Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/444527
Events 26 maltatoday, Sunday, 11 January 2015 Britannia Tours awarded the Top Travel Agent for the Second Consecutive Year by Air Malta Century 21 holds International Masters Meeting 2014 in Macau FIMBank secures loan from IFC to boost trade in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa €25,000 donated to l-Istrina by Farsons Group For the second consecutive year Britannia Tours has been awarded the Top Travel Agent in Malta. During an event held by Air Malta to thank and show its appreciation for the continuous support to- wards the National Carrier by lo- cal travel agents, Britannia Tours was declared the Top Travel Agent in Malta for 2013/2014. Air Malta congratulated Britannia Tours for this achievement in individual, group and charter bookings. For these last years Britannia Tours has become a household name in the Maltese Islands by of- fering mainly group tours in Eu- rope and other destinations. With its centralised hotels spread all over the countries offered in its bro- chures, Britannia Tours offers the best holidays for all age groups. Noel Farrugia, Managing Direc- tor, said that while he feels hon- oured by this award by the Nation- al Carrier, he commits himself to continue offering the best tours to the Maltese public. He added that a big thank you should go to its loyal custom- ers for the support shown during these last years. The personalised and professional and personalised service offered by its staff members and tour leaders augurs well for the future. While wishing a Prosperous New Year for 2015, Farrugia noted that the brochure for Easter Holidays is now out. Amongst the popular tours available one can also find new destinations such as Chios Is- land in Greece, Kusadasi in Turkey, Umbria in Italy and Zaragoza in Spain. The summer brochure will be ready in March. For more information, one can visit www.bsl.com.mt or contact one of the offices in Valletta, Mos- ta, Paola and Rabat, Gozo. Century 21 held its annual Inter- national Masters Meeting between the 24 and 31 October, 2014 in Macau. The event brought togeth- er Century 21 master franchisors from all around the world to dis- cuss country, regional and indus- try wide trends, best practices and development opportunities. Famalco Group, which is the master franchisor for the Century 21 brand in Malta, was represent- ed in Macau through the partici- pation of Melvin Pellicano, Head of Business Development and Rus- sell Schembri, Market Research and Insight Executive at Focused Knowledge Ltd. During the meeting Pellicano delivered an informative presen- tation outlining current develop- ments in the Maltese real estate market and Century 21 Malta's fu- ture strategy. In addition to market updates, the meeting also included a marketing summit, a franchise sales and service workshop and presentations from notable guest speakers. Century 21 is the most inter- nationally recognized real estate brand, currently operating in 75 countries and territories world- wide. With more than 102,000 af- filiated sales professionals in 6,900 offices, the Century 21 System is the world's largest residential franchise real estate sales organi- zation, providing the use of iconic brand marks, a comprehensive ed- ucational platform and marketing support for its system members. Farsons Group has once again pre- sented a cheque of €25,000 to Her Excellency the President of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and Mr Edgar Preca during this year's charity Strina marathon held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. The presentation was made by the Chairman, Louis Farrugia and the Chief Executive Officer, Nor- man Aquilina who confirmed the Group's commitment to corporate social responsibility. Louis Farrugia, Chairman of the Farsons Group commented, "It is heartwarming to see the over- whelming participation in l-Ist- rina. This year other NGOs were also included in our fundraising drive thus further strengthening our strong belief in our corporate social responsibility." In fact the Group's employees organised a number of initiatives throughout the year and a further sum of €2,050 collected by them will also be donated to the Malta Hospice Movement. These initia- tives included a membership sup- port drive for the Malta Hospice Movement, an end of summer barbecue lottery, several sports activities, and a ftira day. The sum excludes a money box collection drive as funds are still unknown until opened by the Hospice. "The Group strives to promote corporate social responsibility awareness and support employee participation in many initiatives, including knowledge and aware- ness of physical and medical well- being and also other aspects such as mental health which is becoming an area of increasing concern that may affect our employees perform- ance at the workplace and in their personal lives," said Ms Antoinette Caruana, Group HR Manager of the Farsons Group. Malta-based trade finance institution FIMBank has received a US$30 mil- lion loan from the IFC (a member of the World Bank Group) as part of the corporation's Global Trade Liquid- ity Programme (GTLP). The GLTP is a unique global initiative that raises funds from international finance and development institutions, govern- ments and banks. The Programme operates through global as well as regional banks to ex- tend trade finance to importers and exporters in developing countries. FIMBank will be utilising these funds to support its trade finance activities in MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa. James Gohary, Manager for the Fi- nancial Institutions Group at IFC, stated, "Small and medium enterprises form the backbone of most economies in the Middle East and Africa, but they often struggle to break into new mar- kets. Trade financing can help change that, allowing innovative businesses to expand across borders, creating jobs and spurring growth." Commenting on the transaction, FIMBank's Acting CEO Simon Lay said, "FIMBank considers the support of trade flows to and from emerging markets as being fundamental to the increase of global cross-border trade, particularly between Europe, the Mid- dle East and Africa. He explained that the IFC is the largest global develop- ment institution focused exclusively on the private sector in developing countries. Lay said that the nature of short term trade financing, allows these funds to be deployed several times in the course of the programme. This cre- ates a positive multiple of the volume of business which can be financed, thereby allowing small and medium sized enterprises to achieve sustain- able growth by financing investment and mobilising capital. Lay also highlighted the fact that the agreement was signed following a comprehensive due diligence exer- cise. He stated that "We are proud to once again be partnering with the IFC and participating in this programme. The positive outcome of the Corpora- tion's due diligence is another vote of confidence in FIMBank's capabilities as a trade finance specialist with an international network that can effec- tively channel liquidity and credit into emerging markets." For further information about FIM- Bank plc please visit www.fimbank. com. Further information about the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and its programmes can be ob- tained at www.ifc.org. Air Malta thanked local travel agents for their support The Century 21 International Masters meeting was held in Macau