NetEnt is also moving into a new office in the Stanley Building at Kings Cross, which the company tags as a “strategically-important step”. The UK team has also been growing staff-wise and the office is seen to grow further within the next few months, as the press release says. 

“We are delighted to be open for business in the United Kingdom. We need a local presence to better support our valued customers and grow our market share. We have already recruited some key talent and now we begin a period of recruitment for the second wave,” said Andy Whitworth, Managing Director of NetEnt UK Ltd.

“This is a natural next step and an example of our commitment to the local market. The United Kingdom is already our largest market, and we see a short-term opportunity to grow our market share by being closer to our UK-based customers. Our increased presence in the United Kingdom is one of the NetEnt Group’s key strategic initiatives this year,” said Therese Hillman, CEO of NetEnt.

Although the company makes no mention of it, this step comes amid increasing Brexit uncertainty; as currently, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to negotiate a Brexit deal in Brussels. Analysts expect the Brexit to shake up markets, with KPMG recently having forecast that a no-deal scenario could push the United Kingdom toward recession.

Business Malta earlier reported that online gambling company ComeOn has left the UK market, which step the company rationalised as an attempt to concentrate its business on more favourable markets.

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“I am deeply honoured to have been elected a Fellow of the CII as this represents the culmination of an entire career working in the financial services sector, and serves as recognition of my continued commitment to maintaining the highest standards in my profession,” Ms Azzopardi told Business Malta.

“I also hope that this award goes on to encourage more women to pursue this designation, as well as take on directorship positions in the insurance sector, which is what I plan to pursue in the next phase of my career,” she added.

Sian Fisher, CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute presented Ms Azzopardi with the Fellowship certificate in London. Ms Fisher said that attaining esteemed fellowship status demonstrates a high level of commitment to the insurance profession, according to the press statement.

Ms Azzopardi started her financial services career in London when joining the Post Office and British Telecoms Pension Fund Management Company as Compliance Officer. Later, she became a financial advisor with companies of the Lloyds Banking Group and Zurich Financial Services.

After returning to Malta, she worked for Middlesea Insurance as Head of Life Sales, before becoming Head of Sales and Marketing for Mid-Med Bank. When Mid-Med Bank was acquired by HSBC, she became Senior Marketing Manager for Wealth Management and President of the HSBC Banking on Women Foundation that promoted the professional advancement of women at the bank.

She was also the founding chief officer of the Munich Re investment subsidiary based in Malta, where she worked as the Investment Manager and Deputy COO. She is a visiting lecturer at the University of Malta.

She was elected Vice President of the National Council of Women for six years. She has been an active volunteer in protecting consumer rights for the last seven years and is currently President of the Association for Consumer Rights and a Malta Representative on the European Consumer Consultative Group, the press statement adds.

The post UK’s CII elects Maltese professional as Fellow first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

After abandoning the UK market, ComeOn will still hold licences in Malta, Sweden, Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein — Germany’s northernmost state —, as well as a sports betting licence in Poland.

Tagging the UK market as a “very mature” and “highly-competitive” one, ComeOn CEO Lahcene Merzoug says the industry is shaken by “financial risks” and “uncertainty”. Additionally, Mr Merzoug says the “UK-licence has lost its symbolic value”, which used to be a must-have for a firm to be considered as “credible”.

“Today we hold licences in many European countries and given that the United Kingdom has never been a big market for us, it is a wise move to put our focus elsewhere”, the CEO adds.

Although Mr Merzoug does not make mention of the lurking Brexit around the corner, uncertainty has spiked in many industries as pundits seem unable to put their fingers on what would happen to the United Kingdom post-Brexit.

ComeOn’s online gaming portfolio via mobile, tablet and computer includes brands primarily in casino and sports betting.

The post ComeOn leaves UK market 59 days prior to Brexit deadline first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

As voicing uncertainty around Brexit is almost becoming a weary commonplace, nearing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s 31 October deadline for leaving the bloc at any cost — at least for the time being —, Brits are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential decline in their passport power, rightfully so. As an outcast to the European Union, global mobility and settlement freedom of British citizens can suffer a severe blow.

With strong ties to the United Kingdom, Malta — the island nation that has generated considerable attention for investors interested in CBI schemes — lies in anticipation to see how Brexit could affect the Mediterranean nation’s attraction power for CBI investors.

“Whatever happens with Brexit, the United Kingdom looks set to remain a key financial, commercial, and lifestyle hub for the world’s HNWIs [high-net-worth individual], at least for the foreseeable future. If UK access is compromised for Maltese citizens post-Brexit, this would undoubtedly be a shame — but it would not necessarily be a deal-breaker,” says Paddy Blewer, Group Public Relations Director, Henley & Partners. Henley & Partners focuses on aiding investors with residence and citizenship planning, working in 30 offices worldwide.

“To our mind, any market disruption such as Brexit leads to obstacles and opportunities. The clients we deal with are largely entrepreneurs and innovators, who are very much used to spotting the opportunities that others may not. How this influences their investment decision, however, will vary on a case by case basis,” Mr Blewer adds.

Malta sets CBI bar high

Malta is widely considered to have set the benchmark for citizenship-by-investment in Europe. Since the launch of its Individual Investor Program (IIP) in 2014, the island nation has generated around €200m annually, amounting to over €1b in total that has gone into the country’s National Development and Social Fund, according to figures cited by Henley & Partners.

Five years after the launch of the IIP, Malta has one of the highest GDP growth rates — and one of the lowest unemployment rates — of any European Union member state, Henley & Partners adds. Malta registered a €251m budget surplus — the nation’s third consecutive surplus — in 2018, some 76% of which can be seen to derive from the IIP program. Anticipation says that the Maltese government could post its fourth fiscal surplus in 2019.

Henley & Partners says that in addition to reducing the overall debt level by 28%, the surpluses enable large-scale infrastructure projects in the health, tourism, and real estate sectors. Economic growth in 2019 is expected to remain robust, after a slight slowing of 6.2% GDP growth in 2018, making Malta one of the most dynamic countries in the European Union, according to many.

On that note, however, Brexit should not shake the markets considerably. “From the perspective of investment migration, we do not foresee any iteration of Brexit having a significant impact on these figures. Losing visa-free access to the United Kingdom may put some non-European investors off, but essentially all residence- or citizenship-by-investment programmes will be affected equally by this, and when all is said and done, Malta’s Individual Investor Program still remains one of the best offerings available anywhere in the world,” Mr Blewer tells BM.

“When all is said and done, Malta’s Individual Investor Programme still remains one of the best offerings available anywhere in the world.”

In terms of citizenship by investment, Malta has been widely recognised for its scheme. Out of a total of 13 countries investigated, Malta has finished eighth on the recently-published CBI [Citizenship by Investment] Index, as a runner up to Cyprus on the seventh place; the two being the most attractive European countries of all. This makes Malta the second most attractive country for investors seeking citizenship in the region, according to a report recently published by the Financial Times in association with CS Global Partners.

Additionally, on the Henley Passport Index, the Maltese passport has been steadily stepping up, ranking ninth and eighth earlier this year, and currently ranking as the seventh strongest document of all passports around the world. The Henley Passport Index is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information, and is enhanced by ongoing research by the Henley & Partners Research Department.

Britons looking abroad

It appears that British HNWIs are scanning possibilities all around the world fuelled by the prospect of being cut off from the continent. “While it is true to say there are currently more enquiries coming from British passport holders than there were previously, it remains unclear how much of the interest will convert into actual citizenships for Malta or anywhere else. It is important to note that interested Brits do not only have Malta on their radars. Other European countries offering residence and/or citizenship are also courting interest from Brexit-threatened Brits. For instance, Cyprus, Greece, and Portugal are all potential recipients of British investment,” Mr Blewer says.

While pundits ferociously debate whether Mr Johnson is bluffing with a no-deal Brexit — as the scenario could jolt the United Kingdom into long years of recession according to many — or is genuinely ready to make the bold move of abruptly severing ties with the bloc as the clock turns to 1 November; shutting the door from the outside brings too many factors into the game to make certain forecasts.

“There are simply too many variables at this stage to know what a no-deal scenario would look like, including whether or not Britain is able to strike up any attractive post-Brexit trade deals with the United States or any other trade partner. Malta and a number of other European residence- and citizenship-by-investment programmes will remain extremely attractive propositions, regardless of what happens with Brexit,” Mr Blewer says.

Nevertheless, opportunities are plenty in Europe and around the world CBI-wise, therefore, the impact of Brexit — whatever turn it might take — should be insignificant globally on the investment migration space in general.

“Increasing demand, combined with the continual introduction of new programmes, means that the industry will soon reach US$20b annually. As of the beginning of 2019, there have been investment migration programmes in nearly 100 countries, including more than 70% of the European Union member states, with the majority having been up since 2000. It is estimated that investment migration has brought approximately €25b in FDI [foreign direct investment] into EU countries since 2010, and even the industry’s critics acknowledge that residence- and citizenship-by-investment schemes have been fundamental to these countries’ economic recovery following both the global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis,” Mr Blewer breaks it down.

Either way, “it will certainly be interesting to see if and how Brexit affects Britain’s own residence-by-investment programme though, and whether the British government lowers any of their price points in an attempt to encourage inbound investment,” Mr Blewer concludes.

The post Brexit to change CBI playing field, not break it first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The summit provided insight into various initiatives and projects undertaken by Maltese research and businesses, as well as the innovation support available through Malta Enterprise and the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCAST). It also touched on R&D and innovation-related progress at the Malta Life Sciences Park, Trade Malta, and the University of Malta, according to the press statement

The representatives from Malta Enterprise and MCAST took part in the Innovation Funders meeting, which brought together top-level attendees involved in innovation support from over 30 countries, the EUREKA network and the European Commission, as the press release says.

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An airside land allocation has been assigned for Britten-Norman at the Safi Aviation Park (SAP) after discussions with the Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks. The Maltese government has additionally invested in the building of new hangars at the SAP through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) scheme.

“Malta aims to develop into a fully-fledged aviation centre that supports the entire spectrum of aviation-related services. We are committed to continuing to build a cluster of quality and Britten-Norman’s addition is a testament to the potential of our jurisdiction,” said Christian Cardona, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Business of Malta.

The aviation cluster in Malta employed a staff of 1,409 by the end of April 2019, which represents an increase of 5.4% as compared to the same month in the previous year. The Maltese government expects the deal to support the growth of the aviation cluster further through the 14 new jobs the UK firm will create.

Britten-Norman has applied for approvals from Transport Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate for a number of procedures, and its operations will have multiple facets, according to the press statement.

The company has also applied for an Air Training Organisation certificate, under which they will be able to train pilots in Malta, as well as for a Maintenance Training Organisation certificate for training engineers and technicians.

Britten-Norman is weighing the possibility of registering a number of its aircraft in the Malta registry and has recently entered a new three-year agreement for training of the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) pilots, according to the DOI press statement.

The post Britten-Norman to invest €1m in Malta first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The mother company says it identified failures relating to requirements around key event notifications. Betit will pay £1.4m (€1.6m) and MT SecureTrade £700,000 (€800,000+) to responsible gambling charities pursuant to negotiated regulatory settlements, the press release says. The assessments were carried out in 2017 and 2018.

“Each company acknowledged previous weaknesses in its controls to meet social responsibility requirements early in the Gambling Commission process and immediately took steps to address the gaps in its procedures,” said Robin Reed, CEO of GiG. The CEO also praised the transparency of the process and cooperation with the UK watchdog.

“Commencing from the end of 2017, GiG has embarked on an ambitious journey to place player well-being, prevention of money laundering and sustainable business practices at the core of its operators,” Mr Reed added.

“In the last two years, we have invested heavily in automated technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) enabling early prevention, monitoring and other reporting tools. We have also invested in people, building our compliance and player safety teams and ensuring that the necessary tools are available to them to assist in their duties of reducing the risk of business being used to further financial crime and detecting and interacting with players who may be vulnerable or at risk of problem gambling,” Mr Reed said.

The CEO ensured commitment to forming a “safe environment” for players and to “reduce gambling-related harm”. GiG says it envisages an iGaming market that is “fair and fun for all”.

Gaming Innovation Group Inc has operations in Malta and is dual-listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GIG and on Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker symbol GIGSEK.

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The payment operator and prepaid card issuer is also licensed by the United Kingdom’s financial watchdog; the Financial Conduct Authority. This means that PFS will continue to operate as usual throughout the European Economic Area post-Brexit, the company says.

“The future looks even brighter now for PFS with this announcement. It ensures that no matter what happens with regards to Brexit, our business is prepared for all scenarios and there will be no impact to our customers and partners. We look forward to enjoying an excellent working relationship with the Central Bank of Ireland in the years to come,” says Noel Moran, CEO at PFS.

The company operates from the Innovation Hub in Ireland and its Technology Centre in Malta.

The post Irish fintech PFS bags local licence prepping for Brexit first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Plume’s launch in the United Kingdom comes less than a year after the introduction of Plume membership in the United States, which is a subscription-based service that includes features such as adaptive WiFi, HomePass and parental controls with customisable profiles.

Plume’s platform snowballed in 2018 through large-scale usage by companies such as Comcast, Bell Canada, Liberty Global, and Samsung. At the same time, by open-sourcing Plume’s device software middle layer called OpenSync, the company expanded through partnerships with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Switzerland, Malta, the Cayman Islands, the Netherlands, and now in the UK.

AI solution for better home security

Upon entering the United Kingdom, the company also launched its security offering for US and UK members called Advanced IoT Protection, which is an AI-powered security service designed to protect home IoT devices.

Plume uses AI to identify all devices connected to a home network, detects anomalies in device behaviour, and immediately quarantines devices that have been compromised to prevent a breach from spreading to other devices connected to the home network, the Plume press statement describes. The cloud-solution continually learns patterns of normal device behaviour across a large population of similar devices to spot abnormalities in real time and immediately act to protect users, the company says.

“The ever-increasing demand for smart home performance coupled with the proliferation of IoT devices means connectivity and security are merging and must be addressed jointly and comprehensively,” said Fahri Diner, CEO and co-founder of Plume. “Leveraging our scale as the operator of perhaps the largest software-defined-network in the world, our learnings gathered from a vast population of connected devices uniquely positions Plume to offer the most effective anomaly-based protection of IoT devices.”

The post Plume enters UK market, launches AI security tool first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

“Despite the uncertainty around Brexit, we are still optimistic about the crypto market as this could be a new economic opportunity to both the euro and British pound,” said Andy Cheung, Head of Operations of OKEx. The OKEx chief addressed the issue yesterday in London, during an event dubbed “mindxchange”, discussing blockchain progress in the United Kingdom.

Attendants of the event agreed that as the adoption of blockchain technology is broadening in the United Kingdom, and across the world, prompt action is needed to speed up publishing a regulatory framework in place, the press statement says.

“It has always been delightful to see the crypto community growing. The United Kingdom owns one of the fastest-growing crypto communities in the world. Having observed such great potential, we wanted to support the needs here, and therefore, we launched GBP on our C2C platform,” Mr Cheung concluded.

OKEx is a digital asset exchange headquartered in Malta, offering digital assets trading services including token trading, futures trading, perpetual swap trading and index tracker to global traders with blockchain technology. Currently, the exchange offers over 400 token and futures trading pairs enabling users to optimise their strategies. The company says their platform serves “millions of customers from over 200 countries and regions”.

OKEx recently launched the British pound (GBP) and the Thai baht (THB) as two new currencies available for trade on its over-the-counter (OTC) platform, which is often tagged as a fiat-to-cryptocurrency platform. “Thailand and the UK own the fastest-growing crypto communities in the world. We see great potential in these two markets and want to support the needs there,” Mr Chueng said at the time of launching GBP and THB.

The post Maltese DA exchange OKEx believes in UK despite Brexit doubt first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.