The government is planning to amend the law regulating INDIS, with one of the changes being that it will no longer be required to provide an industrial site to investment projects creating jobs, the economy minister said on Tuesday.

“By law, any company creating jobs has to be given industrial land. But today we do not have an unemployment problem, so industrial land will only be given to high value-added enterprises,” Silvio Schembri explained.

INDIS is the agency which administers government-owned industrial parks. 

Schembri said the government would introduce a new legal framework regulating INDIS by mid-2025.

The country’s efforts, he said were focused on attracting businesses that required fewer workers but provided greater value. That included industries involved in microchips, aviation and maritime, ecology, automation, life sciences, and high-end manufacturing.

The government would amend the law regulating Malta Enterprise - the agency which promotes and facilitates investment - to further promote value-added businesses, Schembri said.

“We are now in a position to choose what investment the country wants,” Schembri said.

On Tuesday morning, Schembri spoke of budget measures that his ministry will be responsible for.

Low tax scheme extended to executives returning to Malta

One initiative is to extend an existing scheme that allows highly paid foreign workers in executive positions to pay a flat tax rate of 15 per cent.

“We are extending the scheme to Maltese citizens who have lived abroad for more than eight years. We want these people to bring the experience they gained abroad back to Malta,” Schembri said.

The economy minister said the government’s Get Qualified Scheme, which subsidizes studies for diplomas, undergraduate degrees, and postgraduate degrees through tax credits, would provide additional incentives for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses.

Schembri said that students in other fields, such as humanities and arts, would still benefit but said more incentives would be allocated to targeted sectors.

The economy minister said the government would also update its Artificial Intelligence strategy, set up a new interactive media academy, and invest in education programs for the video game industry.