BusinessToday Previous Editions

2 NEWS 27.10.2022 Through the Wage Supplement Scheme, €825 million in support was provided to firms and businesses to substantially cover partial wage costs in order to reduce the burden during COVID-19 restrictions and thus, prevent redundancies. The scheme was initially launched in 2020 and tapered out up to May 2022, aimed at helping firms and businesses during the recovery period. Businesses could also apply to postpone the payment of taxes such as VAT and income tax through the tax deferral scheme. Starting from June 2022, the scheme's beneficiaries could pay the eligible taxes monthly over 30 months until the end of December 2024. During this period, the interest on the deferred tax is suspended. covid-19: liquidity support measures THE unemployment rate for September 2022 stood at 3.0 per cent, up by 0.1 percentage points when compared with the previous month and decreasing by 0.3 percentage points when compared with September 2021. During September 2022, the number of un- employed persons was 8,759, with the males and 25 to 74 age group being the major con- tributors to the overall level of unemployment. e seasonally adjusted number of unem- ployed youths amounted to 2,980, whereas those aged between 25 and 74 years stood at 5,778. For September 2022, the unemployment rate for males stood at 3.2 per cent, increas- ing by 0.1 percentage points when compared with August 2022. e rate for females stood at 2.7 per cent, unchanged when compared with the previous month. e unemployment rate for persons aged 15 to 24 years (youth unemployment rate) was 10.7 per cent, while the rate for those aged be- tween 25 and 74 years remained constant at 2.2 per cent. Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate by age group Unemployment rate in September 2022 stood at 3% Three new MAPFRE asset management funds now available in Malta 3 15-24 25-74 Males Females September 2,506 6,696 5,746 3,455 9,202 October 2,792 5,823 5,159 3,456 8,615 November 2,896 5,532 4,923 3,504 8,428 December 2,833 5,872 5,186 3,519 8,705 January 2,303 6,392 5,665 3,030 8,695 February 2,255 6,664 6,006 2,913 8,919 March 2,388 6,161 5,691 2,857 8,549 April 2,565 5,994 5,317 3,241 8,559 May 2,723 5,947 5,304 3,366 8,671 June 2,613 5,881 5,276 3,218 8,494 July 2,682 5,666 5,247 3,101 8,348 August 2,846 5,652 5,266 3,232 8,498 September 2,980 5,778 5,422 3,336 8,759 2022 2021 Month Table 2. Seasonally adjusted unemployment levels by age group, sex and month Total Sex Age group 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S 2020 2021 2022 per cent period 15 to 24 years 25 to 74 years Chart 2. Seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate by age group MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. has linked three new MAPFRE Asset Management Funds to its unit linked policies. ese three funds, namely, Capital Responsa- ble Fund, Inclusion Responsable Fund and the Good Governance Fund, are the first MAPFRE Asset Management Funds to be made available in Malta. "We are pleased to announce that, for the first time, we are making available a number of MAPFRE ESG funds in Mal- ta as investment options that our clients can choose when investing through our unit linked policies", said Etienne Sci- berras, Chief Executive Officer of MAP- FRE MSV Life. "ese new funds, which have a strong sustainability focus, continue to widen the investment options that underpin the MAPFRE MSV Life value propo- sition and are the first MAPFRE Asset Management funds that are available to investors in Malta", Sciberras said. He highlighted that these funds can be used as underlying investment options with both the lump sum investment policies, such as the MAPFRE MSV Life Investment Bond, as well as regular sav- ings policies such as the MAPFRE MSV Life Unit Linked Savings Plan. MAPFRE Asset Management forms part of the MAPFRE Group and has more than 30 years of experience in as- set management. It is one of the largest asset management firms in Spain, with more than 40 billion euros of assets un- der management. e Capital Responsable Fund strives to find a balance between capital pres- ervation and long-term growth by in- vesting in a balanced portfolio of Euro- pean stocks and bonds. e Inclusion Responsable Fund aims for long-term capital growth by identi- fying companies that meet high ethical and financial standards. e Good Governance Fund is a glob- al equity fund, which aims for capi- tal growth by investing in companies with excellent corporate governance that trade at a discount to intrinsic val- ue. e fund managers identify global companies with board structures that facilitate value creation, best-in class financial performance and alignment of incentives between the management team and shareholders. All three funds invest in securities which meet ESG (Environmental, So- cial and Governance) criteria.

• Cover