Malta's economic growth will continue to outpace the Eurozone
Mar2016

Malta's economic growth will continue to outpace the Eurozone

10 March 2016
Malta GDP up by 6.3% last year

Gross Domestic Product in real terms went up by 6.3 per cent in 2015, making the Maltese economy one of the best performers in the EU, official figures issued on 8th March show.

GDP in 2015 amounted to €8,796.5 million, an increase of €712.3 million or 8.8 per cent (nominal) when compared to 2014.

Positive Outlook of Rating Agency

Ratings agency Standard and Poor's had already affirmed Malta's ratings at BBB+/A-2 in January 2016, underlining that the outlook remained positive.

In a report on Malta, the agency projected that the Maltese economy will expand by 2.8 per cent annually in real terms between this year and 2018.

It said it expected budgetary consolidation to continue, bringing net general government debt down to 54 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2018, from 57 per cent in 2014.

According to Standard and Poor’s forecast, Malta's economic growth will continue to outpace that of the Eurozone as a whole, driven by strong investment in the energy sector and growth in consumption, underpinned by wage growth, employment growth, steady net migration, the decline in oil prices, and moderate inflation.

A Prime Location

Malta already provides international business with significant advantages as a company domicile, offering fully-EU compliant legislation, efficient tax rates along with the advantages provided by over 70 double taxation treaties, and a good professional services infrastructure.

Emerging IP Business

Malta has now also started in positioning itself as a regional centre for IP, focussing on developing, protecting and commercialising intellectual property (IP). Patents, trademarks and copyrights have become crucial growth factors for companies and economies. We will enter into more detail about this topic in our next article.