Sun Siyam Group has decided to pay service charges to its resort employees in Maldivian Rufiyaa due to financial constraints resulting from the government’s new foreign exchange regulation, which mandates exchanging a specific percentage of revenue through banks. This change will take effect starting January 1, 2026.

In a memo sent to employees regarding this matter, Sun Siyam Group stated that the implementation of the new regulation has posed significant challenges to the company’s financial standing. The company noted that despite holding numerous discussions with relevant government agencies to find a solution, they have not yet reached a favorable outcome that would ease the burden on the company’s operations and its employees.

With this decision, both Maldivian and expatriate employees working at all resorts operated under the group will receive service charges in Maldivian Rufiyaa moving forward. However, the group has assured that although service charges are being switched to Rufiyaa, they will continue to pay the employees’ basic salaries in US Dollars.

The management highlighted that the company has made significant sacrifices to continue paying employees in dollars even after the enforcement of the new regulation began. It is worth noting that following the changes to the government’s dollar policy, the market rate for the dollar has risen to 20 Rufiyaa. This comes at a time when many companies operating in the Maldives’ tourism sector are facing severe financial challenges.