Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1448619
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 6 FEBRUARY 2022 NEWS Hili Finance Company plc is a subsidiary of Hili Ventures Limited | Hili Finance Company plc, Nineteen Twenty Three, Valletta Road, Marsa, MRS 3000, Malta | T 00356 2568 1200 | E info@hilifinance.com APPLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE €50,000,000 4% Unsecured Bonds 2027 Hili Finance Company p.l.c. (the "Company") is offering to the public €50 million Unsecured Bonds due 2027 at the rate of 4% of a nominal value of €100 per Bond at par. The Bonds are guaranteed, jointly and severally, by Hili Ventures Limited (C 57902). For more information one should refer to the Prospectus dated 27 January 2022 ("Prospectus"), which may be downloaded from the Company's website. Copies of the Prospectus are also available, together with application forms, from Authorised Financial Intermediaries listed on the Company's website during office hours. Applications for the Bonds may be made for a minimum of €5,000. The subscription period for preferred applicants is between 14 February 2022 and 4 March 2022 (both days included). The Bonds are expected to be admitted to the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange on 21 March 2022 and trading is expected to commence on 22 March 2022. The value of the investments may increase as well as decrease and past performance is no indication of future performance. Prospective investors are to refer to the Guarantee contained in Annex III of the Securities Note forming part of the Prospectus for a description of the scope, nature and term of the Guarantee. Reference should also be made to the sections entitled "Risk Factors" contained in the Registration Document and the Securities Note, forming part of the Prospectus, for a discussion of certain factors which should be considered by prospective investors in connection with the Bonds and the Guarantee provided by Hili Ventures Limited. This advertisement has been issued by Hili Finance Company p.l.c. ("Issuer"), a public limited liability company with registration number C 85692 and having its registered office at Nineteen Twenty-Three, Valletta Road, Marsa MRS 3000, Malta. A Prospectus dated 27 January 2022 ("Prospectus") for the offer of 4% Unsecured Bonds 2027 ("Bonds") was issued, and an application is made for the Bonds to be listed on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange ("MSE"). The approval of the Prospectus by the MFSA should not be understood as an endorsement of the Bonds offered and admitted to trading on the Official list of the MSE. The value of the investment can down as well as up and past performance is not necessarily indicative of future performance. The Bonds are guaranteed by Hili Ventures Limited ("Guarantor") a private limited liability company registered in Malta with company registration number C 57902. The Guarantor, jointly and severally with the Issuer, irrevocably and unconditionally guarantees, in the event that the Issuer fails to pay, each Bondholder any sum payable. Prospective investors are to refer to the Guarantee contained in the Prospectus including the relevant Risk factors. The Guarantee entitles Bondholders to take action against the Guarantor without having to first take action against the Issuer and, therefore, the level of recoverability by the Bondholders is dependent upon and directly linked to the financial position and solvency of the Guarantor. Prospective investors are urged to consult their Independent Financial Advisor prior to investing in Bonds of the Issuer. Investments should be based on the full details of the Prospectus, including the Risk factors, which is available from www.hilifinance.com or from Authorised Financial Intermediaries listed therein. This advertisement has been approved for issue by Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Limited ("CCIS") on behalf of the Issuer. CCIS acts as Sponsor to the issue. CCIS is licensed to undertake investment services business in Malta by the MFSA under the Investment Services Act, Cap 386. CCIS, Ewropa Business Centre, Triq Dun Karm, Birkirkara BKR 9034, Malta. www.hilifinance.com NICOLE MEILAK FAULTY levelling and poor- ly-placed rainwater grills along a stretch of the Central Link road has been a cause for concern for an Attard businessman, as pud- dles of water several inches deep keep accumulating outside his showroom during rain showers and heavy downpours. The stretch of tarmac in ques- tion lies further up from the Har- ley Davidson showroom, where hundreds of cars whizz through the newly-renovated street con- necting Attard to Rabat. During works on the Central Link project, the road was re- surfaced in such a way that the road dips to the side and forces water to accumulate near the pavement, with nowhere for it to drain out. There are two nearby rainwa- ter grills. One is placed around the corner to collect rainwater coming from the nearby bend, while another is placed further down to catch some rainwater as it slides down the road. Between the placement of the gutters and the levelling of the road, a lot of the water coming from the Central Link project ends up sitting by the pavement until it drains naturally into the asphalt. A local businessman, who owns one of the nearby show- rooms, said that this problem first cropped up last year after works finished in the area of the Central Link project. During one bout of heavy rainfall last October, he noticed the rainwa- ter collecting right outside his showroom with nowhere to go, together with the rubbish car- ried in by the rainwater. He realised that the rainwa- ter has nowhere to go as both ends of the road in front of his showroom are at a higher level than the middle part near his en- trance. After taking some photos and videos of the incident, he tried contacting Infrastructure Malta, Transport Malta, and the Minis- try for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects to see if the issue can be rectified. "I have been bringing this problem to the attention of the authorities, namely to Transport Malta and Infrastructure Malta, from August but nothing was done to solve this issue." Indeed, the contractor carrying out the works along the road had warned the businessman that this issue would arise. He point- ed out that any rainwater falling along the area will have no way of finding itself into any of the nearby gutters. Despite reaching out to author- ities months ago, any promises of a solution where never fol- lowed through. "I have never received any sort of notification from Infrastruc- ture Malta even though the CEO, Frederick Azzopardi, was copied in each and every corre- spondence." The pedestrian experience walking along the road is far from desirable. As cars pass by and water accumulates, both the showroom facade and any passers-by on the pavement would be showered by the dirty water on the road. "It was fu- tile to explain to the authorities that when it rains it is practically impossible to walk on the pave- ment. We cannot even open our doors to customers and employ- ees because of this situation," he said. "This is negligence par excel- lence on behalf of Infrastructure Malta. It is also an utter disgrace that no action has been taken for six whole months while Infra- structure Malta knows very well that they messed up the falls of the new road in this part but still they let things stand as they are. One can imagine how I felt when with pomp they inaugurated the Central Link project last Sun- day." Central Link takes centre stage The Central Link Project was officially inaugurated last week, with Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg and Prime Minister Robert Abela unveiling a monolith of a plaque in the middle of a pave- ment near the arterial road. Residents and environmental activists were unhappy with the project when government first announced the works. One pro- test in 2019 saw over 1,000 peo- ple head to Attard to make their voice heard against the uproot- ing of trees and loss of agricul- tural land that the project would have caused. Indeed, in government's first proposal authorities were set to remove all trees along one side of the road further up towards Rabat. Floods of troubles Beyond this stretch of road, Malta has long-standing issues with flooding after heavy bouts of rain. Intense rainfall last Novem- ber caused several major roads to flood, including the bottom lanes on the newly-built Marsa junction. In Burmarrad, members of Malta's armed forced had to car- ry out a helicopter rescue mis- sion to pull out an elderly mo- torist and rescuers out of harms way after their car got stuck in flooded waters. At the time, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said the flood- ing was the mere result of freak weather never seen before, and not the result of shortcomings by Infrastructure Malta. There have also been other recorded instances of poorly placed rainwater gutters failing to collect any rainwater because of poor road levelling. This was the case after a 2020 downpour, where passers-by along a Rabat road noticed rain- water sliding down the street while completely missing the griddle meant to collect and drain the water out. Central Link leaves Attard showroom water-logged