Monetary Policy Scrutiny: Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) officials briefed Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee in a closed-door session on new monetary measures, including a plan to lift the minimum reserve requirement from 10.5% to 11% in September and gradually to 13% by year-end. FX Pressure & Reserves: Official reserves fell to USD 638.03m at end-July (down from USD 1.33bn in March) as large external debt repayments were settled in April, while the dollar shortage keeps pushing banks to struggle at official rates and the black-market rate stays above MVR 20. Tourism Tax Push: A GST amendment would require offshore booking platforms and foreign tour operators to pay GST in the Maldives, with government estimates pointing to over MVR 1.6bn annually; MP Mohamed Abbas warned tourism shouldn’t be “milked dry” as occupancy has reportedly slid sharply. Digital Payments Boost: Maldives and India’s UPI are now connected via Favara, enabling easier QR payments for Indian tourists and helping smaller island businesses accept foreign digital payments. Tech Cost Drop: Synetecs’ Thaana AI update claims 35x more usage for the same cost, adds Dhivehi/English support, and introduces Bank of Maldives card tokenisation for recurring payments. Russia Market Outreach: A high-level Maldives tourism mission heads to Russia (Aug 17–21) to strengthen air connectivity and travel trade ties, with Russia remaining a top source market. Tokenised Assets Summit: Visit Maldives will host the inaugural Digital Ownership Summit on 12 Dec 2026, focused on tokenised real-world assets and how they could support tourism and investment under Maldives 2.0. Tourism Revenue Snapshot: MIRA says state revenue rose 8.73% to MVR 22.7bn in Jan–Jul, with TGST leading and dollar revenue topping USD 976m amid FX stress. World Travel Awards Partners: Visit Maldives named STO Energy as energy partner and Jalboot as transportation partner for WTA Asia, Oceania & Indian Ocean 2026.