Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1389761
S peaking at an MCESD event, con- cerning the submission of our recovery and resilience plan, par- liamentary Secretary Zrinzo Azzopardi explained that various initiatives will be taken towards digitalisation. MCESD chairman James Pearsall fur- ther commented on other pillars in the plan such as 'smart' and resilient econo- my measures still to be taken. Once ap- proved at EU Council level, such funds will also be invested to strengthen the quality of our educational sector. e EU's €672 billion recovery and resilence plan will provide a combina- tion of grants and cheap loans to EU member states, subject to the approval of national plans. Malta's share will be €320million (loans and grants). e Re- covery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is at the core of the Commission's Next Generation EU instrument and aims to foster sustainability amongst European economies and to support the transition towards green and digital economies. For us it is pennies from heaven com- ing so close to last week's fatal blow when the FATF tarred us with its brush as a grey-list country. Be that as it may, analytic and predictive tools have be- come more powerful, so local business- es will need strong data management strategies to compete and survive. Readers appreciate the need for Malta to seriously upgrade its digital footprint now that 5G bandwidth is freely avail- able. As pervasive as the digital transfor- mation may seem—especially during a time increasingly dominated by a slow down due to a pandemic ( hopefully on its way out )—the fact is, we have really just scratched the surface in our quest to build an all-digital, all-connected future. Digital transformation isn't only a way to stay competitive — it is a pre-requisite for success in a 21st cen- tury economy. e uncertainty created by COVID-19 has shown more than ever that coun- tries must be adaptable if they're to succeed in the long term. What will this mean for us now and beyond, especially as the world adapts to the "new normal" following the pandemic? We need to attract multinationals of calibre. To make up for lost time, maybe we need to look to partner with giants such as SoftBank loaded with its dom- inant digital competencies. Typically SoftBank Robotics launched the chest- high Pepper robot in 2014 and notice the meteoric rise of its founder vision of a technology-powered future as he built his overseas investing operations.Soft- Bank "will continue to make significant investments in next-generation robots to serve our customers and partners," the French robotics business said in a statement. On a superlative note, SoftBank was ranked second globally for voice app experience, which measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as LINE, WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, among others. SoftBank has strived to improve telecommunication quality and speeds so customers can en- joy mobile communications, the Inter- net, video streaming services and social platforms stress-free. In a true spirit of resilience, SoftBank will continue to build a telecommuni- cations environment that is convenient for customers, as well as provide servic- es and solutions that meet their needs. SoftBank was the global winner for vid- eo experience, a metric that measures the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's network, and games experience, a new category that analyses latency and the overall gaming experience when using an operator's network. Moving on, we note how a new invig- orating spree has seen SoftBank buy a 40% stake in Norwegian robotics com- pany AutoStore in a deal worth €2.4bn. is is a scoop and adds another feather in Softbank's cap. It comes as no sur- prise that AutoStore is a prodigy com- pany which develops warehouse auto- mation technology. It is well respected for its cuboid systems that reduce the space needed to store goods. It is no exaggeration to laud AutoStore when it proudly admits that it has de- ployed 20,000 robots across 35 coun- tries. Its top clients include Puma and Siemens. A sister subject to digital transforma- tion is the disruptive technology of AI. Experts assure us that when harnessed it has a benign purpose and is helping in various ways, for example, to link var- ious civilisations, improve crop yields, scan persons for traces of infection in airports, schools etc. and speed up pro- gress in complex human genome clas- sification. It has become a cliché how digital transformation in advanced Western countries has opened the path to artifi- cial intelligence. Such machines can do medical assessments during epidemics when over-worked doctors are busy tending the sick. Imagine how - soon - there will be robots which are efficient and devoid of emotions quietly super- vising hundreds of complex factory op- erations-possibly during the temporary absence of workers cordoned off under extended quarantine mandated during pandemics. Both digital giants and new, emerg- ing market entrants are led by digital mindsets, driven by how to disrupt their existing market or an entirely new one. Incumbents, who often seek to subtly adapt, need to break free from the shackles of the past and act boldly to seize the opportunities of the future. How can Malta take a giant leap for- ward in the digital world when its re- search and development fund is so lil- liputian? With meager funds of 0.6% of GDP allocated to R&D, this topic is a non-starter unless we manage to attract multinationals which can transfer such technology. e exploitation of 5G in the cloud is also a potential area for local industry to avail itself more of such facilities. On a global scale, according to research and markets, it is expected to reach $10.6 billion by 2028, growing at 79.2% annu- ally. In another development in the US, we read about Verizon working on con- nected drones that could be deployed at locations hit by natural disasters, avoid- ing putting a human in danger and con- trolled by a single operator from hun- dreds of miles away, with live video and thermal imagery available to anyone in the world. In conclusion, the resilience and re- covery plan (when it is approved) se- cures funds for a digital and a green transformation. Such a post-COVID-19 revolution al- lows businesses to implement a digital transformation, keeping in mind that this is not only a journey to adopt new technologies but also reformulating day-to-day operations and the way they connect with international buyers. MCESD - What are the chances of attracting multinationals? George Mangion George Mangion is a senior partner of an audit and consultancy firm, and has over 25 years experience in accounting, taxation, financial and consultancy services. His efforts have seen PKF being instrumental in establishing many companies in Malta and ensured PKF become one of the foremost professional financial service providers on the Island 8 OPINION 1.7.2021 MCESD chairman James Pearsall