Business

China welcomes foreign companies to enter the Chinese market

Published

1 year ago

02/03/2023

China welcomes foreign companies, including those from the United States, to enter its market, share development dividends and jointly promote the growth of the global economy, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The remarks were made by the ministry’s spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular press briefing in response to media reports that many American enterprises plan to expand their business in China and the American Chamber of Commerce in South China’s latest survey, which shows that over 90 percent of respondent companies consider China one of the most important investment destinations.

Mao said the facts have proved that China is a promising market for foreign investment.

She said the one hand, it is a result of China’s huge market and complete industrial and supply chain networks, and on the other, it is due to China’s effort to firmly advance high-level opening-up, support the multilateral trading system and continuously provide foreign investors with a more market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment.

She noted that in January, China’s paid-in foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 127.69 billion yuan (nearly $19 billion), growing by 14.5 percent year on year. These numbers signal a good start for foreign investment in China this year.

She said foreign investors, including American companies, have been optimistic about China’s market and plan to increase their investments in China, and data from the U.S. Commerce Department shows that goods trade between the United States and China hit a record $690.6 billion in 2022.

All of these indicate that China-U.S. trade and investment cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win, she said, stressing that decoupling is detrimental, unpopular and unfeasible.

“No matter how the international landscape may evolve, we will not change its resolve to open wider at a high standard,” said Mao. “We will not change our determination to share development opportunities with the rest of the world.”

(Cover: A view of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Beijing, China. /CFP)

Source(s): CGTN

Business

BML announce new MVR 1-mil loan facility without collateral

Published

9 hours ago

06/05/2024

The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Monday officially announced the launch of two new home loan products; the Home Build Loan and the Home Equity Loan.

The new loan facilities have been introduced to cater to the growing customer needs for home construction and renovation, BML said.

The new Home Build Loan has been designed to allow individuals to borrow up to MVR 1 million without any additional security. The facility provides a repayment period of over 15 years, which is ideal in renovation projects or larger home construction projects across the Maldives.

The bank also, for the first time, has introduced Home Equity Loan for existing Home Loan and Financing customers. This new facility enables these customers to borrow up to the repaid amount, or the usable equity, of the primary loans. The Home Equity Loan is offered for borrowings of more than MVR 50,000 with a repayment period of 20 years.

Moosa Nimal, the Director of Retail and SME Banking said, “These products are designed to make access to finance easier for our customers across the country.”

“The new Home Build Loan does not require any additional security and will allow customers to build or renovate homes at the most competitive market rates. Our Home Equity Loan offers our existing home financing customers to access usable equity available on their property, at a low rate of just 10%.”

The newly introduced loan facilities are available for BML Islamic customers as well.

Source(s): sun.mv

Business

MIB signs an agreement to expedite business registration process

Published

2 days ago

04/05/2024

Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) has entered an agreement, aiming to expedite and streamline the registering services for businesses. The agreement was signed to enhance the quality of services, ensure information security, and facilitate an efficient registration process.

Following the signing of the agreement, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed disclosed that customer data can be readily verified with the assistance of the ministry’s Application Programming Interface (API). The minister stated that this would enable businesses to set up bank accounts in a convenient manner. Regarding this, Registrar of Companies Mariyam Waheed underscored the pivotal role API will play in authenticating businesses to customers and expediting in the verification process.

This initiative will significantly benefit individuals accessing online services from the ministry, fostering economic development within the nation. This marks the first agreement of its kind signed by the ministry.

Business

MTCC reports staggering 82.9% net profit drop

Published

5 days ago

01/05/2024

Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has reported a staggering 82.9% net profit decline for Q1-2024.

According to MTCC, it earned just MVR 5.2 million in net profit for the review quarter, which came down from MVR 30.8 million in the last quarter of 2023.

The company’s revenue for Q1-2024 stood at MVR 664.4 million, which is a 15.8% drop from MVR 789.2 million generated in the Q4-2023.

Moreover, MTCC reported a whopping 94.5% decline in its Gross Profit for the review quarter, registering MVR 2.5 million in Q1-2024 compared to MVR 44.3 million.

The operating profit for the review quarter stood at MVR 41.8 million, which is a 26% drop from MVR 56.5 million in Q3-2023.

The net asset value per share dropped from MVR 227.95 in Q4-2023 to MVR 226.98 to Q1-2024, while earnings per share saw a notable decline from MVR 3.83 in the preceding quarter to just MVR 0.65 in the review quarter.

Source(s): sun.mv