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Malta is an island state and a full member of the EU with 500,000 inhabitants. It boasts an economy that has been growing at a steady 5% annually prior to the pandemic, which is the third fastest growing in the EU. This is why we think you should take a closer look at Malta:
1. It is the place where regulatory innovation and emerging technologies come together, Malta has created the right conditions for companies both local and foreign to thrive. Malta was one of the first countries to introduce a framework for blockchain. More recently is has legalised the personal use of Cannabis and has facilitated the registration of companies seeking to grow, develop and produce medical cannabis products.
2. Malta Enterprise is active in attracting investment through different business support measures for a variety of sectors. These measures include a mix of tax or fiscal incentives, cash grants as well as financing support in the from of soft loans, guarantees, interest rate subsidies, and land and business premises allocation.
3. It can be the gateway to the EU. Companies not established in the EU can register in Malta, set up a small operation and obtain licences and permits in Malta that would be applicable in all the European Territory. Since it is easy to get all necessary stakeholders together on the small island, this process is much easier and cheaper than on mainland Europe.
4. Malta actively promotes research and development activities and provides incentives up to 80% of R&D expenditure.
5. Malta has one of the strongest IP protection frameworks in the world. Protecting your current Intellectual Property or IP developed in Malta is not an issue and the laws are robust and provide cross-EU protection.
6. It has logistical advantages in that small can be beautiful when needing to bring all the key stakeholders quickly around a table to make key decisions and take the business forward.
7. Malta has a technological sandbox framework. A technological sandbox is an innovative concept which provides a safe environment for individuals or companies developing solutions based on Innovative Technologies such as Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence or solutions deployed in critical environments, to enable the correct nurturing of such solutions in line with recognised standards. Alignment in the early phases of deployment proves to be cheaper than rectification in a post-development stage. Additionally:
a. It allows the development of the solution in line with predefined control objectives aligned with international standards, thus avoiding reducing the risk failure which would adversely affect users.
b. It provides technological assurance to investors and end users, providing certainty in the functional correctness and dependability of such technologies and the underlying operational processes, thus making the solution a notch more attractive.
c. Provides legal and regulatory certainty even in line with developing EU regulations in technological camps.
d. Provides a competitive edge to competing solutions
e. Ensures that following sandbox residency, Malta Digital Innovation Authority (MDIA) certification process is seamless.
8. An English speaking workforce. All business correspondence is conducted in English.
9. It is at the centre of the Mediterranean which means one hour away from Rome and close to the rest of Europe, on routes of major shipping lines going through Suez canal with direct access to Africa, Middle East and Asia.
10. A corporate tax rate that can be as low as 5% for non-resident shareholders and double taxation agreement with most of the countries in the world.
11. Malta enjoys 300 days of sunshine every year.
If interested in learning more about Malta, and how you can benefit from a business support programme, contact us.