Writing about a ten year historic review for the Swiss-Maltese Chamber of Commerce is quite an undertaking. There were no dramatic events which made the headlines in the media since its formation back in 1999; there were no outstanding success stories one could boast of; there were no remarkable increases in membership applications during the ten year span. Despite of all these handicaps, the ccomplishments were considerable:

When the chamber was started, Malta was an unknown quantity in Switzerland! People hardly knew about its existence and – if at all – had only a vague idea where this country was geographically located. They might have heard about the touristic attractions of Malta and very few even spent a few days already in Malta. We were the first foreign Maltese chamber of commerce which was domiciled outside of Malta.

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.

The first breakthrough came with the signing of a reciprocity agreement for financial services between the MFSA Malta Financial Services Authority and the Swiss Banking Commission in 2004. From this point onward, there was a steady increase in the use of Maltese financial services by the Swiss financial industry. Today, mutual funds domiciled in Malta by Swiss asset managers present a formidable part of this business segment. Due to the hassle and scandals about the off-shore destinations, the move to use Malta as a base for financial services is on the steady increase.