Number of employees at SOEs rise above 37,900

The number of employees at state-owned enterprises has now risen above 37,900, according to the latest quarterly report released by the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB).

SOEs have been considered for years as a tool used by administrations to “distribute” jobs to gain political favor.

According to the Q1 review released by the PCB, the whole SOE sector consists of more than 37,900 employees. This far exceeds even the total number of employees in the civil service, which is 30,436.

The 2024 SOE financial review showed SOEs employed some 35,000 staff by the end of last year. This therefore marks an increase in 3,000 employees between January and March of this year.

While the number of employees continue to rise, the latest review shows 12 SOEs collectively accumulated MVR 281 million in losses during the first quarter.

The biggest loss-maker was the Road Development Corporation (RDC). The company, which is plagued with allegations of corruption, reported MVR 113.73 million in losses. Island Aviation came second, with MVR 46.36 million in losses.

Fenaka Corporation, another company plagued by corruption, ended the first quarter with a loss of MVR 33.72 million.

Meanwhile, the Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), a company which in previous years had been in robust financial health, ended the first quarter with a loss of MVR 19.66 million – a higher loss than in the last quarter of last year, when the company ended up making a loss of MVR 3.8 million.

The latest weekly fiscal report released by the Finance Ministry last week shows the state has spent MVR 1.9 billion on SOEs. This marks an excess of MVR 1.6 billion from the 2025 budget allocation of MVR 378.3 million.

The alarming numbers come amid public concern regarding SOEs, primarily regarding the high state spending on loss-makers, the prevalence of corruption, and the political favoritism, nepotism and cronyism in the hiring process.