Author: Mohamed Reehaan
Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has abstained from attending the parliament sitting on Monday, November 13 to address the 2024 State Budget and the supplementary budget for 2023. The bills were scheduled for Monday morning, 09:00hrs since the ongoing no-confidence motion against Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has faced delays. The minister however, informed he will not be able to attend the sitting due to prevailing health issues. “Although the 2024 state budget submission has been tabled for [Monday], I regrettably inform that I will not be able to attend the sitting owing to my health conditions,” the minister said. The…
SpaceX’s Starlink internet services are now available in the Maldives. According to Starlink’s website, the service will provide speeds up to 200Mb/s, and comes at a cost of MVR 1,000 per month with the hardware costing MVR 10,300 inclusive of shipping charges. The Starlink hardware include a dish antenna, a mount and a Wi-Fi router unit. The Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna said that the Starlink internet will provide a unique solution to the Maldives. Maldives issued license for Starlink services in August 2023, making it the first South Asian country to do so.
Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) reports a revenue increment of 61.3% in October 2023, registering a total of MVR 2.01 billion; out of which 77.10 million was collected in US Dollars. The increment was mainly due to the increment in the collection of GST, Tourism Land Rent, Expatriate Quota fee and Green Tax. Additionally, payment deadlines in September 2023 of GST, Airport Taxes and Fees and Green Tax were extended for the first week of October, which led to a significant increase to the revenue compared to October 2022. The revenue earned in October 2023 increased 29.7% compared to initial…
The cumulative expenditure of the Maldives government reaches MVR 38.2 billion as of November 02, 2023, reports the Ministry of Finance. According to the latest in the ministry’s ‘Weekly Fiscal Developments’, the state has earned MVR 28.1 billion in total revenue, inclusive of foreign grants, by the review date. The overall balance for the period is a deficit of MVR 10.2 billion. The cumulative total of tax revenues has reached MVR 20.4 billion, while non-tax revenues total reached MVR 7.1 billion. By the same period in 2022, tax revenues reached a cumulative total of MVR 16.7 billion and non-tax revenues…
The Travel Guys, a leading marketing PR firm in the Maldives releases its inaugural edition of the Travelution Magazine. The new magazine, slated to run from November 2023 to April 2024 was launched at the World Travel Market (WTM) London 2023 at ExCel. Dubbed the “2023/2024” edition, the magazine features a brand-new segment called “The Best” which features the top 3 to 5 properties in various categories. The “Offer” section is designed to provide access to readers about exclusive offers from Travel Guys’ partners. “Travelution The Best marks a new chapter in the travel trade world and gives travelers the…
Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) deploys new ground handling equipment to accelerate Velana International Airport (VIA) operations. A special event to inaugurate the new ground handling equipment at the airport’s apron side on Wednesday, November 8. The new equipment added to the VIA operations include; 4 passenger buses 4 aircraft stairs 2 universal loaders 2 Hi-Loaders 10 baggage tractor 1 minivan (14-seater) 1 bus (32-seater) 1 air conditioning unit 30 crone and chocks trollies 1 container and pallet transporter 4 conveyor belts 3 ground power units 40 container and pallet dollies 1 toilet truck 1 twin cab While the new…
Authorities have reported of increased scam activities in the Maldives in the past two weeks with over MVR 500,000 stolen from several people. An official from Maldives Police Service said the authority has received reports of 65 distinct scam calls within the past two weeks with MVR 533,000 stolen from the victims. Most scams were via hacking social media accounts, at a total of 15 cases. Scams in the name of buying and selling foreign currency, non-payment of money after taking products and not issuing products after taking money from clients were among the other scam cases. Besides this, there…
Managing Director of Fenaka Corporation Ahmed Saeed reveals the company has accumulated a debt of MVR 1.9 billion as of 2023, with 80% of the amount owed to private third-parties. At the press conference held Wednesday, November 8, Saeed said the corporation owed MVR 1.4 billion to private companies and added that the utility provider has been repaying its creditors every month. “The bills that do not have issues date back to one or one and a half years,” Saeed said. Earlier in August 2023, several private companies held a press conference to voice their concerns about unpaid payments. A…
Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company’s (MIFCO) latest inclusion to its fleet, titled “Jazeera 106” expects arrival in the Maldives on November 19, according to the company. The vessel embarked from Thailand last Saturday for the Maldives and is currently on its way. MIFCO’s “Jazeera” line of fish-weighing vessels have a freezing storage capacity of 60 tons with another 200 tons of storage. The latest addition to MIFCO’s fleet is expected to drive up the company’s fish purchase capacity up to 180 tons per day. MIFCO earlier acquired four vessels to its fleet in a bid to address difficulties faced local fishers…
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) extended USD 79.8 million (MVR 1.2 billion) loan to the Maldives to accelerate the Velana International Airport (VIA) project. According to the transitional committee’s spokesperson Mohamed Firzul Abdulla Haleel, the funding was obtained by President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu during his recent unofficial visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). At the press conference, Firzul highlighted the importance of the airport for the overall economy, and added it remains a top priority for the President-elect. “The project’s actual cost surpasses the initial allocation, necessitating an additional USD 79.8 millino for its completion… during the…