The support HSBC Malta offered the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry in setting-up and operating an Internationalisation Desk has delivered significant results over the past two years. HSBC Malta has now extended its relationship with the Malta Chamber through the renewal of a Gold Partner Support Agreement to collaborate on projects that benefit the business community for another 12 months.

“HSBC Malta will continue to support the Malta Chamber in this endeavour as well as those Maltese businesses doing business overseas. HSBC Commercial Banking has operations in 70 countries and markets with a customer base of 3.2 million business customers ranging from newly created start-ups to large corporates. We have 7500 relationship managers around the world ready to serve these customers and new business,” said Michel Cordina, HSBC Malta’s Deputy Head of Commercial Banking.

While the main focus of the Internationalisation Desk is to assist and encourage local entrepreneurs to expand their business abroad, the desk supports the Maltese business community in seeking and developing opportunities of the EU single market and of other overseas markets, while responding to the changes they are experiencing including increasing competitive pressures and operating costs.

The Internationalisation Desk co-operates with and draws on the resources of other national stakeholders in the field of internationalisation support, namely Malta Enterprise, Finance Malta and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the outset, the Internationalisation Desk embarked on a member profiling exercise to map out the international orientation and aspirations of Maltese companies. This research served as a register of which-companies, belonging to what-sectors and targeting which-countries, would require what-support to expand business overseas.

As a direct result of HSBC’s support, a detailed business plan was prepared by the Malta Chamber and submitted to Malta Enterprise with a view to create a national effort in the field of internationalisation of franchise. This project took off and is producing the desired results in assisting local entrepreneurs to franchise their own concepts and/or create and develop a foreign franchise abroad.

“The Internationalisation Desk played a central role in this project ensuring that the benefits continue to be available and disseminated to the business community,” said Malta Chamber President Helga Ellul. “In fact, the 2011 Budget Speech singles out the Malta Chamber’s efforts in the franchising field. Furthermore, the Minister of Finance accepted Malta Chamber proposals to allocate funds in the 2011 Budget to facilitate the franchising of Maltese products and services abroad, and to grant a reduction of 150 per cent in taxes to those who invest to improve the quality of the product or of the service they provide, thus improving their prospects of success abroad.”

Armed with market intelligence, the Malta Chamber’s Internationalisation Desk ensures that its services are demand-driven. Besides, it uses its internal database to consult Malta Enterprise on new projects relevant to business as well as on the formulation on the plan for outgoing missions.

A conference jointly organised with HSBC and Malta Enterprise provided entrepreneurs the opportunity to understand how the Chamber uses its resources to assist members internationalise their operations, while the “Franchising your business abroad” conference further uncovered the hidden potential of local entrepreneurs in internationalising their operations through franchise and showed how established local success stories were realized. HSBC’s own Lorna Smith − a Senior Franchise Manager in the UK-based Franchise Unit set up 25 years ago, travelled purposely to address Maltese business people at this conference.

Besides, the setting up of the Maltese-Egyptian Business Council, the Scandinavian Business Forum and the Maltese-Tunisian Business Council are proving to be an innovative way of organising cross-border business networks.

“Through our excellent relationship with HSBC, the Malta Chamber was able to organise the seminar series entitled “Doing Business With...”. In conjunction with embassies in Malta and other stakeholders, the Internationalisation Desk provided information about business opportunities in other EU member states, and elsewhere. Events were held about such diverse markets as the Czech Republic, Germany, Scandinavia, Spain, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, China and Hong Kong,” said Ms Ellul who concluded: “Our Chamber looks forward to renewed collaboration with HSBC for continued benefits to the local business community and new business opportunities created abroad as a result of this unique partnership”.