MVR 1 billion paid for debt obligations so far in 2024

MVR 1 billion has been paid for debt obligations so far this year.

The Quarterly Report publicized by the Finance Ministry detailing the state’s expenses and revenue shows that the state, by the end of May, earned MVR 14.8 billion. In this regard, the state earned MVR 12 billion in tax revenue and MVR 2.6 billion in non-tax revenue.

This marks an increase in revenue compared to the same period last year which saw MVR 14.1 billion.

Meanwhile, the state has recorded MVR 17.3 billion in various expenses which includes MVR 13.7 billion in recurrent expenses such as salaries and subsidies. MVR 823 million was spent for Aasandha while MVR 1.6 million was spent on subsidies.

The expenses, however, still mark a decrease of almost two billion compared to the same period last year when state expenses stood at MVR 19.1 billion. This included MVR 13.1 billion in recurrent expenses and MVR 6 billion in capital expenses.

Capital expenses for the same period this year stood much lower, at MVR 3.5 billion.

The MVR 49.8 billion state budget approved for this year includes the repayment of MVR 2.2 billion for various debt obligations.

As per the Finance Ministry’s statistics, the state’s public and publicly guaranteed debt has risen to MVR 126 billion by the end of the first quarter of this year.

The high debt burdens of the Maldives have been of extreme concern to international financial institutions. Finance Minister Dr. Mohamed Shafeeg has previously remarked that international financial institutions are hesitant to approve aid to the Maldives based on its debt-to-GDP ratio.