Figures show that that commercial competitiveness in Malta is on the increase, and this in turn is creating more job opportunities and a wider choice of products and services for Maltese consumers, said Small Business and the Self Employed Parliamentary Secretary Edwin Vassallo.

Speaking yesterday during the presentation of trade licences statistics, Mr Vassallo announced that the Trade Licensing Unit (TLU) within the Commerce Division received 2,094 applications for trading licences in 2006, an increase of 196 over the previous year. Of these, 1,559 licences were issued, an increase of 84 licences over the 2005.

Mr Vassallo remarked that last year the secretariat had made some changes in the application forms for trading licences in order to reduce bureaucracy and facilitate commercial activity. He added that the changes resulted in an adjustment of how figures are collected, and therefore not all 2006 figures can be directly compared with those of the previous year.

The parliamentary secretary also announced the publication of a booklet called Mistoqsija u Risposta fil-Process ta’ Ftuh ta’ Negozju (Questions and answers on the process of business start-ups). The booklet is the first publication of its kind and is a detailed guide on the application process for obtaining a trading licence. Mr Vassallo said that the publication is more tangible proof of the government’s commitment to reduce bureaucracy, as it is also reduced by providing more information to the public.