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4 NEWS 20.5.2021 PRESIDENT George Vella has officially inaugurated HSBC Malta's new flagship branch, 80 Mill Street in Qormi. Built around customer insights and evolving customer needs, 80 Mill Street has been designed to offer customers convenience and flexibility. e three-storey branch operates on extended opening hours from 8.30am to 7pm Monday to Friday, and from 08.30am to 12.30pm on Saturdays, with 20 on-site parking spaces, including two charging bays for electric vehicles. e eco-friendly credentials of the premis- es are further enhanced through ener- gy-efficient lighting and heating-cooling systems. ese credentials are aligned with HSBC Group's Net Zero ambition, in line with the goals of the Paris Agree- ment to be Net Zero by 2050 or sooner. HSBC Malta's newest branch is among the first branches in the HSBC Group to have the Group's new 'look and feel' customer experience and is HSBC Mal- ta's largest branch in the country. Beyond the availability of traditional ATMs and deposit machines with as- sistance available from the HSBC team on the ground floor, the first floor fea- tures private meeting rooms where customers are welcome to discuss their requirements with specialist advisers for home and personal loans, financial planning, account opening and credit cards, as well as retail business banking. e second floor is dedicated to serving Premier customers. Simon Vaughan Johnson, CEO at HSBC Malta said the new branch rep- resents a new way of banking that em- bodies HSBC's drive to deliver a suite of world-class banking services to its customers as the bank strives to open up a world of opportunities for its cus- tomers. "We aim to offer an enhanced cus- tomer experience that is underpinned by convenience and flexibility. We have listened to our customers and have ex- tended our opening hours to 7pm on weekdays to best meet the needs of our customers, many of whom lead very busy lives," Vaughan Johnson said. "Across all touchpoints, whether it is in branches, on the phone, or through our digital services, HSBC is committed to delivering the best possible customer experience. e significant investments we have made across all these channels are designed to help customers in Malta stay in control of their finances wher- ever they are and whatever their needs may be." HSBC Malta opens 80 Mill Street, Qormi branch President George Vella meeting HSBC Malta staff accompanied by Katherine Borg Costanzi, Branch Manager of 80 Mill Street KARL AZZOPARDI THE finance ministry has denied claims that construction magnate Charles Pol- idano's €40 million tax bill had been re- duced to less than €10 million. e Times of Malta reported on Wednesday that in meetings with sen- ior government officials, Polidano's tax dues were "whittled down to less than €10 million". e alleged deal was to set off a sub- stantial portion of his original tax ar- rears against property handed over to the government as well as construction and excavation works his companies had carried out for a number of state entities but were still awaiting payment. e ministry categorically denied the report, stating the allegations "are man- ifestly unfounded and completely false." It also said there will be no proper- ty-for-tax swap, stating that the Hous- ing Authority back in 2019 had issued a public expression of interest to acquire centrally located and sizeable parcels of land to be developed for social or af- fordable housing. Subsequently, an evaluation commit- tee was set up to evaluate the feasibility of each proposal. ree independent architects, who were not part of the evaluation committee, were requested to make a joint valuation of each site of- fered by bidders. "One of the four proposals received by the Authority's evaluation commit- tee consisted of a 2,000sq.m parcel of land at Luqa currently owned by Pol- idano Properties Limited, adjacent to property already owned by the Hous- ing Authority. is parcel of land was subject to a valuation by the architects engaged by the evaluation committee and a further valuation commissioned by the Office of the Commissioner for Revenue. "On this deed of transfer, the Hous- ing Authority will not be paying the purchase price to Polidano but will be delegated at law to transfer this amount to the Commissioner for Revenue, in settlement of part of the balance due by Polidano. Furthermore, all taxes due in connection with this transfer will be paid to the Government," the govern- ment said. e ministry said it was collecting ar- rears that had remained uncollected for decades, "giving all taxpayers fair and equal treatment to regularise them- selves within the parameters of the law. A credible newspaper ought to do bet- ter," it said. No tax deal with Charles Polidano, government says in denial of reports Charles Polidano

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