The latest run of the PwC CEO Confidence Tracker which was carried out following the announcement of the 2025 Budget, captures another snapshot of the sentiment of Malta’s top business leaders in the last quarter of year and the reaction to the measures announced in the same Budget.
Over 50 CEOs leading Malta’s largest business organisations across various industries in Malta participated in this barometer.
A generally consistent business performance and outlook
The results suggest a generally consistent and resilient business outlook and a marginal improvement in the level of business reported in the previous quarter, when compared to the results of an equivalent barometer carried out earlier this year in April. The results are albeit lower when compared to the levels of business which were reported in the same barometer during 2022 and 2023.
Such business sentiment can be understood in the context of a macro-economic landscape which continues to be exposed to heightened geopolitical pressures, an inflationary environment which remains elevated and the prospect of global trade tensions, which increase the risk of tail events.
The local economic business sentiment as interpreted by the Central Bank of Malta in its ‘Business Conditions Index’ reports that in September 2024, annual growth in business activity was lower than that in August and stood slightly below its historical average estimated since January 2000. The European Commission confidence surveys also show that sentiment in Malta decreased in September, and remained below its long-term average, estimated since November 2002.
CEOs generally unenthusiastic about the 2025 budget measures
The majority (64%) of CEOs who participated in the latest barometer feel that the measures announced by Government in the 2025 Budget will not have any effect on their respective business, a result which draws parallels to the latest trends emanating from the CEO confidence tracker which indicate that the majority of CEOs do not envisage any significant uptick in the level of business activity in the next six months.
Moreover, such feedback also suggests that the Budget measures have been interpreted as being generally more geared to the demand-side rather than the supply-side of the economy and addressed to specific strata of the society. This interpretation is consistent with the reaction of the major constituted bodies which represent the private business community in Malta.
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