Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Just over an hour after the Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine, world oil prices soared to record highs. On Thursday, 24th February, it was reported that the West Texas Intermediate Crude price shot up by 4.19% reaching USD96 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent Crude which measures international activity in Europe reached USD101.25 by midnight. As the war has erupted between Russia and Ukraine, the geopolitical tensions have carried alarming implications on international oil prices. “We expect crude oil prices to remain volatile and rise from current levels if geopolitical concerns do not materially ease,” a…

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) on Thursday, 24th February 2022, urged local consignees to clear out long overdue goods from the commercial harbor site. According to the port authority, relevant consignees have been given the warning effective on 23rd February, Wednesday, urging them to clear the goods within seven days starting from Wednesday. Moreover, the authority had requested to fulfill all necessary formalities if goods have been held at the harbor site due to the intervention of other relevant authorities. MPL had warned that failure to comply with their request during the seven-day period will result in the auctioning of the…

The latest update from the Ministry of Finance has revealed that the cumulative total of state expenditure has reached MVR3,085.3 million (MVR3.09 billion). On the other hand, revenues inclusive of foreign grants were reportedly higher than the expenditure, reaching a cumulative total of MVR3,251.6 million (MVR3.3 billion). With this, the overall balance for the period is a surplus of MVR166.3 million. Much like the previous weeks, tax sources remain as the state’s strongest revenue streams such as TGST, GGST, and BPT. Expenditure composition revealed that the state has spent 77% of the total on recurrent needs and the remaining 23%…

According to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), the Velana International Airport (VIA) observed double increment on passenger movements in January 2022. As per the airport’s management company, passenger movement in the previous increased twice that of the same month in 2021. In 2021, passenger movements in January were recorded at 257,693 whereas, passenger movements during the previous month reached 446,688. Moreover, the airport observed more outbound travelers than inbound travelers. According to MACL’s statistics, during January 2022 the total number of outbound travelers reached 163,908 while the total number of inbound travelers stood at 158,409. In addition to this, the…

Telecommunication and internet service provider, Ooredoo Maldives announced a special promotion for the date 22nd February 2022 (22/02/2022). Ooredoo Maldives announced via its official Twitter handle which read, “On a special date like 22.2.22, we couldn’t miss out on giving a special offer.” Under the promotion, members of the Ooredoo Maldives’ Club Premier can enjoy 22% discounts from affiliated partners which include Cino, Raadhafathi Gems & Jewelry, Lushly, Mandayz, LePerfumeMV, and Semili’s. The special promotion will be valid until 28th February according to the telecommunication provider.

JEN Maldives Male’ by Shangri-La becomes the first Maldivian hotel property to receive the Muslim Friendly Travel Rating (MFTR) by the Maldives Halal Travel (MHT). The MFTR is a voluntary rating initiative by the MHT that examines and evaluates tourist properties including resorts, hotels, guesthouses, safaris, and liveaboards based on their level of catering to Muslim tourists. The rating, which is an annual evaluation process, is carried out on the property to assess if it fits into the requirements of a Muslim-friendly tourist property. Establishments are assessed based on halal food catering, recreational facilities for both genders, conservative dress code,…

According to the most recent publicized statistics from Maldives Customs Service, the revenue generated to the authority in January 2022 increased by 30%. The Maldives Customs Service reported that it had generated a revenue total of MVR312 million in the review month. In addition to this, the authority collected a total of MVR1.2 million in royalties. The total imported goods value for the review period stood at MVR4.2 billion with the inclusion of fuel, and without the inclusion of the commodity, the import value stood at MVR3.4 billion. Additionally, both import conditions showed an increment of 49% in January 2022.…

India’s largest 4G and mobile broadband digital service provider, Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to land the next generation multi-terabit India Asia Express (IAX) undersea cable system in the Maldives. Under the project, the high capacity and high-speed IAX system will connect the satellite town of Hulhumale’ directly with two of the major internet hubs in the world; India and Singapore. Speaking about the initiative, Minister of Economic Development Mr. Fayyaz Ismail said that this was the first international cable initiative led by the government. “This is the first stride towards enhancing our connectivity infrastructure and opening vast opportunities for…

Dhiraagu has signed an agreement to connect the Maldives submarine cable network to the “Sea-Me-We 6” cable system. The submarine cable system is an initiative from thirteen of the world’s leading communications and technology conglomerates. Expected to conclude by 2025, the cable system will see cable units spanning 19,200 kilometers laid starting from South Korea and reaching Europe through India and the Middle East. Reportedly, the cable units are state-of-the-art and can provide speeds up to 100 Tbps. While speaking about the company’s decision to sign the agreement, the CEO and Managing Director of Dhiraagu Mr. Ismail Rasheed said that…

According to the latest update from the Ministry of Tourism, tourist arrivals to the island nation have already exceeded 210,000. As of 16th February 2022, the total number of tourists arriving in the Maldives reached 210,184. The total tourist arrivals on a year-to-date basis also indicate a 44.9% increment and for February exclusively, a 48.1% increase. So far in February (from 01st to 16th) the total number of tourist arrivals has reached 78,420 whereas in the same period of 2021 the tourist arrivals stood at 52,943. However, tourist arrivals for the review period are still below the arrival numbers of…