AIRCRAFT LEASING INDUSTRY IN MALTA

The National Strategy for the Financial Services Sector launched last year by the Malta Financial Services Advisory Council proposed areas where Malta could become a centre of excellence, one of which was aircraft leasing.

Malta is already a ‘tried and tested’ jurisdiction for aviation activities with legislative and accounting frameworks, and commercial and infrastructural systems which are conducive to attracting further investment in the aviation industry.

The focus over the past months was identifying factors which would improve Malta’s competitiveness, such as availability of financing, availability of qualified personnel specific for an aviation set-up, and space availability, among other things.  

The legal framework is of particular relevance since Malta is rated as the highest achiever in terms of Cape Town Convention compliance, scoring very highly when it comes to stability of interpretation of the Convention and the rights of lessors.

Another positive factor is the framework for protected cell legislation and which has so far mainly been applied to insurance but which could be applied to aircraft leasing.

The legal infrastructure is being enhanced with measures relating to the enforcement of share pledges in a Maltese aviation company, and further facilitation measures relating to aircraft importation.  

From a fiscal perspective, the authorities are looking at the possible expansion of Malta’s double tax treaty network, in particular with key jurisdictions representing potential targets for aircraft leasing business.  

There has been considerable work done on preparing the sector, and the coming months are expected to see major progress.

‍