Author: Mohamed Reehaan

The State Electric Company (STELCO) has announced it was now working developing an electric vehicle charging station. The station will be developed on Dhon-adharaadha Magu next to STELCO’s head office in Male’ City. STELCO Managing Director Hussain Fahmy said on X, that STELCO is “taking significant strides” to fulfill its commitments to a sustainable future in line with the vision of Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Fahmy in his post confirmed STELCO is now preparing to launch the EV car charging stations and EV motorcycle charging systems, in line with the utility provider’s objectives for a sustainable future. “This initiative…

The black market exchange rate of US dollars has significantly lifted after Bank of Maldives (BML) announced decision to suspend foreign transactions for debit cards linked to MVR accounts and a monthly transactional limit of USD 100 for Standard and Gold credit cards. The black market rates for US dollar has been levitating between a range of MVR 18.00 to MVR 18.20 on average for weeks. However, following the bank’s decision on Sunday, USD exchange rates in the black market has lifted between MVR 18.50 and MVR 18.85. There is possibility the rate could move towards MVR 20 and MVR…

The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Sunday announced changes to its card limits for foreign transactions. The changes, effective immediately, are in response to the escalating usage of foreign currency spend on cards and the static sale of foreign currency to the bank, BML said in a statement. The changes announced are as follows: Existing debit cards: suspension of allowance for foreign transactions for cards linked to MVR accounts New debit and credit cards: suspension of allowance for foreign transactions for cards linked to MVR accounts Existing Standard and Gold credit cards: monthly limit for foreign transactions reduced to USD…

The Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed on Thursday held discussions with PayPal’s President for Global Marketing, Suzan Kereere. Minister Saeed and PayPal’s Global Marketing President held the discussions towards helping Maldivian e-commerce businesses to over the difficulty of receiving payments through the popular payment gateway. “We attach great importance to achieve this objective as envisioned by” President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the minister said in a post on X. Introduction of internationally popular online payment systems including PayPal is among the key promises of President Dr. Muizzu’s administration. The delays of introducing a globally used service such as…

Maldives Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef (Sembe) on Thursday launched the ‘Education Transformation Initiative’ at a ceremony held at JEN Maldives Male’ by Shangri-La. Under the initiative, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will extend USD 9.5 million grant for the progress of the Maldivian education sector, said the President’s Office in a statement. The project includes three grants; a USD 5 million system transformation grant with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as grant agent, a USD 1.5 million system capacity grant with UNICEF as a grant agent, and a USD 3 million multiplier grant with the World Bank as…

The Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) and Ghiyasuddin International School (GIS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) towards enhancing financial literacy among students. Under this agreement, MIB will be introducing cash cards for GIS students – dubbed ‘Aaila’ Card – which is designed to aid in financial management, offering practical tools for young learners to understand and manage their finances efficiently. The agreement was signed between MIB Chief Executive Officer Mufaddal Idris Khumri and GIS Principal Thoha Saleem. “The Aaila cards will serve as a tangible resource for students to develop essential money management skills early on,” MIB was quoted…

The State Trading Organization (STO) and Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday towards the commencement of the international bunkering services at Ihavandhippolhu in September 2024. The two state-owned enterprises (SOEs) signed the agreement on Thursday afternoon for the provision of maritime and OPL services at Ihavandhippolhu region, signed between MPL Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Wajeeh Ibrahim and STO Managing Director Shimad Ibrahim. The government has been gearing up to launch the ambitious bunkering service in the Maldives, that is aimed to bump the country’s GDP by USD 400 million according to the Minister of…

The State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) entered into an agreement on Wednesday, towards improving the utility provider’s crisis management system. STELCO Managing Director Hussain Fahmy and NDMA Chief Executive Hisan Hassan signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations. As part of the agreement, NDMA will support STELCO with research and survey into the utility provider’s existing crisis management system, to identify the areas of weaknesses and provide feedback on how to improve the with robust solutions. NDMA will analyze the system and assist in preparing new policies towards STELCO’s standard of procedure…

The Ministry of Education, in partnership with UNICEF, supported by Google for Education and the UNICEF Global Learning Innovation Hub launched the “TechPath” – an initiative aiming to find innovative digital solutions to enhance access, quality, and inclusion in education and learning. The initiative was launched by Dr. Ismail Shafeeu, the Minister of Education, together with Dr. Edward Addai, UNICEF Representative to the Maldives on Wednesday afternoon. The “TechPath” initiative showcases the Maldives government’s partnership with Google for Education and with the UNICEF Global Learning Innovation Hub and focuses on harnessing the power of technology to improve learning outcomes. The…

Dhiraagu has on Wednesday announced Dhiraagu Maldives Road Race (DMRR) 2024 is now open for registrations. This year’s edition was announced at a special press conference held at Dhiraagu Head Office on Wednesday, confirming that registrations are now open for the 5K, 10K, and half-marathon categories. For the 2024 edition, Dhiraagu has announced the inclusion of a brand-new Office/Resort categori. Interested participants can register now via www.dmrr.mv and slots are available up to 4,000 participants, after which registrations will close, Dhiraagu added. This year’s DMRR marks the 15th edition of the largest and most anticipated run in the Maldives, and…