Author: Mohamed Reehaan

The governments of Maldives and Bangladesh have signed on the double tax avoidance (DTA) agreement on 23rd December 2021. Moreover, the agreement is aimed towards curbing the taxes levied twice on the same income from transactions between the businesses in both Maldives and Bangladesh. Furthermore, the agreement ensures the preservation of the rights of the taxpayers in both nations as well as restrict possible tax evasion attempts. The DTA agreement was signed by the Commissioner General of Taxation of Maldives Mr. Fathuhulla Jameel and the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue of Bangladesh and Senior Secretary of the Internal…

The latest updates from Ministry of Tourism confirm that the total number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives has crossed over 1.2 million as of 22nd December 2021. Moreover, as per the state body by the review period the total number of tourist arrivals has reached exactly to 1,271,020 on annual terms. Furthermore, tourist arrivals exclusively from 01st until 22nd December stood at 113,367 indicating a growth of 79.8% compared to the same period in 2020 during which the arrival count stood at 63,053. However, the tourist arrivals in the review month is still 2.2% below pre-pandemic levels in 2019…

The latest update from Ministry of Finance confirms the year-to-date total of state expenditure has reached MVR31,176.7 million (MVR31.2 billion). Meanwhile, earnings to the state remain comparatively sluggish while the cumulative total of state revenues inclusive of grants as of 16th December 2021 reached MVR18,486.0 million (MVR18.5 billion). According to the latest Weekly Fiscal Development report the state has spent 70% of its total budget on recurrent needs and the remaining 30% on capital expenses. On the other hand, 71% of the total earnings to the state have been through tax-sources and the remaining 29% from non-tax sources. Moreover, budget…

Thai AirAsia recommences their direct flight operations to the Maldives following the Covid-19 lead hiatus. Following the recommencement of Tha AirAsia’s flights to the island nation, the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) had facilitated a warm welcoming ceremony for the first flight since the hiatus. The AirAsia flights from Thailand will operate between Bangkok-Don Mueang airport and Velana International Airport, Male’ City. Meanwhile, the airline will operate two weekly flights with arrivals at VIA on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Thai AirAsia is a joint venture of Malaysia’s low-fare airline AirAsia and Thailand’s Asia Aviation.

Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has instructed all government offices to use the “Golden Year of Tourism 2022” logo in all official correspondences next year; effective from 01st January 2022. The “Golden Year of Tourism 2022” logo is used to commemorate the golden jubilee of the country’s tourism industry as it reaches 50 years since inception. Maldives tourism industry officially began in 1972 with the debut of Kurumba Maldives, the very first tourist resort in the island nation. With nearly five decades since the tourism industry began in the country, Maldives currently boasts more than 150 operational tourist resorts across…

Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has signed an agreement with Maldives National University (MNU) to establish a Maritime Survival Center. Moreover, the agreement was signed between MTCC Chief Executive Officer Adam Azim and Dr. Mohamed Shareef, the Vice Chancellor of the national university. According to the agreement, the scope of work includes 1,200 cubic meters of land filling operations along with the construction of a 35-meter sheet pile quay wall and a 27.25-meter L-section quay wall. In addition to this, the project involves development of a 4.2×4-meter ramp and the installation of mooring bollards. The value of the development…

The Maldives Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (MNPHI) has announced state’s plan of developing six new domestic airports. Moreover, the ministry announced plans to seek financial assistance for the development of these airports that will reportedly cost a collective USD133 million (MVR2 billion) under the cross-subsidy model in six local islands. Earlier, the government had announced plans of developing airports in four different regions in the country, while opening the opportunity for interested developers. The very first batch of islands with the prospect of airport development, announced by the ministry include; Baa atoll Thulhaadhoo Baa atoll Bilathfahi Thaa…

Moji Maldivi in association with Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has conducted an exclusive educational lecture about the Maldives during a seminar held by Rotary Club Ljubljana International. Moreover, the Managing Director of Moji Maldivi, Ms. Aishath Nuzuha who was the guest speaker at the seminar had presented the lecture as well. During the lecture, Ms. Nuzuha spoke about the latest information and developments of Maldives; precisely with regards to the tourism industry while other details regarding the country’s culture and economy were explained. Moji Maldivi is a subsidiary of SEE Marketing, a PR firm based in Ljubljana,…

Welcome to the Monthly Review of Maldives Business Times. In this segment, all the important economic developments across all sectors in the country will be highlighted and detailed. The information required for the monthly review panel is collected from relevant state institutions which include; Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Finance, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) and Maldives Bureau of Statistics. Tourism As per information reported from Ministry of Tourism and corroborated by Maldives Bureau of Statistics the total tourist arrivals recorded for October 2021 stood at 142,066. The arrival figure in October observed a 23.6% growth compared to September 2021 -…

According to the quarterly financial report of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) recorded a revenue of MVR484.61 million in the third quarter of 2021. The net profit for the company in the review quarter is MVR56 million while MTCC observed an operating profit of MVR71 million while the earnings per share is currently at MVR6.92. Moreover, the earnings for the company in the review quarter had observed a growth of 14.5% compared to the revenue earned in the second quarter of the year – where it had reached MVR423.32 million. Furthermore, the quarterly report of MTCC also identifies that…