Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Maldives hospitality powerhouse, Universal Enterprises sells two of their prized tourism assets; W Maldives and Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa to KSL Capital Partners. The properties, leased to Marriott International, the largest hotelier in the world, have been some of the most coveted tourist properties in the island nation. JLL, the investment advisor assisting Universal Enterprises with the trade, announced in June, of selling the properties. KSL Capital Partners, LLC on Thursday, July 28, announces its affiliates acquiring both W Maldives and Sheraton Maldives Full Moon Resort & Spa; both run under a joint venture of Universal and…

The planned mini-bus service under the Raajje-Transport Link (RTL) is progressing apace for an official launch, reports the government. All relevant bodies are working alongside Male’ City Council to launch the service in Greater Male’ area, while adding the trial phase is expected to commence within three weeks. City Council is the mandated body with vacating parking zones across the capital city to develop bus stops for the mini-bus network, which will take considerable time according to the city’s Deputy Mayor. A total of 64 distinct parking spots have been designated to private parties by the council, which requires to…

Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (MNPHI) reports pushing back the previously scheduled opening date of the new picnic island in Male’ atoll. According to the ministry, Kudagiri Picnic island is still under development; with some of the crucial development components still in progress including landscaping and tree planting. The island was developed in the lagoon of Kudagiri about 10.5 kilometers from Male’ City. Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) was contracted with the development of the island for which the contractor reclaimed eight hectares of land. Moreover, the contractor is also tasked with developing shore protection structures and…

President of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Tuesday, July 26, announced restrictions on fuel subsidies by the government. Subsidies are provided exclusively to necessary parties, while restrictions are effective barring supply to all equivalently. Meanwhile, government is actively working on amending regulations to allow fuel subsidies on a need-based approach. Maldives head of state made the remarks while addressing the nation on the occasion commemorating the island nation’s 58th Independence Day. He adds on counter-measures to assist economic recovery to pre-pandemic levels despite the blow amid Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine clash in 2022. T he crisis continues to impact…

The most recent update from Ministry of Tourism attests on tourist count exceeding 900,000 by late-July. As per the statistics from the state body confirms that as of 20th July, reached a total of 900,808 indicating a 57.5% increment in comparison with the same period in 2021. By the same period last year, tourist arrivals had reached only 572,123. Despite the strong arrival increase in 2022, it was still 4.8% below during the corresponding period in 2019. The ministry reports that the total tourist arrival by the same period in 2019 stood at 946,064. The daily arrival average in annual…

Business Center Corporation (BCC) reveals Authentic Maldives had disbursed a total of USD1.8 million of collective revenues made by local businesses through their outlets. Authentic Maldives, an SME development initiative by BCC, provides retail outlets for local ventures to sell and market their products. The outlets under Authentic Maldives have become the most successful SME development project of BCC with over 160 local suppliers engaged in active businesses through them. In January 2020, the first Authentic Maldives opened in Velana International Airport (VIA) followed by a second outlet opening at Hulhumale’ Centro Mall in November of the same year. The…

Bank of Maldives (BML) reports positive financial performance for the second quarter of 2022. The bank observed good performance in all core business lines and improved assets quality, reflecting an operating profit of MVR592 million for the review quarter, up by 19% on the same period in 2021. Capital liquidity ratios remain solid and well above regulatory requirements. Notable achievements during the quarter include introduction of the digital wallet BML Pay on the Mobile Banking app enabling contactless payments and wallet-to-wallet transfer services. Reinforcing the digital strategy, the national bank of the island nation announced its partnership with MasterCard and…

Siyam World expands its portfolio of water sports offerings at the top-end property, introduces the world’s first hydrofoil e-bike to the property’s recreational options. Dubbed the “Manta5 Hydrofoiler XE-1”, the water-cruising e-bikes are a product from New Zealand, which replicates the same technology used by America’s Cup sailboats. The Manta5 uses carbon fiber foils and buoyancy modules with tough aircraft-grade TIG welded 6061-T6 aluminum frames, that help the bicycle to stay afloat during cruise. The bike holds top-speed capacity of achieving 11 knots (nautical miles per hour). Dimensions of the vehicle measure 1.40 meters in height and 2 meters (including…

Cumulative state expenses in annual terms reach MVR18,425.9 million (MVR18.4 billion) as of 14th July 2022. Comparing with stronger state spending, revenues inclusive of foreign grants remain relatively sluggish. State earned a cumulative total of MVR13,777.9 million (MVR13.7 billion) in annual terms, reports Ministry of Finance. Owing to higher expenditure in comparison with revenues earned, overall budget deficit is currently at MVR4,648.0 million (MVR4.6 billion). State’s tax earnings is currently at MVR10,158.8 million (MVR10.2 billion), and non-tax earnings is at MVR3,540.4 million (MVR3.5 billion). Capital receipts of the state is at MVR10.2 million while foreign grants to the government is…

American multi-national private equity investors Carlyle Group is looking to sell the world’s largest seaplane operator; Trans Maldives Airways (TMA) to a potential new buyer, Bloomberg reported on Friday, 22nd July. The Maldives-based seaplane operator reportedly valued between USD500 million to USD700 million, is currently in consideration for a mega-sale. An anonymous source on Bloomberg claims Carlyle and co-investors King Street Capital Management and Davidson Kempner Capital Management held initial talks with potential advisors for the a possible TMA divestment. The seaplane operator, with the largest seaplane fleet in the world, faced heavily fiscal blows amid Covid-19 pandemic when the…