Author: Mohamed Reehaan

The world was not ready when the Covid-19 viral pandemic hit across several countries in 2020. It was  evident in the way governments, public and corporations behaved. The previous year is also known for establishing some tech-savvy changes in the corporate culture across the world as well. Namely, “analog” methods of company management were forced to transition towards more “digital” alternatives. One major change to the dynamic of the corporate environment would be the integration of virtual conferencing or cross-conferencing platforms that allowed employees to stay at home and attend to their tasks. Countries all over the globe had enforced…

Saturday, 17th July – following the limitations on credit-card transactions on foreign purchases effective on 16th September 2020, Bank of Maldives has announced new changes to the limit. As confirmed by the bank on Saturday, the new limit observes an increment to USD500 per card “for all Bank of Maldives credit cards for use on foreign transactions.” Moreover, the limit remains applicable for every 30-day period meaning that transactional limit gets renewed following the said period. Meanwhile, BML had further reported that the existing limit of USD250 will continue for all debit cards used locally that are linked to Maldivian…

Saturday, 17th July – Chief Executive Officer of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), Mr. Adam Azim paid a visit to the site of Haa Alif Hoarafushi ferry terminal project site for inspection. The MTCC front-man had paid the visit to the project site to assess and inspect the progress of the ferry terminal project. Meanwhile, MTCC on the same day had confirmed the project has already observed an overall 63% progress. During his visit to Hoarafushi, Mr. Azim had also visited the site of the coastal protection project which is also carried out under MTCC’s wing. The Hoarafushi coastal…

Thursday, 15th July – Bank of Maldives CEO and Managing Director Mr. Tim Sawyer voiced his confidence in the bank and its team in working towards sustainable growth despite the Covid-19 led impact. Speaking during the online Annual General Meeting of BML on Thursday, Mr. Sawyer voiced on the bank’s role in supporting Maldives during the pandemic. Furthermore, Mr. Sawyer had made emphasis of the bank’s commitment in serving alongside “Maldivians through these extraordinary and challenging times.” “We understood the potential economic impact of Covid early on and laid out a strategy to support the country and keep the economy…

Thursday, 15th July – Maldives government reveals that the state had spent a total of MVR3,574.5 million (MVR3.57 billion) towards Covid-19 related efforts. Moreover, Ministry of Finance revealed that the total health and social spending as of 08th July reached MVR1,815.9 million (MVR1.8 billion), which had marked a meager 0.6% increase from the week before. Furthermore, during this period only 39.9% of the total health and social spending had been committed-spending. On the other hand, the total economic response spending had not observed an increment for the review period but rather a decrease, while the total stood at MVR1,758.6 million…

Thursday, 15th July – Maldives state expenditure reaches MVR14,212.1 million (MVR14.2 billion) as of 08th July 2021. Based on the latest updates from Ministry of Finance, while the state expenditure continues to increase at a significant pace the revenue remains sluggish. According to the latest “Weekly Fiscal Developments” the state body has confirmed the cumulative total of state revenue, inclusive of grants, had only reached MVR9,462.0 million (MVR9.5 billion). Moreover, the expenditure composition reveals that 76% of the total had been spent towards recurrent needs while the remaining 24% went towards capital expenses. On other hand, revenue composition reveals that…

Minister of Economic Development Mr. Fayyaz Ismail has renewed hope on the implementation of the minimum wage policy in Maldives, once again. Earlier, in May 2021, the minister had confirmed the state was moving towards the implementation of a standard minimum wage policy in the island nation. He further stated that the implementation will come through before the end of 2021. While speaking during the convocation ceremony held at Maldives Polytechnic on Tuesday evening, Minister Fayyaz had sounded hopeful in renewed efforts. The minimum wage issue has long been mired in debate and disparity, while the cabinet minister highlighted on…

Wednesday, 14th July – Dhiraagu in a joint effort with Samsung, has donated a total of 60 Samsung digital tablets to Maldives health sector. The Maldives telecommunication and internet service provider made the donation to Ministry of Health and Addu Equatorial Hospital through a special ceremony held on Tuesday, 13th July. Moreover, the ceremony was attended by incumbent Minister of Health Ahmed Naseem and Chief Executive Officer of Dhiraagu Ismail Rasheed along with the Managing Director of Samsung – Sri Lanka. According to Dhiraagu, their latest donation is aimed as assistance to the health sector and state’s initiative in combatting…

Tuesday, 13th July – Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) reports on the progress of Laamu atoll Fonadhoo road development project. According to the contractor, construction of the island’s major roads (phase-01) is well underway with an overall progress of 88%. Meanwhile, MTCC had completed the construction of carriageway, which falls under the project scope. Moreover, the project work includes construction of asphalt-laden roads in a total area of 27,848 square meters. Other components of the road development project include the installation of a storm-water management system along with installation of speed-breakers. Additional to this, MTCC will add road markings…

Maldives government had earlier reported that the state spending towards Covid-19 related efforts reached MVR3,577.8 million so far. As of 01st July 2021, Ministry of Finance revealed the state’s total health and social spending reached MVR1,804.9 million (MVR1.8 billion), marking an increment of 0.9% from the previous week. Moreover, as per the latest financial updates 41.1% of the total health and social spending for the review week had been committed spending. Meanwhile, the total economic response spending stood at MVR1,772.9 million which was without any change from the previous week. During the review week, a disbursement of MVR29.4 million had…