Specialists from Bank of Valletta, Valletta Fund Management, the National Euro Changeover Committee and the Central Bank of Malta participated in a seminar to give businesses a practical and hands on experience on how the forthcoming euro conversion will impact organisations both from an operational and a strategic point of view.
The seminar, entitled “Business Gearing up for the Euro”, was chaired by Joseph F. X. Zahra, chairman of the National Euro Changeover Committee and was held at Hilton Malta.
Over 300 delegates representing a wide cross-section of Malta’s business community attended in what is considered to be a clear indication that the preparations by Maltese business to gear up to the adoption of the euro are gathering momentum.
In his welcome address, Victor Galea, president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise explained that the seminar was organised to raise awareness and provide practical assistance to the local business community preparing for the euro conversion.
Robert Caruana, senior executive at the Central Bank of Malta who was chosen to manage the Euro Project in August 2004, then addressed the seminar.
Dr Alex Wells, who is responsible for the coordination and support of the organisational change related to euro changeover at the NECC, gave a number of guidelines for the business sector.
His presentation focused on the introduction of dual display, highlighting why this introduction was important and how it should be done. He also explained how euro values are obtained through the rounding of the converted monetary value, and how smoothing can be applied to rounded values in exceptional circumstances. He concluded his presentation by referring to the introduction of the FAIR initiative, its benefits, commitments and management.
Joseph M. Camilleri, Head IT Systems Bank of Valletta then gave a detailed and practical presentation on how BOV is handling its organisational preparations in the euro changeover project. Mr Camilleri spoke about the uniqueness of each organisation’s preparations in terms of operational continuity, increased competitive pressures, exploitation of arising opportunities and the inter-linkage of the organisational business model within the new currency framework.
Mr Camilleri also said that it is essential to have a champion for this important project and that it is fully supported by the top management of the organisation. Particular importance should also be given to ensure that the three main constraints, namely time management, cost containment and deliverables, are adequately focused on.
Mr Camilleri emphasised that information and communication technology within the context of euro changeover is far more complex than within the context of the previous Y2K challenge.
The final speaker was Mark Vella, marketing manager at Valletta Fund Management. In his presentation, Mr Vella spoke about euro denominated investment solutions and how the Bank of Valletta Group is already offering a wide range of euro denominated products to meet the particular needs of its customers.