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All loans are subject to normal bank lending criteria and final approval from the Bank. The term of the loan must not go beyond re rement age. Issued by Bank of Valle a p.l.c., 58, Triq San Żakkarija, Il-Belt Valle a VLT 1130. Bank of Valle a p.l.c. is a public limited company regulated by the MFSA and is licensed to carry out the business of banking in terms of the Banking Act (Cap. 371 of the Laws of Malta). | COM 2411 THE RIGHT ENERGY SAVINGS CHOICE BOV Personal Energy Loan Talk to us | 2131 2020 | bov.com EERE Malta is co-financed by the Republic of Malta, the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund. €1.50 THURSDAY 1 APRIL 2021 • ISSUE 101 WWW.BUSINESSTODAY.COM.MT PAGE 2 PAGE 3 Editorial PAGE 9 ADAPTING TO SURVIVE PAUL COCKS MALTA'S economy will not fully re- cover until 2023 or 2024 at the earliest and only if the vaccination programmes for COVID-19 are rolled out effective- ly, BOV chairman Gordon Cordina told BusinessToday. 2021 will see the start of a recovery to some extent, but nowhere near 2019 levels. "Also, think Darwin. It will not be the strongest or smartest that survice, but those businesses and sectors that are able to adapt the most and the fastest," he said. Cordina said that COVID had ex- posed Malta's economy and businesses to vulnerabilities that were not evident before. "In our small economy, BOV has prov- en to be able to adjust to circumstanc- es," he said. Going forward, he said, BOV - and the local banking sector as a whole - must focus on change. "We need to focus on niches, digital- isation, on going green," he said. "Our success and longevity will depend on how fast our sector, and the authorities, can introduce these changes." Economic recovery 'not before 2023', BOV chairman says Tourism recovery plan to kick off on 1 June NICOLE MEILAK MALTA'S Tourism Recovery Plan will seek to attract tourism activity to Malta, with a funding injection worth €20 million for the industry. One aspect of the plan involves at- tracting free independent travellers (FITs) as of 1 June. ese are travel- lers who plan their own trips and opt to travel alone or in small groups, as opposed to mass tourism strategies that rely on large groups and travel packages. BOV reports profit before tax of €15.2 million in 2020, down from €89.2 million Gordon Cordina

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