The State Trading Organization (STO) is committed to creating a business environment in the Maldives that supports development of smaller businesses, STO managing director Hussain Amru has said.

The managing director said in an interview with RaajjeTV on Thursday, that STO has made decisions to curtail its own trading ventures in order to allow for this.

Amru raised as a point for this the fact that STO has suspended its operations in electronics retail in order to allow small and medium-sized enterprises in the industry to grow.

He further said that the STO will be entering markets that are not occupied by 'ordinary' Maldivian businesses. 

STO is the state’s wholesale and retail arm, and its operations span multiple industries, and parents several other state-run enterprises, such as the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company.

In addition to providing subsidized staple food items, STO also runs a chain of groceries stores, an electronic services center, and pharmacies across the capital city and out lying islands.

In 2018, the company made a total of MVR 158 million.