Building on its long-term partnership with Tencent Holdings Limited, the official developer of WeChat, Network International (Network), the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, is now offering WeChat Pay acceptance on its POS terminals across the Maldives enabling Chinese visitors to transact seamlessly, safely and securely via their WeChat Pay mobile wallet.

The Bank’s Director of Retail, Business & SME Banking Moosa Nimal said “We have started the rollout of WeChat Pay at merchants at Velana International Airport’s duty-free shopping. By accepting WeChat Pay on the Bank’s POS network, we are paving the way for more than 1 billion active users of the Weixin & WeChat platform to make payments at merchants across Maldives. Our aim is to continually enhance the payment experience for our customers and merchants. Today’s announcement means we are now able to offer our customers the choice and convenience to choose their preferred way to pay.”

The Bank currently accepts payments of all major debit and credit cards including American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Union Pay, as well as digital wallets including BML Pay, Ali Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay. In addition to POS terminals, merchants can now accept payments online anywhere with the Bank’s Merchant Portal and mPOS App, using the service to send payment requests, check transactions and manage online stores.

WeChat Pay is popular in China and Middle-east.

Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to officiate the awarding of the projects during a special ceremony held at Meerumaa Hotel in the capital city of Malé. On behalf of the Maldivian government, the agreement was signed by Minister for Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed, while IFZA was represented by the company's Chairman Martin Pedersen.

Under the Economic Gateway project, areas dedicated to industrial, financial and tourism purposes are to be developed as well as an a residential area in the atoll. In total, 2,500 hectares of land in the area will be reclaimed under the project. While this project is scheduled to be concluded in multiple phases, the Funadhoo project will conclude in a single phase.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of IFZA Martin Pedersen said that with this project, Maldives would have access to the company's global connection, experience and technical expertise. He also added that this project will revolutionize the Maldivian economy and emphasized that it will be made possible through establishing world-class infrastructure. He detailed that the project entails building conference centers, hotels, and real estate.

Minister Saeed also made remarks during the event, highlighting that Velana International Airport (VIA) and Malé would be connected by the end of the Funadhoo project, which is scheduled to commence this year. He explained that with the MoUs signed now, the next step would be to set up a detailed plan for the projects.

"For example operating the port, logistics.. there are a lot of businesses there. The parties that run each of those businesses may be different. [We will] go into those details during the project," he said.

Minister Saeed further highlighted that IFZA's interest in the project was noted during the Dubai Investment Forum, and that the company has the capability to take on such projects. Underscoring the many successful projects the company has undertaken in Dubai, Minister Saeed expressed confidence that their success would extend to the Maldives.

"We are working with countries to change the mandate that the Maldives has received. To bring a development. The President's vision is for business owners to participate without hesitation," said the Minister.

Large scale investments with a minimum investment value of USD 100 million are considered under the SEZ umbrella.

IFZA is well established in Dubai as a company that offers services related to company formation, corporate training and banking assistance, health insurance coverage, commercial real estate and office design. Although based in the Gulf, the company currently runs projects in China, Germany, Switzerland and Seychelles.

Sixteen islands will be reclaimed from the lagoon under this project and MFMC has contracted the reclamation and revetment construction of these islands to the Maldivian company, Atoll Works Private Limited today.

The Corporation stated that 14 private islands and two luxury resorts will be developed under this agreement. An additional 40 hectares is also set to be reclaimed from Gaafaru within this project.

This wide-scale project that will reclaim a total of 106.91 hectares of land marks the first instance where such a large number of islands are reclaimed in a single lagoon in Kaafu atoll at once.

The reclamation and revetment affixation is estimated to cost an expenditure of USD 36 million with 3 million cubic meters of sand deemed to be required for the reclamation. Employing a rate of USD 7.8 per cubic meter, MFMC revealed that a total amount of USD 29,232,774 (MVR  450,769,375) will predictably be expended on the reclamation.

The company stated that this number is a significantly lower amount in comparison to other reclamation projects currently ensuing across the country.

The system determined to remunerate the contractor is through the contractor-financing approach wherein the contractor will proceed reclamation without an advance payment and collect income through long-term lease of the islands following its completion.

The State had assigned the Gaafaru lagoon to MFMC in order to develop the region within an Integrated Tourism Development concept. While the conceptual master plan for the lagoon's development has now concluded, this is the first ever project initiated by the Maldivian government that will develop private islands under an Integrated Tourism Development concept and contract them for long-term lease.

Atoll Works Private Limited is a company owned by Big Fish Maldives Private Limited who specialises in the processing and  distribution of Maldivian tuna, exporting to markets in the EU, USA, and Southeast Asia.

The newly found company Atoll Works was registered just on February 11, 2024, whose Board Members include Ahmed Latheef (MD of Big Fish and son of late Mohamed Latheef [Gogo Latheef]), Shafin Ahmed (CEO of Big Fish), Ali Khaleel (Operations Manager of Big Fish).

The land reclamation for Makunudhoo Airport, worth over MVR 246 Million was handed over to Big Fish on June 22, 2023. The outsourced projectis being carried out by K.S.R, an Indian contractor.

Once registered for the service, businesses can make bulk payments in MVR and USD automatically to multiple BML accounts. Speaking about the new service, the Bank’s Corporate Banking Director, Ahmed Aseef said, “We are pleased to move away from the manual process to an automated service for businesses that process multiple transfers. With this change, Internet Banking allows bulk payments of multiple types, flags duplicate records and checks payment status of individual payments to offer a much more seamless process.”

“Digitalization is a key pillar in our strategy and with diligent focus on making banking better, we remain committed to delivering fast, relevant, and easy experiences for our customers. We have been the Bank to bring in many firsts to the country and we will continue to work with innovation partners to introduce cutting edge technology solutions to our customers.”

Businesses registered to Internet Banking can submit a request with supporting documents to register for this free service.

As of now, the Maldivian government holds 50.80 percent of the shares. 33.73 percent of the remaining shares is held by the public, 4.07 percent by MTCC, 7.33 percent by the Government Employee Pension Fund, and 4.07 percent by Citizen's Account Program.

The loans will be mortgage-free, enabling customers to access loans of up to MVR 1 million for home construction and renovation anywhere in the country.

BML will be charging an interest of nine percent for the Home Building loans, with a repayment period set at 15 years. Home Equity loans will have a repayment period of 20 years with a 10 percent interest rate.

The Home Equity loans are specifically aimed at its home loans and financing customers. These customers, who are required to have taken out loans above MVR 50,000, will be eligible for loan amounts determined by the payments made on their existing loans.

BML's Director of Retail and SME Banking, Moosa Nimal said that these loans were introduced to help customers build their homes with ease. He added that while no mortgage is required for these loans, customers would also be able to build and renovate their homes at the best market rates as well.

Key Features

• Borrow from MVR 50,000 up to MVR 1 million to build or renovate homes
• Minimum 25% equity contribution
• Interest rate 9% p.a.
• Apply jointly with others. At least one borrower should have a legal connection to the property
• Repay over 15 years and enjoy a flexible grace period of up to 12 months
• No additional security required

Eligibility

To apply for this loan, you should:

• Be a Maldivian aged between 18 to 60 years
• Generate adequate income to fulfill the loan repayments (income from the proposed project's rent will not be factored in)
• Income must be routed to BML account for past 12 months
• Income from all sources such as salary, business income, rental income will be considered
• Repayment of all existing credit facilities should be satisfactory for the past 12 months

Applicable Fees

• Application Fee: MVR 1,000 (Non-refundable)
• Processing Fee: 1.5% of loan amount