South Asian Business news and information

Singapore is one of the most important trading partners of Maldives. Maumun Abdul Gayoom, President, Maldives has urged the top entrepreneurs of Singapore to invest in the country in his speech. I am quoting from the report published in Minivan News:

President Maumoon Gayoom advised Singapore’s top entrepreneurs to invest in the Maldives during a keynote speech he delivered at the Maldives Business Symposium on Friday.

During his speech, Gayoom said that the Maldives offered a “very attractive and stable environment” for foreign investors and stressed that the commercial ties between the Maldives and Singapore have not reached their maximum potential.

Singapore is currently the Maldives’ largest trading partner with over a quarter of the total imports to the Maldives coming from the country. The annual value of the imports is over US$ 200 million.

President Gayoom with his wife went on a three day visit to Singapore on 18th january. During his visit, he attended the symposium. Gayoom mentioned that Maldives has more than $100 million worth foreign direct investment from Singapore and the country’s flexible investment policy and current expansion of the tourism sector would attract more Singaporian investors. Singapore’s President, S. R. Nathan, also acknowledged that Singapore’s investment in Maldives has doubled between 2000 and 2004.

Tourism is one of the major sectors of Maldives. It earns a large foreign currency from tourism. In addition, many Maldivians and workers from neighboring countries like Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka are working in various offices in Maldives. Singapore is a developed country and has a very good tourism infrastructure. If entrepreneurs from Singapore invest in Maldives it would enhance Maldives' tourism sector and would create more jobs for the Maldivians.

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Minivan News