the country. the maldivian economy continues its rapid transformation, undoubtedly the financial sector plays an important role in the development activities of the country, and to support this transformation, we need financial sector to be more efficient, competitive and dynamic ; with abundant opportunities that are accessible to individuals as well as new investments. your excellency, ladies and gentlemen in a small economy like the maldives, access to finance is the key foundation on which the country can prosper. therefore, introduction of innovative financial products based on electronic financial transactions is crucial. adoption of various financial technologies would be the enabler 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches of choice that would facilitate transparent, cost effective and efficient transactions and enhance financial inclusion in the maldives – especially given its unique demography and geography. however, one has to be careful of the fact that financial sector can be especially vulnerable to either too little or too much exposure to technology – due to these inherent risks, we need parallel development of human resource and infrastructure along with regulations and methods for evaluation. institutions need to develop, retain and tap into promising talents within the sector. these talents would be able to support the required change or may be agents of change. however uncertain the future maybe, change is certain – being prepared will make institutions more adaptive to accepting any future opportunity that may arise in this rapidly changing financial landscape of the maldives. let me assure you that mma will continue to work towards building the required stability, the public confidence in the financial sector through effective regulation and supervision and the development of a modern, robust, reliable and dependable financial infrastructure for the country. a regulatory framework that is hinged on maintaining the stability of the financial sector is vital to increase public confidence and trust ; also definitive timely actions to abate the untoward effects of any market reaction to speculation. mma is working on further strengthening the legislative framework of the financial sector – regulating the corporate governance of the financial sector, financial consumer protection, establishing a secured transaction registry, broadening the services of the credit information bureau are important projects that require the participation and support of all stakeholders. especially from contributors like the sbi. excellency, ladies and gentlemen! i would like to once again thank your excellency president ibrahim mohamed solih for gracing this ceremony and ; congratulate and thank sbi for their immense contributions made towards the development of the maldivian economy and the financial sector. i wish sbi every success in their operations in the maldives and thank the management and staff

ali hashim : current state of the maldives ’ economy and outlook remarks by mr ali hashim, governor of the maldives monetary authority, at the press conference, male, 22 august 2021. * * * a very good afternoon! let me first and foremost, warmly welcome you to the maldives monetary authority and thank you sincerely for accepting our invitation by being here today. it always gives me great pleasure to engage and interact with the hard - working journalists of the maldivian press and media community. i would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about the current state of the economy, our outlook going forward, and the work being undertaken by the mma to ensure that the economic recovery stays on track. as we all know, the maldives is one of the most affected economies due to the covid - 19 pandemic, with an estimated gdp contraction of 32 % in 2020. nearly all major economic sectors, including tourism, construction, transport, communication, and the trade sector recorded negative growth numbers due to the dampening effects of the lockdown and concurrent border closure during the 2nd quarter of 2020. the bank intervened at the beginning of the crisis, actively providing liquidity support to the banking sector to mitigate adverse economic impacts. with the strong tourism sector recovery in recent months, the foreign exchange ( fx ) liquidity position of the banking sector has since improved. in order to ensure an adequate fx buffer, we have established and continue to maintain bilateral liquidity arrangements with other central banks. despite the very trying and challenging circumstances we faced in 2020, the maldives is also among the quickest to rebound from the crisis. the tourism sector, which accounts for an estimated 26 % of real output, has significantly exceeded expectations when compared to initial forecasts for the first half of 2021. this recovery is expected to continue over the medium - term and support the recovery of other economic sectors. other important sectors of the economy continue to rebound as well. the quarterly national accounts for the 1st quarter of 2021, indicates a quarterly gdp growth rate of 34. 4 % compared to the preceding 4th quarter of 2020. most major economic sectors registered positive growth numbers. while we anticipate a slight dampening in the growth prospects for the 2nd quarter of 2021 due to the second lockdown and travel restrictions imposed earlier this year, the revival of economic activity in general and the tourism sector in particular since then, gives us cause for optimism for 2021 as a whole. july 2021 was a particularly good month for tourism with