Additional loan taken – state debt over MVR 100 billion

State debt reached an all-time high of MVR 100 billion (US$ 6.5 billion), with the government taking an additional loan of MVR 1.6 billion (US$ 103.9 million).

The latest loan was secured from AKE European Export and Trade Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, and ING Bank.

Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Maldives. No details of the loan were revealed.

With this loan, state debt has passed MVR 100 billion. Based on statistics issued by Finance Ministry, by end of April, total debt was MVR 99.7 billion (US$ 6.5 billion). This includes MVR 32 billion (US$ 2.1 billion) is direct debt given by external parties and MVR 14 billion (US$ 909.1 million) as state backed guarantees. Internal debt is comprised of MVR 53 billion (US$ 3.4 billion) and MVR 562 million (US$ 36.5 million) as sovereign guarantees.

With the new loan, state debt has increased to MVR 100.9 billion (US$ 6.6 billion). It is the first time in the country’s history that debt has crossed this mark.