Maldives repays USD 190m in debt from sukuk sales
Maldives' government has made a listing for a sukuk bond worth USD 200m through the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD)
Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer at the People's Majlis
Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has revealed that the state had sold a sukuk bond in order to repay a large fraction of the the USD 250 million in euro-dollar bonds due to be repaid next year.
Last month, the state had confirmed a sukuk bond listing worth USD 200 million through Credit Suisse, Emirates NBD Capital, SSBC and Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD). Thee government had revealed that sales of the sukuk bond would be used to repay the USD 250 million euro-dollar bond taken on under former president Yaameen's administration.
Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer shared information about the sale of the sukuk bond in the special committee meeting held at parliament on Wednesday.
Minister Ibrahim Ameer stated that the euro-dollar bond in question, worth USD 250 million, needed to be repaid in full in the year 2022, adding that the bond had been highly disruptive towards the state's liquidity management plans. Minister Ameer said that they had sought the best rate from the sukuk issue programme, and that following a liquidity management exercise, existing bond holders had been given the option to tender the amount that they hold in bonds. When those parties proceeded with the tender, the USD 200 million sukuk was issued successfully, with which Minister Ameer stated that the government would be repaying USD 191 million in euro-dollar bonds to bond holders.
The Finance Minister stated that as such, the Maldives' debt situation had improved within the last week alone, and revealed that the state would only need to repay USD 58 million under the bond in the next year, Minister Ameer added that the ratings would improve the next time they go to market, noting that as of now, there was no liquidity or roll-out risk, and that the rating would improve at the next rating review.
Former president Yaameen Abdul Gayyoom's administration had, in the year 2017, issued a sovereign or euro-dollar bond worth USD 200 million with a repayment period of just five years.
In addition to this, the incumbent administration is working to sell another asset-based sukuk worth USD 300 million with the ICD in order to acquire funds needed for the state budget.
