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End of 2019 will see 4.5 percent economic progress: MMA

Shahudha Mohamed
26 August 2019, MVT 15:36
Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) building. PHOTO: HUSSAIN WAHEED/ MIHAARU
Shahudha Mohamed
26 August 2019, MVT 15:36

Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) announced on Sunday that the economic progress of Maldives will stand at 4.5 percent by the end of 2019, a large drop compared to last year's 7.5 percent.

During the last Budget Committee meeting, MMA's Deputy Governor Aishath Zahira stated that although last year's budget predicted that economic progress will increase to 6.8 percent, actual values will be lower.

However, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer stated in June that economic progress could be maintained at 6.5 percent.

Despite the drop in estimated economic progress, Zahira expressed hopes of an increase in economic progress at the end of this year due to improvement in the tourism sector.

It was initially calculated that economic progress in the tourism sector will increase to nine percent. However, according to MMA, the current speeds will place the increase at 14 percent.

Additionally, the number of nights tourists stay in the country will rise to 15 percent by MMA's calculations.

MMA also estimated that the country's inflation will stand at 0.7 at the end of this year.

"The inflation rate was maintained at 1.3 percent at the second quarter after the country was at deflation for the first three months of 2019. This was mainly because the effects of the policies that were amended in 2018 faded away in this year's first quarter", Zahira said.

As per Zahira, the base effect of changes brought by the government to maintain the prices of staple goods and decrease the fee of electricity and water have yet to be reflected in the prices.

World Bank estimated that the average economic progress of Maldives will stand at five percent for the next three years.

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