Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1466941
11 NEWS 5.5.2022 Volume of retail trade down by 0.4% in the euro area IN March 2022, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade decreased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.2% in the EU, compared with February 2022, accord- ing to estimates from Eurostat, the sta- tistical office of the European Union. In February 2022, the retail trade volume increased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU. In March 2022 compared with March 2021, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.7% in the EU. Monthly comparison In the euro area in March 2022, com- pared with February 2022, the volume of retail trade decreased by 2.9% for automotive fuels, and by 1.2% for non- food products, while it increased by 0.8% for food, drinks and tobacco. In the EU, the volume of retail trade decreased by 3.0% for automotive fu- els, and by 0.7% for non-food products, while it increased by 0.6% for food, drinks and tobacco. Among Member States for which data are available, the largest monthly de- creases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Spain ( 4.0%), Lux- embourg ( 3.3%) and France ( 1.9%). e highest increases were observed in Slovenia (+11.4%), Latvia (+11.1%), and Hungary (+7.3%). Annual comparison In the euro area in March 2022, com- pared with March 2021, the volume of retail trade increased by 8.3% for auto- motive fuels, and by 2.8% for non-food products, while it fell by 2.5% for food, drinks and tobacco. In the EU, the retail trade volume in- creased by 8.9% for automotive fuels, and by 4.0% for non-food products, while it fell by 2.1% for food, drinks and tobacco. Among Member States for which data are available, the highest yearly increas- es in the total retail trade volume were registered in Slovenia (+25.6%), Estonia (+18.4%) and Malta (+16.4%). e larg- est decreases were observed in Den- mark ( 11.0%), Spain ( 4.8%), and Bel- gium ( 3.9%). In March 2022 compared with March 2021, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 0.8% in the euro area and by 1.7% in the EU. 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 01-2015 03-2015 05-2015 07-2015 09-2015 11-2015 01-2016 03-2016 05-2016 07-2016 09-2016 11-2016 01-2017 03-2017 05-2017 07-2017 09-2017 11-2017 01-2018 03-2018 05-2018 07-2018 09-2018 11-2018 01-2019 03-2019 05-2019 07-2019 09-2019 11-2019 01-2020 03-2020 05-2020 07-2020 09-2020 11-2020 01-2021 03-2021 05-2021 07-2021 09-2021 11-2021 01-2022 03-2022 Euro area EU Retail trade volume 2015=100, seasonally adjusted series FINANCEMALTA organised a net- working event for the Fintech sector as part of the "Together. Again." series. It followed the successful first networking event held in November 2021 for the insurance industry. "Together. Again." aims at bringing together key players and stakeholders in financial services in a face-to-face networking setting. e "FinanceMalta meets Fintech" event was held on 28 April 2022 and dis- cussed the current status of the Fintech sector and the challenges to be faced, with an eye on the future prospects of the sector in Malta. e event was opened by Finance- Malta Chairman Rudolph Psaila, who underlined the various initiatives that FinanceMalta takes for the benefit of its members. He gave a brief overview of the plan of activities and the prior- ities of the Foundation for the coming months. e Chairman's address was followed by a recorded intervention by Peter Cunnane, Director of Internation- al and National Initiatives of Innovate Finance, the industry body representing the UK Fintech sector. e highlight of the event was an in- teractive panel discussion moderat- ed by Ronald Attard, Chairman of the Fintech sub-committee of the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council (MFSAC). e panelists were Joseph Zammit Tabona - Chairman of the MFSAC, Herman Ciappara - Head of FinTech Supervision within the Malta Financial Services Authority and Ga- reth Genner - CEO and Group General Counsel of Trust Stamp, a member of FinanceMalta. During the panel discussion, partic- ipants were also addressed by Shmuel Ben-Tovim, President of e Fintech Community of Israel. e event includ- ed several interventions and contribu- tions from the audience, as well as a short Q&A session. FinanceMalta Chairman commented: "We had a very lively discussion around the importance of having an integrat- ed, responsive and effective ecosystem around Fintech. e priorities for this space are clear: we need to be innovative from a regulatory perspective, whilst at the same time creating the right envi- ronment for startups and scaleups to be able to grow and develop. Malta has much to offer operators in this sector as attested also by the speakers from Innovate Finance UK and the Tel Aviv Fintech Community, but we must work hard to be more competitive, create the right environment and attract more talent for the ecosystem to flourish. It is always a pleasure to organize these networking events where our members – operators in the different financial services sectors – can meet and discuss openly with all stakeholders, authori- ties and regulators. On an international level, we continue unabated to promote Malta as an international financial ser- vices centre, providing our members opportunities to participate in numer- ous conferences and events, and net- work with their international peers." e month of May will see Finance- Malta organising two more networking events as part of the "Together. Again." series. e first one will be held on 12 May 2022 and will be dedicated to Pri- vate Wealth & CSPs, while on 26 May 2022 the focus will be on Funds and As- set Management. FinanceMalta organises networking event for Fintech community Left to right: Ronald Attard, Chairman of the Fintech sub-committee of the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council (MFSAC); Joseph Zammit Tabona - Chairman of the MFSAC; Herman Ciappara - Head of FinTech Supervision within the MFSA; Gareth Genner - CEO and Group General Counsel of Trust Stamp, a member of FinanceMalta