The developer insists that the apartments and duplexes will offer clients “affordable luxury in a secure, car-free and clean environment, close to all that matters. They come with the added value of some of the most exciting investments and retail options so lacking in the south,” according to the press statement.

“The entire project is to be built all at once,” said Andrew Gatt, Sales and Marketing Manager at The Shoreline Residence Ltd. “The shopping mall is set to open to the public in Q1/2022, handover of the first finished units to clients is scheduled for Q3/2022. Meanwhile, the Shoreline is currently evaluating the construction tender as construction works are planned to start by the end of this year.”

In terms of environmental responsibility, Maltese company En-sure Ltd is carrying out site monitoring following international standards, using sampling protocols in accordance with approved method statements.

Block A will be composed of 18 two-and three-bedroom units with panoramas, while Block H will present a foreshore row of terraced units on three levels with private lifts that offer views on the Mediterranean Sea.

There will be approximately 370 luxury apartments, served with a two-storey, double-height shopping mall covering 25,500 square meters, with space for underground parking, overlooking the Smart City Laguna, recreation areas and other amenities. “The Shoreline is considered as one of the largest private construction projects in Malta to date,” the developer says.

As these residences enjoy a Special Designated Area Status (SDA), they can be purchased by both EU and non-EU nationals with the same acquisition rights as Maltese citizens, and without the need to obtain Acquisition of Immovable Property (AIP) permits, as the press statement sent to BM says.

Polidano Group started works on The Shoreline Residence’s multi-purpose project at Ricasoli near SmartCity Malta in mid-May. Malta-based Polidano won a tender for the complete excavation of the site of the residential and retail project.

The post The Shoreline project announces two residential blocks first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The project was launched by Parliamentary Secretary for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation Silvio Schembri and Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds and Social Dialogue Aaron Farrugia.

The lack of women participation in the IT sector is a problem experienced all across the European Union, and the whole world, nowadays. In 2017, the employment rate for men in this sector in the European Union was 76.9%, while for women it was 65.3%. Therefore, the target for 2020 in the EU is to reach 75% for both genders.

The initiative will be implemented in many countries, like Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Spain with €2.7m as the total budget allocated for this purpose. Out of this fund, Malta can call for €346,672 between September 2018 and August 2021.

The project is hoped to develop digital competencies and employability of young women vulnerable of getting out of a job, as well as to provide innovative solutions to increase the numbers of young women in ICT careers and in the digital economy. Special focus will fall on unemployed young women, women returning to work after maternity leave and women coming from low income or disadvantaged families. The main tools used are awareness-raising, skills assessment, innovative partnerships with employers, development of a new online employability profiling tool and training in digital jobs, according to the DOI release.

“As a country, we have improved a lot within the digital space, now becoming a main point of reference, yet we are still lagging behind in women participation. If addressed now, the digital sector could be the first sector where we could see women on par with men”, said Mr Schembri.

“This is an exciting time for women. After registering a spike in the number of women elected to the European Parliament, I look forward to the next legislature to see the fruit of the positive measures being taken locally to increase the number of women in the Maltese Parliament”, said Mr Farrugia.

“It is encouraging to see the government fully committed to reducing the digital divide and organisations coming together today to support this collaborative framework. Thanks to this commitment we can ensure that women and young girls are truly allowed to decide their future and regain their destiny” said Dana Farrugia the CEO at Tech.MT, an organisation launched by the Malta Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the government, aiming to help support further growth of the local technology sector.

The post Malta launches EU-funded Women4IT project first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The Shoreline received the definitive approval of its development application by the Planning Authority (PA) in March. What the developers describe as a “landmark project” on the east coast of Malta should see excavation works winding up by end-October 2019.

The first phase is divided into two parts; the preparatory work for excavations and the direct digging for construction purposes. The earmarked site will be excavated down to five levels to accommodate one double-height retail area, and three levels of garage spaces for over 1,000 cars.

Residential and retail

After the excavation finishes the main contractor will be selected for the construction of The Shoreline — 370 luxury apartments, a two-storey, double-height shopping mall covering 25,500 sqm with underground parking and recreational areas overlooking the Smart City Laguna.

“Our vision is to create a great place to establish roots, raise a family, and appreciate the great views — in one phrase: to enjoy the superb location close to all that matters. When one considers all tangible and intangible aspects of these properties, one realises that The Shoreline is truly offering affordable luxury in a safe, car-free and unpolluted environment,” said Andrew Gatt, Sales and Marketing Manager of The Shoreline Residence Ltd.

The Shoreline appointed En-Sure as environmental site monitors. En-sure carries out such site monitoring in accordance with international standards, using sampling protocols in accordance with approved method statements, the press statement says.

“We recognize the importance of environmental responsibility, which includes on-going environmental monitoring according to a comprehensive suite of parameters that comprise air quality, noise and vibration, among others. The good news is that some 90% of the 230,000 cubic meters of rock to be excavated will be used again as recycled material,” said Ben Muscat, Chairman of The Shoreline Residence Ltd.

The post Polidano starts excavation on Malta’s Shoreline Residence project first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Both Kinect and Kamari share involvement in Africa aspects; the prior works closely together with ministries of health and large global charities across Africa, while the latter has licenses in over seven African countries.

The two companies proposed the establishment of a multi-country lottery to motivate untested men between the ages of 18 and 34 to undergo an HIV test at participating clinics with the goal of promoting education and treatment for infected people. The partnership focuses on United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“HIV infection is a serious issue in many African countries and the ongoing spread of the disease by untested individuals has been incredibly difficult to address” said Toby Carroll, the Chairman of Kinect. “We believe that this partnership with Kamari and the proposed lottery to incentivise those untested individuals to take their first test, will lead to increased education, treatment and hopefully reduce the spread of the disease,” he added.

“Africa will be a multi-currency universe creating benefit and liquidity to all from the unbanked to the commercially astute,” added Dr. Christopher Cleverly, the CEO of Kamari. “Kinect has a model that will thrive on an interoperable platform of shared values created through collaboration. This will be a game changer for medical data and application on the continent,” the professional added.

Since 2016 Kinect has collected US$5.75m to help the successful expansion of business development across Africa and other emerging economies with the greatest need.

Kinect recently formed a partnership with ZEU Crypto networks and its Canadian Stock Exchange listed company, St Georges Eco-Mining to develop its private blockchain that can integrate with major platforms including Cardano and EOS. ZEU Crypto Networks is investing US$2.45m into Kinect to enable development and expansion in existing operations, according to the press statement.

EDITORIAL NOTE: HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus, most commonly transferred through unprotected sexual contact with an infected person; sharing of needles, syringes, rinse water, or other equipment used to prepare illicit drugs for injection; and from mother-to-child during pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding. If you feel that you might be involved, please immediately contact the Genitourinary GU Clinic of Mater Dei Hospital for due care. The clinic operates on the essential factor of absolute confidentiality, and no information is provided to anybody. The treatment and counselling are provided free to everybody.

The post Blockchain projects to fund HIV testing in Africa first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The Vostok project aims to enable large enterprises and public institutions to build the foundation of next-generation digital infrastructure, the company says.

The first investment round for $120m with the total valuation of the Vostok project $600m closed in December 2018, the press statement says. The share of 20% of the project Vostok was received by private and institutional investors, who were selected according to their potential benefit to the development of the plan.

“The private distributed digital platform Vostok will combine technological developments and innovations we tested when building the international Waves Platform, with the advantages of other end-to-end digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics and the industrial internet of things,” says Sasha Ivanov, founder and CEO of Waves Platform. “In each of our strategic markets, we are launching an integrator company, with the help of which an ecosystem of Vostok solutions will be built. Second round investors will provide us with, among other things, opportunities to enter new markets,” she adds.

“Vostok’s present-day objective is to attract big institutional investors, including mutual funds and venture capital funds. We are delighted to have an opportunity to continue working on this project and are thrilled to see a growing interest in Vostok from businesses and investors alike,” says Danis Nagy, CEO of Dolfin.

Founded in 2016, Waves Platform offers tools for creating decentralised applications. Vostok is a universal technological solution for scalable digital infrastructure developed by Waves Platform in 2018.

Dolfin is an independent wealth management platform that provides custody, brokerage and asset management to private clients, financial advisors and institutional investors. Founded as a London-based wealth boutique in 2013, today, Dolfin looks after more than $3bn of client assets and handles around $650m of brokerage flow every month. Dolphin is headquartered in London, with offices in Malta and Amsterdam, the company is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the Malta Financial Services Authority.

The post Vostok project to close 2nd investment round end-May first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.