Net foreign direct investment into Malta totalled Lm750 million in the last three years – on a per capita basis this puts Malta in the seventh position in the world, Investments, industry and IT minister Austin Gatt said yesterday.

He was addressing the 2006 general assembly of GS1 International, formerly known as the EAN, at the Hilton yesterday.

Dr Gatt spoke about the positive impact membership of the European Union has had on the country and his government’s commitment to continue to develop and to reach the highest global standards of quality.

The minister said the country had benefited from a substantial increase in capital investment, thriving on a generics pharma industry.

“We boast the best in manufacturing simply because we have consciously decided it is time to grow up – to go for the high end of the business. It is why ST, De La Rue, Playmobil, Trelleborg, Dedicated Micros, Arrow Pharma, Siegfried Pharma, Toly Products not only call us home but are continuously expanding,” Dr Gatt said.

He said the chain of new investments in the Maltese industrial sector secured over the past few months were a measure of the success of the country’s efforts to find a niche in which the country can succeed.