280,000 Migrant Workers Driving Outflow Spurs Single-Currency Call

With roughly 280,000 foreign workers in the Maldives converting local earnings into dollars to transfer abroad every month, Inner Maldives CEO Mohamed Firaq has urged an immediate transition to a single-currency economy. Speaking on the Economic Ministry's "Ightisaadhuge Dhefaraiy" program, Firaq argued that the country's dual-currency model is an outdated system causing severe market imbalances, demanding a complete overhaul of current monetary policies to plug systemic capital flight.

Transition to Single-Currency Economy Urged to Curb Capital Outflow Driven by 280,000 Foreign Workers

The Maldives must urgently overhaul its monetary policy and migrate to a single-currency economy to eliminate deep structural imbalances caused by its current dual-currency framework, Inner Maldives Founder and CEO Mohamed Firaq has urged.

Speaking on "Ightisaadhuge Dhefaraiy," an economic forum organized by the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Firaq described the nation's reliance on both the US dollar and Maldivian Rufiyaa as an outdated system that fails to support a modernizing national economy.

Highlighting a primary driver of domestic dollar shortages, Firaq pointed out that approximately 280,000 foreign nationals currently working in the Maldives receive wages and generate earnings locally that are routinely converted into US dollars every month before being remitted overseas. This constant outflow, combined with a resort sector operating entirely in foreign currency while everyday domestic transactions use Maldivian Rufiyaa, creates a significant economic distortion.

Firaq emphasized that migrating to a single-currency economy would not mean enacting laws that threaten foreign investors. Instead, it represents a necessary maturation of the financial ecosystem to ensure capital remains within the domestic economy under regulated frameworks.

Addressing related issues in the financial sector, Firaq noted that daily cash withdrawals from automated teller machines (ATMs) across the country extend beyond normal consumer needs, involving multiple informal links through which capital leaks out of the formal economy. He added that unregulated foreign-operated businesses have grown beyond local oversight, making it imperative to bring all financial transactions into a unified, traceable banking system.

Concluding his remarks, Firaq asserted that national legal and regulatory frameworks have failed to keep pace with the expansion of the Maldivian economy. He called for a comprehensive overhaul of existing monetary policies to align with modern economic reality and safeguard national financial stability.