A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
The Maldives slipped one position in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report for 2018, ranking 136 out of 190 economies. The only reform enacted during the one-year review period ending on June 1, 2017 was the introduction of an online system for filing and paying taxes. The Maldives fell from 128 to 135 […]
The finance ministry has loaned MVR46.3 million (US$3 million) to the State Trading Organisation to prop up its subsidiary fisheries company. The debt-ridden Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company was incorporated under the umbrella of the STO group, the largest state-owned enterprise and the country’s primary wholesaler, in October last year. According to the finance ministry, the loan is intended to […]
Parliament passed Thursday an MVR493 million (US$32 million) supplementary budget to approve unforeseen spending and new revenue-raising measures for the last two months of 2017. More than 60 percent of the proposed extra spending was allocated for the Aasandha health insurance scheme due to the failure to streamline expenses as planned. The supplementary budget was […]
Finance Minister Ahmed Munawar submitted to parliament Tuesday an MVR493 million (US$31.9 million) supplementary budget to approve new spending and revenue plans for the last two months of the year. Guarded by soldiers as opposition lawmakers continued to protest in the chamber, Munawar said spending is expected to exceed projected levels in the 2017 budget and […]
A loan agreement to finance the expansion of the Maldives’ main airport was signed with the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development during President Abdulla Yameen’s official visit to the United Arab Emirates. Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed signed the agreement on behalf of the Maldives at a ceremony Tuesday at the Ruler’s Court in Dubai. Details […]
The government has terminated contracts signed with Malaysia’s Gryphon Energy Corporation in March to build five domestic airports at a cost of US$57.5 million. Sami Ageel, director of the Regional Airports agency, confirmed to state media Tuesday that the deals were scrapped on September 18 because the Malaysian company – which describes itself as “incorporated with a vision to be […]
On a Thursday evening, fishermen from the local market push buckets of fish guts to the low-lying seawall north-west of the capital, tipping the remains into the sea. Around a dozen whiptail stingrays, lured by the easy meal, scamper to the surface of the ocean for the feast. Ming Yang Hi and his wife follow […]
The behemoth State Trading Organisation has promised higher salaries for its 1,000-strong workforce after changes to its pay structure. The state-owned wholesaler announced a review of its pay structure in a press release Sunday shortly after local media reported that allowances and working hours will be reduced on October 21 as a cost-cutting measure. “At […]
The new governor of the central bank has expressed concern with the Maldives’ vulnerability to external shocks, such as oil price hikes and reduced tourist arrivals, due to a depleted foreign currency reserve. “Although the growth rate is likely to exceed expectations in the short term, substantial downside risks continue to cloud the medium-term and […]