Malta’s financial services sector is healthy and is expected to achieve even better results in 2007, said parliamentary secretary Tonio Fenech yesterday.

Speaking during the launch by the Malta Financial Services Authority of its 2007-2009 strategic plan, Mr Fenech said that the achievements made by Malta in financial services has spread the country’s reputation as a safe and serious jurisdiction.

He said that these results are a good advert for Malta and help attract investment from foreign companies. Mr Fenech said that companies wanting to invest in financial services look for respected jurisdictions.

“And Malta is one of them. It has almost become scandalous for a company to be associated with offshore funds. We have moved from being a jurisdiction that used to allow offshore to one that now frowns on it. This gives us the foundations for future development,” he said.

The government had amended and introduced legislation to strengthen the sector, said Mr Fenech, and to attract more companies to invest in financial services in this country.

“And to continue with that, we will soon be publishing the new legislation in relation to the changes in the taxation system. But just because we are seeing good results, does not mean we can rest on our laurels. We need to be flexible, responsive and efficient,” he said.

He also spoke about employment in the sector and said that more people trained in the sector are needed. “Business is growing at a faster rate than we are producing people qualified in the field. This, in itself, is a positive thing – but we need more people. In fact, the MFSA will be setting up a board to monitor the educational aspect,” he said.

Mr Fenech also pointed out that traditional forms of advertising do not really give returns in the field of financial services. “You can put an advertisement in The Financial Times, but you will not get much of a response,” he said.

The way forward, he said, was to keep, and improve, Malta’s good name.

“You attract people by using your contacts, by networking and by establishing a sound reputation. You need word to travel by mouth, and the best way to do that is for existing clients to tell others of their positive experiences of Malta,” said Mr Fenech.

He said that in the past two years, the GDP contribution from the financial services sector had increased by some 30 per cent.

Meanwhile, MFSA chairman Joseph Bannister highlighted the main aims outlined in the strategic plan. These, he said, included networking with other organisations in order to maximise the effectiveness of the regulatory regime and the management of activities, operating risk-based regulatory practices to better anticipate threats that may potentially harm companies and ultimately consumers.

Two other goals included continuously upgrading technology to enhance operational effectiveness and improve public access to the Registry of Companies and other information and, finally, to sustain and improve organisational excellence through continuous staff training.