Muscat Azzopardi and Associates are currently working on two innovative possible attractions for Malta - Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) and Islamic Finance, or Sharia-Compliant Investment.

As regards SRI. various investors, including Governments, pension and investment funds as well as private individuals, are increasingly demanding that their money is invested in projects that are conducted in a responsible manner as regards human rights as well as the environment. The Norwegian government has pledged that Norway’s $122 billion oil fund will not be invested in corporations that are linked with the manufacture of certain weapons such as landmines or laser guns, or that are linked to violations of human rights, corruption or environmental damage.

The California State pension fund, Calpers, which manages more than $140 billion, takes workplace practices into consideration and prefers to invest in companies which demonstrate a strong employee focus.

Islamic Finance, or sharia compliant funds, is a more complicated concept, since it is not easy to reconcile the world of funds with the strict requirements included within sharia law. However, when one considers the huge amount of Middle Eastern and Asian money that is lying around in bank accounts around the world, one immediately realises that the increased legal and financial complexities involved in offering sharia-compliant financial products are worth the added cost and effort.

Muscat Azzopardi and Associates are currently working on the possibility of offering both types of funds from Malta, which is an ideal jurisdiction in this regard due to several factors including its geographical location, its membership of the EU, its highly professional and multilingual workforce and its innovative and thorough financial services legislation.

Please do not hesitate to contact Dr. James Muscat Azzopardi on jamesma@ma-advocates.com for more information in this regard.