The Maldives government is preparing to acquire a loan facility of over USD 100 million from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
According to a local media outlet, government is seeking this new loan facility for tourism development. Despite talks of a new loan acquirement, it is unclear if the state and the fund have entered into a formal agreement.
The local media further states that Minister of Finance Moosa Zameer has already flown to United Arab Emirates (UAE) to formalize this arrangement.
While the exact loan amount and the interest on it remains unclear, reports claims the facility will exceed USD 100 million.
Talk of the new loan comes at a time when government is moving apace in repaying its outstanding loans. In recent state-level discussions, the Maldives government explored acquiring another USD 300 million to address financial constraints. This constraint is a result of state’s expenditure amid its significant debt obligation to foreign lenders.
The current administration has approved a whopping MVR 64 billion state budget for its third year, a record-high amount for any administration’s singular fiscal year. Budgetary forecasts reveal the state will expend MVR 12.9 billion in 2026, while the government must pay USD 600 million (MVR 9.2 billion) in April alone as loan repayment.