Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1482086
8 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 OCTOBER 2022 MARIANNA CALLEJA WHILE other countries are switching off energy supply and limiting production, Malta is doing the opposite and this has allowed the economy to bounce back, Robert Abela said. While addressing the Malta Future Realised Conference, or- ganised by EY, Abela said Mal- ta's economic success stemmed from the stability provided by the government. "Energy will remain stable; the government will keep absorbing the shock in inflation of energy prices. We will support your needs," the Prime Minister told conference delegates. The government is creating new prosperity for businesses and families and this is having an impact on the country's at- tractiveness to foreign direct in- vestment, he said. Malta's investment attractive- ness has bounced back to its 2020 ratings at 58%, according to the annual survey carried out by EY. Carried out just after the country was taken off the FATF grey list in June 2022, EY-Par- thenon's 18th Malta Attractive- ness Survey also revealed a cor- responding improvement in the decrease in number of respond- ents who expressed the view that Malta 'is not attractive'. Grech: Greening town centres a must to improve quality of life and attract foreign investment Abela: Absorbing energy inflation shock has allowed economy to bounce back EY Malta Future Realised conference MARIANNA CALLEJA THE government must live up to its general election promise and carry out the much-needed investment in the environment, Bernard Grech has told a confer- ence on Malta's investor attrac- tiveness. The Opposition leader said cre- ating new unique selling propo- sitions to attract foreign direct investment to Malta is a must. He was speaking at the Malta Future Realised Conference, or- ganised by EY, a consultancy and audit firm. Grech suggested that one of these unique selling propositions should focus on "truly creating green lungs in every locality in Malta and Gozo," urging the government to move forward on its electoral promise to invest €700 million over seven years in the creation of public open spac- es in town centres. Grech also suggested the crea- tion of diversified tax incentives, re-engineering and transform- ing our higher-level education model, and re-inventing Malta's economic system to focus on a low-volume, high-margin mod- el. Focusing on industries that create quality jobs and deliver high-value contributions to our GDP, is the most important ele- ment Grech added. "We all know the challenges. We all know what things nega- tively impact the quality of life in Malta. The healing must start and start fast as time is of the es- sence," he said. The Nationalist Party has the political will and is well equipped to contribute and deliver value, concluded Grech. Still, at pres- ent, the key to Malta's future and success is in the government's hands., he noted. "It is up to the government to acknowledge that only a genuinely collective effort will translate to increased quality, improved productivity, reduced cost, and reduced time to market." Bernard Grech addressing conference delegates Green lungs in every locality: one of several unique selling propositions to attract foreign investment put forward by Bernard Grech during Malta Future Realised conference Prime Minister highlights Malta's economic success stemmed from stability provided by the government Robert Abela