Ten local companies forming part of a business delegation organised by Malta Enterprise had a number of meetings with their counterparts in the German cities of Cologne and Munich to explore potential business opportunities.

The Maltese companies expressed their satisfaction with the German companies that participated in the business forum, which sought to promote Malta as the ideal trade and investment location, as well as in the ensuing one-to-one meetings in which the businesses from both countries established good leads they will be following up.

Ambassador for Malta in Germany Karl Xuereb welcomed the participants at both business fora, with representatives from Malta Enterprise and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry delving deeper into the specifics of Malta’s business environment.

Among others, Malta Enterprise Chief Officer for Trade, Investment and Enterprise Support Joe Schembri spoke about the sectors that are flourishing in Malta such as ICT and telecommunications, tourism and incentive travel, engineering and electronics, as well as food and beverages, industries in which the Maltese delegates operate.

German companies, particularly those looking at possible expansions, were also keen to learn about the assistance that Malta Enterprise offers to encourage investment and facilitate businesses’ consolidation and growth in Malta.

Of particular interest for German participants at the fora were the three testimonials by German companies that operate successfully in Malta and thus learnt more about the business environment in Malta. A company operating in the engineering and electronics sector was presented in Cologne, while in Munich testimonials came from the tourism industry and ICT sector.

Further details were given by German consultants who made a comparative analysis between the tax system in Malta and Germany, highlighting the advantages for companies based in Malta.

Following up on the successful business delegation to the cities of Dusseldorf and Berlin last year, the business delegation sought to further strengthen the long-standing commercial relationship between Malta and the strongest economy in the EU and one of the strongest worldwide.

Malta has a strong presence of German companies that have chosen to set up their operations in Malta and flourished in its business-friendly environment. Additionally, over the past years, Germany was the market to which Maltese companies exported most goods, which amounted to more than €315 million in 2011. On its part, Malta imported €305.2 million worth of goods from Germany in 2011, an increase of €10 million over 2010.