Malta focusing its FDI efforts on small and medium higher value-added companies

Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia tells BusinessToday that Malta is focusing on small and medium higher value-added outfits in its efforts to attract foreign direct investment 

Kurt Farrugia
Kurt Farrugia
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Malta is focusing on small and medium higher value-added outfits in its efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia told BusinessToday.

Farrugia said that companies in the fields of AI, Information and Communications Technology, medical technology, life sciences and high-precision engineering were a perfect fit for Malta.

“It no longer makes sense to bring to Malta companies that would need a thousand or more employees, since it would be hard to find so many employees in today’s market,” he said.

“On the other hand, smaller high-tech companies see a lot of value in Malta.”

A highly-trained workforce is one of the top attractions, as are Malta’s geographical location, cost of living and high level of services like medical care and education.

Farrugia said that Malta was also attracting small companies from within the European Union.

“Even though they might gain little in terms of fiscal or economic advantage, these companies come to Malta because of the agile and approachable institutions they find here,” he said.

He explained that a company that might be one of many in its own country, might choose to move part, if not all, of its operations to Malta where it would benefit from easy access to all relevant institutions.

In the past days, Farrugia hosted a delegation from Germany’s Federal Association of SMEs BVMW Auslandsburo, a German SME Business Network which has recently launched its local chapter.

He said Malta Enterprise is committed to attracting more German companies to Malta through this new synergy.

The organisation is one of Germany's largest business networks with over 300 branches.

At the opening of the offices, Farrugia thanked the BVMW Board for their commitment to Malta.

Alfons Schwarte, who is leading the Malta chapter of the association, hailed the importance of the presence of this entity in Malta and saw this as an opportunity for more German businesses to set up shop here in the future.

Members of BMVW visited the Malta LifeSciences Park in San Ġwann – a business hub for life sciences and the digital industry run by Malta Enterprise.

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