The Finance Ministry has issued an MVR 252 million loan to Urbanco from the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF), which was set up to increase state revenue, repay debt and sustainably invest public funds.
According to information obtained by Adhadhu from the Finance Ministry under a right to information request, the SDF stood at MVR 7.3 billion by August, including MVR 2.6 billion deposited in local currency and USD 299 million as foreign currency.
The bulk of the deposited funds were invested in Dhivehi Rufiyaa and American dollar T-bills. The rest were in Dhivehi Rufiyaa and dollar fixed deposit accounts.
Investments from the Sovereign Development Fund
- Rufiyaa T-bills - MVR 3.3 billion
- Dollar T-bills- USD 65.3 million
- Rufiyaa fixed deposits - MVR 400 million
- Dollar fixed deposits - MVR 12 million
Aside from the investments, the SDF was used to issue the loan to Urbanco. The purpose of the loan is unclear. When the question was posed to the Finance Ministry, Legal Officer Aik Ahmed Esa said he would find out further details about the loan and provide information that could be shared.
It was revealed at Tuesday’s meeting of Parliament’s public accounts committee that Urbanco took an MVR 200 million loan from the Maldives Islamic Bank with a sovereign guarantee provided by the government. The loan was taken to manage the company’s working capital.
Urbanco faces the highest risk of debt distress among government companies. Loans taken to develop the Hulhuamale’ second phase accounts for the majority of the debt. The largest loan was taken from the International Commercial Bank of China to build the Hiya flats.
