I am sure that during the past quarter you have experienced, or at least, heard of Malta's varied activity – whether through the Valletta Summit on Migration, or the CHOGM, or, on a lighter note, Malta's second victory in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. The Commonwealth Business Forum, as well as the recent KPMG bi-annual conference have been important fora for sharing ideas and discussion among the main business players. It is evident that different stakeholders have the will to sustain the momentum gained so far, and, above all, innovate, in order to take Malta's financial centre to an even higher level. Indeed 2016 promises to be another busy year for our island!

We, at FinanceMalta, are of course committed to contribute towards this impetus. Our upcoming initiatives include our Educational Clinic on the European Markets Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) and the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR) organised in collaboration with the MFSA to be held at the MFSA, Malta, as well as our participation at the Islamic Finance conference organised by 'Fondazione ISTUD' in Milan, both of which will be held on the 16th December 2015.

Other third party events that are of interest to FinanceMalta are a conference which the Malta Stock Exchange plans to hold in Madrid on the 25th January; the European Family Office Winter Symposium in London on the 8th-9th February; the UK Captive Owners Summit that will be held in London on the 11th February 2016; and SIFMA IRLS in New York on the 23-24th February, as well as funds-targeted events in London and Switzerland during March.

For the first time ever, our annual winter networking reception will be held at the President's Palace in Valletta on the 29th January 2016 rather than December. We look forward to meeting all our members and guests for what promises to be a lovely social evening!

Allow me also to remind you about our 9th international annual conference and exhibition which is scheduled for the 25-26th May 2016 at the Hilton Malta. I encourage you to pencil these dates in your diaries and to invite your fellow colleagues to do the same. Of course, if you're interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this event, keep a look-out for our sponsorship brochure which will be issued in the coming days.

From the regulatory side, the expiry date for the MFSA's consultation on the proposed transposition of the UCITS V Directive expires on the 15th January 2016. This Consultation Document explains the manner in which the Authority proposes to transpose the provisions of the UCITS V Directive into Maltese law. UCITS V introduces new rules applicable to custodians of UCITS, such as the entities eligible to assume this role, their tasks, delegation arrangement and liability. Furthermore, it also introduces general remuneration principles which will be applicable to UCITS management companies.

To conclude, in this issue you will find a recent interview carried out with FinanceMalta's Head of Business Development, Ivan Grech, on our strategy for the future. Other articles deal with Fiduciary Companies, Pension Regulation & Compliance, Salient Implications of the 4th Anti Money Laundering Directive on Maltese Trusts and Foundations, the Retirement Pension Plan, Sino-Maltese relations and opportunities for Business Development, and Structured Finance & Securitisation.

Finally, I invite you to keep checking our website for the latest updates regarding Malta's Financial Centre.

May I take the opportunity to wish you and your families a very blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year and allow me to inform you that FinanceMalta will be on shutdown from the 22nd December 2015 until the 3rd January 2016.

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