The newly announced investment with the Chinese ICT giant Huawei will allow Malta to be a leader and not a follower in the Information Technology sector, Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera said this morning. This week, the government signed a strategic agreement with the company allowing 5G technology to be tested in Malta.

Addressing the media, Mr Herrera said that the recent report by Standard & Poors has highlighted the positive economic forecast for Malta, particularly in the energy, tourism and ICT sectors. The investment in the communication and IT sector allows diversification of the sector.

The Parliamentary Sector noted a round-up of investments put forward by the government including the agreements with Shanghai Electric, Barts University and Johnson and Johnson and in the energy and health sectors.

On Huawei, Mr Herrera said that the company registered a profit of €40 million last year and that its operations from Malta will also allow the setting up of an IT research centre.

This year, 16% of SMEs are selling online, compared to the 10% last year. 44% of the population make use of e-government service, compared to 30% last year.