Champa Brothers issued banking license

The Champa Brothers, pioneers in Maldives tourism, are teaming up with Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank of Ceylon to open a commercial bank in the Maldives.

The banking licence for Commercial Bank of Maldives Pvt. Ltd was issued on Monday by the central bank.

Tree Top Investment, a consortium led by the Champa Brothers hold a 45 percent stake in the new bank. Other tourism businesses in the consortium include Kasa Holdings, Crown Company and Kuredu Holdings.

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon holds a 55 percent share in the venture.

“Operations of the bank is scheduled to commence before September 15, 2016,” the Maldives Monetary Authority said, expressing hope that the new bank would “further strengthen and broaden the horizons of the Maldives’ financial sector, making the sector more competitive.”

Champa Brothers is owned by the brothers, Hussain Afeef and Mohamed Moosa,

The Champa Brothers own several resorts in the Maldives, and a stake in the country’s national bank. In March 2014, the company bought shares worth more than MVR33million in the Bank of Maldives from the state wholesaler State Trading Organisation.

This is largest private shareholding in BML. The company is also the largest real estate owners in the Maldives.

Tree Top Investments, meanwhile, is working with a Turkish company on a US$80million hospital project. The 159-bed tertiary hospital is to be built in Hulhumalé.

Malaysian company Ramsay Sime Darby has been contracted to manage the hospital.

There are a total of seven commercial banks in the Maldives; State Bank of India, Habib Bank Limited, Bank of Ceylon, Bank of Maldives, Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Mauritius Commercial Bank Maldives Private Limited and Maldives Islamic Bank.