Finance Ministry Discloses Over MVR 2 Billion in Loan Repayments Amid Fiscal Updates

The Ministry of Finance has reported that the government has spent MVR 2.02 billion on loan repayments this year, marking an increase from MVR 1.94 billion during the same period last year. 

This announcement follows months of data consolidation, during which the Ministry paused its weekly fiscal updates due to financial discrepancies.

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The Ministry has now released previously unpublished fiscal data covering late June to 24 October 2024. The latest figures reveal an annual revenue of MVR 28.2 billion, slightly higher than the MVR 27.7 billion collected by this time last year. Tax revenues reached MVR 21.48 billion, up from MVR 19.75 billion in 2023, while non-tax revenues saw a decline from MVR 7.09 billion last year to MVR 6.19 billion this year.

In addition to revenue, the Maldives received MVR 561.3 million in grants, down from MVR 661.9 million in 2023.

Expenditure has reached MVR 37.74 billion, with MVR 27.24 billion allocated for recurrent expenses and MVR 10.49 billion for capital projects. Key recurrent costs include MVR 10.26 billion for public sector salaries, wages, and pensions, along with MVR 16.85 billion for administrative expenses. Of this, MVR 3.24 billion went towards subsidies, and MVR 1.73 billion funded the Aasandha health insurance scheme.

The original state budget for 2024 was MVR 49.8 billion, earmarking MVR 2.2 billion for loan repayments. However, an additional MVR 5.1 billion supplementary budget was recently approved by parliament, raising the total to MVR 55 billion.

The Maldives’ increasing public debt has led to warnings from international credit agencies. Both Fitch and Moody’s recently downgraded the nation’s credit rating, citing substantial repayment obligations, including USD 600 million due next year and another USD 1 billion in 2026.