The Governer of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Ali Hashim has said that the Maldives economy grew by 13.9 percent last year, reaching pre-pandemic levels.
According to his statement in the MMA's annual report, the Maldives economy continued to grow, fueld by the increase in domestic commercial activity and the surge in the tourism sector despite the challenges in the global economy.
MMA had projected the country's economy to grow by 12 percent by the end of the last fiscal year, and it is expected to grow by 7 percent in 2023.
While the MMA has projected positive economic growth for Maldives, the World Bank predicts regional growth to average 5.6 percent in 2023, a slight downward revision from the October 2022 projection of 6.6 percent.
The Governor said that tourism activities picked up last year, and the construction and fishing sectors also witnessed a major boost.
However, despite the increase in economic activity, the prices of commodities have soared in the past year. The increase in public demand has also led to an increase in the number of imported goods. To address this, MMA is changing the country's monetary policies to keep prices stable and improve economic activity.
To alleviate the dollar shortage, the central bank additional Dollars into the domestic market last year. MMA sold USD 900 million (MVR 15 billion) to SOEs and banks, a 50 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Inflation stood at 2.3 percent in 2022 and is expected to rise to 5.7 percent in 2023, mainly due to increased Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates and changes in global oil prices.
The Governor's statement noted that although this year has been promising for the economy, there are also challenges ahead, including the impact of soaring debt and potential challenges to the global financial sector in connection with the Ukraine-Russia war.
Sign In