The United Kingdom announced negotiations for a goods-only Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Maldives, inviting input from business, organisations and individuals “to help shape the UK’s negotiating aims.”
The Maldives government promptly welcomed the announcement and noted negotiations with the UK over the past four years to eliminate a 20% tariff on fish exports.
“This significant step marks the start of the process to establish a Free Trade Agreement between the Maldives and the United Kingdom,” the president’s office said. “Through this agreement, the Government of Maldives seeks to gain preferential treatment to the goods traded to the United Kingdom and unhindered access to its market by elimination of tariffs.”
The Maldives is one of the few Commonwealth countries without preferential market access to the UK.
The State Trading Organisation reduced the price of diesel and petrol for the third time this year. The price of diesel was brought down from MVR15.70 (US$1) per litre to MVR15.07 per litre. The price of petrol decreased from MVR15.14 per litre to MVR14.73 per litre.
Reflecting elevated global oil prices, STO hiked fuel prices four times in early 2022 but gradually reduced prices later in the year.
Government revenue and grants reached MVR14 billion (US$907.9 million) as of 1 June, up from MVR11.6 billion in the same period last year. But expenditure of MVR18.9 billion outstripped revenue with a deficit of MVR4.9 billion for the first five months of 2023, according to the weekly fiscal development update from the finance ministry.
The statistic show that the annual budget of MVR1 billion approved for the Aasandha health insurance scheme has been nearly exhausted. While MVR2.2 billion was earmarked for fuel and food subsidies for the year, MVR1.7 billion has been spent as of 1 June.
The Capital Market Development Authority and the Privatisation and Corporatisation Board signed an MoU to “collaborate in harmonising and further strengthening the corporate governance code applied on the State-Owned Enterprises (SoEs) and the Public Listed Companies (PLCs).”
The agencies agreed to conduct research on strengthening and harmonising their respective corporate governance codes, present papers on the findings and to “explore the possibility of a single code that can be adopted by SOEs and PLCs and the value additions from it.”
The Bank of Maldives introduced a ‘Kill Switch’ to freeze cards and disable access to Internet banking to prevent fraudulent transactions.
“The ‘Kill Switch’ is a single which action allows customers to immediately log out of all active Internet and Mobile Banking sessions as well as freeze their cards in case of scams, preventing any further transactions from taking place,” the bank explained. “The feature, available on the Internet Banking login page, is a self-service function which can be activated by customers without contacting the Bank.”
A “stringent verification process” through the Contact Centre or the nearest branch would be needed to reactivate the card or internet banking.
The new feature is part of measures introduced by the bank to combat scams, including Two Factor Authentication (2FA) for internet and mobile banking logins.
The Fuvahmulah City Council enacted new rules to charge a fee for recreational scuba diving. A 15-day permit is to be issued at a rate of US$200 per person from foreign vessels; US$55 per person for tourists from safari vessels, resorts, dive schools and guesthouses not registered in Fuvahmulah; and US$40 per person for tourists from Fuvahmulah-based dive schools, boats and guesthouses. The fee for locals and work permit holders is US$20 per person.
The council also prohibited feeding and touching sharks at the island’s famous tiger shark diving spot. The number of divers was limited to 35 people at a time. A requirement for Fuvahmulah dive centres to employ 50% local staff was also introduced.
The boating association’s president criticised the council for not consulting with stakeholders about the diving fee. In April last year, the council reduced a US$500 docking fee for safari vessels after the boating association objected. The council decided to charge US$150 from vessels smaller than 100 feet and US$200 from larger boats.
A US$27 million project to develop the Gan International Airport to cater to 1.5 million passengers a year was launched in the southernmost atoll.
The project is carried out by Indian company Renaatus with financing from India’s EXIM Bank. In addition to expanding and modernising the terminal, other facilities to be established include duty free shops, restaurants and lounges as well as cold storage, cargo facilities, air traffic control tower, fire station, roads and parking areas.
Along with an integrated tourism zone in Hankede and land reclamation inaugurated on Saturday to create new islands for resort development, the government hopes to add 7,000 new tourist beds in Addu.
Soneva Namoona organised a resale market on six islands in Noonu Atoll.
The NGO run by the Soneva resort operator first introduced the resale market in October with the Women’s Development Committees of seven islands in Baa Atoll. It has since generated about MVR20,000 (US$1,300).
“The market aims to instil a culture of reuse and resource conservation while empowering women as environmental stewards,” according to Soneva Namoona. “Under this initiative, WDCs intercept reusable items from households, clean and repair them if necessary, and transport them to neighbouring islands for resale.”
