Investor residency program to differ MDP’s program, govt to generate USD 6 Bil in 5 years

The incumbent government assures its investor residency program for major investors will differ from the program launched by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)-led former government.

The cabinet held a press conference at the President’s Office after concluding their meeting on Sunday, where the provided details about the key decisions made at the meeting.

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) – one of the ruling coalition members – previously alleged the MDP-led former government was attempting to “sell the nation” when the latter introduced the corporate residency program. At Sunday’s press conference, a reporter questioned about this.

In response to this, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed said that the government’s corporate residency visa was introduced around 2014 before the MDP-led government assumed office in 2018, and included an eligibility criterium, mandating foreign investors to deposit USD 1 million in a Maldivian commercial bank or invest USD 50 million.

“Under that, when investors arrive in the Maldives through the corporate residence visa, the government authorities outline limitations, so their investment scope and involvement are not enhanced unlike anticipations,” Saeed said.

After this, the minimum depository requirement was reduced from USD 1 million to USD 250,000 to acquire the corporate residency visa at the 19^th Parliament Assembly during MDP’s government. Saeed said that the former government never provided details about these changes publicly.

Minister Saeed further said that the new investor residency program will be a collaborative effort with one out of the top five global companies that run and manage this program. Saeed however, did not disclose the name of the company.

Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusan, who gave further details on the new program said it would be more comprehensive compared to the corporate residency program. He also said that Maldives will look into the models of investor residency programs run in countries like Dubai or Malaysia where it had been major successes.

“At the initial scale, we forecast attracting 1,500 to 2,000 primary applicants, and 4,000 secondary applicants during the initial five-year window,” Ihusan added.

“We anticipate generating up to USD 6 million inclusive of indirect investments and a projected USD 1.1 billion in direct investments within these five years,” the minister added.

During the 19^th Parliament Assembly, the corporate residency visa’s minimum depository requirement’s reduction was viewed as an ill-intended move by MDP, which held supermajority back then.