“The difficulty,” the seminal economist John Maynard Keynes once wrote, “lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.” True, but in today’s permanently changing and fast-paced economic world we have an even bigger challenge. It is not just the ‘old’ that we find difficulty escaping from but even the recent and familiar which worked until yesterday but has quickly, almost instantly, become outdated.
At this year’s EY conference analysing the state of health of Malta’s attractiveness to foreign investment we are taking this challenge head on. With the theme “Malta: Open for business” (7 October, Westin Dragonara Resort) we plan to take a close and objective look at where we are and where we should be heading, at what is really working and what only appears to be working, at what has potential for growth and what is destined to plateau or fall by the wayside. Above all, we plan to look at new opportunities which are still below the radar but could hold the key to the future.
There is no doubt that at present the key indicators of Malta’s economic and financial health are positive, some very positive. Certain sectors, particularly, financial services, igaming and shipping are leading the pack. In addition, future prospects in certain sectors also suggest that their current well-being is sustainable.
However, in the sort of world we now live in, a world in which the only constant is rapid change, this is no guarantee that the future will be just an extension of the present. The pace of change means that we cannot console ourselves with doing what we are already doing better and more efficiently. That has to happen but it will not be enough. We need to look for new opportunities which are out there, new markets we haven’t yet tapped, new ways of attracting the type of foreign investment which we haven’t yet considered.
Some years ago political consensus led to intelligent legislation in financial services and igaming. Today the results are there for all to see: in both sectors a market was created where none existed. Now we all need to put our thinking hats on to try to do the same again, by looking sharply at business opportunities no one has yet seen, synergies no one has yet contemplated and a future whose potential we’ll be the first to see. I believe that our conference this year is set to go at least some way in this direction. The line-up of around 50 speakers includes the key stakeholders from the public and private sectors. It also includes Lord Peter Mandelson, one of the architects of Tony Blair’s ‘New Labour’ and former EU commissioner as well as Jan Peter Balkenende, a Christian democrat who was the prime minister of the Netherlands for 8 years.
In previous years, we at EY were proud to let our conference serve as a platform for analysing and discussing the key issues at hand. We will ensure that this will continue to be one of the features enjoyed and appreciated by our participants.
Yet this year we are upping the bar for ourselves. Apart from being a forum we are also going to be active participants in the debate, along the lines outlined above. On 7 October we shall be making concrete and realistic proposals to explore the unchartered frontiers of foreign investment and economic growth lying ahead. I shall look forward to seeing you there.
The event is supported by The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, FinanceMalta, the Malta Gaming Authority, John Taylor, HSBC Bank Malta plc, GO plc, Mizzi Motors, Bank of Valletta and Malta Enterprise.
Early registration is highly recommended by sending an email to [email protected], or online www.ey.com/mt/mas.
Ronald Attard, Managing Partner, EY Malta