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Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
PM Modi's engagement with the Maldives shows India is playing the long game
Written by Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a state visit to the Maldives from July 25 to 26. The visit comes against the backdrop of the President of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, pushing for a recalibration with India. Driven by economic necessities, India's pragmatic outreach, and China's underwhelming support, he has moderated his 'India Out' policy and rhetoric and toned down his unconditional allegiance to China. Given the backdrop, the visit is a strong symbolic message of Delhi's persistent influence in the country. Besides, it has also laid the ground for New Delhi's long game in the Maldives. By pushing for economic and financial connectivity, especially with the Indian Rupee, and doubling down on political engagement, India is creating new leverage. During PM Modi's visit, both leaders reviewed the entire gamut of relations and agreed to strengthen the multifaceted relationship by implementing the Joint Vision Document. They also inaugurated several India-funded projects, including roads and drainage in Addu city, the Ministry of Defence building, and six High Impact Community Development Projects. India also handed over 72 vehicles for the Maldives National Defence Force, 2 BHISHM Health Cube sets, and 3,300 housing flats. Additionally, they signed four MoUs to further cooperation in pharmacopoeia, meteorology, fisheries, and digitalisation. Most importantly, both countries have signed four agreements on financial and economic connectivity, as the Maldives faces debt distress and declining foreign reserves. As of March 2025, the Maldives has a debt of $9.4 billion, of which nearly 60 per cent is in US Dollars. However, the government continues to struggle with low foreign reserves. Currently, it has a reserve of a mere $850 million, and this year alone, the government will have to service over $600 million, along with maintaining its imports. Next year, it will have to service over $1 billion. Maturing debts, specifically bonds (domestic and external) and Chinese loans, have continued to deplete foreign reserves. China's loans have declined from $613 million in 2021 to $473 million in 2025, and its sovereign guarantees have reduced to $567 million. This has left India as the largest bilateral creditor to the country, especially with loans, currency swaps, and credit lines (LOC) taken under the previous government now maturing. Debts from EXIM India have increased from $15 million in 2021 to $572 million, and the sovereign guarantee is at $608 million. To complicate matters, more than $800 million of Indian loans committed are yet to be disbursed. With a looming economic crisis and increasing Indian debts, India and the Maldives signed an amendatory agreement to close the previous LOC. This will be replaced by a Rupee-denominated LOC worth Rs 4,850 crore (equivalent to $565 million), reducing the Maldives' debt obligations by 40 per cent, from servicing $51 million to $29 million annually, and easing the pressure of depleting US Dollar reserves and overall debts. Another major agreement was the implementation agreement on Unified Payment Interface (UPI). This, together with the RuPay card introduced in October 2024, will boost direct transactions between countries. These developments build on the finalisation of the local currency settlement system. Henceforth, India and the Maldives can now trade and allow tourists, diaspora, and businesses to make cross-border payments in local currencies (Rupees and Rufiyaa) rather than in US Dollars. Both countries also finalised the terms of reference for the India-Maldives Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and formally commenced negotiations on the agreement. With the FTA reducing trade barriers and boosting trade, Indian commodities will become cheaper in the Maldives. India is one of the Maldives' largest trade partners. While their trade is worth $680 million, India exports goods worth $561 million. Earlier, the Maldives would have imported goods from India using US Dollars; they can now do the same with the Indian Rupee, which the Maldives can tap from the currency swap, credit line, and direct transactions. This will help ease pressure on the economy and reduce the outflow of the US Dollar. The FTA will also likely be complemented with a bilateral investment treaty, creating new economic leverage for India. Learning lessons from the past, India also doubled down on its engagements across party lines. During his visit, PM Modi met prominent figures from the ruling party, including those who played a crucial role in the 'India Out' campaign and are close to China. These engagements also included bilateral meetings with the President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the parliament. Modi also held a meeting with prominent figures from the Jumhooree Party, Maldives National Party, and Maldives Development Alliance. Separate meetings were held with the main Opposition, the Maldivian Democratic Party, and former President Mohamed Nasheed. These engagements underline India's attempts at making relations non-partisan and resilient to turbulent domestic politics. PM Modi's latest visit to the Maldives shows that India is letting bygones be bygones, and is more optimistic about the future. There is confidence that the Maldives will understand that regional security is an issue of mutual interest. However, there are some problems. For India, the Maldives' economic stability remains a major challenge. On its part, Malé will continue to engage with Beijing to seek assistance and investments in order to diversify and not become over-reliant on India. Discussions of loan restructuring with China began in January 2024 and have shown little progress, further nudging Muizzu to engage with the country. India, therefore, should not let its guard down. The writer is an associate fellow with the Strategic Studies Programme's Neighbourhood Studies Initiative
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UniDoc Provides Update on Marketing Engagement
VANCOUVER, BC / / April 29, 2025 / UniDoc Health Corp. (CSE:UDOC)(FRA:L7T)(OTCQB:UDOCF) ("UniDoc" or the "Company"), provides an update on its renewed engagement of Rumble Strip Media Inc. ("Rumble"). Further to the Company's news release of April 3, 2025, the Company believes that its renewed engagement of Rumble is in compliance with Policy 7.2 of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") as the Company believes that the renewed engagement of Rumble is consistent with its financial resources and level of operations for the reasons outlined herein. Since its engagement with Rumble started in April 2024, the Company has expended approximately $3.84 million on Rumble's investor relations marketing services. Rumble's services have primarily consisted of the creation of digital landing pages highlighting information about the Company and undertaking digital marketing campaigns to increase potential investor awareness of the Company. The Company's rationale for incurring these marketing expenditures is to maximize its ability to convert outstanding warrants into cash. The Company was successful in this initiative and was able to convert the majority (over 90%) of the outstanding warrants resulting in gross proceeds of approximately $8.8 million. While the Company has begun commercial sales, and expects to increase its marketing budget for product awareness in the coming periods, the Company is not yet cashflow positive and cannot sustain operations from revenue alone. Since inception, it has relied on raising funds through the issuance of equity and exercise of in-the-money warrants, and will need to continue to do so going forward. The Company has raised a total of approximately $3.7 million from private placements and a further $9.7 million from the exercise of convertible securities since incorporation in 2021. The Company's ability to continue to raise capital through private placements and convertible securities depends in large part on maintaining liquidity in its stock, which is greatly assisted through undertaking investor awareness campaigns. The majority of the ~8.8 million in funds raised by the Company since Rumble's engagement in April 2024 have gone into, or have been allocated towards, the Company's general and administrative (including office & admin, consulting fees, professional fees and travel & entertainment) (~$1.4 million) and investor relations services (~$3.4 million). While the CEO's and other team members' salaries and travel expenses are not reflected in the financial statements as product marketing, a significant portion is attributable to those activities. Further, the Company is pleased with its transition from development to sales and is extremely pleased that it expects to report its first revenue in fiscal Q4, which validates the efficacy of its product and buy-in from consumers. To date, the Company has received purchase orders from four separate arm's length end customers for an aggregate of 16 H3 Health Cube booths (two of such purchase orders came through a related party reseller, UniCheck S.r.l.), and has completed delivery of three of these booths. The Company expects to record revenue in Q4 related to two of these booths delivered to its reseller, UniCheck S.r.l. The Company donated the third booth to the end customer, and therefore does not expect to record corresponding revenue. In light of its increase in operations, commencement of commercial sales, and successful financing activities, the Company believes that its investor relations marketing expenditures are both necessary and proportionate with both its level of operations and financial resources. That notwithstanding, given the natural long sales cycle for procuring and executing on sales in multiple health jurisdictions, there is a lag effect between marketing timing and sales timing that is currently normalizing as purchase are being fulfilled. Management expects investor relations marketing expenditures to significantly decrease and operational expenditures to significantly increase over the coming quarters. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, ~Antonio Baldassarre~ Antonio Baldassarre CEO, President & Director UniDoc Health UniDoc Health Corp. (CSE: UDOC) (FRA: L7T) (OTCQB: UDOCF)UniDoc is developing an eHealth solution which is being designed as a self-contained remote virtual clinic within a private kiosk for patients to undergo full consultations as if they were present in a physician's office. eHealth opens the doors to a large segment of the population challenged by access, experience or understanding of online computer technology. It is the Company's belief that physical accessibility is the key to its business proposition. UniDoc is dedicated to unlocking shareholder value by delivering an excellent product and sophisticated commercial network within an expedited timeframe. The UniDoc team encourages engagement, questions, and interest, so please stay in touch and invite anyone who might be interested in our story to visit our website at signup to receive the latest information with updates on our activities, events and progress. For further information, please contact: UniDoc Investor Relations Tel: +1 778.383.6731Email: info@ Chatterton, Director Tel: +1 778.613.2082Email: matt@ Media Inquiries media@ Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release contains statements and information that, to the extent that they are not historical fact, may constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward- looking information may include financial and other projections, as well as statements regarding future plans, objectives, or economic performance, or the assumption underlying any of the foregoing. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "will be", "likely", "except", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "plan", "forecast", "project", "estimate", "outlook", or the negative thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Examples of such statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the anticipated effectiveness of Rumble's investor awareness campaigns, the value of such services to the Company, the Company's anticipated future marketing and operational expenditures, and the sales cycles of the Company's products. Forward-looking information is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis, and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. The material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, key personnel and qualified employees continuing their involvement with the Company; the Company's ability to secure additional financing on reasonable terms; the competitive conditions of the industries in which the Company operates; and laws and any amendments thereto applicable to the Company. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, risks relating to the future business plans of the Company; risks that the Company will not be able to retain its key personnel; risks that the Company will not be able to secure financing on reasonable terms or at all; as well as all of the other risks as described in the Company's annual management discussion and analysis dated September 30, 2024 under the heading "Risks Factors." Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking information. Further, any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company's management to predict all such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward- looking information to reflect information or events after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law, including securities CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: UniDoc Health Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
