Wholesale, retail and construction sectors grew in the last quarter, while tourism, transport and telecommunications sectors slowed down, according to the central bank's second quarterly business report released last week.
The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) report shows that the tourism sector was the worst affected in the last quarter. Ninety-one percent of businesses in the sector reported a decline in revenue and room rates.
According to the report, the number of employees working in non-tourism sectors has increased while tourism sector employees dropped. The biggest increase in employee numbers was in the highest-grossing wholesale and retail businesses.
The biggest benefit for wholesale and retail businesses was the decline in commodity prices. More than 90 percent of businesses in the sector reported a drop in costs and a significant drop in prices for the services they provide.
Construction businesses and businesses in the transportation and telecommunications services sectors reported no decline in prices. But the rate of increase has slowed down.
Despite slow growth in some sectors during the second quarter, all sectors are expected to grow in the third quarter.
MMA stated that 138 large companies operating in four sectors responded to the survey. That's 70 percent of the 197 companies that were invited to join the survey.
