Swire Group is a highly diversified global conglomerate with its parent company being John Swire & Sons Limited that holds controlling stakes in a range of businesses trading in the UK, USA, Australia, Papua New Guinea, East and West Africa, and across Southeast Asia. The Group's businesses are arranged into groups: property, aviation, beverages and food chain, marine services, and trading and industrial.
Tourism is the largest economic industry in the Maldives, as it plays an important role in earning foreign exchange revenues and employing 25,000 people in the tertiary sector of the country. The archipelago of the Maldives is the main source of attraction to many tourists visiting the island country. Chinese entrepreneurs have been swiftly amassing assets connected to the tourism sector in the Maldives. Given that tourism is the primary economic driver in the Maldives, this trend is affording the Chinese substantial influence over the nation's economy.
Ibrahim Nasir Rannabandeyri Kilegefan, , commonly known as Ibrahim Nasir, was a Maldivian politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Maldives from 1957 to 1968 under the monarchy, and later the first President of the Second Republic of Maldives from 1968 to 1978. Nasir served two terms, then he decided to retire, even though the People's Majlis voted him in for a third term. Nasir adhered to the non-aligned ideology and was a staunch anti-imperialist. Nasir is remembered as an independence hero for guiding the Maldives to independence from the British Empire, he is also credited for establishing the tourism industry in the Maldives, as well as rapidly modernizing and developing the country and economy.
Industries in the Maldives center around fishing and tourism, with some overlap between the two with recreational fishing.
Trans Maldivian Airways (Pvt) Ltd. (TMA) is a private airline headquartered on the grounds of Velana International Airport in Malé, Maldives.
Ahmed Shafeeq Ibrahim Moosa, also known as Sappé, is a Maldivian editor-in-chief and politician who served as the first Envoy for Science and Technology to be appointed by the first democratically elected president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed. He was appointed to his position on 11 March 2009 and resigned from the Maldivian government on 9 February 2012, soon after President Nasheed's government was allegedly overthrown by President Mohammed Waheed Hassan two days earlier. Moosa is amongst those who campaigned for democracy and human rights which led to the end of the 30-year rule of Gayoom in November 2008. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of the news website Dhivehi Observer.
Kaafu Atoll is the code name given to an administrative division in the Republic of Maldives which consists of the geographical atolls of Kaashidhoo Island, Gaafaru, North Malé Atoll and South Malé Atoll. As the two Malé Atolls are the main islands of the administrative district, the entire Kaafu Atoll administrative division is officially named Malé Atoll or Malé Atolhu in the Dhivehi language.
The State Trading Organization Plc or STO is a public company with 81.63% of the shares owned by the Maldivian Government with the rest 18.37% being held by the public after the IPO a couple of years ago. The company is controlled by a board of directors headed by a Chairman.
Qasim Ibrahim, also known as Burumaa Qasim, is a Maldivian politician, business magnate and philanthropist. As the chairman and founder of the Villa Group, he is one of the country's wealthiest businessmen, with a net worth of around MVR 18 billion.
Hashoo Group is a group of companies headquartered in Karachi. It is active in hospitality, oil and gas sectors. It was founded in 1960.
Aitken Spence PLC is a Sri Lankan blue chip conglomerate with operations in South Asia, Middle East, Africa and Pacific. Listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange since 1983, it has major interests in hotels, travel, maritime services and logistics. The group also has a significant presence in printing, plantation, power generation, financial services, IT, Business Process Outsourcing/Knowledge Process Outsourcing sector, elevator agency services, garments, and property development.
Villa Air is a Maldivian airline launched on March 14, 2011.They operate to only 1 destination using 1 ATR Aircraft. It has its headquarters on the fifth floor of the Villa House in Malé. The airline is operated by Villa Air, a subsidiary company of Villa Group, and began operations on 1 October 2011. The company slogan is We fly you in style.
Villa International Airport Maamigili, also known as Villa-Maamigili Airport, is an airport in the Maldives. It is located on the island of Maamigili in Alif Dhaal Atoll.
Ibrahim Saleem is a local business expert in the Maldives. He commenced his career at the Office of the Prime Minister in 1967, from there on he has had an illustrious career spanning over 44 years, holding prominent posts, both in the public and private sector in Maldives.
Sonu Shivdasani is a British hotelier. He is the founder of the Soneva resort chain which operates luxury resorts in the Maldives and Thailand. He is also the founder and former CEO of Six Senses Resorts & Spas, which had locations throughout South East Asia and Europe, and was sold in 2012.
Soneva, formerly Soneva Resorts and Residences, is a resort chain founded in Maldives in 1995 by Sonu Shivdasani OBE and his wife Eva Malmström Shivdasani.
The Cyprea Group is one of the largest business entities in the Maldives. Cyprea Group is a private conglomerate which is amongst the largest private business in the Maldives with major operations in airline ticketing, inbound and outbound travel, cargo import and export, fish processing, courier service, fuel supply & bunkering service.
Amaya Resorts & Spas, trading as Hayleys Leisure PLC, is a Sri Lankan hospitality company. The company is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange on 11 March 1996 and Sri Lankan conglomerate, Hayleys owns a controlling stake of 61.66% of the company's stocks. In 2020, Amaya Resorts & Spas ranked 87th amongst the top 100 most valuable brands in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance.
Ceylon Hotels Corporation PLC, often called Ceylon Hotels, is a hospitality company in Sri Lanka. The company was incorporated through an Act of the Parliament of Ceylon in 1966. The company was listed as a public company in the following year. Ceylon Hotel Holdings, a subsidiary of Galle Face Hotels Group is the holding company of Ceylon Hotels Corporation. Ceylon Hotels' subsidiary, Kandy Hotels Company owns and operates the Queen's Hotel and the Hotel Suisse heritage hotels.
