Dubai's MBS Global Investments to Build $9 Billion Financial Hub in the Maldives: Report

The Maldives is preparing for a crypto-focused overhaul, funded by a Dubai-based family office called MBS Global Investments, according to a report. Moosa Zameer, the finance minister of the Maldives, divulged some details on the development during a video interview with the Financial Times on Sunday. As per the report, MBS Global Investments is set to allocate $8.8 billion (roughly Rs. 74,164 crore) over a period of five years to develop the Web3 ecosystem in the Maldives, the smallest country in Asia, that attracts thousands of tourists from around the world.

According to Zameer, the Maldives is now concentrating on growing beyond its reputation of being a tourism and fisheries hub. By establishing itself as a "financial freezone for blockchain and digital assets", the country expects to triple its GDP within four years. At present, the GDP of Maldives is over $7 billion (roughly Rs. 63,002 crore), according to data by the IMF.

Over the weekend, the Maldives government reportedly signed a joint venture with MBS Global Investments. The creation of the "Maldives International Financial Centre" is the focus point of the Maldives' crypto-related master plan, as per the Financial Times report. This hub will be constructed over an area of 830,000 square metres and will host 6,500 people.

The centre is expected to generate large number of employment opportunities and become the hub for businesses from the $3 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,52,69,541 crore) crypto industry, Zameer hopes.

With this, MBS Global Investments joins other institutional investors from the UAE to pledge a big funding for the expansion of Web3 on an international level. The family office of Sheikh Nayef bin Eid Al Thani owns MBS Global Investments, and it plans to include other family offices and large-scale investors to finance its Maldives plans.

Nadeem Hussain, the chief executive of MBS Global Investments told the publication that funding for the project could be raised through equity and debt. He also disclosed that up to $5 billion (roughly Rs. 42,123 crore) for the project has already been secured, as per the report.

In December last year, Moody's stated that the country's debt is projected to mount to $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,415 crore) by 2026. Recently, India helped Maldives with $760 million (roughly Rs. 6,396 crore) to escape a potential sovereign default.

As of now, Maldives has relied heavily on its tourism and fisheries industries to generate revenue. Owing to the post-COVID-19 economic changes globally, the country has found itself in challenging financial situations, and the upcoming financial hub could reportedly help the region develop alternate sources of revenue aside from tourism and fisheries.