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3 NEWS 27.10.2022 According to the Retail Price Index, Malta has witnessed rapid price growth over the first six months of 2022, with prices rising by an average of 5.1 per cent from January to June. The two main components driving the RPI growth rate in the first half of the year are food and housing. Food is contributing 1.9 percentage points while the housing contribution is at 0.9 percentage points. The next highest contributors are transport and communication at 0.6 percentage points, recreation and culture at 0.4 percentage points, and household equipment and household maintenance costs at 0.3 percentage points. retail price index FROM PAGE 1 e logistics involved in having a medium-sized catamaran visit the harbour on a regular basis were discussed earlier this year at a meeting called by Ragusa mayor Peppe Cassì. Sources said that the possibil- ity of a catamaran link between Malta and Marina di Ragusa appears to have gained more impetus following news in early October that Ponte Ferries had suspended its catamaran service between Valletta and Pozzallo, a year after launching the route to rival the long-established Virtu' Ferries. e tourist port in Marina di Ragusa was developed after Tec- nis, a consortium of Italian com- panies, was awarded a 60-year lease in 2005. e developed re- ceived €30 million in EU funds. e company went into liqui- dation in 2016, with a number of its top officials under investiga- tion for fraud and misappropri- ation. Now BusinessToday is in- formed that the Maltese invest- ment group, principally Gauci, has assumed the debt still owed to Italian banks by Tecnis, and is thus placed to take over the title to the lease of the port in Ma- rina di Ragusa, pending judicial approval. In a video posted online, Mau- rizio La Micela - editor of online news portal TursimoIbleo, con- firmed that the deal with 'the Maltese investor' was welcomed in Ragusa, with locals hoping the sale would lead to an increase in tourist numbers. e marina in Marina di Ragu- sa is one of the best equipped in Sicily, with 700 berths for yachts of up to 50 metres. Cassì said the port in Marina di Ragusa was crucial for the region and was a point of ref- erence for many boats visiting southern Sicily. He welcomed the Maltese in- vestment and said this could only help to further cement the strong ties the southern region of Sicily and Malta already enjoy. "Malta and Sicily are already linked by daily catamaran trips to Pozzallo," Cassì said. "I only hope that the Maltese investors involve the local region in the regeneration of the harbour." He confirmed that plans were in place for parts of the harbour to be dredged to allow for the berthing of larger vessels. Services for boat owners at the harbour in Marina di Ragusa currently include reception and infopoint, mooring assistance with rib, toilets and showers, wi-fi, weather forecast, surveillance at night, golf-car service, professional diver and a petrol station Ragusa hoping Maltese takeover of key marina will 'bring back tourists' THE Malta Financial Services Authori- ty (MFSA) said on Wednesday it had be- come aware of an entity operating under the name of Quickx or CNexchnage which has an internet presence at the following links: https://www.cnexchange.io/Home, https://www.quickx.io/ and https://www. quickswapx.io/. On its websites the entity is promoting the services of "online digital asset trading platform (crypto to crypto) for products commonly known as cryptographic tokens, digital tokens or cryptographic currency, collectively referred to as digital currency. e MFSA warned the public that Quickx - or CNexchnage - is not licensed or oth- erwise authorised by the MFSA to provide any VFA services or other financial servic- es which are required to be licensed or oth- erwise authorised under Maltese law. Furthermore, information available to the MFSA suggests that the entity is likely to be a scheme of dubious nature with a high risk of loss of money. e public should there- fore refrain from undertaking any business or transactions with the above-mentioned entity. e MFSA reminded consumers of finan- cial services not to enter into any financial services transaction unless they have as- certained that the entity with whom the transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or an- other reputable financial services regulator. Investors should also be extra cautious when being approached with offers of fi- nancial services via unconventional chan- nels such as telephone calls or social media. A list of entities licensed by the MFSA can be viewed on the official website of the MFSA at https://www.mfsa.mt/finan- cial-services-register/. Quickx Ltd/CNexchange is an unlicensed entity, MFSA warns

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