Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/734922
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 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 Malta Properties enters joint venture for Mercury House shopping mall Calamatta Cuschieri joins Pink October Movement Calamatta Cuschieri has joined the Pink October movement to help in the fight against breast Cancer. Throughout the month of October, the company will be or- ganising a series of events to help raise funds for this cause. The company will also be matching the amount raised from the events and therefore doubling the total amount of proceeds raised. All proceeds will be used for the pur- chasing of medical equipment that will further enhance breast cancer treatment. Alan Cuschieri, Group Co- CEO at Calamatta Cuschieri commented on the company's Corporate social responsibility initiatives, "Calamatta Cuschieri is committed to giving back to our communities by also supporting organisations whose shared goal is to improve people's lives. As the CC Group continues to develop, we continue to increase our efforts and contribution through initiatives that are beneficial to the society." Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer related death in women above the age of 30 in Malta. If breast cancer is detected in its early stages however, it can be successfully treated. Those who wish to donate for the cause can visit www.pinkoctober.support. More information about Calamatta Cuschieri's initiatives are also available on www.cc.com.mt/csr Malta Properties Company plc has announced that it has en- tered into a tripartite Memo- randum of Understanding with developer Joseph Portelli and GO plc, on the a proposed de- velopment at the company's St. George's exchange site in St Julian's, which is currently held on lease by GO. Mercury's highest tower at 35 floors will provide a prime office location. The other towers will cater for residences The development as projected in the MOU consists of a mixed-use development, which is envisaged to incorporate residential and commercial areas, including a shopping mall of at least 10,000 sqm, as well as a car park. The proposed development will be carried out on the site known as Mercury House, which is in the process of being acquired by the developer, and the St. George's Exchange Site. As part of this agreement, GO will vacate the St. George's exchange site and relocate its equipment and infrastructure to an alternative area granted by the developer. Malta Properties will use the entire proceeds received from the aforementioned agreement to finance its 50% stake in the joint venture, which will own and operate the shopping mall to be built within the complex. It is projected that the project will be completed by 2023. The proposed collaboration is subject to various conditions and certain aspects of the proposed collaboration are yet to be finalised. Mercury's highest tower will provide a prime offi ce location IMF: Global economic recovery 'weak and precarious' The global economic recovery remains "weak and precarious", the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned yesterday. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF predicted growth of 3.1% this year and rising to 3.4% in 2017. It however warned there is a risk this "tepid growth" could become "self-perpetuating." The IMF also said that the UK's exit from the European Union is "expected to have negative macroeconomic consequences." The indifferent economic recovery after the global financial crisis has been a persistent theme in the IMF's regular World Economic Outlook reports. The most recent report warned of the danger of a pattern of underperformance becoming entrenched. Weak growth can lead to lower investment, slower productivity growth and the erosion of what the IMF calls "human capital" - which means skills and expertise. In one important area - China - the IMF's concerns have eased somewhat in the short term. Economic growth in the Asian powerhouse has been stable, allaying fears that China's widely reported slowdown would be much more abrupt than it has been. However, the IMF warned about the country's longer-term prospects and the debt burden faced by many businesses. "A still-rising credit-to- GDP ratio and lack of decisive progress in addressing corporate debt and governance concerns in state-owned enterprises raise the risk of a disruptive adjustment," the IMF said. That could have important international implications especially for commodity and machinery exporters, for which China is a vital market. Brexit and US elections On the UK's vote to leave the European Union, the IMF said the financial market reaction was "reassuringly orderly" and it has therefore edged up its forecast for growth in the UK this year. But it said the ultimate impact remains very unclear and the IMF predicts a marked slowdown in growth next year for Britain to 1.1% - but not a contraction. Another aspect of the referendum result that the IMF highlights is what it shows about wider trends in developed economies. "The Brexit vote and the ongoing US presidential election campaign have highlighted a fraying consensus about the benefits of cross-border economic integration," the report said. The US reference is about the hostility to international trade agreements such as NAFTA, which involves the US, Canada and Mexico,) voiced in the election campaign. The Republican candidate Donald Trump has been the most vocal, though not the only voice expressing such views. It is a political trend that has the IMF worried. It argued that an environment hostile to trade would make it harder for commodity exporters and poorer countries to develop new lines of exports. Such a trend would also undermine productivity growth and the spread of knowledge and technology. The IMF added: "In short, turning back the clock on trade can only deepen and prolong the world economy's current doldrums."