News Desk
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has announced a series of financial and regulatory measures designed to bolster the nation’s small and medium-sized enterprises, framing the private-sector reforms as essential to transforming the Maldives into a fully developed and economically diversified economy by 2040.
Speaking on Saturday at the opening ceremony of Maldives Expo 2026 at the Barceló Nasandhura, President Muizzu detailed a timetable of concessions intended to ease foreign exchange friction, reduce tax burdens, and expand access to credit for local entrepreneurs over the coming three months.
Beginning on 1 November, local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be permitted to accept international payments in US dollars through the Bank of Maldives Gateway, addressing long-standing foreign currency liquidity constraints. The administration will also allow businesses to deploy those funds directly to settle international invoices for imported goods and services.
The economic relief package will expand significantly on 1 January 2027, when the government plans to introduce several key tax and tariff adjustments:
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Tax-Free Zones: A three-year pilot initiative will launch in Addu City, offering participating businesses a first-year rent exemption on state-leased land, income tax waivers, and an increase in expatriate worker quotas from 20 to 30.
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GST & Tariff Waivers: The threshold for mandatory Goods and Services Tax registration will rise from 1 million to 1.5 million Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR). In tandem, SMEs will be allowed to set off unpaid government arrears against state tax liabilities, while import duties on raw production materials will be cut to zero, pending legislative amendments.
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Capital Access: The government will roll out the second phase of its dedicated youth loan scheme in November to support young business owners.
President Muizzu also pledged to widen economic participation for persons with disabilities, promising that physical and social barriers would not restrict access to financial opportunities.
During the ceremony, First Lady Sajidha Mohamed joined the president in conferring awards to winners across civil society, state-owned enterprises, and educational institutions. Organized jointly by the Ministry of Economic Development, Transport and Trade and the Business Centre Corporation, the nine-day expo—held under the theme “Future Maldives – Innovation, Creativity and Global Connections”—opens to the public on Sunday evening across seven tents at Hulhumalé Central Park.
Defining the Maldivian SME
The administration’s target audience for the new concessions is tightly regulated under the Small and Medium Enterprises Act (Law No. 6/2013). State regulators evaluate commercial entities using a weighted calculation across three primary metrics: full-time staff numbers, gross annual revenue, and net profit.
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Micro Enterprises are defined as entities employing up to five full-time staff, earning no more than MVR 1 million in annual revenue, and generating a maximum net profit of MVR 250,000.
Small Enterprises encompass businesses with 6 to 30 employees, annual turnover between MVR 1,000,001 and MVR 10 million, and annual net profits from MVR 250,001 to MVR 2.5 million.
Medium Enterprises cover operations with 31 to 100 employees, annual revenue between MVR 10,000,001 and MVR 30 million, and net profits between MVR 2.5 million and MVR 5 million.
Enterprises with annual revenues exceeding MVR 30 million—or those exceeding the maximum limits for both workforce size and net profit—are disqualified from SME classification and barred from receiving state-backed loans, tariff waivers, and tax relief schemes.
