Maldives will receive an additional USD 30 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September to help with governmental expenses, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer said on Monday.
During a panel discussion on the Maldives economy hosted by the Maldives Policy Advocacy Caucus (MPAC), Minister Ameer stated that the government is seeking more funding up to the limit of the IMF’s authorized Special Drawing Rights (SDR) for Maldives.
SDRs are defined and maintained by the IMF as supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets. They represent a claim to currency held by IMF members and can be exchanged for it. One SDR is roughly equal to USD 1.40.
The IMF provides each nation an SDR limit; the Maldives’ SDR limit is now set at 21.2 million, allowing the country to borrow funds up to the SDR limit.
Last year, Maldives received USD 28.9 million through the IMF’s Rapid Credit Facility to assist with the financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maldives borrowed a total of USD 520 million from various financial institutions to solve the financial challenges caused by the pandemic, bringing the state debt up to MVR 86 billion, or 150 percent of GDP.
