President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said resorts will face no financial difficulty from the requirement to exchange 40 percent of their foreign currency earnings through Maldivian banks, and that resort employees should continue to be paid in USD.
Speaking at a ceremony at the President’s Office today to ratify the amended Foreign Currency Act and other bills passed by parliament, President Muizzu said the new measures would make life easier for the public.
Under the amendment, resorts will be required to deposit and exchange 40 percent of their monthly gross sales in foreign currency through Maldivian banks. Guesthouses and other Category B tourism establishments will be required to exchange either USD 25 per tourist arrival or 20 percent of their monthly gross sales.
President Muizzu said the measure would increase the amount of foreign currency entering the banking system, making it easier to finance imports and meet businesses’ foreign currency needs, including TT's.
The president cited tourism revenue figures from last year, saying the tourism industry generated USD5.6 billion, of which an estimated USD3.8 billion entered the banking system. However, only 21 percent of that amount was deposited with banks, he said.
Before the Foreign Currency Act came into force, resorts were required to exchange only 10% of their foreign currency earnings through Maldivian banks.
‘No difficulty for resorts’
President Muizzu said the government had carefully considered the decision despite concerns from some resort owners over the increase in the exchange requirement from 20 percent to 40 percent.
“This is not done on a whim. The experts, technical teams and competent people have done all the work. MMA, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and all the relevant ministries have done the work by looking at the accounts and collecting statistical information,” he said.
“I would like to say that we are certain that there will be no difficulty for resorts to exchange 40 percent,” he said.
He said the requirement would not affect resorts’ ability to repay loans, pay employee salaries or meet other operating expenses.
President Muizzu also said resorts would still be able to exchange 40 percent of their foreign currency earnings after paying employees in dollars, repaying loans and covering operating expenses.
The president said some people were selling dollars at high rates on the black market because they had easy access to foreign currency. However, he said available statistics showed that resorts would not face difficulties meeting the 40 percent echange requirement.
Salaries should remain in USD
President Muizzu said the government supported concerns raised by resort employees over the impact of foreign exchange measures on their salaries.
“The salaries of resort employees being paid in USD should not be stopped,” he said.
He called on resorts to comply with the amended law and fulfil what he described as their national responsibility for the benefit of the public.
Resort employees have expressed concern over the issue after MMA Governor Ahmed Munawar said the government aims to have salaries paid in MVR by 2030 as part of efforts to increase demand for the Maldivian rufiyaa and address the country’s foreign currency shortage.
