Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/178572
12 BUSINESS & FINANCE maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2013 HSBC Group chairman launches €500,000 'Catch the Drop' campaign in Malta HSBC Group Chairman Douglas Flint today officially launched a Maltawide environmental and educational campaign, 'Catch the Drop', at Paola Primary B School in the presence of Minister for Education and Employment Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water Konrad Mizzi and HSBC Bank Malta Chief Executive Officer Mark Watkinson. Catch the Drop is a large-scale, three-year initiative partly-funded by the HSBC Group to raise awareness about water conservation and stimulate positive change towards sustainable fresh water use in Malta and Gozo. The campaign aims to reach every single student in Malta, that is, over 50,000 students coming from 155 schools, all the 67 Local Councils in Malta and Gozo, as well as the Maltese public at large. HSBC Group Chairman Douglas Flint said: "One cannot overstate the importance of having access to sustainable freshwater. Water is essential not only to human health and happiness, but to the prosperity and the economic development of communities and nations. That applies as equally in the Western world as in developing nations. Although surrounded by sea, Malta is ranked amongst the 10 countries with least freshwater resources on the planet." Flint added: "The Catch the Drop campaign will play a significant role in raising awareness of water scarcity in the Maltese islands and the HSBC Water Programme aims to increase its impact even further." Minister Evarist Bartolo said: "By emphasising awareness among students, this campaign acknowledges that our youth are our future and that instilling an appreciation for natural resources is key to achieving environmentally sustainable practices." Minister Konrad Mizzi said: "This impressive venture, supported by no less than €500,000 of HSBC funding, offers a nationwide educational approach to water conservation that encapsulates the spirit of corporate sustainability." The campaign's strategic approach can be broken down into three phases: year one will focus on raising awareness on a national level about Malta's water challenges, year two will work towards a reduction in water consumption in Malta, while year three will emphasise water harvesting techniques in schools and local councils. "Integral to this campaign is the involvement and participation of HSBC Group Chairman Douglas Flint, HSBC Malta CEO Mark Watkinson, Minister for Education and Employment Evarist Bartolo and Minister for Energy and the Conservation of Water Konrad Mizzi meet with students at the official launch of the Catch the Drop Campaign HSBC employees, 300 of whom have already volunteered their services. This generous group effort will ensure that one or more of HSBC Malta's staff will be available in every school in Malta and Gozo to provide focal points for the Catch the Drop campaign," said HSBC Malta CEO Mark Watkinson. In the run up for the Catch the Drop campaign launch, around 180 HSBC Malta employees volunteered to promote this cause by delivering water Italy cannot block online gambling, says EU court Prohibition of cross-border gambling is in breach of EU law that guarantees freedom to provide services A preliminary ruling in the case of Biasci et al against Italy in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has once again confirmed that the EU's principles of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services also apply to crossborder gambling. The case at hand concerns the access of operators established outside Italy, such as e-gaming companies based in Malta, to Italian licences to offer their gaming services to Italian gamers. The CJEU ruled that EU Member States restricting national gambling markets in order to favour the economic interests of incumbents over operators licensed in other Member States is against EU law. National legislation which precludes all cross-border activity in the betting and gaming sector, irrespective of the form in which that activity is undertaken, is contrary to EU law. "Articles 43 EC and 49 EC must be interpreted as meaning that, under the current state of EU law, the fact that an operator holds, in the Member State in which it is established, an authorisation permitting it to offer betting and gaming does not prevent another Member State, while complying with the requirements of EU law, from making such a provider offering such services to consumers YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt in its territory subject to the holding of an authorisation issued by its own authorities. "Articles 43 EC and 49 EC must be interpreted as not precluding national legislation which requires companies wishing to pursue activities linked to gaming and betting to obtain a police authorisation in addition to a licence issued by the state, in order to pursue such activities and which restricts the grant of such authorisation inter alia to applicants who already hold such a licence." In addition, the CJEU emphasised the judgment of Placanica et al, stating that no sanctions may be applied on the basis of provisions which are contrary to EU law. Italy plants e-ban on Malta gaming authority website In 2006, the Italian authorities blacked out the Lotteries and Gaming Authority's official website after blocking some 684 gaming sites registered in Malta from Italian internet users. In a bid to bypass the blockade, the authority linked its website to all the Maltese gaming sites, using a web 'anonymiser' that disguises a website's IP address. Following a measure announced in the Italian budget, the Italian government blocked all foreign gaming sites from the UK to Malta, claiming it was protecting Italian gamers from 'phishing' – the fraudulent acquisition of passwords and credit card details. But critics say Italy was only protecting its €2 billion gambling monopoly belonging to the Italian state and a few authorised private partners. Italian ISPs which do not block foreign websites risk a daily fine of €180,000 each time they allow someone to bet with a blacklisted company. presentations within the Skolasajf 2013 programme, thereby reaching out to over 4,000 summer school students across Malta and Gozo. The HSBC Water Programme is a $100 million global initiative. Employment in construction falls by 7.5% Employment in construction activities declined by 7.5 per cent to 78.1 points in the second quarter of this year. Employment in the construction of buildings, civil engineering and in specialised construction activities declined by 5.1, 16.0 and 8.4 per cent, respectively. A year-on-year comparison for unadjusted hours worked indicates a decline of 6.4 per cent in the period under review. The largest decrease, of 15.4 per cent, was registered in civil engineering. Furthermore, hours worked in the construction of buildings and in specialised construction activities declined, by 4.0 and 6.8 per cent, respectively. Wages and salaries decreased by 6.1 per cent on average. Wages and salaries also contracted in the construction of buildings and specialised construction activities, by 4.4 and 5.6 per cent, respectively. Residential permit data for the period under review revealed a marginal annual decline of 0.2 per cent. Residential one-dwelling buildings all registered increases, while permits for residential units containing two dwellings or more went down by 10.1 per cent.