Investing in Maldives

The Maldives Securities Act 2/2006 provides the legal basis for the local securities market. The Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) licenses intermediaries, supervises the market and handles investor-protection functions. The Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE) lists and trades securities, while the Maldives Securities Depository (MSD) records ownership, provides electronic book-entry custody and completes settlement. Government securities are issued through the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises, tax matters fall under the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), and foreign-investment matters are handled through the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and Invest Maldives. Available assets include shares in listed companies, listed debt and Sukuk, Treasury bills, Treasury bonds, investment funds and certain real assets. Treasury bills are short-term government securities with maturities of 1, 3, 6 or 12 months. Treasury bonds normally have medium- or long-term maturities and may be placed privately. Sukuk are Islamic investment certificates; related structures in the Maldives include Murabahah, Mudharabah, Wakala and Sukuk Murabahah. Registered funds include money-market and savings funds, equity funds, growth funds, real-estate or hospitality funds, bond sinking funds and income funds. MRPS provides a retirement-oriented investment pathway. Foreign Strata Asset Investments are a separate real-asset category with current entry requirements commonly starting at USD 250,000 and additional conditions. A recent market snapshot records nine listed companies, about 43,162 investors and market capitalization of approximately MVR 44.0 billion. An MSE trading snapshot records about MVR 0.689 billion in equity trades and MVR 2.422 billion in debt trades, while CMDA reported MVR 23,437,407.10 in securities traded across 3,619 trades in 2025. These figures are market snapshots rather than guaranteed current levels. Government pages in September 2026 indicated Treasury-bill rates of 3.50% for one month, 3.87% for three months, 4.23% for six months and 4.60% for twelve months; rates, availability and returns can change. A resident normally opens an MSD securities account and places orders through a CMDA-licensed dealer, broker or other trading member. An individual generally provides a national identity card or passport and proof of address. Listed holdings are kept electronically, and MSE settlement uses delivery-versus-payment on T+1, meaning settlement normally occurs one business day after the trade. Infinity provides online access to account and holding services. A standard individual MSD account has no recurring annual maintenance fee under the stated schedule, but account, transfer, statement and corporate-action services can carry separate charges. Public offerings require a CMDA-approved prospectus. InformInvestor provides issuer information and public disclosures. Secondary-market orders go into MSE equity or debt order books through a licensed intermediary. Liquidity can be limited, so an order may receive only partial execution or face a wide spread. Off-market transfers follow CMDA, MSD and issuer procedures. Securities accounts do not guarantee capital, and the investor remains exposed to price, issuer, interest-rate and default risk. Foreign investors must follow CMDA Securities Market Regulation for Foreign Investors, including foreign-investor registration and use of a foreign-investor agent or regulated intermediary. A foreign investor may hold no more than 10% of a single company’s equity, including indirect, nominee and ultimate-beneficial-owner exposure. The research basis identifies no stated equivalent cap for debt, bonds, Sukuk or non-equity fund units, but current eligibility must be checked before execution. Authorized Maldivian securities can generally be acquired under the securities rules without using the separate general business-registration pathway. Foreign business activity and real-asset investment follow the Foreign Investment Act 11/2024 and a separate Ministry approval or registration process; an approved applicant pays an administrative fee of USD 5,000 under the stated framework. MSE and CMDA secondary-market fees use a schedule effective from 1 January 2024. The maximum total fee is 4% for transactions of MVR 1 to 50,000, 3% for MVR 50,001 to 100,000 and 2% for MVR 100,001 to 10 million. Larger brackets have maximum rates ranging from 1.8% to 1%, depending on transaction size. The broker, MSE and CMDA portions can be allocated between buyer and seller under the applicable schedule. MSD custody, transfer, statement and corporate-action charges must be checked separately. Tax depends on residence, instrument and transaction. Dividends from resident local companies are exempt for residents under the stated Income Tax Act treatment, and interest on listed-company securities and listed or admitted debt securities is also exempt under that treatment. Non-resident withholding on dividends and interest is commonly 10%, subject to any applicable treaty or exemption. Capital gains withholding tax, often abbreviated CGWT, is 10% of the gross payment for defined disposals, including shares or interests in Maldives-resident entities and interests linked to Maldives immovable property. MIRA should confirm the treatment for the specific investor and transaction. Portfolio risk is concentrated because the listed universe is small. Concentration can arise in tourism, banks, state-owned enterprises, sovereign debt, the bank-sovereign relationship, MVR or USD exposure and companies dependent on imports. Other risks include high public debt, refinancing and liquidity pressure, inflation, foreign-exchange shortages, climate, sea-level and flood exposure, coral damage, custody failures, cybercrime, fraud and changes to regulation or tax. IMF and World Bank assessments have flagged debt and liquidity distress, foreign-exchange pressure, tourism sensitivity, downside growth risk and climate exposure. A compensation fund addresses qualifying losses caused by defalcation or fraud by certain licensed dealers, advisers or exchange personnel; it does not cover ordinary market losses or an issuer or sovereign default. A sensible comparison uses the issuer’s financial statements and disclosures, dividend or coupon terms, maturity, credit and sovereign exposure, Shariah status, liquidity, tourism concentration, MVR/USD exposure, fees and tax. Match the maturity and liquidity of an investment to the date when the money is needed, keep a cash reserve and avoid treating a high stated rate as a guarantee. The local research does not establish a general licensed retail pathway for global or digital-asset investing. A CMDA virtual-asset-service-provider regulation has been evidenced only as a public-consultation draft, so no established licensed retail crypto pathway should be assumed.