Central Bank of Malta Quarterly Review March 2002 Vol. 35 No.1 The Quarterly Review is prepared and issued by the Economics Division of the Central Bank of Malta. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Bank. Articles appearing in this issue may be reprinted in whole or in part provided the source is quoted. For copies of the Quarterly Review apply to:- The Manager External Relations Office Central Bank of Malta Castille Place Valletta CMR 01 Malta Telephone: (356) 21 247 480 Facsimile: (356) 21 243 051 Internet: www.centralbankmalta.com e-mail:
[email protected] ISSN 0008-9273 Printed by Interprint Limited CONTENTS ECONOMIC SURVEY 1. Foreword 5 2. The International Environment 7 3. The Domestic Economy 11 Box 1: Business Perceptions Survey 19 4. The Balance of Payments and the Maltese Lira 22 5. Government Finance 27 6. Monetary and Financial Developments 31 7. The Banking System 38 Box 2: International Banking Institutions 42 NEWS NOTES 45 FINANCIAL POLICY CALENDAR 47 STATISTICAL TABLES 59 Notes: The cut-off date for information published in the Economic Survey is April 23, 2002. For figures published in the Statistical Tables, the cut-off date is April 23, 2002. Figures in Tables may not add up due to rounding. ECONOMIC SURVEY subdued. This was confirmed by data published in 1. FOREWORD March, which showed that Gross Domestic Product contracted by 2.9% in real terms during the final quarter of 2001, as the export During the final quarter of 2001 the Central Bank performance of the electronics sector deteriorated continued to ease its monetary policy stance.