Level Playing Field Essential To Keep Businesses Investing, Says Alex Borg

Partit Nazzjonalista Leader Alex Borg said Malta must provide the right conditions for companies to continue investing, expanding and creating employment opportunities, while recognising the challenges faced by businesses operating in the local market.

Borg made the comments during a visit to Bond’s Ltd in Attard, where he met the company’s owners, directors and employees. He was welcomed by Alex Aquilina and his son Lee, who showed him around the company’s three-storey, 1,200-square-metre showroom and introduced him to some of its 22 employees.

Bond’s Ltd is a family business now managed by the third generation of the Aquilina family. The company traces its origins back to 1964, when Alex Aquilina’s father opened a household goods shop in Sliema. Over the years, the business expanded into furniture imports, bringing Italian products to the Maltese market.

Following further investment in the 1990s, particularly as Malta moved closer to European Union membership and import opportunities increased, the company diversified its operations.

Today, it offers a range of furniture products, including kitchens, bedrooms, living-room furniture and other household items from established Italian brands such as Colombini Casa, Febal Casa, Materassi e Materassi and OIKOS.

The company has also achieved international recognition, ranking almost every year since 2014 as the best annual performer among European companies selling these Italian brands.

During the meeting, the owners explained that the business is exploring opportunities in the contract furniture sector, particularly supplying hotels and tourism establishments. They also discussed the challenges faced by companies, including labour shortages and competition from imported products.

Borg said businesses need a level playing field and that the Opposition is committed to addressing issues affecting companies that import products from overseas.

He added that supporting businesses such as Bond’s would help encourage further investment, protect jobs and strengthen Malta’s economy.

The PN Leader was accompanied during the visit by PN MPs Graziella Galea and Justin Schembri.

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