USD 150 million requested from India under currency swap agreement

Under a currency swap agreement with the central bank of India, The Reserve Bank of India, Maldivian central bank Maldives Monetary Authority has requested USD 150 million.

MMA stated that this request was to alleviate the economic difficulties faced by the country due to the Covid-19 virus situation.

The government has projected a loss of MVR 6.9 billion from tourism due to the virus. The currency swap agreement between India and Maldives was signed in July last year and is worth around USD 400 million. It is a part of the USD 1.4 billion economic aid package by India to the Maldives, agreed in 2018.

MMA also announced that it was working with the International Monetary Fund to obtain financial aid.

Additional measures taken by the MMA in light of the Covid-19 situation.

• Regulatory measures issued to banks to postpone the collection of business loans for six months.
• Reduction of MMA’s reserve requirement to five percent in case of liquidity by a bank.
• Short term loans arranged in case financial institutions in the country require liquidity.
• Increase in the amount of currency available to the foreign exchange market.
• Increase in foreign currency with the assistance of MMA’s resources.

MMA has also arranged measures to ensure that the banking and payment systems are not interrupted during the situation.

Banks in the country will also open on March 19, 23 and 26, during the government announced holidays,

These measures are taken to ensure that businesses in the country do not go bankrupt and to reduce the impact of the virus on the economy, according to MMA.