Industry Article

Amana Takaful Maldives has announced the declaration of dividends for the year 2022. During the 12th Annual General Meeting held on the 22nd May 2023, shareholders approved a final dividend of 15% on the face value of each share. The total amount of this dividend is MVR3.95 million (US$255,819). When combined with the interim dividend paid in November 2022, the total dividend for the year 2022 amounts to MVR6.58 million (US$426,150). The books for dividend distribution were closed on the 10th May 2023, and only shareholders registered on or before that date are eligible to receive the dividends. According to Section 55(a)(4) of the Income Tax Act (Law No 25/2019), the company is required to deduct 10% from the dividends paid to non-resident shareholders. If it is unclear whether a shareholder is a resident in the Maldives, they will be treated as a non-resident, and the company will deduct a non-resident withholding tax of 10% from their dividend payment. Shareholders are encouraged to update their residency status with the company. On the 13th May 2023, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Amana Takaful Maldives signed an MoU to establish a collaborative partnership.

Islamic social finance has gained significant attention in recent times as an alternative financing approach to conventional methods, with the aim of achieving the UN SDGs. While the formal institutionalization of Islamic social finance is limited to a few countries where Islam is recognized as the official religion, the practice has been deeply rooted in Islamic societies for centuries. The Maldives, a country with a 100% Muslim population, has a long-standing tradition of various forms of Islamic social finance, including zakat, waqf and sadaqah. One notable initiative that showcases the practice of Islamic social finance in the Maldives is the 'Nourish Together: The Commoners' Food Project Powered by STO'. This project, organized by The Commoners, a group of concerned individuals, aimed to provide essential sustenance to individuals and families facing food insecurity in the Hiya Flats, a residential area located in Hulhumale', an artificial island in the Maldives.

Participants in crop takaful would be compensated for any loss or damage suffered due to any of the aforementioned calamities. Crops covered in this takaful product include papayas, brinjals, butternuts, watermelons, pumpkins, cucumbers, melons and bananas. The sum covered will be automatically calculated based on the selected crop type and harvesting land size. Apart from crop takaful, takaful products offered by Ayady Takaful include comprehensive motor takaful, third-party motor takaful, expatriate plus takaful, health takaful, travel takaful, hull takaful and hajj and umrah takaful. Ayady Takaful also offers both general and family takaful products. Currently, there are five insurance companies registered with the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) in the Maldives and among them the only fully-fledged takaful company is Amana Takaful Maldives; Allied Insurance Company of the Maldives is the only company with an Islamic window to offer takaful under its brand name, Ayady Takaful.

In the financial report of Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) published for Q1 2023, it is reported that during the said quarter, total assets of the bank reached MVR6.59 billion (US$426.25 million), recording a growth of 6.36% compared with Q4 2022 while customer deposits grew by 6.97% to MVR5.5 billion (US$355.74 million) from MVR5.14 billion (US$332.46 million) recorded for the previous quarter. MIB�s financing portfolio continued to yield a positive growth trajectory with MVR3.01 billion (US$194.69 million) recorded as net receivables from financing activities at the end of Q1 2023 compared with MVR2.82 billion (US$182.4 million) for Q4 2022. The total revenue figure continued its upward trend to reach MVR103.64 million (US$6.7 million) by the end of the quarter, compared with MVR96.21 million (US$6.22 million) recorded for Q4 2022, a growth of 7.72%. Net profit for the quarter was recorded at MVR42.3 million (US$2.74 million), compared with MVR20.94 million (US$1.35 million) recorded for Q4 2022. At the end of Q1 2023, earnings per share improved to MVR1.88 (US$0.12) from MVR0.93 (US$0.06) recorded for Q4 2022 while net assets per share grew to MVR36.69 (US$2.37) from MVR34.81 (US$2.25) in the same period.

In the Q4 report of 2022, it is stated that Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB)'s total assets reached the MVR6 billion (US$388.23 million) mark. According to the report, this is a growth of 8.93% compared with Q3 2022 and customer deposits also grew by 10.49% to MVR5.11 billion (US$330.64 million) from MVR4.62 billion (US$298.94 million) in the earlier quarter. Total revenue for the quarter was the highest recorded during the year as it stood at MVR92.01 million (US$5.95 million) compared with MVR84.11 million (US$5.44 million) in the previous quarter, a growth of 9.39%. Although the net profit for the quarter dropped to MVR21.57 million (US$1.4 million) from MVR36.86 million (US$2.39 million) registered for Q3 2022, the bank was able to finish the year with the highest net profit recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic. The position of the net asset per share also improved to MVR33.2 (US$2.15) from MVR32.24 (US$2.09) recorded during Q3.

An abstract is written in Arabic.