Ministry of Finance has revealed loans worth USD 26 million have been approved for major business entities in the Maldives.
The finance ministry said the loans were provided as part of the Economic Relief Package (ERP) formulated to provide financial support and relief to individuals, households and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial support schemes are all financed through the COVID-19 Trust Fund.
Statistics publicised by the finance ministry show loans worth over USD 31 million were approved for 335 applicants by August 9, including USD 26 million approved for major business entities. Furthermore, the ministry revealed a total of 552 applications were submitted requesting for financial support, of which 368 applicants were approved, 15 were rejected, 127 did not meet the criteria. A further 42 applications are being processed before making a decision.
The ERP was introduced to prevent local businesses from going bankrupt amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While loans for large businesses are issued by the Bank of Maldives (BML), loans for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and freelance workers are issued by SME Finance Development Corporation (SDFC). BML issues loans up to USD 500,000 for resort businesses and up to USD 65,000 for other businesses.