Malé, Maldives – The government of Maldives has given the State Trading Organization (STO) sovereign guarantee to the loan to procure necessities such as staples and medication.
The sovereign guarantee was given for the USD 25 million loan taken by STO from the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation on 31 January 2021.
Additionally, the government issued sovereign guarantee to STO last year as well for a loan to procure pharmaceuticals and food staples worth USD 15 million with another USD 150 million loan taken from the bank for fuel and gas.
MVR 365 million is allocated in the state budget for staple food.
Finance Ministry records show that the national debt has increased to MVR 86 billion at end of 2020, with five sovereign guarantees issued by the incumbent government.
