SME Chamber re-elects Paul Abela as President as businesses report strong recovery

The Council of the Malta Chamber of SMEs has once again elected Paul Abela to serve as the organisation’s president, a role he has held since 2007.

The election followed last week’s annual general meeting, and also involved the selection of the SME Chamber’s officials for the coming year.

Mr Abela thanked the Council Members for their trust in electing him to serve as President. He also thanked CEO Abigail Agius Mamo and her team for their dedication to the work of the SME Chamber.

He said he looks forward to another year at the service of members.

As President, Mr Abela is tasked with managing and overseeing the Council’s work throughout the year. He has been described as an “expert in business planning and strategy, change management and negotiation”.

The members holding a seat on Council are:

• Paul Abela – President
• Philip Fenech Deputy – President
• Marcel Mizzi – Officer – Finance and Administration
• Beppe Muscat – Council Member
• Claire Shoemake – Council Member
• Chris Vassallo – Council Member
• Carmel Zammit – Council Member
• Dino Fino – Council Member
• Joan Haber – Council Member
• Joseph Zerafa – Council Member
• Mario Ciantar – Council Member
• Mario DeBono – Council Member
• Marthese Micallef – Council Member
• Michael Galea – Council Member
• Noel Gauci – Council Member
• Patrick Cutajar – Council Member
• Robert Micallef – Council Member
• Sergio Camilleri – Council Member

Businesses report strong recovery

The SME Chamber also released the latest edition of its SME Barometer study, in collaboration with Misco.

The quarterly survey was carried out in mid- to late-January and attracted responses from 237 business owners.

It showed that 60 per cent of SMEs in Malta in 2022 increased their total turnover when compared to the previous year. Another 22 per cent replied that the turnover during 2022 remained the same, and 17 per cent replied that the turnover decreased when compared to 2021.

The main reasons for the increase in sales in 2022 were attributed to the “end of COVID-19 restrictions”, “more stability compared to 2021” and “more consumer confidence”, among others.

Significantly, 39 per cent of the businesses reported that 2022 was better than 2019, the last year of the pre-COVID period, 15 per cent reported that 2022 was equivalent to 2019, 17 per cent replied that 2022 was close to 2019, and 29 per cent replied that 2022 was below 2019 or still far off from 2019.

Asked about their biggest concerns for the year, businesses said they were seriously concerned about the increases in costs in general, increasing wage costs, the labour shortage, the effects of the Ukraine-Russia crisis, and the impact of energy prices should the Government subsidy stop.

Referring to plans for 2023, 29% of the businesses replied they plan to stay the same while 21% replied they intend to expand your business in Malta.