A Dubai-based investment firm just dumped $8.8 billion into the Maldives to build a massive crypto-focused financial hub, more money than the entire country’s GDP.
The deal, announced this week, comes from MBS Global Investments, a family office that says it manages around $14 billion in assets. The five-year project will be built in the capital, Malé, and aims to pull the island nation out of a growing debt crisis.
The Maldives finance minister Moosa Zameer reportedly told the Financial Times that the country needs to “take the leap” and move away from its dependence on tourism and fisheries.
He said the country’s biggest problem is debt payments due within the next two years. “It’s something we see as a potential contributor to bring us out of certain difficulties that we are in,” Zameer said about the crypto investment.
MBS signs joint venture to launch financial center in Malé
MBS Global Investments officially signed a joint venture agreement with the Maldives government on Sunday. The plan is to build the Maldives International Financial Centre, which will cover 830,000 square meters, house 6,500 residents, and create 16,000 jobs. It will serve as a crypto financial zone aiming to triple the Maldives’ GDP within four years, and generate over $1 billion in revenue by the fifth year, according to the masterplan.
MBS chief executive Nadeem Hussain confirmed that commitments worth between $4 billion and $5 billion have already been secured. “We appreciated right from the offset what was involved in terms of funding and we’ve made the necessary alliances and brought in the necessary partners to ensure we have that,” Hussain said. “It is a large sum of money.”
The office is backed by Sheikh Nayef bin Eid Al Thani, a Qatari national, who will tap into a network of family offices and wealthy individuals to raise the rest of the funds. Hussain said the firm plans to use a mix of equity and debt to finance the buildout of the crypto hub.
This announcement comes just months after India gave the Maldives a $760 million bailout to help prevent a default. But the numbers are still ugly. Moody’s Ratings flagged major liquidity problems in December, pointing to external debt payments of around $600 million to $700 million due this year, and another $1 billion in 2026, including a $500 million sukuk, a debt instrument compliant with Islamic finance.
Zameer said that both India and China have been important “development partners,” but this new deal with MBS is different. “With MBS we are getting into business, it’s going to be a business which is totally different from the traditional models of borrowings that we do,” he said.
The country is now banking on its political stability, location, and access to major markets like India and the Gulf as advantages.
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