Future growth will depend on economic sectors linked to technology
Written by Melvin Farrugia, MITA Social Media, PR and Communications Executive
Results published in the Malta Attractiveness Survey 2016 show that our country not only remains attractive for foreign investors, but has also obtained the highest results in three years.
The report commissioned by Ernst & Young Malta shows that our country's future growth will depend upon economic sectors that are directly linked to technology. In fact, respondents to the survey said that iGaming (71%), together with ICT and Telecoms (50%) are the sectors that will lead the way in the future.
Investors say that Malta is still lagging behind when it comes to innovation environment, although significant steps have been noticed. On the other hand, Malta's stability and its competitive legislation make it very attractive, together with the possibility of finding the human resources that are fit for the industry.
Nonetheless, the report explains that Malta has a lack of specialised skills, thus less than half of the investors manage to recruit staff with the required skills from the local labour market. For this reason, it is suggested that new skill sets are introduced in schools to reduce this mismatch gap.
Other issues which are described in the report are the forces of change that can affect both gaming and ICT sectors. In fact, certain investors are uncertain over Malta's capability to retain its success in iGaming, telecoms and ICT. Nonetheless, the majority of the companies have predicted that they will still be operating in Malta in 10 years' time.
Another sector which can be of great potential to attract investment is that of start-ups. The study explains that a seed investment given in Malta can last as much as three to five times longer than it would in London or San Francisco. This way, companies have more time to test and refine their product, while building their customer bases and finding investors. This can also help attracting foreign technological experts who can benefit from the 15% flat rate of personal income tax.
In the study, respondents identify particular areas in which Malta has to invest so that it remains competitive. These are namely the development of education and skills, the support to high-tech industries and innovation, the improving of quality products and value-added of services and the level of protection of intellectual property rights.
Apart from that, in the study is recommended that Malta invests on its ability to test new technologies, while providing access to an English-speaking market that has European regulations. An example which is described in the report is blockchain technology. The EY report states that there are companies who would be willing to run these blockchain applications for a governmental function across an entire country.