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India has approved a rollover of the INR 30 billion swap the Maldives drew in April. Worth about US$311 million, it is close to twice the country's usable reserves. What the decision relieves, what it does not, and the path of Indian support ahead.
By Fathimath Saairaa
Moody's raised the Maldives to Caa1 on 8 October 2026, its first upgrade since it began rating the country in 2016. Here is what the upgrade means, the six reforms since 2024 that earned it, and the numbers that show each one working.
By White Tern
Maldivian public finance carried three structural weaknesses into the 2020s: debt refinanced as single bullet maturities, tourism dollars with no obligation to enter the domestic banking system, and a deficit that could be financed by creating money. All three were left intact through 2018–2023.
By White Tern
A Majlis bill would charge 17 per cent tourism GST on what is described as the margin foreign operators and booking platforms earn on Maldivian holidays — a projected MVR 1.6 billion a year. The principle is orthodox. Neither the arithmetic nor the collection machinery has been shown.
By White Tern
The Ministry recorded stronger revenue in the first half of 2026, but an even larger rise in expenditure. Subsidies and grants drove much of the increase, while the primary surplus narrowed sharply.
By Fathimath Saairaa
