FinanceMalta, the public-private partnership set up to promote Malta’s financial services sector, will host its Annual Financial Services Conference on Friday, 18 May at the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Golden Bay. Leading figures, including Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Minister of Finance, the Economy and Investment Tonio Fenech, Central Bank of Malta Governor Josef Bonnici, Chairman of FinanceMalta Kenneth Farrugia, regulators and senior business executives, will highlight Malta’s international business development through regulatory excellence, economic strength, the knowledge economy, innovation in legislation and professional services.
The conference will feature an introductory speech by Dr Gonzi and will be chaired by Mr Farrugia. The day will include a number of selected local and international experts who will address the participants on current everyday topics affecting the financial services industry. This will be for the purpose of highlighting Malta’s numerous financial services offerings centred on the theme “Malta’s Financial Services Industry – Sustaining the Momentum” through speaker presentations, discussions, workshops and panel sessions. Participants include high-level government officials, regulators, legal and accountancy professionals, and business executives.
Among the highlights this year, global thought-leader and author Professor Edward DeBono will speak on “Lateral Thinking & Six Thinking Hats for the Financial Services Industry”, while Dr John Vella, Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation, will talk about the financial transaction tax. A thought-provoking session by Jane Fuller entitled “Corporate Governance in the financial services sector” will investigate the current landscape, while Malta’s Central Bank Governor will give his reflections on the financial and economic challenges in the euro area and beyond. Other speakers include: Prof. Edward Scicluna MEP, Mark Watkinson, CEO HSBC Malta, and Stefano Mazzocchi, Director for Advocacy at the Brussels office of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe.
In the afternoon, the conference will run three concurrent workshops and panel sessions on investment funds, insurance and wealth management.
Commenting on the conference, the chairman of FinanceMalta said: “We are extremely pleased to see Malta growing as a financial services hub in the Mediterranean and build on the strong business relationships and partnerships between Malta and the EU. For this year’s conference, we have invited a cadre of high calibre speakers who will provide a wealth of information on the domestic and international regulatory developments, Malta’s economic performance as well as its knowledge-economy credentials.”
More than 200 leading business executives, CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CMOs, from the financial services industry including insurance/reinsurance executives, fund managers, bankers, financial specialists, journalists, lawyers, accountants and other service providers will attend this unique event. Sponsors include HSBC Bank Malta plc., Fenech & Fenech Advocates, Ganado & Associates Advocates, Mamo TCV Advocates, Linedata Limited, Eurex Zurich AG, Regus and Castille Staffing Limited.