Author: Mohamed Reehaan

According to Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the central bank of the country, a total of 1.2 million bank cards have been issued since the initiation of card issuance by Maldivian commercial banks, with 74% of the total issued cards still remaining active. As per MMA’s payment bulletin, 48% of the debit cards issued in the Maldives are VISA cards, while 24% are Mastercard and the remaining 22% are American Express (AmEx) cards. VISA cards also make up 64% of the credit cards issued in the Maldives with 28% being AmEx cards. Mastercard constitutes 99% of the prepaid cards issued by…

Maldives government generated a revenue of MVR 1.18 billion in September 2023, reports Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA). According to MIRA, this revenue total inclusive of USD 49.62 million is a 15.8% drop compared to the same month in 2022. The authority said this drop is mainly due to the decrement in collection of Tourism Land Rent, GST, Non-resident Withholding Tax and Corporate Income Tax. Payment deadlines of GST and Green Tax were extended to the first week of October as the government declared the initial deadline as a public holiday, which led to the significant drop to the monthly…

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has participated in the ITB Asia 2023 alongside 27 industry partners. The event was held at Sands Expo & Convention Center, Singapore, from October 25 to 27. The ITB Asia expo is considered as one of the region’s leading travel B2B trade shows, designed to be the primary event for the Asia Pacific travel industry. The event features thousands of exhibitors from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East. MMPRC marketed the Maldives by promoting the country’s tourism products (resorts, hotels, guesthouses, liveaboards) and the diversity of unique experiences…

Aasandha, the government-initiated health insurance scheme, has introduced a new verification step requiring pharmacists or pharmacies to enter an OTP sent to the customer’s phone before issuing medication for prescriptions. A number of pharmacies in Male’ region have already started using this method. Information including the phone number and national ID card of the customer is acquired before sending the OTP. The prescription is filled only after the OTP has been received and entered into the system. Aasandha Media official Ashiya Solih said this arrangement was made in response to complaints from public. She said that the public have raised…

Government’s losses and write-offs reached MVR 374 million as of October 12, which is thrice more than originally budgeted for 2023. The Ministry of Finance in its most recent Weekly Fiscal Development said the budgeted total for losses and write-offs in 2023 is MVR 101.2 million; which indicates the actual expenditure for the component has already observed a 270% increase. It was reported that the budget allocated for losses and write-offs exhausted completely by the first half of 2023. The government’s losses and write-offs in its recurrent expenditure include compensations provided to public companies and other contractors. According to the…

JLL has reported an impressive USD 1.9 billion in hotel sales over the last two decades in the Maldives. The real estate conglomerate and prominent broker in its “Maldives Investment Guide” said that Maldives is a resilient destination that has withstood “multiple global crises.” JLL noted that Maldives witnessed a shift in international visitation patterns as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic led border closure of China. Noting the visitation pattern change, JLL observed the remarkable growth of India at 1.8 times year-on-year, which eventually helped the market to surpass China as the leading source market in 2022. JLL further…

Voyages Maldives has been appointed as the supervision agent for Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic, one of the leading UK airlines, launched direct flights between London Heathrow and Velana International Airport (VIA) last Monday. The second largest UK airline began operating direct flights to the Maldives three times a week; on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Voyages Maldives said the UK airline founded by Sir Richard Branson will operate direct flights from November 2023 to March 2024.

Dhiraagu has initiated the distribution of bibs and race kits for the upcoming Dhiraagu Maldives Road Race (DMRR) 2023. The DMRR Bib Expo commenced on Tuesday, October 24, where registered runners or sprinters can collect their bibs and race kits. Dhiraagu is distributing the kits and bibs from the first floor of the telecom provider’s headquarters. Each race kit includes a bib equipped with a timing chip, a race T-shirt, a drawstring bag, and four safety pins. Runners are required to present their ID card and bib number to collect their race kits and bibs. The 2023 DMRR event is…

State Electric Company (STELCO) has donated MVR 500,000 to aid Palestine. The donation was sent through International Aid Campaign (IAC), a local NGO founded for the cause of providing humanitarian aid to Palestine and similar war-stricken Muslim communities. STELCO said the donation comes from their allocation for the community social responsibility (CSR) efforts. The funds were donated to IAC’s “We are with Palestine” Fund. Besides STELCO, other major state-owned enterprises including the State Trading Organization (STO) have made sizeable donations for the cause as well. So far, IAC has collected donations amounting to approximately MVR 18 million do date.

Maldives Police Service said they have received possible incriminating evidence or information of potential financial mismanagement by senior members of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM). The law enforcement authority said of discovering sufficient information suggesting FAM seniors members transferring money received to the association by FIFA and other international federations, to their personal accounts and to the accounts of their close associates. Maldives Police Service raided the FAM headquarters on Sunday, October 22. While an official word on the matter has not been collected, it was reported that local police notified the Prosecutor General’s Office of financial mismanagement, corruption…