Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has stated that Maldives is not on the brink of falling into default.

Minister Ameer stated this while informing the press regarding the statement made by one of the world's biggest investment bank, JPMorgan, stating that Maldives' foreign reserve will exhaust by the end of next year, leaving the country debt ridden with no way to pay them off. He assured the press that this was not an official statement made by the bank.

Minister Ameer shared that even the bank has assured him that it was a false statement.

Speaking with the press, Minister Ameer stated that JPMorgan was one of the biggest supporters of Maldives last year, when the state was trying to sell sukuk and this was because the bank had full confidence in the Maldivian economy.

Highlighting that JPMorgan assisted in insuring the latest sukuk that the Maldivian state sold, Minister assured the press that the bank acted as the lead arranger because of the confidence they had in the speed that the Maldivian economy was growing. He stated that the news article published stating that Maldives was in the brink of defaulting, was based on an interview given by JPMorgan to Reuters, and that this was not an official statement by the bank.

Minister Ameer highlighted that the Maldivian sukuk was the most successful in the market last year.

Assuring that Maldives will not default, the Minister stated that Maldives faced the highest risk of this last year. He said that with the 250 million dollar bond maturing on June this year, the country had the risk of defaulting last year, however with the sukuk sold last year, 192 million dollars of the bond has been paid back. He assured that additional 62 million dollars, including interest will be paid back during the first week of June this year.

He stated that the government has the fund to do so, even right now.

Stating that the biggest loan Maldives has to pay back is due in 2026, Minister Ameer said that the country is not going to face any risk in the upcoming medium term.

Minister Ameer said that the government takes loan according to the planned budget. He stated that the Maldivian economy is growing rapidly compared to the list of countries noted in the article.

Stating that the sectors of Maldivian economy is growing, the Minister highlighted that the Maldivian tourism sector is showing rapid growth. He stated that the tourist arrival figure of this year is closing on the figure of 2019. Highlighting that the daily average of tourist arrival figure is above four thousand, the Minister stated that the state has full confidence that Maldives will reach the target number of tourist arrival figure mentioned in the budget.

Additionally, the Minister said that the GDP of Maldives is growing in accordance with the projections. As such, it was estimated that the GDP would grow by 12 to 18 percent, and the estimation remains the same even after revising it with the Maldives Monetary Authority, last week, stated the Minister.

Stating that he is very confident that the Maldivian economy will grow, Minister Ameer said that the economy is expected to grow by 13 percent even in the worst case scenario.

The Minister also highlighted that the income generated by Maldives Inland Revenue Authority is better compared to 2019.

Moreover, the Minister highlighted that the foreign reserve of Maldives currently has around 800 million dollars, while the amount was at 700 million dollars in 2021. He stated that the Maldivian foreign reserve is better than how it was the past three years. As such, he stated that the country has no fear of going into a default.

The Minister however noted that there are other risk factors. He stated that the government is always trying to find ways to reduce these risks and that the work done by the state to overcome the difficulties forced by the Covid-19 pandemic is proof of this.

Minister Ameer assured that the state would hold discussions and make the most appropriate decisions to reduce the risks the country has to face .