Saeed says foreign currency inflows fell by one-third in April

Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed said on Tuesday that foreign currency inflows to the Maldives declined by around one-third this month, citing the impact of the conflict in the Middle East.

He made the remarks during a press conference at the President’s Office while responding to questions about the continued difficulty faced by businesses in obtaining US dollars.

Saeed said data from Bank of Maldives (BML) showed that foreign currency outflows had increased while inflows had fallen.

According to figures provided by the Minister, BML sold US$106.2 million during the first three months of the year for imports of essential goods and other business needs. He said this averaged more than US$35.4 million per month and represented a 142 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.

He also said that by the 16th of this month, US$38,528 had been released for telegraphic transfers, with 6,539 transfers processed during April.

For card transactions, Saeed said BML sold US$119.9 million during the first three months of the year, averaging US$40 million per month. He said this was a 23 per cent increase from last year.

The Minister said lower tourist arrivals had reduced the amount of foreign currency entering the country.

“Tourist cancellations and spending have decreased due to the war. Tourist arrivals to the Maldives have also fallen because of the conflict. Foreign currency inflows have decreased by approximately one-third in April,” he said.

He added that outflows had doubled while income had declined, resulting in a net outflow of an additional US$165 million during the month.