Getting ready for the Next Wave
Chamber president Perit David Xuereb said that the business community was well aware that the Next Wave was inevitable and the opportunities which the future brought with it, were certainly there for the taking.
Perit Xuereb was addressing the annual attractiveness event organised by EY, during which the Malta Attractiveness Survey was published.
The Chamber president said that the Chamber was encouraged by the fact that Malta was adapting to a forward-looking vision while strongly embracing the digital revolution. President Xuereb claimed that the Chamber had always challenged suggestions of passiveness as it insisted on being the agent that drove the country forward to the new levels demanded by the disruptive world experienced nowadays.
“The more successful we are the stronger and smarter our efforts must be to maintain and consolidate our winning position,” he explained.
Perit Xuereb stated that the Chamber always firmly believed in being one step ahead of any concerning signals the country may receive. He made reference to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, in which Malta slipped by two places. He said that the Chamber had been forwarding its views on the matter during the last periods and also as soon as the report was published.
Concerns such as the constant rise in the overall cost of labour, labour legislation, rent inflation, rising operation costs, taxation structures, transport and logistics and the prevailing perceptions about Malta abroad, arguably mirrored painpoints raised in the EY survey which needed to be addressed.
Perit Xuereb stated that, the country could not lose focus of its national competitiveness position which according to the Chamber’s views was “the product of a wide array of investment attractiveness factors which must all be given their due priority and attention”.
He continued that: “The necessary transformations must continue to take place in a manner that addresses any shortcomings, without losing sight of the fundamental objectives of attracting investment.”
While thanking EY Malta on conducting the survey and organising the event, Perit Xuereb appealed to the authorities to continue to support social dialogue and consult with the business community through the Chamber. “We have shown, time and again, that ethical business is often the provider of long-term and sustainable solutions.”