Farmers will plant the most acres in a generation this year, led by the biggest corn crop since World War II, taking advantage of the highest agricultural prices in at least four decades.VALETTA, Malta – When money manager Simone Chelini left his Milan job last year to seek a hedge fund-friendly country, he rejected some obvious locations. “Luxembourg? Grey, flights are expensive. Ireland? Always rains.”
Instead, Chelini and his colleague Pietropaolo Rinaldi followed scores of Italians who’ve moved to Malta, lured by lower taxes, less bureaucracy and a Mediterranean climate. The number of Italian residents in Malta rose 30 percent in the five years through 2009 to 1,539. That doesn’t count temporary workers on the island, located about 50 miles from Sicily, or Italians without resident registrations.
“It’s close to Italy, it’s business-friendly, we have a sea view from our office,” Chelini said. He and his colleague joined a unit of a Swiss wealth management firm in March 2009 and, in June, opened a hedge fund from an office in Malta’s tallest building, the Portomaso tower.
Malta, the smallest economy in the European Union, is enticing Italians from fund managers to tile dealers. The country’s annual economic growth rate averaged 2.3 percent in the last five years, compared with an average contraction of 0.4 percent for its bigger neighbor.
“It’s easy for Italians to get jobs in Malta,” said Vito Calianno, 39, who deals in marble and stone tile. He plans to move next month and open an Internet dealership in Malta for his company, where he says the startup costs of $2,000 are about 10 times cheaper than at home.
