On the 27th of October, the Malta Stock Exchange (MSE) launched the National Capital Markets Strategic Plan during a round table event organised at MSE's premises in Valletta. Guests of honour at this launch, the Hon. Dr. Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta, and the Hon. Profs. Edward Scicluna, Minister for Finance, spoke about the growth Malta has been registering within the capital markets sector and the support measures Government is implementing to enable MSE to further develop this sector.
During this event, Mr Joseph Portelli, Chairman of MSE, laid out the 19 key initiatives and actions that form the MSE's National Capital Markets Strategic Plan, including listings of exchange traded funds and real estate investment trusts, the development of Islamic capital markets products, initiatives to increase fund listings, and various tax incentives in relation to both the main market and the new Prospects market for SMEs.
Dr Max Ganado, Senior Partner at GANADO Advocates, was invited to contribute to a panel debate, with participation of other prominent figures within the local industry including the Hon. Profs. Edward Scicluna, Profs. Joseph Bannister, Chairman of the Malta Financial Services Authority Mr. Kenneth Farrugia, Chairman of FinanceMalta, Ms. Juanita Bencini, Partner leading the Risk Consulting Advisory Services team at KPMG, and Mr. Ronald Attard, Country Managing Partner of EY Malta.
Panellists spoke about the importance of focusing on Malta's core strengths, whilst remaining nimble and making the best of the European Commission's Capital Markets Union initiative, particularly in view of Malta's Presidency of the Council of the EU next year and in the context of the new prospectus regulation and the promotion of simple, transparent and comparable (STC) securitisation. They also discussed over regulation within the context of securitisation.
The general consensus that emerged during this panel discussion was that as part of our long-term national strategy, every effort should be made for Malta to strengthen its capital markets offering to complement its already successful status as a financial services centre. All panellists expressed their appreciation to MSE for its plan of action and confirmed their commitment to helping Malta's capital markets sector grow in line with the National Strategic Plan. Panellists also commented on opening up the MSE as a platform for international institutional listings, apart from domestic issuers and investors, following in the footsteps of other jurisdictions.
During this event, MSE also announced the launch of the Malta Stock Exchange Institute – an educational entity aimed at shaping and moulding future financial sector professionals. GANADO Advocates is actively involved in the 2017 educational programme with Dr Marina Grech to deliver a course on financial markets compliance and regulation and Dr Nicholas Curmi to deliver a course on securitisation.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
