The Maldives government has signed a landmark joint venture agreement with MBS Global Investments to establish the Maldives International Financial Centre (MIFC), a USD 8.8 billion financial free zone in Malé, positioning the capital city as a regional hub for finance, innovation, and global business. The agreement marks one of the most ambitious diversification efforts in the country’s economic history.
The development is designed as a master-planned city powered entirely by renewable energy, with the government projecting the centre to generate over USD 1 billion in annual revenue by its fifth year of operation. The centre is expected to have a substantial impact on GDP within the first four years and create thousands of jobs across finance, law, education, tourism, and tech sectors.
The signing ceremony, held at Kurumba Maldives Resort, was attended by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and Sheikh Nayef bin Eid Al Thani, the Qatari royal and representative of MBS Global Investments. Minister of Finance and Planning Moosa Zameer signed the agreement on behalf of the government, alongside Marwan Alhajeri for MBS Global Investments.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Muizzu framed the MIFC as a legacy-defining project for the Maldives. He described it as a “launchpad” to achieve the country’s ambition of becoming a developed nation by 2040. The President said the Maldives was not interested in copying traditional models of development but intended to set a new global benchmark in finance that is digital-first, sustainable, borderless, and inclusive.
He added that the project represents a broader national vision, one that repositions the Maldives from a small island destination to a smart island nation at the epicentre of the Indian Ocean’s digital and economic transformation. The President also stated that the MIFC would uplift communities, create opportunities for future generations, and redefine how island nations contribute to global change.
Minister Zameer echoed this sentiment, calling the financial centre a “momentous” shift in national policy. He said it would diversify the economy beyond tourism, attract visionary entrepreneurs and global businesses, and offer skilled Maldivians currently working overseas the opportunity to return home and contribute to a new economic model.
The development will offer investor-friendly incentives including no corporate tax, no inheritance tax, no residency requirements, and ownership guarantees under the Maldivian Constitution. These conditions are designed to appeal to international financial institutions, offshore banking providers, fintech companies, and digital nomads. Regulations will also be introduced to support digital assets and green finance.
The project site spans 780,000 square metres and is master-planned by Italian architect Gianni Ranaulo. It will include residential and office towers, hotels, international schools, retail outlets, green spaces, a mosque, and an oceanographic museum. The site will accommodate more than 6,500 residents with an estimated daily footfall of 35,000.
A convention centre with capacity for 3,500 people will serve as the anchor of the development, hosting global conferences, cultural events, and innovation-focused hackathons. The upper level of the city will be car-free, with logistics and transport infrastructure placed underground to preserve a walkable, human-centred urban layout.
Nadeem Hussain, CEO of MBS Global Investments, described the MIFC as the next evolution in financial innovation, stating that the development would advance the global financial ecosystem by two decades.
Construction is expected to be completed by 2030, with the government projecting a transformative economic footprint in the years ahead. The project is being positioned not just as a domestic initiative but as a global model for how small island nations can combine sustainability, finance, and future-focused urban planning to redefine their role in the world economy.
