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The Chinese government has donated 500,000 U.S. dollars to the Maldives government to speed up repairs in a desalination plant and restore water to the capital. The donation was done after the Maldives government announced an estimated 20 million U.S. dollars would be needed to repair the plant that was damaged in a fire on Thursday resulting in the capital's population of 130,000 being without water for four days. The country hopes to also get monetary aid from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and other Arab governments. Private donors have also chipped in with an anonymous 1 million U. S. dollars coming in from a Saudi businessman.

The scope and potential of Islamic finance, insurance, and banking in the Maldives is yet to be fully explored, suggests Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Dr Azeema Adam. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the first ‘Maldives Islamic Banking and Finance Industry Conference’, Dr Azeema said Islamic finance provides a springboard to generate innovative ideas to cater to the financing needs of the domestic economy. Islamic banking and capital market services were introduced in the Maldives in 2011, with the opening of the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB). However, providing banking services to all inhabited islands might not always be profitable Azeema continued, requiring innovation within the Maldivian financial sector.

The first Islamic bank in the Maldives opened today, promising Shariah-compliant banking services. President Mohamed Nasheed attended the opening ceremony this morning.
CEO of Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) Harith Harun said the bank entered the market with capital of Rf150 million (US$12 million), and would operate current, savings and term deposit accounts structured so as to avoid the payment of interest.

The Maldivian subsidiary of Sri Lanka's Amana Takaful Insuracne Plc, Amana Takaful (Maldives) Private Limited has applied to be listed in the Maldives Stock Exchange (MSE).
Recently a subsidiary company of Amana Group, Amana Bank Limited obtained the license from the Sri Lanka's Central Bank and the Finance Ministry to conduct commercial banking in the country.
The Maldives Stock Exchange first established on 14th April 2002 was operated by the Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) as part of the regulator.

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said it was committed to ensure that its plan to set up an Islamic bank in the Maldives in partnership with the government of the island would materialize soon.

Khaleej Times reported on 26 March about The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), an arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
 
According to Khaled M. Al Aboodi, the new CEO, international projects include the feasibility study to establish an Islamic bank in Maldives and further studies regarding sukuk issues of banks in Mauritania and Indonesia. ICD has also initiated an Islamic investment bank in Azerbaijan.
 
In Saudi-Arabia ICD has established a real estate company called Ewaan, which is capitalised at SR4 00 mn. The company plans to build housing complexes for the low and middle-income people.
 
ICD provides a variety of financial products to its clients such as direct financing through equity participation, term-financing, line of financing to commercial banks and national development financing institutions (NDFIs), short-term corporate finance, asset management, structured financing, and advisory services to private and public companies.
 
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