The Finance Ministry has said public investment opportunities for Treasury bills (T-bills) would be facilitated soon.
At Monday's Parliament sitting, Maafannu Central MP Ibrahim Rasheed inquired from Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer why the names of the buyers of the T-bills were not disclosed and why the opening of the secondary market was being delayed while two years have passed since the passage of the Financial Security Bill.
In his response, the minister said the opportunity to invest in small amounts of T-bills would be opened to the public. The development of the financial securities market is being carried out in collaboration with the Maldives Monetary Authority [MMA] and the Ministry of Finance, he said.
"The primary market activities are being carried out directly by the Ministry of Finance. The secondary market CSD project is being carried out in collaboration with the MMA," he said.
The CSD project is expected to be completed before the end of this year, and the secondary market will be opened to the general public, he said.
Regarding the disclosure of the names of T-bill buyers, the minister said the names of the investors in the primary market would not be disclosed. However, he did not state a reason for this decision.
The government announced last week that it had sold MVR 2.2 billion worth of T-bills. Another set of T-bills worth MVR 1.7 billion was recently announced for sale.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer
