The island of Malta¸ with seven thousand years of history¸ two hundred generations of civilisation and twelve months of sunshine a year¸ was¸ up to just a decade ago¸ better known as a tourist destination for a mainly British and European market. But while tourism remains an important component of the island’s economic landscape¸ Malta’s traditional reputation as ‘just’ a sun and sea destination for holidaymakers is changing rapidly as the island adds weight to its claims for recognition of its distinctive role within the world business community. Recognising the intrinsic value of its geographic location and its highly skilled¸ multilingual¸ flexible workforce¸ Malta is determined not to allow size to dictate success. A decade and a half of determined restructuring has turned Malta into one of the most attractive investment locations in the region¸ and the island is now well on its way to achieving its vision of becoming the regional centre of excellence in IT and financial services.

Positioned strategically between Europe and North Africa¸ the island promotes itself as a stepping stone between the two continents¸ and is building aggressively on its strong reputation as the ideal regional hub for expansion-focused businesses. The island’s legislative and regulatory systems formulated and implemented over the last fifteen years to create a solid yet flexible framework for business¸ its state-of-the-art telecoms infrastructure and wealth of highly-skilled professionals in every field accelerating the upgrading of the general infrastructure¸ combined with its central Mediterranean location and unique sun-kissed lifestyle are coming together to help Malta win both investment and international recognition.