maldives – Page 616 – Minivan News

Criminal court frees 2007 Sultan Park bombing suspect

The Criminal Court ordered the release of 2007 Sultan Park bombing suspect Mohamed Ameen from police custody on Thursday.

Ameen is said to be a member of the extremist group Jama’athul Muslimeen, the leader of whom died in a suicide attack on the Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence in 2009.

The suspect was taken to the court for an extension of detention after the two-month detention previously warranted by the court expired, according to Sub-Inspector Hassan Haneef.

Haneef noted that the suspect had to be released as the court did not issue the extension.

However, he refrained from commenting on why the court released the alleged bomber.

Ameen was one of the Interpol’s most wanted and was not apprehended until October 2011 following a combined operation by Maldivian and Sri Lankan authorities.

The Criminal Court’s spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Manik told Minivan News that would clarify the reasons for Ameen’s release but had not responded at the time of press.

Local newspaer Haveeru meanwhile reported that the suspect was released by the court “on the condition that he not get involved in any further terrorist activities, and not leave the country.”

The 27 year-old had reportedly fled the Maldives before the bombing took place on September 29, 2007. The bomb blast from a homemade IED (improvised explosive device) was the first bombing incident in the country.

The bomb blast at Sultan Park – a major tourist attraction in the capital located in front of the Islamic Centre – was triggered using a mobile phone and washing machine motor attached to a gas cylinder.

The attack injured 12 tourists, including eight from China, two from Britain and two from Japan. The incident received widespread publicity around the world, damaging the country’s image as a luxury tourism destination.

The attack meanwhile prompted the authorities to declare a state of high alert and arrest 12 suspects within 48 hours.

Terrorism charges were filed against 16 suspects, including 10 who had fled the country.

In addition to Mohamed Ameen, Interpol red notices were issued for Hussain Simaad, 25, of Baa atoll Dharavandhoo; Hassan Riyaz, 21, of Haa Dhaalu atoll Nellaidhoo; Mohamed Imad, 27, of Baa atoll Dharavandhoo; Abdul Latheef Ibrahim, 25, of Laamu atoll Kalhaidhoo; Mohamed Iqbal, 42 of Maafannu Naseemee Manzil; Moosa Manik, 20, of Seenu atoll Hithadhoo; Hassan Yoosuf, 24, of Laamu atoll Kalaidhoo; Ali Shameem, 25 of Shaviyani atoll Komandoo; and Ibrahim Maslamath of Maafannu Gold Ring.

Three men – Mohamed Sobah, 19, Moosa Inaz, 21, and Ahmed Naseer, 20 – were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in December 2007 after they confessed to the crime.

In August 2010, the former administration commuted the sentences of Ahmed Naseer and Mohamed Sobah from incarceration to three year suspended sentences under observation.

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President Waheed meets Indian PM during official visit

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan continues his five-day official visit to India today upon the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Hindustan Times reports that the President has met with Prime Minister Singh, discussing the potential for early elections amongst other things. The same paper has also reported that Waheed will meet with President Pratibha Patil tonight.

Dr Waheed is travelling with a delegation that includes the Maldives’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Abdul Samad Adbullah, Minister of Finance Dr Abdullah Jihad, and Minister of Housing and Environment Dr Mohamed Muiz, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dhunya Maumoon, as well as the First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain.

The visit marks the first overseas trip for the President since he moved into the President’s Office on February 8. Before his departure from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport yesterday, Waheed said that the primary aim was to strengthen existing bilateral relations.

He claimed that the situation in the country was calming down after the unrest that had immediately followed the transfer of power.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), however continues to conduct regular protests challenging the legitimacy of the current government and demanding fresh presidential elections.

On Friday evening Waheed met with Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and briefed him on the current political situation in the Maldives.

Reporting on this meeting, the President’s Office said: “The Foreign Secretary said that India hopes to find a ‘Maldives solution’ for the situation. He further stated that India would always hope to see a peaceful and stable Maldives, and would provide its fullest cooperation and assistance in achieving such an environment in the Maldives.”

In an interview with the Press Trust of India (PTI), reported by Daily News and Analysis, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon – and daughter of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom – said that Waheed will work to dispel “untrue perceptions” given by former President Mohamed Nasheed, who visited India last month.

“Maldivian Presidents have always made their first trip abroad to India. And President Waheed is coming to India to… brief them directly about the political situation in Maldives,” Dunya is reported to have told PTI.

“I believe that India would respect our sovereignty and really does not play a role in the internal politics of the country which is why I find President’s Nasheed’s comments unacceptable”, she continued.

Former President Nasheed visited India last month, and also met with Prime Minister Singh. During his visit, Nasheed attempted to rally support amongst politicians, think tanks, and industry leaders, for early elections.

Nasheed told the Times of India: “We want more Indian assistance in bringing democracy back.”

Regarding the accusations of coup-conspiracy levelled against her father, former President Gayoom, Dunya said that Nasheed’s politics had always centred on attacking her father, claiming: “I believe he is using the same kind of argument to try and gain the support of his people”.

The presence of Finance Minister Jihad in the delegation was explained by President’s Spokesman Abbas Adil Riza, who told Minivan News that lobbying for the extension of long-term financial support through various aid mechanisms would form part of the group’s agenda.

The Finance Ministry this week revealed that the government’s budget deficit would reach 27 percent of GDP this year, following a 24 percent increase in government expenditure.

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission chief in the Maldives, Jonathan Dunn, recently told Minivan News that, other than cutting expenditure and boosting revenue, obtaining foreign loans would be among the few options left to avoid the far more risky option of printing money.

Representatives of Waheed’s government have already travelled to India on official visits, with both Foreign Minister Dr Samad and Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim having visited in early April.

Since the unrest began, bilateral ties appear outwardly to have been unaffected. In March, India offered to replace police vehicles that flared in the unrest following the resignation of former President Mohamed Nasheed and joint naval exercises have been conducted between the two nations, alongside Sri Lanka, in April.

The Indian Foreign Secretary Mathai played a leading role in the initiation of the ‘all party roadmap’ talks which were intended to expedite the reconciliation of opposing political factions within the Maldives.

Indian brokerage of these talks, which included a commitment to early elections, came only days after India initially recognised the new government. Former President Nasheed later told Time magazine that he had been “shocked” by the speed of this decision.

The deadline set by the Commonwealth’s human rights watchdog, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), by which it hopes to see improvements in the impartiality and independence of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) passes next week.

“Further and stronger” measures against the Maldives have been threatened if the CNI, charged with investigating the events surrounding the presidential changeover, is not adequately reformed.

India is a member of the Commonwealth but does not currently sit on the eight member CMAG board of foreign ministers.

During the meeting with Nasheed last month, the MDP reported Prime Minister Singh as having great faith that the Indian-sponsored all-party talks between Maldivian political parties were the key to a resolution.

Unfortunately, these talks have continued to stall and are currently on hold while the Elections Commission investigates the recent change in leadership within the MDP.

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Government-Commonwealth talks continue over CNI conduct concerns

Talks are continuing between the Government and the Commonwealth over the conduct of the Commission of National Inquiry (CNI), just a few days before a deadline to make changes to the body expires.

Speaking to journalists yesterday before departing on a visit to India, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan had said that the international community was mainly concerned about how the CNI was presently being conducted. Dr Waheed said that this issue was now being discussed with Commonwealth representatives presently in the Maldives, according to the Sun Online news service.

The CNI, which was formed by President Waheed to ascertain the events behind February’s controversial transfer of power, has been criticised by the Commonwealth over concerns about its impartiality.

On April 16, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (GMAG) set a deadline of four weeks for the government to revise the CNI’s composition and mandate or face “stronger measures” from the 54 member state intergovernmental organisation.

The president also told local media yesterday that he was not expecting to come under pressure from India to hold early elections in the Maldives this year during his visit. He claimed that the Indian government was one of the first to “recognise” the current administration.

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Expatriate workers’ plights in Maldives: The Daily Star

“An uncertain fate” awaits Bangladeshi nationals coming to work in the Maldives due to a network of illegal manpower agencies operating in the two countries, Bangladesh-based The Daily Star newspaper writes.

Our migrant workers face numerous ordeals having landed in the destination countries, especially those in the Middle Eastern region, due to illegal manpower agencies.

One would naturally have expected a better situation for them in the South Asian region what with strong diplomatic ties between the SAARC countries. But contrary to our expectation, an uncertain fate awaits them even in a country such as the Maldives.

A news item carried in a leading Bangla daily tells us nearly 50 thousand Bangladeshi workers are staying miserably as illegal immigrants in the Maldives as a result of collusive practices between unauthorized manpower agencies of the two countries.

Fraudulent manpower agencies operating in the Maldives join hands with those of the unauthorised Bangladeshi agencies and procure fake work permits and promise jobs to the workers based on spurious documents.

The workers, having spent more than two lakh taka each, finally fly to the Maldives only to find out that the company which is supposed to have recruited them does not exist at all. With no legal work permit whatsoever, they become illegal immigrants and face immense discrimination at the hands of their temporary employers and constant fear of detention by the police.

Bangladeshi mission in the Maldives has revealed that it attested the work permits of only 58 workers in 2010 whereas thousands of workers went there in that year alone. It proves the unthinkable extent to which illegal workers migrate there every year.

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Three bills returned to parliament

Three bills have been returned to the People’s Majlis by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan for reconsideration and amendment.

The Business Registration Bill, the Corporate Tax Bill and the Sole Trader Bill passed respectively on April 23, 24 and 25, 2012, have all been sent back to parliament for revision, according to the President’s Office website.

In a letter to Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid, President Waheed detailed several concerns said to have been raised by the attorney general.

The exact nature of these concerns was not detailed by the President’s Office.

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Tourism Minister looks for alternative sources after loss from lease payments

Minister for Tourism Ahmed Adheeb has said that the Tourism Ministry will work on ways to increasing its revenue, acknowledging that income lost from changes to island lease payments would leave its earnings far short of those predicted in the budget.

“The expected amount from lease rent will not be acquired within the year. This is about Rf 500 million (US$32 million). We are looking for ways to compensate for the loss. Discussions on the issue will start next week,” Haveeru reported Adheeb as saying.

The current government recently re-interpreted a clause in the Tourism act, allowing the payment of island lease extensions to be made in installments rather than up front, as had previously been the case.

The Maldives Inland Revenue Authority’s (MIRA) figures for March revealed that the government received over Rf350 million (US$23 million)less that month than anticipated in the budget.

The IMF’s suggestions that the Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) be raised to 12 percent would not be the only method discussed within the ministry to compensate for the lost income.

“The discussions are not to simply discuss increasing the amount of TGST charged from resorts. The government has not decided to increase TGST to 12 percent. The government wants to find out the ways from which the tourism industry can compensate for the amount of predicted loss,” Haveeru reported.

The Majlis Financial Committee revealed this week that the current budget deficit would reach 27 percent of GDP by the end of this year.

Head of the Majlis’s Financial Committee, Deputy Speaker and People’s Alliance (PA) MP Ahmed Nazim, revealed that government revenue for 2012 would be Rf2.6 billion (US$168.6 million) less than the projected amount of Rf10.87 billion (US$704 million) – a drop of 23 percent.

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Report “incomplete” without MDP cooperation: Inquiry Commission

The Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) has said their report on the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power on February 7 will be “incomplete” without the ousted Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) cooperation.

New President Mohamed Waheed Hassan charged the CNI to assess the change of leadership following former President Mohamed Nasheed’s allegation that he was ousted in a coup d’état, carried out by mutinous elements of the police and military. Waheed was Nasheed’s Vice President.

However, the MDP has refused to recognise the CNI, claiming the commission is neither independent nor impartial, and has raised concerns over former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Defense Minister Ismail Shafeeu chairing the commission.

The Commonwealth has also warned of “stronger measures” against the Maldives if the government fails to revise the composition and mandate of the CNI by May 16.

However, speaking to the press on Thursday, Shafeeu said it was “not suitable” for him to resign, and has said the matter must be decided between the government, political parties and foreign groups.

Meanwhile, President Waheed has affirmed commitment to the Commonwealth and said he looked “forward to resolve any outstanding issues involving the CMAG” including that of the CNI composition. Waheed’s remarks were sourced from a press release published by PR Newswire on Wednesday, and widely disseminated to world media.

However President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was reported in local newspaper Haveeru today as stating that there was no thought of changing the composition of the commission.

MDP cooperation

CNI member Ali Fawaz Shareef said the commission had interviewed 77 people and “had received some responses from the MDP.”

Two individuals from the MDP requested to give statements had refused, Shareef said, but declined to state whether former President Nasheed was among the two.

Without the MDP’s cooperation, the commission’s report to be published by May 31 “would not be complete,” CNI member Ibrahim Yasir Ahmed said.

“However, we have interviewed many people so far, and we believe we can issue a very good report,” Yasir said.

The CNI faced “difficulties” when parties refused to cooperate with the commission, Shafeeu added.

“This commission will not take legal action against anyone regarding information shared with this commission. The only thing we are doing is gathering information,” he said. The CNI has previously said it would not conduct a criminal investigation.

The report will note missing information and will also include any relevant statements made in the public domain, the commission members said.

President Waheed has met with the CNI on Tuesday to give his account of the transfer of power.

Meanwhile, the MDP has launched its own investigation into the transfer of power, and President Nasheed has given a statement to the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) regarding a brutal police crackdown on MDP supporters at a peaceful protest on February 8.

Shafeeu resignation

The CNI has long said the government must authorise any changes in its composition, but President Waheed on April 25 said it was up to the commission to allow new members to join the inquiry.

“We have no role in the reformulation of the commission. They do not have to discuss the matter with us either. The government can reformulate the commission as they see fit,” CNI member Yasir repeated on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Shafeeu said the government, political parties and foreign groups must decide whether to dismiss him from the CNI. “If the outcome of political negotiations is that I must go, it will not be difficult to get me out of here. I will just go home like I do every day when I finish work,” he told reporters.

The MDP has criticised the lack of cross-party consultation in compiling the committee and the lack of international experts on the committee.

“It has been conceived and imposed by those parties allied to Dr Waheed without any consultation with MDP. It does not include any eminent international experts. And the inclusion of individuals who held Cabinet posts during the autocratic government of former President Gayoom, including the appointment of a Chair – Mr Ismail Shafeeu – who had held various ministerial posts under former President Gayoom including the position of Defense Minister at a time of widespread human rights abuses in the country, suggests that no effort has been made to ensure independence and impartiality,” the MDP stated in February.

Local civil society groups have also urged the government to seek cross-party support in formulating the commission.

Commitment to the Commonwealth

As the Commonwealth deadline for CNI review draws near, Dr Waheed said the Maldives government would meet with Special Envoy Sir Don McKinnon on Thursday to affirm the Maldives’ commitment to the Commonwealth and the CMAG and “any outstanding issues since his last visit.”

“The Maldives government wants to make progress with the Commission of National Inquiry following previous discussions with the Commonwealth about its composition,” the statement read.

The statement quoted President Waheed as saying: “I look forward to constructive talks with Sir Don McKinnon. I will be telling Sir Don that as a government, we are completely committed to the Commonwealth and I look forward to resolving any outstanding issues involving CMAG.”

Meanwhile, MP of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM), Ahmed Ilham, and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed have submitted a bill to parliament that could see the Maldives withdraw itself from the Commonwealth within 60 days of ratification. Both parties have backed Dr Waheed.

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Maldives ranks 45th best place to be a mother among developing nations

Maldives has been ranked as the 45th best place to be a mother among 80 developing nations compared in international NGO Save the Children’s 13th State of the World’s Mothers report.

The ranking includes 165 countries split into three categories – 43 more developed countries , 80 less developed countries and 42 least developed countries.

Norway is ranked first, ahead of Iceland and Sweden, while Niger is the worst place to be a mother in the world – replacing Afghanistan for the first time in two years.

The Maldives landed first out of 42 countries listed in the ‘least developed’ tier of the 2011 mother’s index rankings.

However, with the transition to a less developed country status from January 2011, the Maldives was placed in the second tier in 2012, which looked at 80 developing countries across the globe, out of which the island nation ranked 45th.

That puts Maldives three points below the neighboring Sri Lanka but far ahead of India, Pakistan and several other Islamic nations in the Middle East.

“More than 90 years of experience on the ground has shown us that when mothers have health care, education and economic opportunity, both they and their children have the best chance to survive and thrive,” said President and CEO of Save the Children USA, Carolyn Miles, in the report.”But many are not so fortunate.”

“Alarming numbers of mothers and children in developing countries are not getting the nutrition they need. For mothers, this means less strength and energy for the vitally important activities of daily life. It also means increased risk of death or giving birth to a pre-term, underweight or malnourished infant,” Miles observed.

She added: “For young children, poor nutrition in the early years often means irreversible damage to bodies and minds during the time when both are developing rapidly. And for 2.6 million children each year, hunger kills, with malnutrition leading to death.”

Maldives achievements

The 45th ranking was derived from the Maldives’ performance in the factors or areas measured for the State of the World’s Mothers report, including the mother’s health, education and economic status, as well as critical child indicators such as health, mortality rate and nutrition.

The statistics included in the report shows that in the past six years the Maldives with a population of approximately 350,000 has achieved notable success in improving the maternal health, thus achieving the goal 5 of Millennium Development Goals.

According the report, lifetime risk of maternal deaths in Maldives has been significantly reduced to 1 per 1200 and females have a life expectancy of 77 years while under-five mortality rate dramatically declined to 15 per 1000, compared to 41 per 1000 in 1990, as the country’s 95 percent of births are attended by a skilled health worker.

Almost 95 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water and the school enrollment ratio remains significantly high, the report adds.

Maldives Health Statistics Report 2011 concluded: “Overall it can be said that the trends show improvement in the health and wellbeing of people in the Maldives”.

These successes were attributed to the effective immunisation programs, and improved accessibility of health services across the islands.

“Consistent improvements in quality of services are crucial to sustain these developments and further the achievement” the report read.

Challenges

Predictably, the statistics revealed that the Maldives needs to improve on areas of reproductive health with increasedaccess to contraceptives, economic and political participation of women and dietary needs of children – issues highlighted by the stake holders in various platforms.

Malnutritution: Minivan News reported in April about the increasing concern among the health experts as malnutrition in the country remains “quite alarming” considering the number of medical advances made in the country over the last few years. According to figures published in 2009 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), 17.8 percent of children under five years of age were found to be underweight in the Maldives according to international standards for ascertaining health in young people. The same figures found that 6.5 percent of children were classed as overweight in the country. 20.3 percent of children in the same age group were found to be suffering from ’stunting’, a term describing children suffering growth retardation as a result of poor diet and infection

Economic and Political Participation: Gender inequality is one of the social determinants at the heart of inequity in health, so progress in equal participation of women is crucial. However, with the Maldives’ Islamic background, the society prescribes predominantly domestic and traditional roles for women, while men take the role of breadwinner.According to the ‘Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2009-2010′, out of the 38,493 people unemployed in 2010, 63 percent were women, almost double the male rate of unemployment. Meanwhile in the political sphere, women’s representation is significantly low with only 57 out of 1091 are island level councilor seats filled by women and 5 out of 77 Parliament members as women.
“The absence of childcare facilities make it difficult for women to remain employed after they have children. HRCM also received reports that some employers discouraging women from marriage or pregnancy, as it could result in employment termination or demotion,” the UNDP ‘s “Women in Public Life in the Maldives”report said.

Restrictions on women’s mobility and reluctance from family members to allow women to travel alone to other islands for work were also identified as key obstacles to employment.

Reproductive Health and Access to Contraception: Greater attention to improving sexual and reproductive health care and universal access to all its aspects are required to prevent unintended pregnancies and provide high- quality pregnancy and delivery care, according according to the UNFPA in the Maldives.However, there is social stigma surrounding the purchase of contraceptives and “talks” of sex several reproductive illnesses.
Data suggests that contraceptive prevalence rate for modern methods declined from 34 per cent in 2004 to 27 per cent in 2009, and the number of adolescent pregnancies has increased. Abortion is illegal, yet the number of women experiencing complications from unsafe abortions is reported to be increasing.

“These complications, along with the high contraceptive discontinuation rate and the high unmet need for family planning, are jeopardising previous gains in maternal health. Policies and services do not adequately address the reproductive health needs,” UNFPA said in the country programme document (2011-2015) for Maldives.

While Maldivian women aged 15-49 is expected to grow for the next 30 years, the Maldives needs a comprehensive program to create awareness and set up wider adequate reproductive and maternal health facilities and services.

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Thai real-estate developer to withdraw from Hulhumale’ housing project

Thai newspaper The Nation has reported that Pruksa, Thailand’s largest real-estate developer, is withdrawing its investment in the Maldives after suffering a US$3.2 million loss.

In an interview last week with Pruksa CEO Thongma Vijitpongpun, The Nation reported that the company was pulling out of the Maldives after making losses of Bt (Thai Baht) 100million.

In 2010, Pruksa formed a joint venture agreement with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), formerly the Hulhumale’ Development Corporation, to build over 1000 houses in Hulhumale’. That company, Pruksa-HDC Housing Pvt Ltd, began construction of the first phase of the project, consisting of around 180 units, in August 2010.

Mohamed Sharah, the Assistant Director of Corporate Affairs, Marketing and Business Development, was unable to confirm whether the company had withdrawn from the agreement. Sharah also acts as Pruksa’s Company Secretary in the Maldives.

“We have not been informed [of the decision], the work on the first phase still continues and will be completed by July,” said Sharah.

The first phase, explained Sharah, consisted of nine blocks containing 180 apartments, six of which have been completed, with four already having been handed over to customers. The first phase is scheduled for completion by July.

There were some initial problems with the quality of construction work on the first two of these buildings which caused some delays to the project while work was redone to the standards required by the quality control officer.

The 180 units were pre-sold in Maldivian rufiyaa before construction. In a previous interview with The Nation, a representative from Pruksa anticipated a profitable venture.

“We started to pre-book our project in the Maldives last month for the first phase of 180 units. Demand is for more than that amount and as a result we believe our presales in the Maldives will exceed our estimate,” the company’s Chief Business Officer was reported as saying in June 2010.

However, Sharah explained that this policy had “caused significant losses” for the company due to problems with the local currency.

“They have faced devolution of the currency and a shortage of dollars in the Maldives,” he added.

The price of rufiya at the time when most of the units were sold was pegged at Rf12.85 to the US dollar. However, in April 2011, the government made the decision to introduce a managed floatation of the currency. This decision allowed the rufiya to be traded within a 20percent margin of its previous rate. The result has been the devaluation of the currency to a rate of 15.42 to the US dollar – which still remains next to unexchangable outside the blackmarket, where rates can top Rf 17-18 to the dollar.

That problem is likely to continue after the government’s budget deficit was predicted to reach 27 percent of the country’s GDP in 2012, according to figures recently released by the Majlis Finance Committee.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s head of mission to the Maldives, Jonathan Dunn, recently told Minivan News: “As long as the government continues to inject substantial amounts of new spending into the economy, the foreign exchange situation in the country will not be resolved.”

The net result of Pruksa’s exposure to rufiya may account for the US$3.2 million losses the company CEO reported to The Nation.

HDC told Minivan News that 90 percent of the units were sold using the pre-booking system. The initial value of the apartments was reported to have been between Rf0.9million and Rf1.6 million.

The change in exchange rates in the period following these sales means that between US$1.8million and US$3.3million from Pruksa’s projected income may have been lost from the sale of these units alone.

During the same interview in The Nation, the CEO explained that the company was restructuring to a more profitable model, in part due to the losses suffered during last year’s flooding which afflicted much of Thailand.

However, it was mentioned that the company was considering expansion into the ASEAN nations of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Phillipines. The CEO also announced that projects in Vietnam and India, temporarily suspended in the first half of this year, would continue.

A representative of Pruksa in the company’s Bangkok office was unable to confirm the cessation of the company’s dealing in the Maldives. He did confirm that a representative of the company would be visiting the Maldives later this month, at which time more details would be made available.

The spokesperson was able to confirm that the most of the apartment sales took place 18 months ago and were transacted in rufiya.

“There were some problems with that,” the spokesman noted.

The Hulhumale’ project is regarded as the most ambitious urban development project in the history of the country. The reclamation of land and the internal migration of Maldivians to the island, which lies adjacent to the capital Male’, is seen as vital in the country’s long term plans for economic development of the nation and for the easing of congestion in the capital city.

“If Pruksa withdraws, the HDC will have to find new investment,” said Sharah.

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