The Finance Ministry has proposed to borrow MVR 16.8 billion to cover expenditure in 2025.
According to the proposed state budget, half of the money will be borrowed from friendly countries and the other half will be borrowed from banks and organizations.
The proposed budget states that MVR 1.7 billion will be borrowed from friendly countries. That is MVR 600 million more than the revised budget for this year.
MVR 15 billion is to be borrowed from various banks and associations. That is MVR 5 billion less than the amount fixed for the current fiscal year.
Most of the loans are to be taken from commercial banks next year. That is MVR 6.6 billion. The Finance Ministry said these loans will be taken for budget support.
The second largest amount of loans will be taken from domestic groups. That is MVR 5 billion. About 70 percent of the budget financing will be through securities sales, loans and budget support debt.
Most of the money from friendly countries is to be borrowed from Saudi Arabia followed by Kuwait and the Abu Dhabi Fund. These are the countries that issue loans for the development of Velana International Airport (VIA).
Excluding commercial banks and domestic groups, the next biggest loan provider among banks and institutions is the Exim Bank of India with MVR 2.3 billion. This is the money that will be added to the debt next year as disbursement of ongoing projects.
With the debt taken next year, the Finance Ministry estimates that the total debt will be MVR 149.9 billion by the end of the year. This is equivalent to 124.8 percent of the GDP.
