President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has stated that, in the past year alone, the Government disbursed MVR 6.3 billion in payments to local businesses for services rendered.
The President made these remarks this morning while delivering the Presidential Address at the first sitting of the first session of the 20th People’s Majlis for the year.
Referring to measures taken to address payment delays to small and medium-sized businesses, the President stated that MVR 882 million had been disbursed to State-Owned Enterprises to settle long-standing unpaid obligations that had accumulated over the years as so-called “legacy” bills. He further noted that the Administration had directly paid an additional MVR 1 billion to clear the debts of State-Owned Enterprises.
The President also noted that the airport clearance period for imports has been extended from 80 hours to 124 hours, providing a boost to businesses. In line with this objective, demurrage fees have been waived, and storage periods at Malé and Hulhumalé Ports have been increased from five days to ten days. In his address, the President further announced that registration fees for small and medium-sized cafés and restaurants will be halved for the next two years. He also stated that measures would be introduced to exempt companies employing fewer than 20 expatriate staff from annual quota fees, effective from March 2026.
The President identified the lack of a secure online payment system as one of the greatest challenges facing such businesses, noting that this issue would be addressed in the near future through the Administration’s efforts to facilitate the introduction of PayPal.
In this regard, he noted that the fully Maldivian-developed “Swipe”, a multi-currency digital wallet, has been introduced by the Bank of Maldives. He added that the agreement signed with Alibaba, one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, represents a further step in this direction, enabling Maldivian businesses to access a broader export market. As part of this initiative, 400 vendors affiliated with Authentic Maldives have been provided with a dedicated platform on Alibaba.
The President also outlined available financing options for small and medium-sized businesses, noting that the “Thijara Rashu Fathuru” scheme is dedicated to supporting enterprises engaged in local tourism. He further announced that the “Vessel Financing” facility, amounting to MVR 500,000, is intended to address financing gaps for businesses operating vessels, while additional financing facilities of MVR 500,000 have been secured for content creators and film producers.