Fenaka Corporation and Road Development Corporation (RDC) alone racked up MVR 437 million in losses last year, according to the 2024 report publicized by the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB).
The report shows Fenaka racked up MVR 208 million in losses last year. This figure, though high, is still lower than the MVR 811 million in losses it accumulated in 2023.
The state utility service also ended the first quarter of year with a loss of MVR 33.72 million.
But the biggest loss-maker for the state was RDC, which accumulated MVR 229 million in losses last year – higher than the MVR 173 million in losses in 2023.
The company also ended the first quarter of year with a staggering loss of MVR 113.73 million.
Both Fenaka and RDC are plagued with allegations of corruption and mismanagement. The latter has also not been audited since 2021.
There has been growing public concern regarding State-owned Enterprises, primarily regarding the high state spending on loss-makers, the prevalence of corruption, and the political favoritism, nepotism and cronyism in the hiring process.
The latest report shows SOEs collectively employed around 39,000 people last year – higher than the 35,000 employees in 2023.
The government provided MVR 2 billion in capital investments on SOEs last year, MVR 3.6 billion in subsidies, and another MVR 221 million in support.