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5 NEWS 9.2.2023 THE Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) successfully organised its first annu- al Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Summit on 2 February. e summit addressed significant devel- opments within the financial and cor- porate regulatory space, as well as the challenges faced by practitioners in the financial services industry and beyond. At the summit held at the Westin Dragonara Resort in St Julian's, 450 at- tendees participated in person, great- ly exceeding the numbers that were hoped for. is year's summit was aimed to be one of Europe's premier summits in the GRC sector as well as the first to be held for years to come. e summit featured a number of local speakers such as the Executive Chairman of the MSE Joseph Portelli and the Hon. Minister for Finance and Employment Clyde Caruana. Interna- tional keynote speakers included rep- resentatives of institutions such as the European Securities and Markets Au- thority (ESMA), Deutsche Börse, the Bank of England, the German Institute for Governance and Psychology, L'Au- torité des marchés financiers of France, the World Federation of Exchanges, the Italian CONSOB and others from around the world. In between keynote speeches, a num- ber of panel discussions were also held, with each panel discussion tackling top- ics such as the promotion of an effective compliance and ethics frameworks, the detection of financial crime through an effective AML policy, the latest trends in financial regulation and supervision, the development of an effective internal audit program and the best practices in managing cyber security; amongst oth- ers. MSE Executive Chairman Joseph Portelli welcomed all participants in the summit and stated the need for a harmonious GRC corporate culture in today's business environments. "As the regulatory environment world- wide seems to be getting more oner- ous, regulatory scrutiny is on the rise. Good governance, risk management, and compliance is not only obligatory from a regulatory perspective but sav- vy executives appreciate that it is good business," Mr Portelli stated. In this regard, the Executive Chair- man commented that the stakes in this regard have never been higher, and that the Malta Stock Exchange believes that it has a duty as a leader within the capital market of Malta to do all it can to foster an effective GRC culture, not just in Malta but also beyond its shores. "As compliance requirements become more complex and cyber criminals be- come more sophisticated, there proba- bly has never been a time in our history where effective GRC solutions and well- trained GRC professionals are in such high demand. It is our hope that at this conference, attendees will observe and participate in healthy discussion and debate with the many stakeholders, lo- cal and international speakers alike," Mr Portelli said. MSE Chief Officer Simon Zammit said that the Exchange has been an impor- tant contributor to the development of Malta's economy for over 30 years by mobilising savings and channel- ling those savings into investments in companies and the state for productive growth-related projects and industries. Mr Zammit also said in light of the im- portance of an active base for a proper- ly functioning capital market, the MSE has been actively promoting investor education through the MSE Institute (MSEI), which leverages the Exchange's expertise and experience to enhance fi- nancial education at various levels and on multiple financial services fronts. "As a regulated market operator, the MSE places a strong emphasis on good governance, transparency, and compli- ance in its own operations and those of its stakeholders. e MSE believes that these are essential components of any business operation, especially in the fi- nancial services industry, to provide re- assurance to the investing public that an organization is being run ethically and effectively," concluded Mr Zammit. Looking forward to the future, the Malta Stock Exchange hopes that this event not only remains a staple on the local financial services calendar, but also becomes a renowned and global event. MSE holds its first governance, risk and compliance summit IN December 2022, the season- ally adjusted index of industrial production increased by 1.7 per cent over the previous month. When compared to December 2021, the working-day adjusted index of industrial production increased by 16.3 per cent. After adjusting for seasonal ef- fects and the working-day pat- tern, the index of industrial pro- duction increased by 1.7 per cent between November and Decem- ber 2022. Increases were recorded in the production of consumer goods (6.2 per cent) and intermediate goods (0.7 per cent). On the other hand, decreases were registered in energy (6.8 per cent) and cap- ital goods (0.2 per cent). Annual comparison In December 2022, the total production generated by the Maltese manufacturing, energy and quarrying industries rose by 16.3 per cent when compared to December 2021. Increases were registered in all the main industri- al groupings. e highest increase was recorded in the consumer goods (29.4 per cent), followed by energy (12.8 per cent), intermedi- ate goods (7.7 per cent) and capi- tal goods (6.5 per cent) Index of Industrial Production: December 2022 8 February 2023 | 1100 hrs | 017/2023 In December 2022, the seasonally adjusted index of industrial production increased by 1.7 per cent over the previous month. When compared to December 2021, the working-day adjusted index of industrial production increased by 16.3 per cent. Index of Industrial Production: December 2022 Monthly comparison After adjusting for seasonal effects and the working-day pattern, the index of industrial production increased by 1.7 per cent between November and December 2022. Increases were recorded in the production of consumer goods (6.2 per cent) and intermediate goods (0.7 per cent). On the other hand, decreases were registered in energy (6.8 per cent) and capital goods (0.2 per cent) (Table 2). Annual comparison In December 2022, the total production generated by the Maltese manufacturing, energy and quarrying industries rose by 16.3 per cent when compared to December 2021. Increases were registered in all the main industrial groupings. The highest increase was recorded in the consumer goods (29.4 per cent), followed by energy (12.8 per cent), intermediate goods (7.7 per cent) and capital goods (6.5 per cent) (Table 4) Cut-off date: 3 February 2023 Chart 1. Annual working-day adjusted variation (% change over corresponding month of the previous year) -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 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 O N D 2020 2021 2022 percentage change t / t-12 period Annual working-day adjusted variation

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