Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Since taking charge on November 17, 2023 and until last Sunday, the current government has deported more than 3,000 expatriates. According to Maldives Immigration, authorities have deported a total of 3,322 expatriates for offenses ranging from undocumented stay to operating unregistered businesses. Authorities have raided 257 different establishments as part of the ongoing crackdown to identify illegal immigrants and expatriates running businesses illegally. Immigration, especially, have heightened its measures against foreigners that operate businesses unlawfully. Besides this, the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology earlier launched ‘Operation Kurangi’; which is a nationwide initiative to identify and filter our undocumented or…

Registration for the brand-new Office & Resort – 5K Team Event category of this year’s Dhiraagu Maldives Road Race (DMRR) is open now. Dhiraagu said this new category was launched to provide the opportunity for people working at different resorts and offices to participate as a team and represent their organizations at a competitive level. Employees of offices and resorts can now sign up in teams of four. Dhiraagu said that registration fee for each member is MVR 250. “Any employee of any organization can participation in this category, including resorts, government entities, SOEs and the private sector,” Dhiraagu said…

Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives has been awarded the “Best Surf Resort in the Maldives” at the Travel Travel Maldives (TTM) Awards 2024. This accolade highlights the resort’s world-class surfing experiences curated by partners and acclaimed surf travel operate Perfect Wave. “We are thrilled to receive this award from Travel Trade Maldives,” said Mark Eletr, General Manager of the resort. “Our strategic partnership with Perfect Wave has allowed us to deliver exceptional surfing experiences, whether our guests are seasoned surfers seeking the thrill of the waves or beginners looking to learn in one of the world’s most stunning locations.” The…

The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Sunday afternoon reverted its earlier decision of suspending foreign transactions on debit cards. The bank on Sunday morning announced it was suspending foreign transactions on existing and new debit cards as well as new credit cards linked to MVR accounts, and limiting the monthly usage to USD 100 on existing Standard and Gold credit cards. The decision was met with widespread public criticism, especially from students in overseas universities. The bank later said that it decided to revert the decision based on the instructions of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

The State Electric Company (STELCO) has announced it was now working developing an electric vehicle charging station. The station will be developed on Dhon-adharaadha Magu next to STELCO’s head office in Male’ City. STELCO Managing Director Hussain Fahmy said on X, that STELCO is “taking significant strides” to fulfill its commitments to a sustainable future in line with the vision of Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Fahmy in his post confirmed STELCO is now preparing to launch the EV car charging stations and EV motorcycle charging systems, in line with the utility provider’s objectives for a sustainable future. “This initiative…

The black market exchange rate of US dollars has significantly lifted after Bank of Maldives (BML) announced decision to suspend foreign transactions for debit cards linked to MVR accounts and a monthly transactional limit of USD 100 for Standard and Gold credit cards. The black market rates for US dollar has been levitating between a range of MVR 18.00 to MVR 18.20 on average for weeks. However, following the bank’s decision on Sunday, USD exchange rates in the black market has lifted between MVR 18.50 and MVR 18.85. There is possibility the rate could move towards MVR 20 and MVR…

The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Sunday announced changes to its card limits for foreign transactions. The changes, effective immediately, are in response to the escalating usage of foreign currency spend on cards and the static sale of foreign currency to the bank, BML said in a statement. The changes announced are as follows: Existing debit cards: suspension of allowance for foreign transactions for cards linked to MVR accounts New debit and credit cards: suspension of allowance for foreign transactions for cards linked to MVR accounts Existing Standard and Gold credit cards: monthly limit for foreign transactions reduced to USD…

The Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed on Thursday held discussions with PayPal’s President for Global Marketing, Suzan Kereere. Minister Saeed and PayPal’s Global Marketing President held the discussions towards helping Maldivian e-commerce businesses to over the difficulty of receiving payments through the popular payment gateway. “We attach great importance to achieve this objective as envisioned by” President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the minister said in a post on X. Introduction of internationally popular online payment systems including PayPal is among the key promises of President Dr. Muizzu’s administration. The delays of introducing a globally used service such as…

Maldives Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef (Sembe) on Thursday launched the ‘Education Transformation Initiative’ at a ceremony held at JEN Maldives Male’ by Shangri-La. Under the initiative, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will extend USD 9.5 million grant for the progress of the Maldivian education sector, said the President’s Office in a statement. The project includes three grants; a USD 5 million system transformation grant with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as grant agent, a USD 1.5 million system capacity grant with UNICEF as a grant agent, and a USD 3 million multiplier grant with the World Bank as…

The Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) and Ghiyasuddin International School (GIS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) towards enhancing financial literacy among students. Under this agreement, MIB will be introducing cash cards for GIS students – dubbed ‘Aaila’ Card – which is designed to aid in financial management, offering practical tools for young learners to understand and manage their finances efficiently. The agreement was signed between MIB Chief Executive Officer Mufaddal Idris Khumri and GIS Principal Thoha Saleem. “The Aaila cards will serve as a tangible resource for students to develop essential money management skills early on,” MIB was quoted…