Sunday
8th Sep 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer. Photo: TMJ
Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer has stated that the report on Reuters quoting JPMorgan on the country’s economic status, was not the official stance of the investment bank.
JPMorgan listed Maldives as facing critical risk, anticipating that the country could exhaust foreign reserves and could default by the end of 2023. The report was compiled by the group’s strategist Trang Nguyen, head of Emerging Market – Sovereign Credit. All reporting on the matter, including Reuters coverage, quotes Nguyen and an additional note issued by JPMorgan on the report.
The Government of Maldives had attempted to downplay the coverage. Tourism Minister Abdullah Mausoom said the report was compiled by a receptionist at the investment bank.
In the press conference held on Tuesday, Minister Ameer stuck to the administration’s line that the report was not the official consensus of the Bank. Shooting down the coverage as ‘mere talk’, Minister Ameer stressed that this was not the official stance of the Bank.
Ameer said that JPMorgan was one of the partners that signed in on the Sukuk issued in 2020, offering this as a sign of faith JPMorgan had in the government’s economic policy.
He added that he was in constant talks with JPMorgan, assuring that rumors had always circulated, even when the economy was running smoothly.