Business Setups (C) Krystle Attard 2013

The economy can be divided into two sectors:  The Private Sector  The Public Sector  Emerging model: Private - Public Partnerships (C) Krystle Attard 2013

Firms owned by private individuals  Sole Traders  Partnerships  Private Limited Companies (Ltd)  Public Limited Companies (PLC)  Franchises  Cooperatives (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Government Structure – Ministries, Government Departments, Local Authorities  Public Corporations – provide essential services for a decent lifestyle  QUANGOs – National Authorities, Regulatory Bodies (national level) (C) Krystle Attard 2013

Private – Public Partnership  An enterprise jointly owned by the Government and the private sector  Defined in terms of shares (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Limited liability – owners not personally obliged to make up for company debts if it goes bankrupt  Personal possessions may be reclaimed by creditors if they are not used for standard of living  Unlimited liability – owners may have to cover debts of a bankrupt business by selling personal possessions (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Limited Liability Companies (Ltd.)  Public Limited Companies (plc.)  Criteria set by local authority: MFSAMFSA  A minimum threshold of company assets  Plc. – sells shares to the public (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Set up business under an established name  No marketing costs  License fee paid annually  Part of profits go to mother company  Outlets adhere to specific requirements (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Charity-based organizations - not for profit  Typically receive donations or funds from groups or government  Any financial surplus is ploughed back into the organization  Focus on providing a community service (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Managed and operated by one person  Tasks may be delegated to family members  No formal employees  Unlimited liability  Accountant draws up annual accounts (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 2 – 20 partners  A combination of active and sleeping partners  1:1 ratio for sleeping/active partners  Unlimited liability  Bound by legal contract (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Private or Public Company  Group of Companies  Franchises  Limited Liability  Assets exceed an established threshold (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Both have limited liability  Private companies: ltd. denomination  Public companies: plc. denomination  plc. - offers shares to the general public  plc. – publishes accounts at least annually (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Limited liability companies owned by the same person(s)  Not always in the same industry  Corporate group – same industry  Conglomerate – different industries  Merger – companies taken over by others (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Premises hired out to an established company  Adheres to strict regulations  Rules vary from size of premises to pricing  Marketing costs provided by head office  Percentage of profit goes to mother company (C) Krystle Attard 2013

 Sole owners join forces  Unified marketing campaigns  Similar to partnership setup  Pool resources for mutual benefit  Owners may also be employees (C) Krystle Attard 2013

Usually defined in terms of number of employees  Small enterprises - up to 20 employees  Medium enterprises - up to 500 employees  Different thresholds for defining enterprise size (C) Krystle Attard 2013