01Nov

Standard & Poor’s Malta Credit Rating Upgraded to ‘A-‘

1 November 2016 Acumum Legal & Advisory 15

Standard & Poor’s Credit Rating increases

Malta’s Credit Rating to ‘A-‘

First Increase in 20 years

Malta’s Economy Predicted to increase 25%
Influx of Foreign Workers a Contributing Factor

Continuing Malta’s unprecedented and unmatched growth within the EU, Standard & Poor’s has raised Malta’s long-term rating to ‘A-‘, predicting that the economy will continue to grow by an average of 3 per cent a year until 2019.

The agency raised its long-term sovereign credit ratings on Malta to ‘A-‘ from ‘BBB+’. The upgrade reflected what S&P called “Malta’s improved credit metrics”, including:

Strong real GDP growth
Deficits below 1 per cent for the 2016-19 period
Durable current account surpluses

Malta’s outlook remains stable, reflecting S&P’s view that:

the upside potential of Malta’s economic and fiscal performance is counterbalanced by downside risks related to Brexit, external flows, and the structure of the financial sector.”

Malta’s short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit rating remained stable at ‘A-2’.

16Feb

IMF: Malta economy is ‘growing strongly’

16 February 2016 Acumum Legal & Advisory 15

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been reporting on the Malta economy in increasingly good terms over the last three months.

In February 2015, the IMF revised their forecast for Malta’s economic growth from 2.2 per cent to 3.1 per cent for 2014 and 2015, only a few weeks after making one of their biggest downwards revisions of its world economic growth forecast. Put simply, Malta continued to flourish even while the rest of the world did not.

The IMF notes that unemployment was at a record low, despite a large increase in the number of women working, praising the free childcare service and employment measures taken. Overall, the economic growth shown was predicted to lead to a reduction in Government deficit, with debt set to fall below 60 per cent by 2020.

Later the same year, in November 2015, a report was released by the IMF stating that Malta has weathered global shocks well and retained a strong outlook. They commented that a diverse economy and strong domestic funding has preserved stability, and a number of causes including infrastructure investments and income tax cuts accelerated growth to 5.1 percent in the first half of 2015, which levelled out to 4.3 per cent real growth throughout the year. Unemployment remained at record lows.

Looking ahead to next year, the IMF expects further solid growth owing to domestic demand supported by energy infrastructure projects, lower income taxes and a growing female labour force. Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna said of the IMF mission’s concluding statement that it “gives the Government the assurance that its economic and financial policies are well suited and are having the desired effects.”

07Nov

Malta Retains ‘A’ Fitch Rating

7 November 2015 Acumum Legal & Advisory 6

Malta Retains ‘A’ Fitch Credit Rating

LONDON, September 12

Fitch affirms Malta’s Long-term foreign and local currency Issuer Default Rating (IDRs) at ‘A’. The Outlooks are Stable. The issue ratings on Malta’s senior unsecured foreign and local currency bonds have also been affirmed at ‘A’. The agency has also affirmed Malta’s Short-term foreign-currency IDR at ‘F1′ and the Country Ceiling at ‘AAA’.

As one of the most stable and one of the few EU jurisdictions to report increased growth, Malta’s economy has received added boost by retaining its ‘A’ Fitch credit rating. As Fitch states in respect of 2013: [Malta’s] “economy grew by 2.9%, better than 2012 (1.1%) and higher than the euro zone average (negative 0.4%).”

Further praise by Fitch that Malta’s economic growth will continue to outperform the euro zone, averaging at 2.5% in 2015-16.

Main Highlights:

1H14 real GDP grew by 3.5%
Expects above potential growth averaging 2.5% in 2015-16, continuing above the eurozone average
Unemployment rate of 5.7% in July was below both the ‘A’ median and the eurozone average
General government gross debt (GGGD) peaked at 72% of GDP in 2013 (73% in 2014-15 previously) and will decline marginally in the medium term, reaching 70% of GDP by 2020

The rating, was welcomed by Malta’s Minister for Finance, Prof. Edward Scicluna, stating “Fitch’s country rating for Malta, wherein it reaffirmed Malta at ‘A’ with a stable outlook, confirms the country’s economic growth as sustainable and geared to keep outperforming other EU states on GDP growth and employment” and that “Fitch projects the deficit to decline further to 2.5% of GDP in 2014 and 2015. Nevertheless, Government is confident that Malta will again exceed various international institution’s expectations with regard to the deficit-to-GDP ratio, and we remain committed to reducing the deficit to 2.1 per cent as targeted in the 2014 Budget”.

Malta – A Fiscally Competitive EU Jurisdiction

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07Nov

Chartered Institute Of Taxation

7 November 2015 Acumum Legal & Advisory 9

Acumum provides Headline Editorial for Tax Adviser Magazine

of The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)

Acumum’s Managing Partner, Geraldine Noel, has been invited to provide the Malta editorial for the Tax Adviser magazine, the Chartered Institute of Taxation’s (CIOT) official publication.

The Malta editorial provides an overview of the main tax and other fiscal benefits that Malta can provide both individuals and companies.

To read the full article, please go to: CIOT Tax Adviser Malta – Sept 2014

About Malta: a full member of the European Union, Malta, an ex British colony is strategically situated in the Mediterranean.

Malta is a highly competitive jurisdiction in respect of tax and other fiscal benefits, some of which are:

5% effective corporate tax rate
No withholding, no entry or exit taxes
Limited capital gains
No transfer pricing or CFC legislation
Remittance system for foreign vehicles
Low set up costs – i.e. hedge funds, captive insurance companies etc

About Acumum: a full service law firm located in Malta, Acumum engages highly experienced lawyers, advocates, tax advisers and accountants. Managed by Geraldine Noel, an English barrister – registered in Malta, Acumum’s areas of expertise includes:

Aviation, Corporate Services, Financial Services, Insurance, Maritime & Yacht, Residence and Relocation, Tax Structuring (individual & corporate), Trusts & Wealth Planning.

If you would like to know more about Malta and our services, kindly contact Geraldine Noel: [email protected] | Skype: acumum

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