Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/695268
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 22 JUNE 2016 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 92% of Malta's 2015 debt fi nanced by debt securities 92% of total government debt in Malta in 2015 was fi nanced by debt securities, in line with a no- ticeable pattern among most EU countries that year. A report released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, shows that 2015 saw debt securities as the main financial instrument in almost all EU member states. The Czech Republic followed Malta with 90% of its government debt being financed by debt securities, followed by the United Kingdom with 89%, and Hungary, Slovenia and Slovakia all with 85%. France and Italy both registered 84%. In contrast, loans were only largely prevalent in Estonia, Greece and Cyprus, where they accounted for 89%, 78% and 69% of general government gross debt respectively. The use of loans was also high in Luxembourg (42%), Portugal(39%) and Croatia (37%). The report stated that the share of public debt held by non- residents in 2015 was highest in Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovenia and Finland (all with 76% of total government debt), followed by Austria (73%) and Latvia (72%). In contrast, the largest proportion of debt held by the resident financial corporations sector was recorded in Denmark (63%), ahead of Luxembourg and Malta (both 62%), Italy (60%), Croatia and the United Kingdom (both 59%). Generally, across the EU, less than 10% of debt was held by the resident non-financial sectors, with the noticeable exceptions of Malta (29%), Hungary (14%) and Ireland (10%). The use of currency and deposits was generally very low, except in Ireland where they accounted for 10% of general government gross debt, the United Kingdom (9%) and Italy and Portugal where they accounted for 8% in both countries. In 2015, Sweden registered the highest proportion of short-term initial maturities of debt among the member states with slightly more than a quarter (27%) of total government debt having a term below one year. Hungary (15%), Italy and Portugal (both 14%) as well as France (11%) also recorded shares of short-term maturity debt above 10%. Debt securities were EU's main fi nancial instrument in 2015 Six Maltese companies reach EBA fi nals Six Maltese companies made it to the finals of the European Busi- ness Awards, which announced the category winners at an awards ceremony in Milan last Friday. The Maltese companies – 2xSoftware, AquaBioTech Group, B2B Gaming Services Ltd, BRND WGN CO LTD, Medserv plc and OzoSystem Ltd – were among the finalists in the Business of the Year Award, the RSM Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the ELITE Award for Growth Strategy of the Year categories. The 11 category winners went through a process of written submissions, video entry judging and face-to-face interviews, and were shortlisted to 678 National Champions and 110 Ruban d'Honneur recipients before reaching the final. The 16-month long journey in Europe's biggest business competition, attracted the participation of over 32,000 businesses and generated over 227,000 votes from across the globe in its public vote system. In the 2015/16 competition, all EU member states were represented as well as Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Their combined revenue exceeded €1.2 trillion employing over 2.5 million people. The European Business Awards is now in its 10th year and its primary purpose is to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. It has been supported since inception by lead sponsor and promoter RSM. Maria Micallef, managing partner of RSM in Malta said RSM Malta was honoured to have assisted the six Maltese companies to reach the EBA finals, including Malta's National Public Champion OzoSystem Ltd. "We believe that supporting companies in their quest for excellence is perfectly in line with our ambition to become the advisor of choice for growth focused, entrepreneurial small and medium enterprises," she said. "Our team helps companies move forward with confidence, positioning them for more success." More than 32,000 companies participated in the European Business Awards Retail price index up to 0.74% in May In May 2016, the annual rate of infl ation as measured by the Re- tail Price Index went up to 0.74%, from 0.41 per cent registered in April 2016. The monthly inflation rate registered in May 2016 was 0.12%, down from 0.56% registered in April 2016. The main upward impacts on annual inflation were recorded in the Food Index (0.65 percentage points), the Beverages and Tobacco Index (0.26 percentage points) and the Other Goods and Services Index (0.14 percentage points). This was mainly due to higher prices of vegetables, cigarettes and insurance services respectively. The Transport and Communication Index (0.66 percentage points), the Clothing and Footwear Index (0.12 percentage points) and the Water, Electricity, Gas and Fuels Index (0.04 percentage points) were the main downward impacts on annual inflation, mainly reflecting price reductions in package tours, garments and gas respectively. The twelve-month moving average rate was 0.90%.