Real GDP growth expected to accelerate to 4.5 percent in 2014: MMA

Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has said that based on the latest estimates from the Department of National Planning, real GDP growth is expected to accelerate to 4.5 percent in 2014.

This was stated in the Economic Review by the authority published yesterday (10 February).

MMA said that the 4.5 percent real GDP growth will be driven mainly by the tourism sector.

The report states that the budget defcit for the year is projected to be 3.2 percent of GDP, while the latest balance of payments forecasts estimate the current account defcit to widen to US$562.5 million, which is 22 percent of GDP in 2014.

MMA said that total tourist arrivals rose by 17 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, mainly due to the large increase in tourist arrivals from China coupled with a slight growth in arrivals from Europe.

Fish exports also increased both in volume and earnings from January to November 2013 compared with the corresponding period in 2012. The volume of fish exports increased by 48 percent while earnings on fish exports increased by 14 percent.