Prime Minister Joseph Muscat today said that he is informed that the 300 jobs set to be created by Crane Currency has almost been reached, and will soon be exceeded.

Crane Currency’s investment was announced soon after De La Rue had said it would have to make significant redundancies. De La Rue, which prints currency, passports and other sensitive items did not make the planned cuts while Malta wound up with two major printing companies.

Late last year, it was announced that Crane Currency was sold to Crane Co. which is still retaining its Malta branch. Due to the new company's history of restructuring this newsroom asked whether government had bed given assurances that job creation targets remained unchanged.

Muscat also announced that Crane Co are now interested in opening up other branches in Malta, which the PM described as "exciting".

Asked about how people can trust the due diligence process when the PM.s chief of staff Keith Schembri is benefitting through this deal, the PM said there is no conflict of interest.

The PM explained that "Keith Schembri, who is not directly involved in the company (Kasco), is the agent for the machines used (by Crane Co), which many other companies around the world also use. There is no conflict of interest".

On the issue of due diligence, he said considering the American government puts its stamp on currency produced by Crane, there is not much more due diligence to be done.

PM's inauguration speech

Speaking at the opening of the Hal Far factory, Crane Co.’s President Annemarie Watson praised the new facility has become operational just 53 weeks after the investment was initially announced.

Prime Minister Muscat spoke of the creation of 300 quality jobs through this investment, and that the true benefits from this project will not be highlighted from the photos but from the improvement in people’s livelihood. He took part in the ribbon-ceremony ceremony at the official opening.

Muscat praised strong bilateral relations with the USA, adding that Malta welcomes more American companies, especially in the manufacturing sector, to set up shop in Malta.

Referring to the take-over of Crane Currency by Crane Co, Muscat said the government was both informed and gave its consent for the move.

American ambassador to Malta Kathleen Hill addressed the investment, adding that it is in line with President Trump’s aims to strengthen prosperity.

Video/photo Michael Camilleri