Column

Ahmed Munawar

Governance

Decentralising Public Finance

7 min read
In March 2021, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, at the 'Decentralization Policy Coordination Conference,' stated that recent amendments made to the Decentralization Act would empower councils, providing the financial independence and...
News

SAFF Championship 2021

6 min read
On 7 October, the Maldives will take on Bangladesh in a must-win match for it in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship 2021, at the National Football Stadium, in...
Islamic Finance

HDFC’s 4th Sukuk issuance

4 min read
On 22 September, the Housing Development Finance Corporation Plc (HDFC) announced the extension of the closing date of its Mudarabah Sukuk Issue No. 4 from 30 September to 31 October...
Expenditure

The cost of democracy

6 min read
Since 2004, the Maldives started her journey to move towards a modern democracy and this was cemented with the enactment of the new constitution in 2008 by President Maumoon Abdul...
Debt

Maldives' Sukuk reaches USD500 million

4 min read
On 2 September 2021, the Government of Maldives issued another USD200 million Sukuk, or Islamic bond, in addition to the USD300 million issued in March (USD200 million) and April (USD100...
Expenditure

COVID-19 funding and expenditure

5 min read
On 9 August 2021, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer announced the decision to avail a further USD30 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in addition to the USD28.9 million...
Exchange Rate

De-dollarization alone not the solution

5 min read
Most economists are skeptical whether recently announced government's de-dollarization policy can actually solve the exchange rate issue in the Maldives without taking steps to resolve the major fundamental disequilibrium in...
Public Sector

COVID-19 stimulus and relief packages

6 min read
On 25 May, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced a new relief package to assist and stimulate businesses, during yet another COVID-19 lockdown. However, unlike many other countries, all assistance provided...
SMEs

Shaira's lessons of experience

4 min read
Each business has its unique story to tell, but there are certain common factors that enable them to be successful and their 'lessons learnt' can prove invaluable for new start-ups.
Financial Sector

SME financing in the Maldives

6 min read
Almost 90 percent of the 8,000 businesses registered to pay taxes in the Maldives are Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are important in that their contribution to employment and GDP...
Real Estate & Housing

Social housing: a broken promise

7 min read
Halfway through the current administration, with 7,000 “Hiyaa” flats initiated by the previous administration still not handed over, many are becoming increasingly disillusioned by the thought that housing is just...