The Finance Ministry has announced the initiation of Treasury bill (T-bill) sales amounting to MVR 5.2 billion to meet government expenses. This sale is scheduled for Sunday, the first official day of the new government. The weekly average T-bill sales by the ministry typically range from MVR 2.5 billion to 1 billion, making this transaction notably higher than usual.
For the current fiscal year, the Finance Ministry has sold T-bills amounting to MVR 33 billion. Of this total, MVR 16.5 billion has been sold to commercial banks, and MVR 15 billion has been allocated to other financial institutions. T-bills extended to the private sector have amounted to MVR 103 million.
As of Thursday, the cumulative value of T-bills and bonds issued by the state has reached MVR 77 billion. The country’s transactions involving these financial instruments have tallied up to MVR 68 billion.
The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), oversees the sale of four types of T-bills with repayment periods of 28 days, 98 days, 182 days, and 364 days, respectively. The interest rate increases with the length of the repayment period.
T-bills are made available for sale every week. However, these bills are typically directed towards pension funds, select banks, state-owned enterprises, and private companies to ensure a consistent cash flow for the government. Among the entities purchasing government-issued T-bills are the Commercial Bank of Maldives, owned by the Champa brothers, and companies affiliated with Universal Investments.
