Maldives Govt. seeks $ 29 m as Budget support from BOC
Wednesday, 14 August 2013 00:07
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The Maldives Government has sought Parliament approval to obtain $ 29 million from Bank of Ceylon as budget support for the year.
A letter from the President that was read out during the Parliament sitting on Tuesday stated that the Finance Ministry was working to secure the loan to enforce the budget passed by the Parliament for the year.
The Finance Ministry had informed the President’s Office that a loan could be obtained from Bank of Ceylon, the letter from President Mohamed Waheed Hassan said.
According to the letter, the exact loan amount would be $ 29.4 million, to be repaid within six years in monthly payments of $ 490,000 with an interest rate of 6%.
Parliament had passed the budget agreeing that no loan would be taken by the State with an interest rate above 7%.
In the letter, the Government said the loan, which it believes offers good terms for short-term loan, was needed to manage the cash flow and finance the budget.
The Government also pointed out that Maldives being elevated from least developed countries makes it extremely difficult to obtain loans with small interest as previously.The request was forwarded to the Parliament’s finance committee for assessment. (Haveeru)
