HSBC announced yesterday that it will be expanding its global call centre in Swatar by doubling its current staff complement, which will make it the largest employer in the financial services sector in Malta by the end of the year.

The call centre was opened eight months ago by way of a EUR7 million investment, and the expansion, which will involve an additional investment of EUR5.5 million, will mean that the centre will employ a total of 500 full-time employees by the end of 2007 – an additional 260 people to the current complement.

A full recruitment programme is starting immediately and the first 42 new call agents will be employed by the end of July.

Malta Enterprise chairman Alec Mizzi described the call centre as “Malta’s greatest success story in the call centre business to date”. It was, he said, another in the country’s string of recent successes, which goes to show that Malta is truly on its way.

Speaking at a media conference yesterday, during which the announcement was made, Dr Mizzi said that, like many other big companies investing in Malta, HSBC was moving up the value chain and making a more positive contribution to the country’s economy.

“Malta is an ideal location for this type of investment and it is very positive that we are embracing the services sector,” he said, adding that the workforce at the HSBC Call Centre would be more than doubled by the end of the year.

The positive performance of the staff employed at the bank’s call centre in Swatar was one of the reasons behind HSBC’s decision to expand further. Current staff will be offered a full training programme up to advanced levels and they will be engaged in more sophisticated work, said Dr Mizzi.

Among the guests at yesterday’s conference was Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, as well as Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt.

Dr Gonzi said that HSBC’s decision to invest further and extend its existing call centre operations bore testimony to the fact that Malta was a good place for business and beneficial to invest in.

“This proves that Malta has a successful role to play in a new globalised economy. We have an environment that is conducive to business, the necessary infrastructure and excellent human resources. As an EU member, Malta has gained more recognition internationally and this has served to enhance our political, social and economic stature,” he said.

Dr Gonzi said his vision was for the country to be a centre of excellence in the service-oriented sector of the

economy by 2015.

HSBC Malta CEO Shaun Wallis said the global call centre had provided a very positive experience in relation to the company’s global terms of customer experience and satisfaction, efficiency and cost-

effectiveness.

“Employees have shown a strong work ethic and the willingness to learn and develop. We are now in the second phase of our project. We are also looking at transport options to make it easier for interested Gozitans to work with us,” said Mr Wallis.

Dr Gatt said that HSBC’s new investment proved that the bank sees a fresh opportunity in the country, a strong sense of commitment and partnership in the current government and a serious commitment to high quality and hard work in its people.

“HSBC’s Malta expansion is another manifestation of the change that our economy is undergoing. We have been successful in reading the economic signs of the times. We will pursue this course of action with the aim of creating even more and better jobs for our people,” he said.

“This is the motivation for our efforts. To create hundreds of new jobs every month, to balance right here in Malta our combined aspirations of living the great quality of the Mediterranean family life, and still reach our fulfilment in world class jobs in a world class economy.”

A fourth floor will be added to the existing premises in Swatar and the ground floor will also be refurbished. The additional investment will go towards the installation of new IT equipment and training, while staff costs will go up from EUR4 million to EUR8 million every year.

The call centre handles in-bound calls from HSBC’s UK customers, to complement its other global call

centres in Asia and the UK, and operates as a branch of the UK-based HSBC Bank.