The Maldives paid a sum of MVR 1.1 billion as loan repayment during 2020.
Statistics released by the Finance Ministry show that MVR 1.18 million was utilized for loan repayment purposes upto December 31st, 2020. While MVR 1.12 billion was allocated in the budget for 2020 for loan repayment purposes, MVR 1.88 billion has been allocated in the current year’s budget for the purpose.
While several loan payments have been deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic, China, to which over 40 percent of loans are owed to, also provided deferment arrangements under the G-20 debt service suspension initiative. With this change, the Maldives will have to resume scheduled loan repayments within the first six months of 2021. Due to this change, the government had estimated that the amount to be paid in 2020 would decrease by MVR 809.1 million.
In addition to loans borrowed from China, the government has also signed an important agreement with Japan which allows for loan repayment deferment.
Statistics shared by the Finance Ministry show that the national debt would be at MVR70.3 billion this year.
