Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/585489
4 maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 14 OctObEr 2015 News Central Bank governor tones down fears of another global recession MiriaM Dalli Central Bank governor Josef Bonnici has played down fears of a second global recession in seven years, following a report by the International Monetary Fund. "economies started recover- ing at a slower pace following the 2008 recession. the IMF is being cautious about emerging economies; the slower economic growth means that a hit from one country might be felt in other economies," Bonnici told Maltatoday. a global financial stability re- port published by the worldwide monetary watchdog warned that the risk of recession in the US, eurozone and Japan over the next year had increased over the past six months, as emerg- ing markets face a fifth year of slowing growth. according to the IMF, fi- nancial stability has improved in advanced economies since april, but risks continue to ro- tate toward emerging markets. the global financial outlook is clouded by a triad of policy chal- lenges: emerging market vulner- abilities, legacy issues from the crisis in advanced economies, and weak systemic market li- quidity. although many emerging mar- ket economies have enhanced their policy frameworks and resilience to external shocks, several key economies face sub- stantial domestic imbalances and lower growth. "recent market developments such as slumping commodity prices, China's bursting equity bubble and pressure on ex- change rates underscore these challenges," the IMF said. representing the slowest ex- pansion since 2009, the world economy is expected to expand by 3.1% in 2015, from a forecast of 3.3% in July. asked by Maltatoday whether the world was heading towards another recession, Bonnici said the eurozone was on a slow re- covery while the economy in the US wasn't experiencing "such a strong slowdown" but rather it was "recovering at a slower pace". "It however doesn't mean the economy will once again enter recession," he added. Bonnici explained that the IMF was more concerned with the emerging economies and what could happen if the Fed- eral reserve increases its inter- est rates. Indeed, the IMF said that the prospect of the U.S. Federal re- serve gradually raising interest rates pointed to "an unprece- dented adjustment in the global financial system". "emerging markets and de- veloping economies need to be ready for monetary policy nor- malisation by the United States," the IMF said. "advanced econo- mies must continue to deal with crisis legacies where they per- sist." Bonnici reiterated that the IMF was being cautious, espe- cially with countries like Brazil – with an enormous economy – and russia hitting recession. although the US and europe are not experiencing a recession, they still feel a slowdown result- ing from these countries. Whilst addressing the eY con- ference at the Westin Dragonara on Wednesday, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the Mal- tese economy grew by 5% - a level of growth Malta has not experienced in a long time. Unemployment levels have reached record lows, with less than 5,000 persons out of em- ployment – something which the country has not seen in 20 years. Deficit is at 1.6% and national debt has stabilised below the eU average". as a country, Malta exports both goods and services and the possibility of an interna- tional slowdown can affect it. On the other hand, the disvalue of the euro has helped exports, also serving as an attraction to tourists out of the eurozone. While tourism and services are doing well, a portion of the manufacturing sector can do better. Malta's economy was the first to emerge from the recession and the only one to show con- sistent growth. What makes it so resilient, Bonnici added, is the wide diversification of the economy. "Manufacturing ranges from the production of toys to the production of mon- ey; from the servicing of air- crafts to the financial services, insurances and so on. tourism is doing well not only because of the low cost airlines but also because of marketing strategies. We are getting tourists from new destinations which has im- proved spending by travellers," Bonnici said. Central Bank governor Josef Bonnici said Malta's economic resilience is down to its diversification Refugees crossing over to EU rises to 710,000 the total number of migrants who crossed the eU's external borders in the first nine months of this year rose to more than 710,000 with the Greek islands on the aegean continuing to be the most affected by the unprec- edented inf low of people. this compares with 282,000 recorded in all of last year. In the month of September, the number of detections at eU's ex- ternal borders stood at 170,000 last month compared to 190,000 recorded in august. Malta had lower arrivals than it did over the previous year, con- firming the trend for the Italian government's naval forces to pick up all rescued refugees at sea. Frontex said that the Greek is- lands, especially lesbos, contin- ued to face a massive migratory pressure, with the number of de- tections in the January-Septem- ber period reaching 350,000. In September, the number of people detected in the eastern Mediter- ranean region was mostly f lat at nearly 49,000. Syrian refugees re- mained the dominant nationality among the arriving migrants. Due to an increasing shortage of boats in libya and worsening weather conditions, the number of migrants arriving in Italy halved in the month of Septem- ber to 12,000. this brought the figure for the first nine months of the year to nearly 129,000. eritreans were the most numer- ous among the people using this route. "Urgent assistance is needed, especially for Greece and Italy, to help register and identif y the new arrivals. earlier this month, I requested the eU countries to provide Frontex with additional border guards who can assist these two countries in dealing with such unprecedented f lows. I do hope we receive adequate contributions which will show the true spirit of european soli- darity," said Frontex executive Director Fabrice leggeri. the massive numbers of mi- grants coming to the Greek is- lands continue to have a direct knock-on effect on the Western Balkan route, where hungary reported more than 204,000 de- tections at its borders – 13 times higher than in the same period of 2014. an estimated 97,000 people, not yet included in the official figures, also entered the eU through Croatia in the second half of September after hungary sealed its border with Serbia. NOTICE Request for Expression of Interest - Audit Services The Electoral Commission requests Audit and Accountancy Firms to convey their interest in providing the required professional auditing services to the Electoral Commission in accordance with and for the purposes of all the various relevant provisions and requirements emanating from the Financing of Political Parties Act (Chap. 544). This is a three-year assignment with the option to extend for a further period at the discretion of the Electoral Commission. While any queries or requests for clarification on the subject are to be made by email to the Chief Electoral Commissioner at joseph.church@gov.mt, by not later than Thursday, 15 October 2015, the expressions of interest are to be submitted in writing and addressed to the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Office of the Electoral Commission, Evans Building, Merchants Street, Valletta, VLT 2000, by not later that Wednesday, 21 October 2015. Apart from all relevant details, such expressions of interest, for the provision of the aforementioned services, should include: • A declaration unequivocally confirming that the Audit and Accountancy Firm is not, directly or indirectly, affiliated with, and does not provide any services to any political party or any company in which a political party may be in any way involved or have any interest; • Affirmation that the Audit and Accountancy Firm possesses sufficient organisational back-up to be able to meet at all times the demands of all relevant provisions in the Financing of Political Parties Act (Chap. 544), within time-frames as set by the Electoral Commission; and • The full name of the Audit and Accountancy Firm, the complete list of the Firm's full-time personnel performing audit work, its postal, email and website addresses, its telephone numbers, and the name, surname and telephone number/s of the contact person. While all communications will be duly acknowledged, the Electoral Commission will be holding a briefing session with the interested Audit and Accountancy Firms to provide further details on its requirements. Offers with financial proposals, based on the requirements of the Electoral Commission, are therea er to be received in a sealed envelope marked Confidential and sent by hand to the Chief Electoral Commissioner, Office of the Electoral Commission, Evans Building, Merchants Street, Valletta, VLT 2000, by not later than 12:00 noon of Thursday, 12 November 2015. www.electoral.gov.mt In September the number of detections at EU's external borders stood at 170,000