Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/785757
44 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2017 HSBC unveils restored facade of its iconic Valletta headquarters HSBC Malta has completed the restoration of its headquarters in Valletta, an early 17th century historical landmark located in the epicentre of the UNESCO World Heritage-listed capital city. The building's new-look façade revives the original elements of the iconic building and adds to the splendour of the monuments on Pjazza San Ġorġ. The restora- tion was completed just in time for the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council during which about 20,000 delegates from around Europe are expected to visit the administrative and commercial nerve centre of Malta. While the upper floors of the building were reconstructed af- ter World War II, the restoration work showed that the façade at ground floor level pertained to the original structure. During the restoration, remains of an arched opening were discov- ered beneath the renders of the façade. Other highlights from the project scope included compre- hensive façade cleaning, 100% re-pointing of all bricks and in- ternal masonry, and restoration of the windows. HSBC Malta worked with preservation experts so that the highest priority was given to maintaining the heritage of the structure but also to safeguard the principles of restoration in- terventions. As a result, the exte- rior closely resembles the colour of the original stones. HSBC Malta CEO Andrew Beane (left) and Chairman Sonny Portelli in front of the new-look façade of the HSBC Malta headquarters in Val- letta. Vodafone's Gozo store gets a sleek makeover Finance Malta at New York insurance-linked securities event Vodafone Malta's store in Arka- dia, Gozo, has just been revamped to reflect Vodafone's global 'mod- ular' retail design. This is the latest outlet to join Vodafone Malta's retail portfolio of newly transformed, innovative- ly designed stores which incorpo- rate all the elements required in a Vodafone outlet to offer the best customer experience. The store, located within a shop- ping mall in the Gozitan capital of Victoria, features a contemporary design and an open, welcoming environment manned by fully- trained staff. The outlet also boasts the latest hi-tech devices and accessories and also offers all Vodafone cus- tomers the possibility to test out the latest smartphones and tab- lets at ease whilst being assured that Vodafone's expert team will guide them through this experi- ence. "We are also offering a 'Tech Zone' area with an expert ready to help customers having technical issues with their smartphones," Retail and Collections Manager Joseph Azzopardi said. All Vodafone customers are in- vited to visit the newly revamped Vodafone Gozo outlet, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm and from 4pm to 7pm and Saturday from 9am to 2pm. Finance Malta Governor, Dr Mat- thew Bianchi and the Head of Business Development Manager, Ivan Grech have recently trav- elled to New York to participate in an Insurance Linked Securi- ties (ILS) event entitled 'Artemis's ILS 2017'. This event consisted of a full day of insightful talks from leading Insurance linked secu- rities and re/insurance market thought-leaders along with other guests from inside and outside the industry. During this event Finance Malta set up an information desk in the expo area where Dr Bianchi and Mr Grech interacted and met up with some of the most senior decision makers across the insur- ance-linked securities and rein- surance market seeking informa- tion about the Maltese financial jurisdiction. Dr Bianchi and Mr Grech ex- plained that what is attracting foreign investors to invest and set their operations in Malta, is primarily driven by the pres- ence of comprehensive legal and regulatory framework covering insurance business as well as the standards and level of expertise of its professionals. Dr Bianchi and Mr Grech also spoke about the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in mobilizing the capital markets to invest in insur- ance risk. Commenting about Malta's par- ticipation in this event Finance- Malta Chairman, Kenneth Far- rugia said that, "we are constantly on the look out to participate in carefully curated events designed to attract industry specialists and decision makers or those that provide the unique opportunity to network with thought-leaders. As in previous years throughout, 2017 we will continue to promote Malta as a financial service centre by participating in international events and fora similar to 'Arte- mis's ILS 2017'. During the seminar the Maltese delegation had the opportunity to attend various sessions where industry topics including the ILS market evolution, expansion and global resilience, ILS and In- surTech and the niches within ILS were discussed. The event was also an opportunity to network with senior executives from (re) insurance companies, catastro- phe bond & ILS fund managers, pension investors, hedge funds, service providers, technology start-ups and investment bankers