On the 17th February, the Malta Stock Exchange organised an informative session for stakeholders and interested organisations to launch Prospects, the new SME oriented capital market. During the launch held at the Meridien Hotel, St Julians, invitees were addressed by the Hon. Minister of Finance Prof. Edward Scicluna, who supported the initiative for addressing the importance of facilitating access to finance for SMEs. The Chairman of the MSE, Mr Joseph Portelli, briefly introduced this exciting new product that will give SMEs a new opportunity to raise capital or address succession planning through the issue of equities or bonds through the capital market.
The event was then addressed by Mr Cliff Pace, Product and Business Development Manager who outlined the overall objectives and structure of Prospects and how this will be of benefit to SMEs and investors. The vast majority of companies within the European Union and Malta are SMEs and Prospects would cater to companies looking to raise up to 3-5 million euros in capital.
Ms Eileen V Muscat, CEO, went into more detail about the rules governing this new Capital Market since Prospects will be regulated by the Malta Stock Exchange and will operate within a lighter regulatory environment than the current Main Market.
The underlying principles of Prospects have been recently approved by the MFSA. Admission to Prospects will be granted if the company has the appropriate level of corporate governance and transparency, and will require the services of a corporate advisor who will be critical to ensuring that these standards are achieved and maintained.
Persons interested in learning more about Prospects are invited to visit www.smeprospects.com