Gold Magazine November - December 2013, Issue 32 | Page 16

INTERVIEW

five minutes with...

Dr. Francesco
Sultana
Associate Lawyer, Head of Office
Kinanis (Malta) Limited

W

ere you surprised when a
Cypriot law firm decided
to set up an office in
Malta, given that the two
jurisdictions are often viewed as direct
competitors?
During the course of my practice, I was
increasingly getting involved in cross-border
tax planning projects which also shed some
light on Cyprus. This revealed an interesting aspect between the so-called ‘competing
islands’; in reality, rather than competitors,
Malta and Cyprus are complimentary jurisdictions. Hence, rather than surprised, I
found it only natural that a well-established
Cyprus firm would establish a subsidiary in
Malta in order to offer all the advantages of
the Maltese Jurisdiction to its huge client
portfolio.
What, if any, are the key differences between Cyprus and Malta as far as international clients are concerned?
I would say that the prime differences fork
out on two separate tracks. At inception,
one finds that the main target markets of
the two jurisdictions are quite diverse. For
one thing, Cyprus is still highly favoured by
the Russian bloc while Malta is a preferred
jurisdiction of choice by Western Europe.
Undoubtedly, a myriad of factors contribute to this: ge ographical location, politics,
culture, religion … you name it. Coupled
with this, the financial products are likewise
varied. Malta has been the pioneer of a num-

ber of specialized ‘products’ such as Remote
Gaming Companies, Captive Insurance
Businesses, VAT schemes on the purchases
of yachts and aircraft and a rather innovative
aircraft register.

and licensed to provide fiduciary services to its
clients in Malta, together with the rest of the
corporate services and company administration, in order to provide a holistic service to the
client.

Do you think the two countries have
things to teach and learn from each other
in the professional services sector?
Absolutely. Both islands have sprouted from
being mere touristic holiday destinations to
resolute financial service jurisdictions. Each
has developed its policies, structures and
schemes and, in generic terms, Malta and
Cyprus have been equally successful. To analyze each other’s approach is, as a minimum,
a must! And it is evident that this is already
being considered. For instance, in mid-2012,
Cyprus transposed a Maltese VAT Yacht
Leasing Scheme almost lock, stock and barrel
into its VAT laws. On the other side of the
Mediterranean, Malta has recently introduced
the regulatory framework for Binary Options – a niche which, until then, was only
exploited by Cyprus.

What would you point to as the keys to
Malta’s success as a financial and professional services centre?
One could argue that the key to Malta’s success
as a financial and professional services centre
is twofold: on the one hand there is the competitive tax regime which is very attractive for
European foreign investment and, on the other
hand, this is combined with the support and
availability of a highly skilled professional multilingual workforce and a modern and efficient
infrastructure.

Has there been any reaction on the part of
local service providers to the establishment
of a Cypriot-owned office in Malta?
A new player always increases competition
and therefore produces a reaction, let alone
when the new player is one of the largest and
most successful Cypriot Law firms with 30
years of experience. It should also be mentioned that today it is also duly authorized

Does the role played by Malta and Cyprus in
this sector simply prove the point that “small
is beautiful” or is there more to it?
Small’ may also imply adaptability, flexibility
and efficiency. For instance, prior to joining
the EU, both Cyprus and Malta had to revamp
their taxation systems. The transition was remarkably smooth for both jurisdictions which
further underlines that size does matter in terms
of adaptability and re-adjusting to new realities.
Moreover, the versatility of the legal systems in
both jurisdictions allowed firms such as Kinanis
LLC to further reach out, operate and provide
services with comfort from both islands. One of
course cannot deny that both islands’ infrastructure has been pivotal to their success.

16 Gold THE INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT, FINANCE & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES MAGAZINE OF CYPRUS

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07/11/2013 18:09