at Mediatoday Co. Ltd and all its newspapers convey their profound sympathies to the Balzan family. Reynold, a man of unassuming manner, imparted a gentle and calming presence whenever he visited the Mediatoday offices, but was known to be a man of honesty, fortitude, and high moral values. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "As a small economy dominat- ed by export-oriented services, Malta is particularly sensitive to global developments like this year's COVID-19-induced re- cession." The COVID-19 pandemic will drive large fiscal deficits, likely reaching 8.7% of GDP in 2020 and 4.5% in 2021. The re- duction of government debt to 43% of GDP in 2019, well below the Stability and Growth Pact benchmark, from 69% in 2011, gives Malta fiscal headroom to withstand the economic shock associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Malta is the second most open economy in the euro area, with exports totaling more than 140% of GDP. But real GDP dropped by 16.2% year-on-year in sec- ond-quarter 2020, following 1.4% growth in the first quarter. The global travel restrictions kneecapped Malta's tourism sector. "Because tourism activity will likely be depressed for some time, we expect it will take until 2022 for tourist arrivals and ho- tel occupancies to return to 2019 levels. The pandemic may also hurt the arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors, which increased its share in Malta's GDP to 7.6% in 2019 from 2.5% in 2000." COVID-19 containment meas- ures however have significantly constrained consumer spending and investment. "Without this comprehensive fiscal response, we think the Maltese GDP would have fallen considerably lower, unemployment would have surged faster, and solvent businesses would be forced to liquidate, eroding the econo- my's productive base, perhaps permanently. We believe that minimizing the economic dis- ruption now could accelerate a rebound." S&P forecasts real GDP growth will resume gradually (5.5% in 2021-2022), on the back of loos- ening restrictions and a slow pick-up in global tourism. Climate and money laundering S&P has noted that Malta's rising population has made it the most urbanized and dense- ly populated country in the EU and particularly vulnerable to climate risks. The country is cur- rently off track in relation to its 2020 and 2030 climate and ener- gy targets. Perceived weaknesses in the effectiveness of some Maltese institutions could also gnaw at the country's reputation due to deficiencies in anti-money-laun- dering-related investigation and subsequent prosecution, concerns regarding the use of suspicious transaction reports from the remote gambling sec- tor, and lack of adequate human and technical resources in the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) and Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). "In- creasing international scrutiny of Malta's financial system and reports of persistent weakness- es in regulatory oversight have tainted the local banking sector's reputation, straining relation- ships with correspondent banks that have pursued de-risking strategies," S&P said. "We understand that the Mal- tese authorities have commit- ted to strengthening supervi- sory standards. Both the FIAU and MFSA have increased their budgets and investments in hu- man resources and information technology solutions, and have adopted strategies to improve data gathering and risk-assess- ment tools." MONEYVAL has extended the deadline to October 2020 for Malta to tackle the identified deficiencies. Failure to address these weaknesses will further pressure the financial sector and overall business climate in Mal- ta, considering the heightened international scrutiny of finan- cial systems worldwide. COVID measures to accelerate Maltese rebound New COVID-19 cases 27 new COVID-19 cases were detected between Friday and Saturday, while 17 patients re- covered according to statistics released this afternoon. 17 COVID-19 patients have recovered in this period. A to- tal of 1647 tests were carried out, giving a positive swab rate of 1.64% for the past 24 hours. Malta currently has 409 ac- tive coronavirus cases out of a total 2,274 cases detected since March. 15 people have died of the illness since the be- ginning of the pandemic. Deputy PM Chris Fearne (left) with PM Robert Abela. S&P said COVID-19 emergency measures will help the economic rebound