Author: Mohamed Reehaan
The Maldives rate of inflation turned positive during the second quarter of 2021, registering 2.3% in comparison with the negative -0.7% in the first quarter. Furthermore, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) in their Quarterly Economic Bulletin reports that the upward pressure of the inflation had been exerted due to the increase in the cost of electricity, driven by the state’s initiative alleviate the impact of Covid-19 on households and businesses. On the other hand, the cigarette prices had experienced an upward movement following the amendment to the Export-Import Act during July 2020, boosting import duties on tobacco. Moreover, the increase in…
Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) confirms on delivering the first shipment of rock boulders to Shaviyani atoll Feydhoo project site. Moreover, the contractor had confirmed that the rock boulders required for the breakwater construction had been delivered on 04th September, Saturday. In addition to this, MTCC is currently executing dredging operations of the new harbor’s basin which is at currently at 97% completion. According to the contractor, the harbor development project of Feydhoo involve dredging and excavation operations spanning 27,500 cubic meters along with the construction of a 378 meter long breakwater, a 90 meter revetment and a quay…
The Maldives real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) faced a decline by 8.6% in the first quarter of the current year. Moreover, this comes attested from advance estimates of the Quarterly National Accounts published by the Maldives National Bureau of Statistics. As per the figures, the island nation’s Real GDP faced the said decline in comparison with the corresponding period in the previous year, while this was still a moderation when compared with the -36.1% dip felt during Q4-2020. Furthermore, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) notes that the moderation of the quarterly GDP growth reflected on the first quarter of 2021 came…
India’s full-service carrier, Vistara Airline has restarted their Maldivian flight operations officially on 02nd September 2021. Earlier, the airline had maintained its flights to the Maldives amid the Covid-19 pandemic’s peak 2021, during March, operating between Mumbai and Male’. Moreover, during their operations prior to the travel restrictions, they had operated 3 flights per week with regards to the ‘air bubble’ agreement made between Maldives and India. However, the airline’s operations had come to a halt in May 2021 due to the travel restrictions on South Asian countries inclusive of Maldives amid a resurgence of Covid-19 positive cases. India’s Vistara…
The Maldives government has issued a total of USD500 million worth of Sukuk at overseas, which translates to MVR7.7 billion. Moreover, Ministry of Finance revealed that by 02nd September 2021, the island nation’s state had issued USD200 million worth of Sukuk to foreign financial markets. Earlier, during March the island nation’s government had issued another USD200 million worth of Sukuk to foreign parties, which had continued in April as well. Furthermore, it was reported by the Ministry of Finance that the state issued their Sukuk to foreign markets at an interest rate of 10.5% – purchasers will retain 10 times…
The cumulative total of state expenditure reaches MVR18,149.0 million (MVR18.1 billion) as of 26th August 2021. Moreover, according to Ministry of Finance the cumulative total of state revenue by the same review period reached MVR11,268.0 million (MVR11.3 billion). As of 26th August, the expenditure composition showed that 78% of the total had been spent towards recurrent needs of the state and the remaining 22% on capital expenditure. On the other hand, revenue composition confirms that 74% of the total had been earned to state by tax sources and the remaining 26% through non-tax sources. Meanwhile, the overall balance for the…
Ministry of Tourism has reported that the tourist arrivals to Maldives, from 01st until 25th August 2021 observed an increment of 1,754.3% tourist arrivals in comparison with the same period in 2020. Moreover, the state body confirms that the total arrival to Maldives on a year-to-date basis has reached 732,896 by the review date. According to the latest statistics from the ministry, the total tourist arrivals exclusive in August from 01st until 25th stood at 120,529 which is already a 0.2% improvement from the same period in 2019, where the arrival was at 120,341 while in 2020 the arrival during…
Visit Maldives launches a joint marketing campaign, joining hands with ‘Manta Reisen’ in a bid to promote tourism in the Swiss market. Moreover, the collaborate marketing efforts aim to maintain and raise awareness of the Maldivian tourism industry as a brand destination and as one of the most popular holiday safe havens for travelers. As part of the strategy to boost the Maldives tourism popularity and awareness in the source market, online advertisements will run on travel news websites local to the country. Moreover, Manta Reisen confirms on two webinars, each 45 minutes long for travel agents conducted in both…
Visit Maldives is collaborating with popular Russian tour operator, TEZ Tour to maintain the interest and potential increment of arrivals from the Russian market to the island nation. Russia has maintained top spot as the strongest single source market to the Maldives while arrivals from the country are expected to pick up in numbers during the upcoming tourism peak season in the country. Moreover, Visit Maldives is collaborating with TEZ Tour on a special campaign that initiated in August and will run through September as well. The campaign aims to target travelers and tourism industry stakeholders in Russia. The destination…
Wednesday, 01st September – Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) reports on delivering the final shipment of precast concrete blocks to Shaviyani atoll Bilehfahi. Moreover, the concrete blocks will be used for the construction of the quay wall under the Bilehfahi harbor development project. MTCC confirms on delivering the shipment to the project site on 30th August. The harbor development project at Bilehfahi includes dredging and excavation operations of 24,125 cubic meters along with the construction of a 376 meter breakwater. Moreover, the project components include construction of a 98 meter quay wall, which MTCC is currently executing. Other details…