Maldives plans US$8.8 billion tax-free ‘financial freezone’ to ease debt woes

The Indian Ocean nation hopes a massive Middle Eastern investment will transform the tourism hotspot into a global financial hub by 2030

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Male, capital of the Maldives. The new tax-free investment zone aims to position the city “as the premier global business and financial hub in the Indian Ocean”. Photo: Anadolu via Getty Images

Published: 3:15pm, 5 May 2025

Cash-strapped Maldives has signed a deal with a Dubai-based company to establish an US$8.8 billion investment zone aimed at diversifying the tourism hotspot into a “financial freezone”, the government said on Monday.

Three residential and office towers, a convention centre and hotels will form part of the Maldives International Financial Centre (MIFC), President Mohamed Muizzu’s office said in a statement.

“It will … position Male as the premier global business and financial hub in the Indian Ocean,” the statement said, adding it would allow the Indian Ocean archipelago to “diversify beyond tourism”.

The US$6.5 billion economy of the Maldives has been facing foreign exchange shortages since the Covid-19 pandemic and has been warned of a potential foreign debt crisis.

The announcement followed an agreement signed late Sunday with MBS Global Investments, a company owned by wealthy Qatari Sheikh Nayef bin Eid Al Thani.

Foreign tourists arrive at a resort in the Maldives. The IMF says the country needs to stabilise its troubled economy, despite a thriving tourism industry. Photo: AP

The MIFC zone will have no residency requirements and offer “no corporate tax, tax-free inheritance … and privacy” the statement added.

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