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AI has slowly been working its way into businesses. Business Intelligence (BI) systems generate and automatically process a wealth of digital data providing the necessary metrics to efficiently run an organization. Machine learning and AI solutions have the potential to further crunch such data creating unprecedented opportunities for improvement across health, lifestyle, transportation, education and practically every human activity.

Malta plans to develop a National AI Strategy, putting the island amongst the top 10 nations that have taken such an approach to artificial intelligence . A key advantage of Malta is its size, making it similar to a cosmopolitan city that could allow companies to test their products in a real-life scenario.

No doubt that blockchain technology presents many opportunities that will keep transforming the financial space. The disruptive technology is exponentially opening up international markets the same way the internet transformed access to information. For those that recognize what blockchain technology has to offer, its potential has no barriers, both for entrepreneurs and consumers who will be able to gain access to any service or assets they need where they are and when they need them.

The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) has published a document for consultation which covers the application of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Funding of Terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations by the Virtual Financial Assets (VFA) sector. The guidance notes will apply to VFA agents, VFA issuers and VFA licence holders.

Monday 22 October 2018 marks the presentation of the 2019 budget of this government aimed at stimulating economic growth, reducing government debt and delivering a budget surplus year on year.

The MFSA has published further material with regards to the Virtual Financial Assets Regulations. The rules place heavy emphasis on the level of competence that prospective VFA Agents are required to have, both in terms of the traditional financial services framework as well as the regulatory framework developed under the Virtual Financial Assets Act.

Grant Thornton Malta mobilized some 60 members of its team at several cleanup sites simultaneously as part of the firm’s annual CSR event. Malta’s Grant Thornton Save the Ocean initiative is part of an international campaign focused on keeping trash out of oceans, bays, rivers and lakes. In Malta’s case, the cleanup activities were carried out in Pretty Bay, St Peter’s pool, Xorb l-Ghagin, St Thomas Bay, Fomm ir-Rih, Sliema, Bahar ic-Caghaq and Pembroke.

Commerce is increasingly digital. Yet, the global tax system is still geared to the needs of a traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ economy. The OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) Action Plan recognises the need for modernisation and has achieved quite a lot since the issue of its reports in October 2015. However, specific recommendations on digital taxation have been limited and the OECD’s calls for an international consensus on the way forward have so far been unheeded.

Cryptocurrency is digital or ‘virtual’ money, which uses cryptography to secure its transactions, to control the creation of additional currency units, and to verify the transfer of assets. Cryptography itself describes the process by which codes are written or generated to allow information to be kept secret.

Despite Malta’s size and limited resources, Malta has been determined to be at the forefront of the blockchain technology, providing a regulated and tech-friendly framework for the blockchain and fintech industry. This has ensured a constant and ever-growing interest by international businesses and start-ups who are looking at investing in this sector, including the likes of Binance, OKex, Tron and BigOne.

Global business concerns over a shortage of skilled workers hit a record high in the second quarter of 2018, according to research from Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR). Some of the world’s largest economies, drivers of global trade, report significantly higher fears. Business leaders struggling to recruit skilled staff should consider automating processes where skilled worker problems are most acute.

Grant Thornton have signed a sponsorship agreement with Għaqda Studenti Tal-Ligi (Malta Law Students’ Society), a faculty-based non-profit organisation at the University of Malta that represents all law students within the Faculty of Laws.

The dip in optimism suggests that the global economic cycle may have peaked. Business leaders should therefore consider using increased revenue to structurally invest at this stage of the cycle to ensure long-term prosperity.

Looking at the Maltese scenario, in 2017 only 18% of respondents sold their products online and of these, the majority said that total online sales accounted to less than 10% of their total sales. Yet for the 19% of those who sell online, online sales accounted for more than 50% of their sales, which is a remarkable percentage.

The first of their kind in the world, three bills have come into force in Malta governing cryptocurrencies, blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT). The bills include the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act which will bring about the establishment of the Malta Digital Innovation Authority as a driving regulator of the industry, as well as the Innovative Technological Arrangement and Services Act and the Virtual Financial Asset Act.

Grant Thornton Japan completed a significant expansion on 2 July 2018 when it welcomed the Yusei Audit Co. and Yamada & partners Certified Public Tax Accountants’ Co. to the network. The transaction adds 200 new audit staff and a 700 person tax company to the network, in addition to on-going discussions to agree a business alliance with one of Japan’s leading Consulting firms.