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3 NEWS 8.9.2022 SMARTCARE Finance p.l.c. has cele- brated its new bond listing on the the Malta Stock Exchange with the tradi- tional 'Ringing of the Bell' ceremony. is was the third bond issue by Smartcare Finance p.l.c with a value of €7,500,000, which is listed on the MSE regular main market. e bond has a coupon of 4.65%, is fully secured and matures in 2032. e original first bond of Euro 5,000,000 was initially listed on the Prospects market, and was subsequent- ly replaced by a €13,000,000 bond on the regular main market of the Malta Stock Exchange. e current bond was entirely sub- scribed by the existing investors in the previous bond, which demonstrates the confidence of the investors in Smart- care Finance p.l.c. and its leadership team's track record in developing qual- ity projects. e proceeds of the €7,500,000 bond will be used to enable the Group's growth plans, finance the extension of the Dar Pinto Care Home, re-finance fa- cilities for the new 51 room Segond Ho- tel in Gozo, finance the ongoing prop- erty development pipeline and further operational development. e listing will enable the Smartcare Finance p.l.c. to proceed with its con- tinued growth plans, deliver exception- al projects and offer quality services. Mr Andrew Debattista Segond, the main shareholder celebrated this im- portant milestone by ringing the bell of the Malta Stock Exchange. Mr Debattis- ta Segond commented that: "is listing at the Malta Stock Exchange is an im- portant moment for Smartcare Finance p.l.c. in quest to continue to grow in sectors, which deliver strong financial results and offer quality services to the community. e trust of our existing bond holders to invest in a new bond is testament to the group's success in delivering am- bitious projects, developing a healthy pipeline of opportunities and a strong leadership team. I would like to thank the Chairman and board of directors, the leadership team and staff, as well as our team of professional advisors. e team is truly extraordinary". Smartcare Finance p.l.c. celebrates Bond listing on Malta Stock Exchange FROM PAGE 1 "Now we are facing an energy crisi triggered by the war in Ukraine, and government is already started to feel the pinch, having to announce budget cuts in different sectors and to suspend pro- jects." On Tuesday, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said that the aim was to keep the deficit at between 5.5% and 5.8% of GDP. He confirmed that subsidies on energy prices would stay in place bt in- sisted the deficit of the country had to be kept under control. At a meeting with social partners he also confirmed that the cost of living adjustment (COLA) would be between €9 and €10. Caruana said that if the government had not subsidised energy prices, the COLA next year would have been around €25. "No enterprise would have been ready for that. We did not subsidise energy for political convenience but because it makes sense," he said. Xuereb said that if the public sector were to be downsized, it would free up funds to help it reach its targets. She said that a vast majority of com- panies in the private sector were strug- gling to find staff to fill vacancies, be- cause people were still lured to work in the public sector by the job security offered and the understanding that the output required would not be as high as in the private sector. "Seeing examples such as Air Mal- ta workers offered alternative jobs in the public sector or very favourable early-retirement conditions, makes it simpler for people to decide to join the public sector, even if at a lower pay than they would earn in the private sector." Xuereb said that, unfortunately, terms like upskilling and re-skilling had be- come mere clichés because whereas workers in some departments or enti- ties were over-burdened, the vast ma- jority did superfluous work and could be better utilised. Xuereb said that if government were to initiate a rationalisation process to realign its workforce as really needed, it would cut its payroll considerably while freeing up more workers for the private sector. She said she was not naive as to not realise this was a political decision that could have repercussions for the party in government. But if the government were to imple- ment such an exercise early during the legislature, it would have enough time before the next election to deal with the political fallout. National interest As to the €10 COLA for 2023, Xuereb said the Malta Chamber was looking out for the national interest when it out out a number of proposals to ensure such an increase would not lead to high inflation. e Chamber has proposed, amongst others, that employees would already have been compensated during the year, do not receive the full COLA. "Many businesses have already had to renegotiate collective agreements or re- vise wages and bonuses in a bid to not only attract new hires bt also to keep current staff," she said. "We never ques- tioned the need for workers to be com- pensated for the rising cost of living, all we said was that many companies had already done so." She said that the Chamber's proposals were intended to serve as provocation for thought and it was already evident that other social partners were starting to see the need to discuss the matter within the MCESD. She welcomed the suggestion floated on Tuesday by Malta Employers Asso- ciation president Joseph Farrugia who said that, from 2024, COLA should be capped at €6 for the ensuing five years. "Details of the proposal aside, we wel- come the acknowledgement that the matter needs to be discussed, since we had originally been alone in suggesting that this was far more than a simple question of workers versus employers," Xuereb said. Proposals on COLA were a provocation for debate, Chamber president says Marisa Xuereb

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