Potential for additional investment from Germany - Minister Josef Bonnici

The Hon. Prof. Josef Bonnici, Minister for Economic Services, has just returned to Malta following a short visit to Germany.

The objective of the visit was two-fold:

• participation in an economic conference organised by the State of Baden-Wurttemberg and
• an opportunity to meet at first hand German prospective investors.

(i) Conference in Stuttgart :

Prof. Bonnici was one of the guest speakers at a conference organised by the State of Baden-Wurttemberg and entitled ‘The Mediterranean Countries - Partners in the 21st. Century'.

The conference was purposely held to coincide with the third meeting of Euro-Med Foreign Ministers, currently convened in Stuttgart. The objective of the conference was to assess and discuss the potential for increased trade and investment between the European and Mediterranean countries, thus enhancing opportunities for economic development.

Prof. Bonnici stated: "The required objective is none less than the construction of a common zone of shared prosperity. This implies a process where opportunities are being sought for joint north-south initiatives that will be of benefit to all parties involved.

. . . . . . . . . . . Malta wants to participate in such cooperation and we are confident that we can contribute positively towards its realisation. We firmly believe that Malta's eventual membership of the European Union will enhance further Malta's potentially leading role within the desired Euro-Med development process."

One of the key points raised by Prof. Bonnici, and which attracted considerable attention during the conference, is the contention that north-south cooperation must also actively seek to facilitate and increase intra-Med trade (i.e. trade between the various Mediterranean countries themselves). In particular, he stressed the need for the implementation of more flexible ‘cumulation criteria', when establishing the ‘rules of origin' applicable to goods exported to the EU from the Mediterranean countries. These criteria should positively cater for, instead of penalising, the processing of goods in more than one Mediterranean country before their eventual export to the EU. A working group has now been set-up to review this matter and Prof. Bonnici expressed his hope that this working group will be in a position to formulate, as soon as possible, clear recommendations for the required changes.

(ii) Meetings with prospective investors and with the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the State of Baden-Wurttemberg

Prof. Bonnici took advantage of his participation in the Stuttgart conference to make a number of factory visits and hold meetings with some German entrepreneurs who are already operating in Malta, as well as with prospective new investors. The Minister was assisted by representatives from both the Malta Development Corporation (MDC) and the Malta External Trade Corporation (METCO). The former has recently opened an office in Stuttgart itself, since this city is regarded as being the manufacturing capital of Germany.

A particularly interesting visit was that to ProMinent Dosiertechnik GmbH in Heidelberg. This company operates a very successful subsidiary in Malta and its main shareholder and managing director, Prof. Viktor Dulger, is also Malta's Honorary Consul for Baden-Wurttemberg.

It is estimated that, in 1998, 37 firms with German equity participation were utilising Malta as a manufacturing location, directly employing around 3400 persons, equivalent to around 11% of total manufacturing employment. Merchandise exports to Germany, again in 1998, amounted to Lm 90 million, or approximately 12.6% of Malta's total merchandise exports.

These were some of the relevant statistics highlighted by Minister Bonnici in his contacts with prospective German investors. One-to-one meetings were held with a number of individual entrepreneurs, representing a very wide range of potential interests. They include a manufacturer of electronics components, a software development house and a construction / engineering company engaged in large scale capital projects.

It is expected that these contacts will be followed up shortly by visits to Malta by representatives of the prospective investors to discuss their particular area of interest in greater detail.

The short visit to Stuttgart by Minister Bonnici was concluded by a very interesting and fruitful meeting with His Excellency, Dr. H Mehrlander, State Secretary in the Ministry for Economic Affairs of Baden-Wurttemberg. Possible forms of cooperation were discussed and three principal areas of interest were identified. These are areas in which considerable expertise exists within the State of Baden-Wurttemberg and which could be successfully made use of by the relevant public and private sector bodies in Malta. These refer to (a) the promotion and ongoing support of small enterprises, currently being addressed in Malta through IPSE; (b) matters concerning the technical certification of products and processes, currently falling under the remit of the Malta Standardisation Authority and (c) some specialised forms of vocational training such as the formation of qualified machine-tool makers.

The Ministry for Economic Services in Malta and the Ministry for Economic Affairs of Baden-Wurttemberg have agreed to investigate potential forms of cooperation in these areas, including the possibility of submitting, in due course, a joint application for EU funding towards the realisation of this objective.