Dear Members, dear Guests, Writing a ten year historic review over the Swiss-Maltese Chamber of Commerce is quite a challenge because there were no dramatic events worthy of headlines in the international media since its inception in May 1999; there were further-more no outstanding success stories one could boast of; there were no remarkable increases in the number of membership applications during the ten year span. But despite of all these draw-backs, the accomplishments were considerable: Today, we forget that – when our chamber was started – Malta was an unknown entity in Switzerland! People hardly knew about its existence, far less about its history and cultural background and – if at all – had only a vague idea where this country was geographically located. The Swiss people might have heard about the touristic attractions of Malta, but only very few already spent a few days in Malta. As typical Swiss, we went our own way in the formation of our chamber: We were the first foreign Maltese chamber of commerce which was domiciled outside of Malta. In looking back, we can happily state that we took the right decision, because today Malta is quite well known in Switzerland and has become a favourite destination for surfers, sailors and vacationers who look for relaxation or enjoy cultural and historic values. The English learning courses in Malta have become more and more popular in Switzerland. Our first breakthrough on the business front came with the signing by the Swiss and Maltese regulators of a reciprocity agreement in financial services back in 2004. It meant a close cooperation and exchange of information in the financial field as well as to respect each others decisions, conventions and also relevant market practices. From this point onward, there was a steady increase in the use of Maltese financial services facilities by the Swiss financial industry. Today, mutual funds formed by Swiss interests but domiciled in Malta present a formidable portion of this international business segment. With Malta having joined the EU as full member and with the hassle and scandals about off-shore destinations escalating, the favourable trend to use Malta as a base for financial services is on a marked increase, not the least due to the fact that Malta was not considered a tax haven by the recent G-20 meeting in London. The same trend but to a much lesser degree happened in the commercial and manufacturing field. However, the recent signing of a double taxation treaty between Malta and Switzerland should boost the interest in Malta’s opportunities in this field and their network available in the Southern Mediterranean region. We plan a campaign this year among the Swiss business associations to raise their awareness of the existing favourable conditions: Easy access to the EU market and a gateway to the Near East. Since the decision was taken by the board to celebrate our tenth anniversary in Malta, we plan to organise for the Swiss members a Cocktail reception in Zurich the following month. In order to intensify the personal contacts among Swiss members, especially from the financial services industry, we organise informal, bi-monthly “happy-hour” meetings for exchange of views and getting personally acquainted. Our quarterly publication, called the “Swiss-Maltese TELEGRAPH” is enjoying increasing popularity. It has a wide circulation due to the fact that it is distributed with the Commercial Courier magazine of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry. Furthermore we send copies regularly to most local Swiss Chambers of Commerce. After years of discussions and planning, we were lucky to find an initiative and determined enough individual to overcome all difficulties and potential set-backs. Ms. Simona Soldati who is at the same time since last June the new Vice-Honorary Consul for Malta for the Italian speaking part of Switzerland finally established with our active support the Lugano chapter. The inauguration ceremony took place in September 2008. Aside from the Maltese Ambassador to Switzerland, H. E. Leslie Agius, Dr. Michael Frendo, the previous Foreign Minister of Malta and the Mayor of Lugano attended the meeting together with approximately 60 guests as potential members. The immediate challenge will be to establish sustainable structures and to properly position and integrate our newly formed chapter into an active partner of our chamber and the business community in the Lugano region. We eventually plan to establish another chapter in the French speaking part of Switzerland and last but not least also one in Malta, thus closing the link to our roots. The formation of the Lugano chapter necessitated a change in our by-laws to the effect that we can form such chapters in different parts of Switzerland and even in Malta. The proposed amendments for the necessary changes to our by-laws have been sent to all members for review and approval together with the invitation to our regular annual meeting. The concept is clear that there is only one chamber with branch offices in different places with the same aims and goals by providing more local social activities and closer personal acquaintances and networking. In order to intensify the personal contacts among Swiss members, especially from the financial services sector, we started to organise informal bi-monthly meetings for exchange of views, professional experience and above all intensify personal acquaintances. In view of the fact that we did not have huge budget allocations at our disposal, we can be proud of the accomplishments and are a living proof that one does not always need lots of funds to achieve one’s aims. We have been able to lay solid foundations for future expansion and are convinced that in a globalised world our voice will be stronger if we coordinate our efforts for our common aims. In accordance with our by-laws, we sent to all members together with the invitation to the 10th annual meeting of members, the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2008 which shows again a loss adding up to the amount of CHF6’180.44. The reason for this situation is on the one side again necessary write offs for outstanding membership dues, currency fluctuations between the Swiss Franc and the Euro and partly the one-time cost for the formation of the Lugano chapter. To reduce or even avoid the currency problem in the future, we opened a Swiss Franc account with BOV, Bank of Valletta. We will also have to increase our efforts in the recruitment of new members to balance our financial household. On the membership side, we have to report again a slight decline in numbers due to the fact that we took off our list inactive members who did neither pay the membership dues for several years nor turned in their resignations despite our repeated reminders. We had a total of 5 sponsoring member (no change), active members 31 (less 2), individual members 3 (less 1), passive members none. While the board is doing their best to increase membership, we need above all the active support and assistance from existing members. Personal introductions have always had the best advertising effect. The more members we are the more influence we will be able to exert. In my tenure as president, I have noticed that the benefit of being a member of our chamber is often underestimated because they do not see immediate results. Some members who joined in the early stages were of the opinion that the chamber should actively promote their business in Switzerland or vice versa free of charge. When no business resulted to their expectations they withdrew their support of the chamber. This is definitely not the purpose of a chamber of commerce. Where we can assist, the chamber has been most helpful in the past to our members when they had a problem with either the authorities or with a business partner of the opposite country. On the basis of our network in both countries we have been able to bring most cases to successful conclusions for our members. Furthermore we can also try to establish proper introductions in either country. We sincerely appreciate the efforts made by the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry to hold an event “doing business with Switzerland” preceding our regular annual meeting of members. We plan to also have a similar event in different Swiss cities on the subject “Doing business in Malta” during the course of this year. We will use our contacts with the local Swiss Chambers of Commerce in the respective cities. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the board for their support to make our chamber more attractive and better known; without their personal contributions in ideas and solutions it would not have been possible for me to report so many positive aspects and convey our continued optimism for the future outlook of our chamber. It is not me who should harvest all the glory and applause; it is team work that brings result. Special thanks go also to the auditors for their reliable and exacting work which they perform since the inception of our chamber and giving us the assurance that our finances are in order. Last but not least, our thanks and gratitude goes to our members who have helped us to build up the Swiss-Maltese Chamber of Commerce from the very beginning to become a viable entity. We are grateful for your unrelenting support as well as assistance and sincerely hope that you will not tire in your efforts to make us all successful. Our thanks also go to the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry who has given us generous support over all these years and for being the host to this jubilee event. Thank you for your attention.
Kurt W. Kamber, President
30 April 2009 kk |
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