Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/604914
48 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 22 NOVEMBER 2015 48 Cisk Export Premium Lager and Blue Label Ale awarded at Brussels Beer Challenge 2015 Cisk Export Premium Lager and Blue Label Ale, brewed by Si- monds Farsons Cisk plc, have just been awarded at this year's edition of the Brussels Beer Challenge. The 4th edition of the Brussels Beer Challenge took place from 5 to 8 November in Elzenveld, Ant- werp. More than 1,100 beers from 30 countries were entered into this year's competition and 75 interna- tional experts gathered during the two days to judge entries profes- sionally and without bias. During the tasting, all beers were grouped into consistent flights depending on their origin, specific character- istics and style. The Brussels Beer Challenge is a global beer competition held in Belgium that provides a unique opportunity for beer producers across the globe to compete with the best international brewers. It was launched on the initiative of Brusselicious as part of the Gour- met Food Year in Brussels in 2012 and is a point of reference for beer amateurs and experts. In this competition, Cisk Ex- port Premium Lager was awarded Bronze in the Lager: German- Style Pilsner category while Blue Label Ale was awarded a Cer- tificate of Excellence in the Pale & Amber Ale: Amber category. The beers competed with the best brews of the United States, Italy, Germany and France as well as those from more exotic countries such as China, South Korea, Japan and Cambodia. "It is with great pride that we add these awards to the long list of medals and recognitions achieved by our beers throughout the years. Our commitment to using only the choicest raw materials as well as our brewers' dedication to the art of brewing has once again result- ed in more awards for our beers," said Eugenio Caruana, Head of Production and Head Brewer at Simonds Farsons Cisk plc. On 19 November 2015 the Cen- tral Bank of Malta will be issuing a numismatic coin in gold repre- senting the one-third farthing. This coin has a face value of €5 and will be sold at €60 (including VAT). The introduction of British coin- age in Malta in 1825 necessitated the introduction of a coin equiva- lent to the grano, which was the smallest denomination used during the time of the Order of St John. The first one-third farthing was struck for use in Malta in February 1827 at the Royal Mint in England. This coin, which was locally known as ћabba, was no longer minted af- ter 1913 and appears to have gone out of circulation by the 1930s. The Bank's gold numismatic coin was designed and engraved by Noel Galea Bason and is of proof quality. The obverse shows the emblem of Malta and the year of issue 2015. The reverse features a representa- tion of the first pattern of one-third farthing used in Malta between 1827 and 1860. It depicts Britannia seated and holding a trident. The coin is struck in 0.999 gold at the Royal Dutch Mint, has a weight of 0.5 grams and a diameter of 11 mm. The mintage is limited to 2,500 coins. It may be purchased from the Malta Coins Distribution Centre at the main building of the Central Bank of Malta in Valletta, or by completing the order form which can be downloaded from the Bank's website. For more information the public is kindly requested to contact the Bank's Malta Coins Distribution Centre by email on mcdc@central- bankmalta.org or by calling (+356) 2550 6006/7/8. New Chief Technology Officer appointed at Vodafone Malta Vodafone Malta has appointed Sheila Kavanagh as its new Chief Technology Officer. Kavanagh brings with her over fifteen years' experience in the telecoms industry and has held a number of key positions at Vo- dafone Ireland since 2004, more recently in senior management positions within the Technol- ogy function. In 2012 she was appointed Head of Networks in which post she was responsible for the design, development and operation of Vodafone Ireland's network. Kavanagh implemented a number of transformational projects during her time in Ire- land, including the launch of HD Voice, Dual Carrier 3G, 4G and 4G advanced. The implementa- tion of these projects all required close collaboration with other functions within Vodafone Ire- land, giving Ms Kavanagh a broad perspective of the different busi- ness facets of the telecoms indus- try. Kavanagh's direct experience will be instrumental to Voda- fone Malta's strategic plans for its network following the successful completion of its 4G implementa- tion, which was achieved in just two years. Further substantial investment is now planned to ensure that Vo- dafone Malta's network is primed to offer an excellent customer experience, particularly with regards to the growing demand for mobile data, and in line with the increasing trend towards the convergence of fixed and mobile services. This investment follows Vodafone Group's global focus on networks and services across all its markets in recent years, an investment totalling over €23 bil- lion in the last two years alone. FIMBank organises educational seminar for shareholders FIMBank recently hosted its local shareholders to a seminar during which participants were given an overview of the Group's global ac- tivities as well as the range of trade finance products and services it provides. This Information Session (right) was held in collaboration with the Malta Association of Small Shareholders and was supported by the Malta Stock Exchange. In his opening address to the event, John C. Grech, Chairman of the FIMBank Group, referred to the collaboration between FIM- Bank plc and the Malta Association of Small Shareholders. Grech ex- plained that, "FIMBank was one of the first listed companies to open its doors to the Association. We are committed to the protection of shareholders' rights and their equal treatment. We are also always looking to keep open, extend and diversify the channels of commu- nication with all our shareholders, as well as ensuring that the wider community of Maltese sharehold- ers is kept abreast of developments at FIMBank". FIMBank's CEO Murali Subra- manian expressed satisfaction at the high turnout for this session: "Trade Finance is a traditional business that is at the heart of glo- bal commerce. It is the expertise and focus at FIMBank on deliver- ing client-specific solutions that has given FIMBank a reputation of being a significant and impor- tanttradefinanceproviderglobally. Thisisoneofthemoredistinguish- ingfeaturesof FIMBank.Itrust that this demonstration of our capabili- ties and solution orientation came across in today's presentations". FIMBank's presentations were delivered by Dennis Camilleri and Lorna Pillow, senior officers in the Trade and Commodity Finance and Forfaiting businesses respectively. Camilleri explained the nature of FIMBank's trade finance business, while Pillow gave an overview of forfaiting and elaborated on the advantages of this alternative fi- nancing solution. The presentation of the CEO of the Malta Stock Ex- change, Eileen V. Muscat focused on recent market trends and devel- opments, as well as new opportu- nities that will be available to local investors and SMEs. Finally, the PRO of the Malta As- sociation of Small Shareholders, Tarcisio Barbara thanked FIM- Bank for organising the education- al activity. Mr Barbara explained that since its foundation MASS has evolved considerably. It is now "fulfilling its mission of increasing financial literacy" and knowledge of MSE-listed companies among local shareholders and investors. Issue of gold numismatic coin representing one- third farthing Sheila Kavanagh, new Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone Malta