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6.5.2021 6 OPINION HSBC Bank Malta is launching Business Plan for the Planet to assist businesses and corporations in their transition to a sustainable, low carbon business mod- el. Climate change needs solid strategy and HSBC believes that businesses are uniquely placed to help. By mobilising the capital required to fi- nance the transition to a sustainable mod- el by HSBC Malta customers, the bank is helping to support the real economy in the change to a green future. e initiative is part of the bank's global commitment to help developed and developing countries address climate change while achieving prosperity and economic development. is change has, to some extent, been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic which has seen Government fiscal stimu- lus increasingly linked to climate goals. As a result, more companies are committing themselves to 'net-zero' emissions while sustainability-aligned investments have been outperforming since the start of the crisis. Joyce Grech, Head of Commercial Banking at HSBC Malta, said: "HSBC believes that the challenges of climate change and sustainability can be met if business is part of the solution. Entre- preneurs have the skills, systems, and re- sources to make the changes we all need. rough Business Plan for the Planet, HSBC Malta, together with the rest of the HSBC Group, is providing the support business needs to create a prosperous and sustainable future." In addition to supporting clients around the world, HSBC's bold ambition to be- come the leading bank for the transition to a net-zero economy also includes a commitment for the bank itself to be- come a net-zero business and to directly support new solutions to tackle climate change. Maltese businesses encouraged to tap into HSBC's sustainable business initiative Post-COVID-19: urgency to adapt to the new normal is increasing, EIB says WHILE investment by Maltese firms has been highly impacted by COV- ID-19, with more than half of firms re- porting that they are investing less, the urgency for investment to adapt to the new normal is increasing. is was stated during a presentation of the annual survey conducted by the European Investment Bank (EIB). e results of the survey were explained during a webinar organised jointly by the EIB and the Central Bank of Malta (Bank). e survey – carried out between May and August 2020 – found that despite the harshness of the crisis, per- ceived obstacles to investment were lower than the previous year, except for the prevailing general uncertainty and availability of finance. e EIB found that financing constraints were larger in the construction and infrastructure sector and for micro and small compa- nies. e survey also looked at the adop- tion of digital technologies and invest- ment in climate change mitigation. e EIB Group Survey on Invest- ment and Investment Finance has been carried out annually since 2016 in all EU Member States – including Malta – and covers a sample of firms in the UK and the USA. e webinar held on Monday was one of a series being organised by the EIB in the Member States. A presentation on the Maltese econo- my was made by the Bank's Head of the Economic Analysis Department Rita Schembri. e well-attended webinar was ad- dressed by Minister for Finance and Employment Clyde Caruana, while the opening remarks were made by the EIB's Vice-President Dario Scannapie- co and the Bank's Deputy Governor Sandro Demarco. e Governor of the Central Bank Ed- ward Scicluna chaired a panel discus- sion with key stakeholders involved in investment finance and business trans- formation. ese included Mahmood Pradhan, Deputy Director, Europe- an Department, IMF, Josef Bonnici, Chairman of the Malta Development Bank, Rick Hunkin, Chair of the Mal- ta Bankers' Association, Marisa Xuer- eb, President of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Indus- try, Paul Abela, President of the Malta Chamber of SMEs, and Andrea Clerici from the Rome Office of the EIB. e panel discussion tackled some of the most salient aspects with regards to economic recovery, starting with the understanding that we should be looking at a 'new normal', rather than assuming that things will simply go back to the way that they were prior to the pandemic. e panelists stressed the importance of investment – particularly when it comes to digitalisation and climate change – and the strengths of Malta's regulatory environment. ere is no doubt that the pandem- ic is one of the biggest challenges our economy has faced. However, it was also clear from the discussion that one of the most important things was not just access to finance but to reassure firms that they could have the confi- dence which is a prerequisite for in- vestment. Commenting on the meeting, Prof. Scicluna stated: "We were fortunate to have had an excellent group of speak- ers from leading institutions in Malta, Luxembourg and Washington. eir perspectives of the post-pandemic period gave the meeting a number of insights on how to narrow the existing digital and green gaps." Central Bank of Malta governor Edward Scicluna

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