PANews reported on May 5 that according to the Financial Times, the Maldives government signed an agreement with Dubai-based family office MBS Global Investments on May 4 to invest US$9 billion to jointly develop a large-scale cryptocurrency and blockchain center in the capital Male.
The move aims to attract foreign direct investment into the blockchain and Web3 technology fields, help the Maldives get rid of its economic dependence on tourism and fisheries, diversify its income, and ease national debt. The project plans to build a facility called the Maldives International Financial Center, covering an area of about 830,000 square meters. It is expected to take five years to complete and provide about 16,000 jobs.
It is worth noting that the investment of US$9 billion in the project exceeds the annual GDP of the Maldives, which is about US$7 billion. At the same time, the Maldives' ambition to become a global fintech center will also face fierce competition from mature international financial centers such as Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.
