Maldives to allow foreigners to own land for the first time

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.

Friday 24 Jul 2015 - 18:15 Makkah mean time-8-10-1436 Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen (File image) Malé, Maldives (IINA) - Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen approved on Thursday a law allowing foreign ownership of land for the first time, triggering concern over a possible landgrab by China in the strategic Indian Ocean region, Astro Awan news agency reported. Dozens of foreign companies already run luxury resorts on islands that they lease from the government of the honeymoon islands for a maximum of 99 years. The new law would allow foreigners who invest more than US$1 billion (RM$3.78 billion) to own land in perpetuity, provided 70 percent of it is reclaimed from the Indian Ocean. "President Yameen on Thursday ratified the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives," his office said in a brief statement referring to the law. Lawmakers voted on Wednesday for the bill, which easily passed after a brief debate, with 70 members in favour and 14 against, the assembly said in a statement. But opposition MPs expressed fears that the move could clear the way for the Chinese to set up bases in the Maldives, which straddle vital international east-west shipping routes. Vice-president Ahmed Adeeb rejected the concerns, saying the move was aimed at attracting foreign investment. The Maldives is seeking aid and investment from Beijing to build a 1.4 kilometre (0.87 mile) bridge linking Male with the nearby airport island. SM/IINA