GDP Growth projection to accelerate to 10.5 percent in 2015

Maldives Monetary Authority has estimated that real GDP growth would accelerate to 10.5 percent in 2015.

According to revised estimates of the National Bureau of Statistics, real GDP growth has been projected to accelerate to 10.5 percent in 2015, up from 8.5 percent in 2014. This increase is driven mainly by the strong growth of the tourism and construction sectors.

When individual sectors specified in the Monthly Economic Review are considered, total tourist arrival has declined by 5 percent in November 2014 when compared to November 2013 and 19 percent compared to the previous month. The monthly and annual decrease in arrivals was largely contributed by the decline in arrivals from Asia and Europe.

Fish purchases in November 2014 has declined by 50 percent when compared with November 2013. However, compared to October 2014, fish purchases rose by 14 percent in November 2014.

As far as Global Prices are considered, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commodity price index has fallen in both monthly and annual terms in November 2014, by 6 percent and 17 percent , respectively. The monthly decline was mainly due to the fall in petroleum prices while the annual decline was attributed to the fall in petroleum, metal and food prices.

According to the monthly government revenue and expenditure data for September 2014, total revenue (excluding grants) amounted to MVR 1.0 billion during the month, which is a nine percent increase when compared to September 2013. The increase in total revenue during September 2014 was largely due to a 13 percent growth in tax revenue and a 25 percent increase in non-tax revenue during the review period.

Gross international reserves stood at US$547.0 million at the end of November 2014, which is one percent less when compared to October 2014. Compared to November 2013, gross reserves recorded a growth of 64 percent, reflecting the increase in foreign currency transfers by commercial banks during the period.