How can Malta weather today’s geopolitical storms?

Rarely have business and whole countries faced such a perfect storm of disruptive forces. Just as the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes in many countries, the war in Ukraine has had further devastating consequences, having a ripple effect on the rest of the world and upending any plans to return to business as usual.

Before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, inflation was already surging but many other key global macroeconomic variables seemed to be improving. Economic growth was returning to pre-pandemic levels and many countries were on the road back to full employment. But the war presents a serious setback for recovery and another challenge to globalisation – issues we will need to anticipate and address.

Of course, governments have always faced policy trade-offs. However today the stakes are higher, the pace of disruption more dynamic and the situation increasingly complex because there are so many concurrent competing forces at play.

There are difficult choices facing countries in four critical areas. These include tackling inflation and avoiding any widening of inequality gaps, resuming an inclusive and sustainable growth path, balancing energy security with decarbonization pledges and resetting supply chains to bolster resilience and minimize resource scarcity.

As old certainties disappear and disruptions become a more regular occurrence, countries will need more proactive and comprehensive policies and strategies to prepare for, or even prevent, further shocks to the system. CEOs will also need to prepare their organisations to be resilient and agile in response.

With so much happening around us, we feel it’s important to gather the views of key stakeholders, create a forum to present and debate them, and ultimately identify and discuss potential solutions for our most pressing challenges.

For the last 18 years, our team at EY has been conducting the Malta Attractiveness Survey, which captures the sentiments of top executives from foreign owned companies on the island. Over two decades we have seen several issues rise in prominence and to be fair we have also seen a plethora of issues fade away – maybe sometimes by chance - but mostly through our country’s collective hard-work, ingenuity, and a resilient spirit. 

Malta still boasts many attractive features; A fantastic holiday destination due to our climate or historical sites; A strong economy which provides a great standard of living for its inhabitants; and a solid foundation for business to flourish and connect to the wider European and even international market.

For many, our success means the time is now right to shift the focus and improve the current product on offer. There is a lot of talk about attracting quality tourists and international migrants, raising the overall quality of life of our people, improving construction and development standards, and protecting our natural environment - before it’s too late for future generations. Growth for growths sake, on such a tiny island, will eventually take its toll and undoubtedly have adverse effects.   

Now in 2022, the country and company leaders must strike a razor-edge balance between short-term crisis management and longer-term planning.

As we navigate through these times, information will be power. During Malta Future Realised on 18 October, the results of the Malta Attractiveness Survey will shine a light on many of the challenges policymakers and business leaders will be faced with in the coming months.

The results will provide information from the point of view of current foreign investors on amongst others, the effects of Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine War, inflation, the FATF grey listing, and international tax policy developments. Ongoing skill shortages and labour related matters will also be in focus. The effects of climate change and its implications on Malta will also be discussed. ESG initiatives as an investment driver will be outlined, with recent actions such as the creation of the Malta ESG Alliance, certainly a positive development.  

We often say that necessity is the mother of invention, but perhaps we could look at it from a different angle and say that adversity is the mother of transformation. As Malta has been resilient in the past, we can expect our tiny island to be resilient going forward but only with the right action at the right time will Malta be best placed to weather the storm.

The Malta Attractiveness Survey and the economy will be discussed during EY-Parthenon’s Malta Future Realised Conference on October 18 at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. For more information and to register, visit ey.com/en_mt/events/malta-future-realised-2022.

Simon Barberi is a Director at EY Malta leading its EU Advisory services and Attractiveness Program initiative.