Ahmed Munawar, the governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), hinted on 9th February 2025 that the resorts’ mandatory Dollar exchange conversion requirement would be lowered in the future.
The governor said that while such a change would take up to two years, it is still possible, during the Maldives Association of Tourism Industry’s (MATI) annual general meeting in Kurumba Maldives.
“If you look at the mandatory exchange, forcing a 20% margin may not be the most desirable. You can review it over two years, conduct research at the micro level, and introduce changes,” he said.
It is unlikely that the threshold for the mandatory Dollar exchange will be lowered in the upcoming two to three quarters, he continued. However, depending on industry development and income, changes can be made in as little as two years.
MATI suggested that the required exchange rate for resorts be set between 10 and 15 percent while the Foreign Exchange Act was being drafted. But the rate was set at 20% when the bill was passed.
The Foreign Exchange Act, which went into force in January, states:
- 20% of resort revenue, or $500 per visitor, must be exchanged
- 20% of their foreign exchange revenues, or $25 per visitor, must be exchanged by hotels, safari boats, and guesthouses
- Companies that obtained at least $15 million in foreign currency for products and services in the past year, aside from banking institutions, must exchange 20% of their monthly foreign exchange earnings
