— The nation in focus —
President Mohamed Muizzu says the dollar payments start on 1 November and the tax changes on 1 January. He said the law changes needed are still under way.
The Meteorological Service says the event may become one of the strongest on record. NOAA’s satellite monitoring puts the Maldives’ reefs on bleaching watch, with its outlook rising to a warning level from late December.
President Mohamed Muizzu said 20 memoranda of understanding were exchanged in Islamabad, including on tourism, and that talks on direct flights were continuing.
The central bank said the money changer broke the regulation on money-changing businesses. It is the second money changer MMA has announced action against since August.
Mohamed Ameen told a press conference at WTM London that a repeal bill is with a parliamentary committee and that he expects it to pass within one to two weeks. The 17% tax has applied to overseas sellers since 1 October and stays in force until the law changes.
The airport operator's audited accounts received a clean opinion, but its short-term debts exceeded its current assets by MVR 4.86 billion and cash from operations fell by a third.
The Tourism Ministry counted 1.81 million visitors by 3 November, 3.0% fewer than a year earlier. The shortfall dates from March and April, which the World Bank linked to airspace closures and flight cancellations during the Middle East conflict.
Government spending outran revenue by MVR 621 million in the week to 29 October, pushing the year's deficit to MVR 4.47 billion and moving the primary balance from a small surplus to a deficit, Finance Ministry figures show.
Customer deposits grew more than 40% in a year to MVR 17.16 billion, and almost no money was set aside for bad financing in the quarter, the bank's filing shows.
