The point was made during a visit Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi yesterday paid to the Malta Stock Exchange. He was accompanied by two parliamentary secretaries, Dr Tony Abela and Mr Tonio Fenech.

During the visit the guests had the opportunity to discuss various ideas with the council and executive committee of the exchange. The Prime Minister also had the opportunity to tour the premises and to meet all the staff of the exchange.

In his speech welcoming the Prime Minister, the chairman of the exchange, Mr Alfred Mallia, stressed the importance of the Stock Exchange in the national economic framework and the various ways in which the exchange can assist the government in attaining its policy objectives such as an improvement in the standard of living, an increase in productivity, a just distribution of wealth and an increased sense of fiscal morality.

Mr Mallia also referred to the efforts being made by the Exchange to become an important player within both the EU and the Mediterranean Region. In particular, the chairman mentioned the BorzaMed Project intended to cater for greater collaboration between exchanges in the region, leading, to the setting up of a Mediterranean Exchange.

These matters were again raised during a presentation given to the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Secretaries for the occasion by the chief executive of the exchange, Mr Mark A. Guillaumier.

During his presentation, Mr Guillaumier dealt with the role of the exchange in the economy and how the exchange had changed and developed during its short history to meet the challenges of a constantly changing environment. The council stressed that while the exchange can be said to have been very successful in a number of areas such as promoting a share ownership culture and in strengthening corporate governance in listed companies, there was still quite a way to go for the Exchange to better fulfil its basic role of providing alternative avenues for businesses to raise capital and to mobilise savings into productive investment.

The Exchange has endeavoured to carry out this role to the best of its abilities. The introduction of the Alternative Companies Listing Rules for start up and smaller companies, the removal of listing fees in respect of equity issues in order to encourage such issues to be listed and the introduction of a Code of Good Corporate Governance are all efforts by the exchange to fulfil its role.

Furthermore, the exchange held meetings with the FOI, IPSE and the commercial banks in order to try to coordinate efforts to encourage companies and smaller enterprises to utilise the facilities offered by the Exchange.

The council, however, stressed that this is not enough. It is clear that only a coordinated national policy will encourage new investment. There are many schemes in place to assist small enterprises and encourage new investment, however, only greater coordination will ensure the success of such schemes. The exchange can play a role – but it is the government that must lend its guidance and support for these efforts to bear the desired results.