Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/510672
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 13 MAY 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 €202.3 million trade defi cit registered in March Preliminary fi gures show that Malta registered a trade defi cit of €202.3 million in March, compared to €131.7 million in the corresponding month last year. Provisional data for international trade show that the trade deficit in March stood at €202.3 million, up by €70.6 million when compared to the corresponding month in 2014. Imports registered an increase of €29.0 million while exports decreased by €41.6 million. The increase in the value of imports was primarily due to machinery and transport equipment (€103.9 million). Other increases were recorded for food, miscellaneous transactions and commodities, and beverages and tobacco. Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials accounted for the main decrease in the value of exports (€35.2 million). Other decreases were registered for machinery and transport equipment, beverages and tobacco, and miscellaneous transactions and commodities. During the first three months this year, the trade deficit widened by €300.7 million, to €675.0 million when compared to the corresponding period last year. Imports increased by €168.4 million, while exports registered a decrease of €132.3 million. The increase in imports was mainly due to machinery and transport equipment (€300.0 million), while the decrease in the value of exports was primarily due to mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (€126.4 million) and machinery and transport equipment (€35.2 million). Malta's trade imports from the European Union reached €693.5 million, or 45.7 per cent of total imports. There was a drop of €36.2 million in imports from euro area countries when compared to the same period last year. Main increases and decreases in imports were registered from Canada (€292.8 million) and Italy (€29.9 million) respectively. On the export side the main increase was directed to the United Kingdom (€26.5 million), with Italy (€35.0 million) registering the highest decrease. First Lufthansa Airbus A350 due in Munich end of 2016 The fi rst Lufthansa Airbus A350- 900 will be coming to Munich at the end of 2016. Lufthansa has ordered a total of 25 aircraft of this type, which in future will be used on routes from the airline's Frankfurt and Munich hubs. "The A350 marks our entry into the two-litre class and is an important step towards active noise protection. The aircraft generates a 30 per cent smaller noise footprint," says Thomas Klühr, member of the Lufthansa German Airlines Board, Finances & Hub Munich. This summer Lufthansa will operate a total of 26 long-range aircraft, including 17 A340-600s and nine A330- 300s, from its Munich hub. The Airbus A350-900 is more fuel efficient than any other aircraft type. On average the new aircraft will consume a mere 2.9 litres of kerosene per passenger per 100 kilometres, roughly 25 per cent less than current generation aircraft. The state-of-the-art Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines and an aerodynamic design will also reduce noise emissions to well below current prescribed limits. In addition, the cabin is extremely quiet, thanks to new insulation methods and sound- absorbing materials. Passengers on board the A350-900 will also benefit from wider panorama windows and more spacious overhead stowage bins. YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Scicluna suggests process to distinguish between high- risk projects and bad ones Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has suggested a process that would help distinguish between high-risk and bad projects within the EU-wide 'Juncker plan'. ''There are projects which are highly beneficial but which may be too risky for the market or for any one particular country,'' Minister Scicluna said. Speaking during the meeting of the EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) in Brussels, he pointed out that there could be projects that may also be considered as high-risk by the banks but may be essentially good projects, making it crucial to differentiate between these kind of projects and bad ones. The Council meeting was briefed on the state of play in the ongoing negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament on the proposal for a regulation that will establish the European Fund for Strategic Investments. The creation of the fund is part of the investment plan for Europe, popularly known as the 'Juncker plan'. The Council adopted conclusions on in-depth reviews of macroeconomic imbalances carried out by the European Commission in 16 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom). The 2015 alert mechanism report identified these countries as experiencing macroeconomic imbalances, warranting in-depth reviews to determine the nature of these imbalances. Another item on the ministers' agenda was how the member states implemented the 2014 country- specific recommendations, issued in the context of the European Semester – the EU policy coordination process. The Council also adopted conclusions on a 2015 ageing report, which provides long-term projections of the budgetary impact of ageing over the period of 2013- 2060 for the 28 EU Member States and Norway. The report is updated every three years. Minister Scicluna was accompanied by Malta's Permanent Representative to the EU, Marlene Bonnici, and the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Finance, Alfred Camilleri. From left: Minister Scicluna with George Osborne, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Duch Foreign Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem