Author: Mohamed Reehaan

The Facilities Management and Utilities Division (FMUD) of the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) on Saturday, August 31, commenced the “Winter Prep Kickoff 2024”. This initiative is aimed providing information about the activities planned by FMUD ahead of this year’s tourism peak season, to the senior management. MACL Chief Executive and Managing Director Ibrahim Shareef Mohamed, Deputy Managing Directors Mohamed Lamaan and Mujthaba Latheef, and other senior officials of the company attended this event. MACL said that the primary objective of this preparation is to enhance easier passenger movement at the Velana International Airport (VIA) – the country’s primary air…

The Maldives cabinet is expected to discuss on the merger of six state-owned enterprises; one of the most important economic sustainability initiatives of the current government aimed at reducing the bleed-out of state funds. The cabinet will convene a meeting on Sunday, September 01, 2024, as per Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. In a video message, ahead of Sunday’s cabinet meeting, the Maldives head of state said the cabinet will discuss on three key decisions as part of the SOE reformation efforts, which include: Merger of Regional Airports Company Limited (RACL) with Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) Merger of Fahi…

Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed that Maldivians will witness sustainable development in the medium and long term, supported by a firm foundation. He made the remarks in an exclusive interview with SanguTV on Friday. In the interview, President Muizzu said the government would bolster the Maldives’ economy and highlighted the various initiatives implemented by the state in this regard. President Muizzu said the government is focused on strengthening the economy is making substantial progress with a solid foundation. He emphasized that “printing money is an option”. The government has also begun implementing legal and systemic reforms to increase…

The tourist arrivals to the Maldives has exceeded over 1.3 million as of August 27, 2024, according to the Ministry of Tourism. As per the latest statistics from the ministry, total tourist arrivals from January 01, 2024 to August 27, 2024 reached 1,343,911, which is a 10.4% increment from the 1,216,815 annual arrivals in the corresponding period in 2023. The daily arrival average is 5,600 in annual terms, and the average duration of stay is 7.7 days in annual terms. The highest arrival in a single day was recorded on August 14, with an arrival of 7,032 and the lowest…

Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has ratified the 13th amendment to the Maldives Tourism Act (Act No. 02/99) on Thursday, August 29, 2024. The amendment, which was passed by the Maldives parliament on August 19th, during the 30th sitting of its second session, introduces changes to the fee payment deadlines for lease period extensions on islands or lands leased by the Ministry of Tourism. With the new amendment, the deadline for fee payments associated with lease extensions has been adjusted, with the payment period for each year of extension shortened to six months. Leaseholders who choose to pay the fee…

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) on Thursday announced seeking interested party to develop 15 parking buildings in Hulhumale’. HDC said that to enhance equal opportunity for proponents, they are required to submit expression of interest (EOI) for the development. The preferred mode for the project is EPC+F (Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Finance) model. HDC said this however, does not restrict proponents from submitting other models in their proposals, provided it is beneficial to both parties. In the event of multiple proposals, HDC will select the EOI that best aligns with the corporation’s vision, strategic objectives, and master plan. The proponents will…

The Maldives’ official reserves, inclusive of the usable reserve and the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF), are projected to reach above USD 606 million by the end of 2024, forecasts the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). This comes not long after the global credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, downgraded the Maldives’ credit rating from ‘CCC+’ to ‘CC’, highlighting the Maldives’ close proximity to default. MMA, in a press statement on Thursday said, there are considerable factors while drawing comparison of the balance of reserves between July 2023 and July this year. The central bank notes that reserves had USD 395 million in …

The top global credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings has downgraded the Maldives’ credit rating from ‘CCC+’ to ‘CC’, marking the second ratings downgrade for the island nation in 2024. Fitch announced the downgrade in the Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) for the Maldives in a statement on Thursday. In it Fitch highlights the key factors to this downgrade includes an increased risk of default, declining gross foreign exchange reserves, surging external debt, public debt vulnerabilities, and uncertainties tied to the state’s medium-term fiscal plan.

Less than two months since its launch, more than 400 cases have been reported via the ‘Immigration Watch’ launched by the Maldives Immigration to report unlawful activities carried out by expatriates. Since its official launch on July 17 and until August 26, Immigration states it received a total of 437 reports via the platform. Out of the total reported cases, Immigration said it is currently investigating 369 of them. Immigration added it is also in the process of verifying 82 other reports. According to the most recent statistics, Maldives Immigration has deported over 3,000 expatriates between November 17, 2023 and…

The State Electric Company (STELCO) on Wednesday introduced its hotline, 1545. The hotline was launched during a social media live premier on Wednesday afternoon, at 15:45hrs reflecting the hotline. STELCO said the hotline’s introduction is aligned with the utility provider’s objectives of providing more accessible services to the customers. Customers can acquire information about all STELCO services, lodge complaints regarding electricity bills, and make other inquiries. Besides the hotline, the utility provider has opened direct communication channels on popular social messaging apps including Viber, WhatsApp and Telegram – linking them to STELCO Care’s services. Hussain Fahmy, the Managing Director of…