Work on the new foreign investment bill, which requires foreign investors to attain a special license for the purpose, commences.
Preliminary reading of the bill was addressed at the parliament sitting on Monday, October 23.
The bill seeks to create policies on issuing permits for foreign investors, ensuring legal protection and preservation of these investors, underline the circumstances under which foreign investments can be acquired by the state, methods of providing compensation for such investments, and issuance of specific licenses for foreign contractors working in the Maldives.
The bill specifies foreign investors will receive the license after the investors complete specific prerequisites, and the Ministry of Economic Development must list permitted and licensed foreign investors on a designated registry.
The license will provide details of the planned investment total and the project details, as per the bill, and should the investor make changes to the field of investment, the license must be changed through the ministry.
Additionally, the bill enhances investors to transfer profit generated from the investment capital to the bank accounts of their home country easily.
The bill also provides additional legal protection to foreign investors who can seek remedy through the ministry if any government body makes a decision in their detriment. The investors can seek remedies through court if their complaints at the ministry do not reach desirable conclusions.
Moreover, if the investors violate Maldivian laws and regulations they will be subjected to fines not less than 30 percent of their investment total. If investors present false information to attain the investment license, they will be fined with an amount between MVR 100,000 to MVR 1,000,000.
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