Business in the Maldives, Male

The objectives of the subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Republic of Maldives” are the following:

1. To analyse the Maldivian Economy and Foreign Trade (Import, Export, FDI)
2. To know the business opportunities in the Republic of Maldives
3. To explore the Maldivian trade relations with the country of the student
4. To know the Maldivian Free Trade Agreements
5. To examine the profile of Maldivian Companies
6. To develop a business plan for the Maldivian Market

Maldivian Preferential Access and Free Trade Agreements

1. The Maldives and the Central Eurasian Economic Area
2. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
3. South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC)
4. Asian Clearing Union (ACU)
5. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India
6. Islamic Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC)
7. Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT)
8. Indian-Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

Trade Facilitation Programs

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
   1. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
   2. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
   3. WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
   4. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
   5. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG)
   6. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
2. World Customs Organisation (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)
3. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
   1. Customs Convention on Containers (CCC, UN) - not a member
   2. Convention Relating to Temporary Admission (Istanbul Convention) - not a member

Islamic Organisations

1. Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
2. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
   1. Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC)
   2. Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)
   3. Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT)
   4. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC)
3. Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED)

Asian Trade and Economic Organisations

1. Boao Forum for Asia
2. Colombo Plan
3. Africa-Asia Strategic Partnership
4. Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
5. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
6. Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Global Organisations

1. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
   2. International Trade Centre (INTRACEN)
   3. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
2. World Bank (WB)
3. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
4. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The Republic of Maldives.

1. Maldivian Population: 350,000.
2. 79% under thirty-five years of age
3. Literacy rate: 98%
4. Maldivian capital: Male
5. Maldivian official language: Dhivehi (Thaana Script), the majority of the Maldivians speaks English
6. More than 1,190 Islands
7. Tropical climate
8. Maldivian Independence: 1968 (United Kingdom)
9. Sunni Islam is the official religion
10. Neighbouring countries (by Sea): India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Seychelles

The Maldives belongs to the Central Eurasian Economic Area (Islamic Civilisation).

Maldivian Economy.

1. The Maldivian GDP growth of 7% last twenty years
2. The main economic sectors are tourism and fishing (40% of the GDP)
3. Total imports: 60% of the Maldivian GDP
4. Maldivian Petroleum: 31% of the total imports
5. Maldivian Currency: Rufiyaa
6. Special Economic Zones
7. Recent investments (FDI): Hilton, Four Seasons, Club Med, KPMG, and Price Waterhouse
8. The largest port in the Maldives: Male. Future Port of Thilafushi
9. The Maldives has not mineral resources
10. Risk of natural disasters
11. Effects of the Asian tsunami (2004): near 62% of the GDP

International Trade of the Maldives.

1. Maldivian merchandise exports (% of the GDP): 23%
2. Maldivian Merchandise imports (% of the GDP): 23.6%
3. Service exports (% of the GDP): 4.4%
4. Service imports (% of the GDP): 1.4%
5. Maldivian FDI Inflows (% of the GDP): 1.3%
6. Top Maldivian Export Markets: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Bangladesh
7. Top Maldivian import suppliers: China, Russia, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Germany, and Turkey