The Maldivian government had repaid over MVR 2.4 billion of debt by September.

The 2022 Budget highlights MVR 2.86 billion which was allocated to the repayment of loans, which is 15 percent of the entire budget for the year. The decision came after an upward spike in state debt on a yearly basis.

As per the weekly financial statistics published by the Ministry of Finance, the government had repaid MVR 2.49 billion worth of debt by September.

The state debt during the first quarter stood at MVR 98.9 billion. This was an increment of MVR 4.8 billion compared to the figure at the end of 2021.

The increase in debt during the first quarter came after measures to control the budget deficit and loans which were taken to fund developmental projects.

Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer had previously stated that the state would be able to repay its debts and that the risk of going bankrupt was non-existent.

Speaking during a parliament session last September, Minister Ameer noted that a loan of USD 100 million is required for the budget deficit by December 2022.

Explaining the reasoning behind this, he noted that even though USD 200 million was budgeted as foreign aid, only USD 100 million had been received thus far.