Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/484780
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 25 MARCH 2015 11 Business Today www.creditinfo.com.mt info@creditinfo.com.mt Tel: 2131 2344 Your Local Partner for Credit Risk Management Solutions Supporting you all the way 'Trade Malta will help businesses experience a quantum leap' – Chamber president Tim Diacono Trade Malta will help local businesses experi- ence a "quantum leap" when attempting to branch out into foreign markets, Chamber of Commerce president David Curmi, pictured right, said. He was speaking at the opening of the Chamber's annual general meeting. Trade Malta, a public private partnership between the government and the Chamber, was launched earlier this month and is expected to start operating in May. Its first trade mission will involve exportation to Algeria, and Curmi announced that 33 companies have expressed an interest in joining the mission. "Only around 15 of them will be selected but we are encouraged by this high level of interest from our members for this mission," Curmi said, adding that a CEO for the company will soon be recruited. Curmi said that the establishment of Trade Malta represented the government's "ultimate sign of confidence" in the Chamber. "Our views and positions have been actively sought by the government," Curmi said. "Our increased influence on the country's policy makers was made possible by further developing working relations with the authorities who appreciated our focused, objective and evidence-based approach." He warned that economic policies should never "in any way create bottlenecks to growth for business". "On the other hand, long overdue decisions on improving our business environment must be taken without further delay," Curmi said. "These include addressing our 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings, reviewing the cost of living adjustment (COLA) mechanism to reflect productivity growth besides inflation, ensuring comparable utility tariffs to other competing locations, and reviewing our employment and industrial laws to bring them in line with the realities of today's labour market." The meeting brought Curmi's two-year tenure as Chamber president to a close. The Chamber has a long history of rotating the presidents every two years, and Curmi's closing words – a wish of best luck to "his successor" – indicates that this trend would continue. The Chamber's incoming council will be voted in before the end of the week, while their next president is expected to be announced on Monday. Microsoft supports local conference on data protection The proposed new EU General Data Protection Regulation aims at bring- ing current data protection legislation in line with recent technological de- velopments. But will the strengthen- ing of concepts such as the right to be forgotten, data portability, privacy by design and privacy by default, inhibit technological innovation? Moreover, are our businesses ready for this new privacy landscape where the data sub- ject will take centre stage? Will the new regulation succeed in raising our appreciation for data privacy? These will be the main topics discussed during a half day information seminar to be hosted by the Malta IT Law Association with the main theme being "Data Protection at a Crossroads: Re-inventing Wheels or Chasing Windmills?" The seminar is being sponsored by Microsoft Malta and its aim is to provide an update on the latest legislative proposals as well as to discuss the impact that the proposed regulation will have on current data protection practices. "Data protection, privacy, the cloud and intellectual property issues are subjects which are being widely discussed especially at an age where businesses and whole economies are being drawn towards the cloud," said Antonio Ghio, president of the Malta IT Law Association. "Up until a few years ago, one would upload the information or data that one needs from one's own computer, today, with cloud technology, people are accessing their data which although personal, is no longer stored exclusively on their personal computer but on outside servers, many times not even in their own country. "This and many other circumstances are giving rise to important implications that need to be tackled even from a legal perspective. This is what we will be doing during next week's seminar." "As prime promoters of cloud technology, we are delighted to be supporting this conference, which promises to be a very important opportunity for all those who for professional or business reasons are concerned about cloud technology and the levels of privacy which it offers," said Kevin Schembri, SMS&P manager from Microsoft Malta, sponsors of the conference. "We have always been at the forefront to promote this new technology, which not only has created new levels in efficiencies but has also brought new opportunities, created new business and generated new jobs while safeguarding privacy and security. "Our support to this event also stems from the fact that earlier this month, Microsoft adopted ISO27018 certification of its Office 365 and Azure cloud-based products. This new standard for cloud privacy commits us to protect the privacy of customers' data, not to use it for advertisement purposes, and to inform the customer of legal requests for personal data," added Schembri. Helena Dalli, Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, will open the seminar and will be followed by a lineup of distinguished speakers. The first session will be addressed by Bruno Gencarelli, head of the Data Protection Unit, European Commission, DG Justice, who will address the theme "The long and winding road towards the new General Data Protection". The second session will deal with a very topical subject, namely "Privacy in the Cloud – Building Trust" and will be led by Dr Remco Hendrikse, Commercial Attorney at Microsoft CEE. The third session will be addressed by Prof. Joseph Cannataci (head of the Department of Information Policy & Governance, University of Malta, Chair in European Information Policy & Technology Law, University of Groningen) and will discuss whether the data protection reform package has gone far enough. The last session will be led by Malta's Information & Data Protection Commissioner, Saviour Cachia, and will be in the form of an interactive Q&A with the public. Event tickets are at €15 for MITLA members, €25 for students who are not MITLA members (price includes one year membership as well as conference access) and €50 for individuals who are not MITLA members (the price includes one year membership as well as conference access). Booking may be made by visiting: http://www.mitla.org.mt/conference