The Maldives want to remove their dependence on tourism and warmly embrace blockchain technology to diversify his economy and compensate for the national debt.
The South Asian country has recently concluded a deal with MBS Global Investments based in Dubai to build a blockchain hub of $ 8.8 billion in the region. Due to the deal, the Dubai-based family office will offer the financing to set up the blockchain and digital assets hub.
MBS Global Investments has considerable financial resources and an extensive network to support the deal, with more than $ 45 billion in assets (AUM).
A further consideration of the details reveals a five-year timeline for building the web3 hub for the Maldives. The international financial center baptized, the hub will be built in the capital, Malé, which occupies an impressive 830,000 square meters.
The Maldives looks at a long list of benefits of the incoming blockchain hub, and sees its construction as a real chance to diversify his local economy outside of tourism.
With income from commercial fishing and foreign subsidies that purchase, the Maldives turns to digitization to inject capital into its local economy. The HUB will have a maximum of 16,000 inhabitants, up to 4% of the locals, with the potential for wrinkle effects.
Apart from the massive employment opportunities, the Maldives focus on a peak in foreign direct investments linked to the incoming web3 hub. Designed to work as a financial free trade zone, the country develops strategies to attract international digital asseters to establish activities on the new hub.
The government of the Maldives offers low taxes, seamless registration and licenses and a series of incentives to attract global service providers. After completion, the HUB expects a turnover of more than $ 1 billion every year.
The total gross domestic product (GDP) of Maldives is less than $ 8 billion, making the incoming digital assets -hub an important part of its local economy. The country has already reserved the income from the HUB to compensate for part of its national debt, which is currently around $ 8.2 billion.
The transition from Maldives to Web3 and his ambition to be a regional leader will not be easy. Currently, Maledives have no grip on web3, apart from an earlier memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Estonia to explore the viability of blockchain in services in the public sector.
The Maldives will have to contend with the dominance of Hong Kong and Singapore, the first movers of the region in web3 and digital assets. Hong Kong has launched blockchain incubators for banks and at the same time introduces tax benefits for digital currencies in an attempt to maintain its leading position.
Shanghai positions itself as China’s blockchain -hub
Elsewhere, the Chinese city of Shanghai has launched a blockchain evaluation center in his search to become the regional leader in emerging technologies.
The new evaluation center, which offers a series of services to DLT-based companies in Shanghai and on mainland China, is a joint effort between the budchain valley of Shanghai and the China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI), a blockchain accreditation organization.
The first-in-natte blockchain-hub offers uniform standards and technical assessments for web3 service providers in the region. Apart from uniformity, the HUB will attract new players to the young digital economy of Shanghai, whereby the Jing’an region is expected to receive part of the new market access.
“Jing’an actively positions himself as a hub for blockchain innovation,” said a government official. “The center will strengthen the local ecosystem and support high -quality economic growth.”
The Web3 companies have countless stimuli to turn to Shanghai as the new hub for their activities. The region is primarily the home of Blockchain Valley, which offers nearly 150 blockchain companies within a facility of 120,000 square meters.
In addition, the presence of blockchain institutions supported by the government will ropes in new market participants. Shanghai is stacked in this department with the Shanghai Blockchain Association, the Blockchain Technology Research Institute and the Shanghai Institute for Digital Governance that operates from the cluster.
In 2023, Shanghai unveiled a two-year plan for blockchain development through a threefold strategy. Heavy capital injection and a clear plan have put the region on the map, with various Real-World blockchain applications that register the mainstream acceptance.
The blockchain-based smart parking system, combined with the Shanghai mobile app for public services, achieved fantastic results in less than a year of operation.
Shanghai is on his way to a robust digital transformation, in which blockchain and other emerging technologies are used to lead. A significant investment in the metaverse and non-fungal tokens (NFTs) is expected to inform tourism and cultural sectors.
On the other hand, the region heats a digital currency of the Central Bank (CBDC) to keep pace with the rapid changes in the financial sector. Shanghai has, focused on cooperation and has extended his blockchain initiatives to Hong Kong and Singapore to achieve an even pace of innovation in the region.
View: use blockchain tech for data integrity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDPXATWYOE Title = “YouTube Video Player” Frameborder = “Allow =” Accelerometer; Autoplay; Clemboard-Write; encrypted media; Gyroscope; Picture-in-Picture; Web-Share “Reference-Origin-When-cross-Origin
