Malé, Maldives – Ministry of Economic Development has announced that the ministry would take action against foreign investors who do not abide by the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy of Maldives.
In an announcement released by Economic Ministry stated that the Ministry has been receiving complaints of foreign parties soliciting and engaging in activities that have not been approved under the Law No. 25/79 (Law on Foreign Investment).
Ministry stated that foreign investment approval was given to the respective investor and that it authorizes the investor to engage only in the business activities/projects approved and stated in the Foreign Investment Agreement, within the period given for them to invest in the agreement.
Ministry further added that if any foreign entity engages in any business activity without obtaining the approval or beyond the approved business activities, the party would be in violation of Section 1, subsection (b) of the Law No. 25/79 (Law on Foreign Investment), and Section 6 of the Law No. 18/2014 (Business Registration Act).
Ministry also added that the foreign entity in violation of the FDI Policy will be penalized under Section 24 of the Law No. 18/2014 (Business Registration Act) and that the ministry would also take action against the party who has engaged the foreign entity in the unapproved business activity or project.
In addition to this, Economic Ministry also stated that if any registered foreign investor is in violation of the laws of the Maldives, that the ministry would issue an enforcement notice to the foreign investor, prescribing a compliance period and that in the event the foreign investor fails to comply in accordance with the ministry’s enforcement notice, the ministry would request to suspend the business and terminate the Foreign Investment Agreement.
Economic Ministry further added that if an existing foreign investment wants to carry out any new business activity or project that is not approved and not included in the Foreign Investment Agreement, that it was mandatory for the respective entity to seek approval from the Ministry prior to engaging in the business activity or project.
In addition to this, if an existing foreign investor wishes to partake in projects availed by the government, State Owned Enterprises, or private sector firms, the foreign investor is required to seek prior approval from the Ministry.
Ministry had stated that if any foreign entity is engaging in any business activity or project that have not been approved, the entity will be blacklisted, and details of the entity will be published on the Ministry’s website. According to the information released by the Economic Ministry, there are a total of 234 registered Foreign Investments currently in Maldives.
