One of the world’s earliest, most successful and wealthiest multinational organisations made Malta its home. Malta in turn made this organisation famous. It came to be known as the Knights of Malta, and the traditions of commerce, international trade and multiculturalism it established became ingrained in the culture of the Maltese Islands. Malta’s exceptional location in the Mediterranean has always ensured that its geopolitical importance is established. Historically, this allowed Malta to punch well above its tiny size, a characteristic that continues to this day. Since Malta joined the European Union in 2004, its presence as a financial services centre is increasingly being felt.

The relationship between Malta and China is becoming closer: Following the signing of an agreement aimed at developing the securities markets earlier this year between the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Maltese Finance minister Tonio Fenech now met a delegation from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC). The MFSA and the CBRC had concluded and signed a Memorandum of Understanding which established an agreement for the sharing of supervisory information and which was aimed to enhance co-operation in the area of banking supervision.

The German Interstate Treaty on Gambling violates European Union law. Three preliminary rulings handed down by the European Court of Justice confirm that the “German rules do not limit games of chance in a consistent and systematic manner” and stresses that “national rules concerning that monopoly, held to be contrary to the fundamental freedoms of the Union, cannot continue to apply during the time necessary to bring it into conformity with (European) Union law”. The Court stresses in particular that “the holders of public monopolies carry out intensive advertising campaigns with a view to maximize profit from lotteries thereby departing from the objectives justifying the existence of those monopolies”.

Malta is an attractive investment and business location for German companies. The recent one day visit by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle “is a living proof that the Federal Republic of Germany considers Malta as one of its main partners in economic and political collaboration”, Malta's Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg said. He said that Germany has supported Malta, over the years, on a number of politial matters. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning the trust placed by German investors in Malta.

Fenlex Corporate Services Ltd. will be exhibiting at the European iGaming Congress & Expo (EIG) between the 19th and 21st October 2010 at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen. The EiG attracts attendees from all areas of online gaming, from the most senior management to specialists in areas as diverse as iGaming law, regulation, finance, marketing, business development, fraud, payments and IT. In 2009, over 1500 people from over 60 countries attended the event.

Managing websites in different languages and teams that provide customer support in their respective mother tongue are standard for most online gaming operators. And whereas the term localization is usually applied to translations and software adaptation, it could soon mean more. (Article appeared in iGaming Business Magazine, July 2010)

Malta and Uruguay have concluded negotiations on a double taxation agreement (DTA) between the two countries, which is expected to be signed later on this year. This announcement assumes particular importance in consideration of the fact that despite Malta’s extensive tax treaty network of over fifty agreements, so far, it has not yet signed a double taxation agreement with any South American country.

Fenlex is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Karl Diacono, the firm’s CEO, sums up the main developments which have helped shape the company’s success over the past decade.