Amana Takaful Maldives (Amana Takaful) has announced its interim dividend payment to its shareholders for the year 2017 based on its commendable performance. Amana Takaful reported a profit of MVR4.8 million (US$307,625) in the first seven months, ending July 2017, compared to a growth of 21% over the same period in 2016. In addition, gross written premiums worth MVR80 million (US$5.13 million) were recorded, showing a notable growth with higher volumes in the leading classes.

Microfinance is a new concept in the Maldives. In 2015, the first Islamic microfinance scheme was introduced under the name of "FaseyhaMadadhu" with assistance from Islamic Development Bank. The products developed under this scheme were unique as it was shaped by looking at local needs. This paper will discuss these products and the features of it. It is hard to find literature about the subject matter as this is a newly introduced scheme and the first-hand experience of the author in structuring and implementing the scheme has been relied extensively. It is anticipated that the outcome of this paper will pave the way for those jurisdictions that aim to introduce Islamic microfinance

An Islamic banking system employs different Shariah contracts to develop and offers products and services in different jurisdictions. One of such contracts is salam which is a forward sale contract. This study aims to examine the practice of salam as an instrument of Islamic banks financing and how technology can be used to enhance its application thereto. A qualitative approach is employed in this research where primary data sources on salam contract were examined, along with content analysis of relevant secondary data sources on the contract and how its practiced in Islamic banking. In furtherance of that practice, salam instrument can be leveraged on technology, mainly the blockchain. This would enhance its operation by bringing about automation, transparency, fair pricing, saving time and cost as well as enabling widespread access of Islamic bank financing to smaller enterprises to promote societal well-being. This research reveals that salam instruments cater for different clients' needs and enjoy patronage in many jurisdictions even though it is currently the least utilized contract in Islamic banks financing due to divergence of juristic views on its general permissibility. Also, salam is an exceptional contract for Islamic banks financing of agriculture and related enterprises among others. The research offers an insight for Islamic banks to leverage on technology in utilizing salam contract towards providing financing for variety of clients, particularly poor farmers. Similarly, jurisdictions not practicing salam stand to learn of the benefits of using salam to offer technologically innovative yet affordable Islamic banking products/services for variety of clients.

On the 24th April 2016, Abdulla Jihad, the minister of finance and treasury of the Republic of Maldives, visited the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, with a delegation on an official trip to seek technical assistance to develop the newly established Maldives Center for Islamic finance, an entity that was established with the objective of strategizing and promoting Maldives as the hub for Islamic finance and the halal industry in South Asia.

The importance of Muslim-friendly tourism to complement the unique tourism proposition of the Maldives was highlighted by the minister of tourism of the Maldives, Dr Abdulla Mausoom, during his speech as a chief guest at the Maldives Islamic Banking and Finance Industry conference held for the 9th consecutive year in the Maldives. Professor Azmi Omar, the president and CEO of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance or INCEIF in Malaysia and who was the guest of honor and the keynote speaker at the event attended by the Maldivian Islamic finance fraternity and experts worldwide, shared his experience on ways to deploy the potential of Islamic finance in achieving financial inclusion. As the chairperson of the conference, Dr Aishath Muneeza, the chairman of the Capital Market Shariah Advisory Council of the Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA) of the Maldives, highlighted the progress made by the Maldives in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in Islamic finance as the Maldives has been ranked 10th in the Islamic Finance Development Indicator published in the 2021 Islamic finance growth indicator report by Refinitiv.

The modern Islamic finance as an offshoot of financial engineering is the product of permissible innovation as a manifestation of the dynamism of Islam which allows for permanence and continued relevance of Islam in any age to come. Using technology or any permissible means to bring about financial solutions in society that ease human life is an integral part of the overall objectives of Shariah. Speaking in economic terms, Sharia strives at individual prosperity as much as of the society on the ideal that prosperity of individuals that make up a society underlies the prosperity of the society. In this modern age and time, financial inclusion constitutes a fundamental component of most governmental policies and action plans aimed at ensuring prosperity of society via improved social welfare to eradicate poverty and enhance living standard. Financial inclusion constitutes a fundamental component of such policies and action plans. Accordingly, Islamic finance is said to be committed to the ideal of financial inclusion having regard to its ideal of bringing prosperity to individuals and society in such a way that will translate to and help economies grow. This is to be pursued through every permissible means now available or to be invented in future, within the confines of Islamic values of financing.

The concept of crowdfunding entails the process of financing an idea, a project, a person or a cause through the collection of small amounts of money from a large number of providers. There are four types of crowdfunding namely lending or P2P crowdfunding, donation-based, reward-based and equity-based. Islamic crowdfunding provides an opportunity for investors, donors and entrepreneurs to support the socio-economic development of the micro and small enterprises sector in Islamic countries. In the absence of a proper Shariah governance framework applicable for Islamic crowdfunding, there could be cases in which Shariah non-compliance circumstances could occur, and without the implementation of a proper internal Shariah governance framework, it may not be detected within the service provider. For any country that is planning to establish Islamic Banking and a financial structure, the key objectives which they have to follow are systematic stability, an adequate level of compliance with Shariah rules, and an international acceptance of the Islamic banking operations. Malaysia has an Islamic as well as a conventional banking system, and they share the same governance structure and legal framework. With regards to Islamic crowdfunding, it is imperative to determine a proper Shariah governance framework.

Performing hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which may become compulsory for a Muslim who has financial ability to perform this ibadah at least once in his lifetime. To facilitate Muslims to fulfil this religious obligation, countries which have majority Muslim population like Malaysia, Indonesia and Maldives have established legal entities/institutions to manage hajj funds from hajj depositors (aspirant pilgrims) and provide services related to hajj. Although these institutions share the same objective in terms of helping Muslims to perform hajj, their operational activities are largely different. This paper aims to contribute to the understanding of hajj fund management institution in these three different jurisdictions. This understanding is important for policy makers and regulators regulating hajj fund management. It is anticipated that the outcome of this research will shed a light on hajj fund management in Asia.

Ever heard of an occasion where property has been used to generate revenue to a waqf fund? Well, here's one. It's called the Dharul Eeman project and is being tried and tested in the Maldives. We hope that its success story will be an inspiration to other countries who wish to adopt a similar approach to enrich their cash waqf funds. This project is proof that innovation is the key to developing an Islamic economy. This model is unique as the general norm is to develop properties to generate income from waqf lands; but in this case the Ministry of Islamic Affairs is intending to develop a land in order to generate income for a cash waqf fund which will be used to build, repair and maintain mosques all over the nation.

Corporate governance has been dubbed by many as the guiding facet of modern day corporate entities. However, the success rate of the governance efforts are still unclear. It is high time that corporate governance efforts are integrated to accompany all aspects of the corporate entities and encompass the corporations' most valuable asset, its workers, as a primary benefactor rather than them being mere participants. Hence this paper aims to identify critical areas of inclusiveness and especially the impact of such an integrated effort on mutually developing the work force and the corporate entities.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure of the Islamic treasury bills issued by the Central Bank of Maldives, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) for the benefit of those jurisdictions that aspire to introduce short term Islamic liquidity management instruments. This is exploratory research where the experience of the author in structuring the Islamic liquidity management instruments discussed in the paper. It is evident from the discussions of this paper that innovation is the key to structure Shari'ah compliant short term liquidity management instruments. The example of Maldives has proved that there is a need to amend the laws of the country to facilitate Central banks to deal with Shariah-compliant instruments.