Banks get 50% of tourism dollar revenue, MMA says
President Muizzu has said that the MMA will change its rules to prevent companies that earn dollars from exchanging the currency in the black market.
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Banks in Maldives received deposits of 52% of dollar revenue earned by Maldives' tourism sector, according to the central bank.
Tourism, the main industry of the economy, has seen an increase in foreign exchange earnings.
According to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Maldives earned $4.5 billion from tourism last year. In 2019, it had revenue of $3.4 billion.
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From 2019 to 2023, it is an increase of 34%
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Of the total tourism revenue, $2.3 billion will be deposited in Maldives' banks by 2023; 52% of total revenue that year
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In 2019, $2.5 billion was deposited in Maldivian banks; 74% of total tourism revenue that year
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Banks bought $68 million from tourism sector in 2023; 3% of total tourism revenue that year
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In 2019, banks bought $152.5 million from tourism sector; 6% of the industry’s total revenue that year
The MMA said the amount of foreign exchange deposited in banks increased in 2023 compared to 2019. They include:
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In 2019, the banking system deposited $1.2 billion
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By 2023, that figure rose to 45%
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By 2023, the total foreign exchange reserves in the banking system reached $1.8 billion
The amount of foreign currency deposited in banks increased in 2023 compared to 2019, but the amount of dollars sold by the MMA to public banks also increased during the period.
The MMA sold a total of $376.6 million to banks in 2019 and $480.1 million in 2019, which is an increase of 27%.
President Mohamed Muizzu has said that the MMA will change its rules to prevent companies that earn foreign currency or dollars from exchanging the currency in the black market.
