Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/542972
Events 47 maltatoday, Sunday, 19 July 2015 HSBC launches 2015 Yes 4 Students campaign HSBC Bank Malta has launched its 2015 Yes 4 Students campaign, which will run till the 31 October 2015. Full-time students attend- ing the higher forms of second- ary schools, MCAST, sixth form, university or any other estab- lished post-secondary and terti- ary academic institution can en- joy tailor made services through the Bank 's Yes 4 Students 13+, 16+ and 18+ packages. Benefits include free interna- tional debit cards, preferential foreign exchange rates for Mal- tese students studying abroad and for foreign students study- ing in Malta, as well as free mo- bile and internet banking among others. According to a new recent HSBC global report, 79 per cent of parents consider university a 'must have' for their children to achieve their life goals, and they expect universities to deliver more than just academic skills with over eight in 10 parents saying they must teach children to become independent and fi- nancially responsible. HSBC's "Learning for life" report, the second in The Value of Educa- tion series, found that many par- ents have high expectations of education for their child, with 50 per cent saying that a postgradu- ate degree is the minimum qual- ification required for their child to achieve their most important goals in life. "We all know that usually the best choices result in great expe- riences. Student life is a once in a lifetime experience, but it is also an important stepping stone to the professional world. We pro- vide students with an enriched banking experience that not only offers them a great sense of fun and reward, but also prepares them for their long-term person- al financial management," said Paul Steel, Head of Retail Bank- ing and Wealth Management at HSBC Malta. HSBC Malta Yes 4 Students stands are being set up at the University of Malta on the 17 and 20 July and at MCAST dur- ing the last two weeks of July. The stands offer students a fun and friendly way of learning about HSBC financial packages designed specifically for second- ary and tertiary students. This year, HSBC Malta has again partnered with SCAN Malta to offer exceptional gifts that compliment HSBC Yes 4 Students financial packages. All students who open an HSBC Yes 4 Student account before 31 Oc- tober will receive an 8GB Pen Drive. Students who direct their stipends into YES 4 account are also eligible for a vast range of gift options, some of which are completely free of charge while others are offered at highly dis- counted rates. Free gift options include a €50 voucher redeemable on Apple iPhone/iPad/Macbook/ iMac, Case Logic laptop back- pack, Grundig/Philips ceramic straightner, Philips hair clipper, Sennheiser professional audio headphones HD201 and a Juice Bank high power USB battery charger used for smart phones and tablets. Special offers at highly discounted rates include a 1TB external mini hard drive for €39.95, Sony waterproof walkman 4GB MP3 for €43.00, a Fuji Instax Mini 8 instant col- our film black camera +20 pack film for €49.95, Smartwatch for Android Smartphone for €99.00 and Bose SoundLink Bluetooth mobile speaker III STD for €199. Students may apply for an HS- BC Student Account online at www.hsbc.com.mt/yes4, where the full range of gifts is also on display. This year, online appli- cants will also receive an addi- tional 8GB MicroSD card. More information about HS- BC's Yes 4 Students packages can be obtained by visiting www.hs- bc.com.mt/yes4, by calling Cus- tomer Service on 2380 2380, or by visiting any HSBC branch in Malta and Gozo. Delicata celebrates 100 awards Emmanuel Delicata, Malta's fourth generation family run winery, has achieved a historic milestone by accomplishing the significant feat of being awarded over 100 international awards for its wines over a span of 20 years. The 100 awards include gold medals won in France, Italy and Spain, silver medals won in Bor- deaux, Burgundy, Paris, Lon- don, and Verona, and numerous bronze medals and Commenda- tions awarded at wine competi- tions from all over Europe. In 1995, Delicata entered its wines into a wine competition in London for the very first time and immediately won four awards. Since then the company has entered a small number of wines every year in various in- ternational wine competitions. Twenty years on, this Maltese winery has amassed an impres- sive 106 awards, with 22 of those being won in 2014 and 2015 alone. "Our real sense of achievement is the knowledge that the wines that have won international awards are not just our premi- um wines, but wines at all price- points. Our consumers can rely on the fact and feel confident that when they buy a Delicata wine, they have independent assurance that it will be a wine of good quality," said Mr Mario Delicata. "Achieving 100 international awards is a major accomplish- ment that any winery in the world would be proud of. It is independent proof, by some of the world's leading wine author- ities, that the quality of Delicata wines is going from strength to strength." In recent years, Delicata has intensified its investment into improving quality through ad- vanced viticulture and win- emaking technology. Matthew Delicata, who of late has taken over the reins of winemaking, has had his wines rewarded with 3 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze medals and 4 commendations in the last 8 months alone, making Delicata Malta's most awarded winery. To see the complete list of 106 awards and the wines accredited visit http://delicata.com/awards or www.facebook.com/Delicat- aWinery New Marsovin wine launched at Marsovin Summer Wine Festival 2015 Over the past weekend, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat opened the eighth edition of the Marsovin Summer Wine Festival at Hastings gardens in Valletta, which also served as the launch of Marsovin's newest wine, Blanc de Cheval. The aim of this weekend's wine festival is to promote Marsovin's certified D.O.K and I.G.T wines produced from vineyards in Malta and Gozo. The festival was in fact created for the sole purpose of giv- ing wine lovers the opportunity to taste a large selection of certified Maltese wines. The festival is targeted towards people who have a genuine inter- est in wine tasting and quality consumption. Marsovin in fact en- courages people to taste different wines through the taster option given from all wine bars through- out the festival. This way all guests are given the chance to understand and experience a vast variety of styles and qualities. This year over 9,000 people attended this festival, which goes to show the increasing popularity for quality wine related events in Malta. "By promoting and support- ing Maltese wine, each and every consumer is supporting Maltese agriculture," said Marsovin Win- ery CEO Jeremy Cassar, adding that the quality of Maltese wine in general had improved significantly over the last 20 years, with wines going through a rigorous certifica- tion process to guarantee quality. Marsovin's new wine, 'Blanc de Cheval' is a premium white wine produced from one of Marsovin's very own Estates in the Ramla Val- ley in Xagħra, Gozo. This wine is mostly made from Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco grape varieties. Wine consumers who attended the launch were the first to taste this wine ahead of its release. Malta's wine market statistics indicate a larger consumption of white wine when compared to red wine, thus Marsovin felt the need to provide local wine drinkers with another Maltese white wine at Pre- mium level. Blanc de Cheval is the white wine version of the already established premium red wine 'Cheval Franc'. Blanc de Cheval will be available in all leading res- taurants and wine retail outlets. For more information visit www. marsovin.com or send an email to: info@marsovinwinery.com IIG Bank inaugurates new branch office in Qui-Si-Sana A new and larger branch office of IIG Bank at Qui-Si-Sana was recently inaugurated officially by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici in the presence of distinguished guests, Board members and staff. Mario de Marco, PN Deputy Leader for Parliamentary Affairs, also attended the event. Established in 2010, IIG Bank, with its head office situated at the Portomaso Business Tower, St. Julians, has operated a customer service office at the same loca- tion in Sliema since 2011. How- ever, after 5 years of rapid growth, the need for larger premises that offer better customer servicing facilities was being felt. The new premises with over 280 square meters of office space addresses both the immediate needs of the Bank and those in its future plans to expand its business operations from this office. Speaking at the event, Raymond Busuttil, Managing Director and CEO of the Bank, emphasised the importance that the Bank gives to customer relationships "From inception our objective has been, and will remain, focused on deliv- ering a superior customer service, embracing traditional principles of relationship banking. Our cus- tomers are an important resource for the success of our business." "Premises such as these are es- sential in creating the welcoming environment that respects the expectations of our custom- ers and attests to the quality of service that we strive to deliver." IIG Bank was established by New York based Group specialising in international trade finance. Despite chal- lenges that the external en- vironment presented in the past five years, the Bank has reported record profits, year on year. In 2014 the Bank reported pre- tax profits of US$2.8 million. Its balance sheet grew by from $111 million in 2013 to $156.3 mil- lion, and its equity, composed of its share capital, the investments' fair value reserve and the retained earnings after tax for the year, increased from $14.8 million to $20.1 million. Commenting further at the event, Busuttil said, "Our biggest achievement so far has been our ability to build a name for our- selves in global trade finance cir- cles in such a short time span. The IIG Bank brand has ac- quired recognition from highly respected financial institutions and commodity traders in cen- tres such as Geneva, Dubai and Singapore". Thanking all the distin- guished guests present, Busut- til said, "Malta has certainly played a significant role in our success. Years of hard work by government and institutional bodies in promoting Malta as a solid base for international busi- ness is paying off. We are encour- aged to continue building on our achievements and therefore value very highly your continued sup- port". Award-winning winemaker Matthew Delicata carefully oversees every step of the wine making process, all the way from the vine to the wine