Author: Mohamed Reehaan

State Trading Organization (STO) signs with Qatari conglomerate Urbacon Trading to develop a bunkering facility in Haa Alifu atoll Ihavandhippolhu. One of the most crucial components of the Ihavandhippolhu Port City initiative is the establishment of national strategic oil reserve and international bunkering. A memorandum of understanding was signed between STO and Urbacon on August 10, Thursday towards the commencement of this initiative. Urbacon is expected to carry out the feasibility study for the project under this agreement. Ihavandhippolhu, the northern-most island is geographically located in a shipping heavy area. Every day, nearly 300 large carriers traverse across the channel.…

Maldives State Shipping (MSS) has signed an agreement for the acquisition for MSS Opal; the company’s latest inclusion to its fleet. MSS said it is acquiring the new vessel with the aim of bridging the cargo-shipment gap between Addu City harbor and international harbors. The company reported that the vessel will used for cargo transportation between Addu City and international destinations. The vessel would make frequent transits at Male’ harbor before heading to Addu City, and carry containerized goods from Male’ directly as well. The company reports its newest inclusion has the capacity of 105 containers and comes with a…

Local authorities and Bank of Maldives (BML) have cautioned the public about a new scam involving electronic SIMs (e-SIMs). Authorities said that the recent scam involves scammers contacting potentially gullible customers with the pretext of housing flat wins. A victim who spoke about their experience said that the scammers would call them claiming they won flats, and would request to send a code to the caller. The code is actually an OTP the scammers use to create e-SIMs for the same number the victims possess. A senior banking official said receiving reports of scam calls making the rounds recently. They…

Maldives government has spent a supplement of MVR 367 million on subsidies after the budgeted total for 2023 was fully exhausted. According to the Ministry of Finance, the state has surpassed the budgeted amount by MVR 280 million for Aasandha health insurance scheme. Moreover, an additional MVR 88 million has been expended beyond the budgeted total on other subsidies. Maldives government allocated MVR 5.6 billion for subsidies and council grants so far in 2023. Despite a budgeted total of MVR 1.8 billion for council grants for 2023 fiscal year, state has already spent MVR 1.1 billion. State expenditure on subsidies…

Maldives real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.5% in the first quarter of 2023, reports the Maldives Bureau of Statistics (MBS). This marked an acceleration from the growth of 1.8% in the final quarter in 2022. Additionally, the annual real GDP for Q1-2023 was 12.3% higher than the pre-pandemic levels of Q1-2019. The annual growth in real GDP during Q1-2023 was mainly from the robust performance of the tourism sector and positive contribution to related sectors. Notable growths were observed during the quarter, which included transport and communication, construction, public administration, and fisheries sector. Contrastingly, negative contributions were observed…

Bank of Maldives (BML) has announced that visitors to the Living Expo will have the opportunity to receive information about BML Islamic’s financing instruments. This year’s Living Expo will commence on August 10, Thursday and last until Saturday, August 12. The expo will be open from 15:00hrs to 18:00hrs and from 20:00hrs to 23:00hrs during the three-day event. Besides providing information on BML Islamic’s financial instruments, BML’s booth at the expo will provide details about other products and services of the bank as well. BML Islamic offers the most affordably priced financing through its Shari’ah-compliant Home Purchase Financing facility. The…

The Saudi Arabian government on Sunday, August 6 announced exemption of visas for Maldivian tourists visiting the country. Saudi government revealed its decision to waive the visa requirements for eight additional countries, in a bid to boost tourism. The list includes Maldives along with Alabama, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, South Africa, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Saudi Arabia confirmed that tourists from the listed countries can apply for “Visitor Visa” either electronically or on arrival, and said they are entitled to; Tourism Umrah Business Visiting relatives and friends Speaking about Saudi government’s visa exemption, its Ministry of Tourism said that the tourist/visitor visa…

Tourist arrivals to the Maldives so far in 2023 reached 1,113,967 according to the Ministry of Tourism. The ministry reported that the arrival increased on year-to-date basis increased by 13.8% compared to the corresponding period in 2022, during which arrivals reached 978,867. Tourist Arrivals – Monthly January: 172,499 February: 177,915 March: 173,514 April: 164,357 May: 120,959 June: 120,363 July: 145,629 Top 10 Markets of 2023 – As of Aug 7 Russia: 131,987 India: 124,802 China: 100,105 UK: 93,022 Germany: 74,688 Italy: 71,451 USA: 45,541 France: 33,398 Switzerland: 22,697 Spain: 19,977 Notable Changes in the Top 10 List Spain replaces Australia…

According to the Ministry of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (MNPHI), 13,000 applications are eligible for the Gedhoruveriya social housing scheme. State Minister of the ministry, and chair of the flat committee, Akram Kamaluddin said that a total of 15,000 applicants, inclusive of joint applications, meet the eligibility criteria for the housing flats. He also said that one of the spouses from the married couples who applied separately and were deemed eligible, will be required to relinquish their flat according to the established procedure which has been the practice. The Gedhoruveriya scheme received over 20,000 applications, with 14,400 individuals applying…

Bank of Maldives (BML) appoints Morgan Beanland as the bank’s new Director of Operations. BML said that Morgan brings over 22 years of expertise in banking, business operations, and change management. With an impressive and long-spanning career at Lloyds Banking Group in the UK, Morgan held various leadership roles including Head of Markets Operations, Head of Telephony and Retention, Head of Corporate Banking Guernsey, and Senior Vice President of Financial Institutions in North America. More recently, Morgan served as a Management Consultant at Capco where he oversaw transformation delivery, managing client relationships and contributing to business development within the UK…