Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1320058
7 EDITORIAL BusinessToday is published every Thursday. The newspaper is a MediaToday publication and is distributed to all leading stationers, business and financial institutions and banks. MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EDITOR: PAUL COCKS BusinessToday, MediaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN9016, Malta Newsroom email: bt@mediatoday.com.mt Advertising: afarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt Telephone: 00356 21 382741 C haracterised by a global pandem- ic that wreaked havoc in societies, 2020 has been a terrible year for everyone. e vast majority of businesses have also had it bad with 2020 likely to be a screaming outlier in their accounts for many years to come; that is if they sur- vive. e Economist Intelligence Unit is fore- casting a slow and painful global recovery in 2021 that will be uneven across the dif- ferent sectors. Some companies will close, others will consolidate and yet others will shift their business model towards digital services. Jobs may be lost and financial institutions are likely to face a raft of non-performing loans. But there will also be opportunities for diversification. Government support throughout 2020 has helped in no small way to ensure businesses continued to throttle on, while saving jobs. is will remain a crucial sur- vival strategy going into the new year. Finance Minister Clyde Caruana's com- ments over the weekend that the current level of support is expected to be extend- ed at least until March was a welcome de- velopment. It gives a measure of certainty. And his comments could not have come at a better time given the appearance of joblessness as a concern in a MaltaToday survey published last Sunday. A COVID-19 vaccine is now expected towards the end of December and this brings with it a ray of hope that life can start returning back to normal. But it will neither be a quick return, nor one that goes back to the exact same point it was in February 2020 just before life was rudely interrupted by the corona- virus pandemic. For starters businesses will have to gauge consumer behaviour and under- stand how this has changed as a result of the pandemic. Socialisation and travel- ling patterns may not be the same. ere is also the reality of depressed in- comes and families who will want to build up their cash reserves again after plun- dering them to survive the COVID-19 onslaught. e economic injection the government vouchers are expected to give in the first few months of 2021 will be an important contribution. But demand will not pick up quickly. e same can be said of tourism, where Malta must use all its efforts to lure back the numbers. Alongside the traditional offerings of culture, heritage, events, the sea, sun and fun, the tourism authorities must also market the country's safety and good healthcare system. Every dark cloud has a silver lining and the pandemic has served as an oppor- tunity for some businesses to explore a diversified product and service offering over the past months. ese initiatives must be encouraged and helped by Malta Enterprise. In 2021, it is going to be crucial for companies to invest in technology, on- line platforms and processes that can fu- ture-proof the enterprise in the event of another catastrophic event. Malta must also step up its efforts to attract foreign manufacturing firms and help those already here to expand and modernise. e country could attract firms that specialise in research and innovation of green energy products and healthcare. Having a solid manufacturing base will help minimise the dependence on tour- ism for exports – a painful lesson we learnt in 2020. A continued investment in the country's infrastructure is also a must. As annus horibilis comes to a close, it also ends with a glimmer of hope that 2021 will be annus mirabilis – a wonder- ful year. One may argue that any year after 2020 could be described as wonderful. ere is some truth in this but with an all-round effort and forward thinking, 2021 can serve as a relaunch for industries and business operators. From annus horribilis to annus mirabilis, one hopes 17.12.2020