The Maldives is set to join the list of countries offering investor residency programs, with Cabinet due to deliberate the proposal at a meeting on Sunday. Such programs are already well established in several countries and have attracted significant foreign investment by granting fast-track residency to individuals who contribute large sums of money.
President Mohamed Muizz stressed in a video message ahead of an upcoming cabinet meeting that the initiative fits into the government’s broader strategy to accelerate economic diversification. He highlighted the success of the approach in developed countries, pointing to Singapore and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as examples.
“This is a unique and crucial step for the development of the Maldives,” President Muizz said, but gave no specific details on how the program would be structured in the country.
In addition to the investor residency proposal, the government will also discuss the merger of six state-owned enterprises as part of ongoing efforts to streamline operations and reduce financial burdens. The agenda for Sunday’s meeting includes:
- Regional Airports Limited (RACL) will be consolidated as a subsidiary of Maldives Airports Limited (MACL).
- Merged Fahi Diriurhun Co. Ltd. (FDC) and Housing Development Corporation (HDC).
- The Maldives Fund Management Corporation and the Business Centre Corporation (BCC) will be merged.
The proposed mergers are an extension of the government’s austerity policies, which aim to merge bankrupt state-owned enterprises with larger, more profitable ones to improve the country’s cash flow. Last week, the cabinet decided to make debt-ridden state utility Fenaka Corporation a subsidiary of the State Trading Organisation (STO).
In addition to these structural reforms, the Maldivian government has introduced a series of cost-cutting and revenue-increasing measures, including amending the Aathanda (national health care scheme) legislation, introducing targeted subsidies, and requiring companies that generate US dollar revenues to pay tax in US dollars.
