OPENING SPEECH BY THE HON JOHN DALLI MINISTER OF FINANCE ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCHING OF THE COMMERCE BANK FUNDS IN MALTA

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure today to inaugurate the Commerz International Capital Management (CICM) Funds in Malta.

They add another product for the Maltese investor and further emphasise our policy to make Malta a centre for financial services and to integrate our economy with developments internationally.

I congratulate Fexco Investment Services (Malta) Ltd. for being granted a category 2 Investment Services Licence by the Malta Financial Services Centre.

FEXCO is a respected name internationally and has now been operating in Malta for the past five years and I see, with pleasure, that they are developing and further extending their activities in our country.

Financial Services are seen by Malta as a major sector of economic activity exploiting our competitive advantages in this field. Malta has a high level of education and has focused on ensuring that a good part of its citizens undergo tertiary education. This has provided the necessary expertise for the financial services sector to develop. Our regulatory framework shows that we are not a tax haven of the type which is being targeted by the OECD, but a centre for financial services that projects its reputability as one of its major benefits.

Even as we approach membership of the European Union, the development of the financial sector continues to be a major focus for the Government.

As Minister of Finance I actively support the various institutions, in particular, MFSC in developing new products and in promoting our image so that Malta will be considered, in global financial circles, as a centre of repute.

The new funds will increase the public's options for investment in reputable financial institutions and I welcome this development as a sign of economic vitality and a clear indication of faith in our future as a financial centre.

We wish Commerz International Capital Management & Commerzbank great success in their new venture together with Fexco Investment Services (Malta) Ltd. and hope that their presence here will be a lasting and fruitful one.

Thank you.