The Maldives Ports Limited approved a dividend of MVR67.5 million (US$4.3 million) to the government, up 78% from the previous year. MPL’s board of directors approved the payout at the 2022 annual general meeting held at the Meerumaa Lounge in Malé.
MPL’s net profit reached MVR108.9 million last year as revenue recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
The State Trading Organisation’s shareholders approved a dividend of MVR77 per share at the company’s annual general meeting, which took place at the Central Park in Hulhumalé.
A new board of directors was appointed and shareholders posed questions and expressed concerns during the meeting.
STO posted an after-tax profit of MVR1 billion (US$64.8 million) for 2022. Record-breaking revenue of MVR18 billion for the year was up 79% from 2021.
The state-owned behemoth is the country’s primary wholesaler, responsible for importing the vast majority of basic foodstuffs such as rice, flour, and sugar. STO subsidiaries also trade in petroleum, cooking gas, construction materials, medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, electronics, supermarket products and insurance.
The Bank of Maldives and Maldives Islamic Bank launched Artificial Intelligence-powered customer service chatbots.
BML’s 24-hour chatbot ‘Aaya’ has the ability to respond in both Dhivehi and English through the bank’s website, Facebook Messenger, Viber and Whatsapp, and to “provide answers to customer queries in real time, and transfer to a customer service agent whenever required.”
BML CEO Karl Stumke said: “The platform powering ‘Aaya’ uses generative AI and the latest in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to allow for smart conversations across multiple channels. For our customers, this means faster response and resolution times, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction.”
MIB launched a new website “with multiple new CustomerCare channels to provide better self service support through FAQs, Guided CustomerCare Journey, Conversing with our AI CustomerCare BOT to seek answers Chat with CustomerCare Live Agents in real time.”
The Maldives Tourism Development Corporation‘s shareholders approved an MVR20.4 million (US$1.3 million) payout at MVR0.60 per share. The MTDC’s annual general meeting was held at the Manhattan Business Hotel in Malé.
MTDC posted a profit of US$2.9 million for 2022, down significantly from US$10.2 million in 2021. While revenue was higher in 2022, cost of operations grew by 25% compared to the previous year.
MTDC paid dividends in 2021 for the first time in 11 years as profits rose more than 300% from the previous year. Its main income source is rent from two subleased five-star resorts: Anantara Kihavah Villas and Ayada Maldives. A new property is under development on Haa Dhaal Naagoshi in partnership with Dubai’s R.A.W Galadari. The 1,600-bed resort on the 73-hectare island would be one of the largest single-island properties in the Maldives. Naagoshi is expected to open in 2024. Whilst Galadari owns an 85% stake in the resort, MTDC would earn a fixed portion of profits under the joint venture deal.
In February, the company announced plans to develop and operate a 230-bed resort with an investment of US$35 million. MTDC was looking for a suitable uninhabited island that can be reached within 20 minutes by seaplane from the Malé airport. Locations under consideration include previously leased islands where development has stalled or new islands put up for bidding in January.
Construction of a new seven-storey office building at a 6,000 square feet plot purchased in Hulhumalé last year was meanwhile scheduled to begin in the second quarter.
The government owns a 47% stake of MTDC with 53% of shares held by the public. The company has more than 24,000 shareholders.
The Bank of Maldives temporarily blocked transactions with ChatGPT, citing an increase in fraudulent transactions. “Merchant data compromises can impact millions of customers globally, and protecting you is our top priority,” the bank said, apologising for the inconvenience.
The first lady opened the Maldivian Patissier x Ell & Eves outlet at the SME Hub in Malé.
An initiative of the economic development ministry’s Business Centre Corporation, the three-storey SME Hub was developed at the Allied building in Chaandhanee Magu “for local businesses in all categories to sell their products and services.” The first floor space is dedicated to food and beverage vendors.
The BCC is also planning to open two SME Hubs in the northern and southern atolls.
Bank of Maldives shareholders approved a dividend payout of MVR215 million (US$13.9) with MVR40 per share. The payout was approved at the annual general meeting held at the Islamic Centre in Malé. The total includes an interim dividend of MVR20 per share paid out in April.
As the biggest shareholder, the government “stands to benefit with MVR125 million as dividend and over MVR500 million as tax for the year 2022.”
In his remarks, BML CEO Karl Stumke noted the reduction of interest rates on student loans to 5%.
“Despite the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates 9 times over the past year, the Bank has not increased local rates and instead, absorbed these additional costs to ease the interest burden to our customers,” he said.
On Tuesday, the bank announced its new board of directors, which is comprised of seven directors nominated by the government and three directors elected by shareholders. Yooshau Saeed was reappointed as the chairman.
The Maldives retirement pension fund has grown to MVR20.5 billion (US$1.3 billion), according to information shared by the pension office at the 10th annual Maldives Finance Forum, which took place at the Kurumba resort. The fund value includes accrued pension rights as well as the pension investment fund, shariah fund and housing fund.
Excluding accrued rights before the pension law came into force, the pension fund has collected MVR16.5 billion. More than 120,000 employees are enrolled in the retirement scheme with an average age of 36 years. The current contribution flow of about MVR130 million per month is forecast to reach MVR160 million in the next five years.
“This year’s forum, held under the theme ‘The Future of Finance: Exploring the Intersection of Fintech and AI,’ brought together industry experts and key stakeholders to discuss the latest developments in financial technology and artificial intelligence,” according to the pension office.
The Maldives-based leisure luxury airline Beond apologised for falsely claiming national carrier status.
After the Maldives government denied granting the status, the airline’s management apologised for “incorrect statements” made by CEO Tero Taskila in an interview with CNN’s Richard Quest.
A joint venture between UAE-based investment group Arabesque and local trading company SIMDI Group, the airline previously planned to commence flights in early 2023, offering a “private jet experience” to passengers. The new launching target is June or July, a marketing official told local media in April. The airline’s fleet of A320 aircraft reportedly features all-premium seating arrangements with 68 fully lie-flat seats.
The Maldivian airline operated by the state-owned Island Aviation Services is the flag carrier of the Maldives.
Tourist arrivals were down -5.7% in the first three weeks of May compared to the same period last year.
It was the first decline recorded after double-digit growth every month since January.
Some 94,604 tourists visited as of 24 May, down from 100,230 in the same period last year.
But arrivals were 15.5% higher compared to pre-pandemic levels in May 2019, Tourism Minister Dr Abdulla Mausoom told the media, attributing the significant growth in May last year to the celebration of the tourism golden jubilee in 2022.
A total of 782,889 tourists visited the Maldives as of 24 May.
Russia was the top market with 91,587 tourists, followed by India, UK, Italy, Germany and China.
