Dubai firm invests $8.8billion in crypto in the Maldives

A Dubai-based firm has just invested $8.8 billion into the Maldives to build a crypto-focused financial hub. The deal announced this week, is coming from MBS Global Investments, a family office claiming to manage around $14 billion in assets. The project will be built in the capital, Malé, and will run for five years as the country aims to get out of its growing debt crisis.According to a recent statement from the Maldives finance minister Moosa Zameer, the country needs to take steps 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.Dubai firm launches financial center in MaléMBS Global Investments officially signed a joint venture agreement with the Maldives government on Sunday. The plan is to build the Maldives International Financial Centre, spanning across 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 also confirmed that the company has secured commitments worth between $4 billion and $5 billion. “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 use 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.Zameer mentioned that India and China have been integral development partners, nut the new MBS deal 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.The post Dubai firm invests $8.8billion in crypto in the Maldives first appeared on Coinfea.