$92 million Maldives package to weather GFC
The International Monetary Fund has announced a bailout package worth $92.5 million for the Maldives, designed to assist the island nation’s recovery from the global economic downturn.
The Maldives has suffered from a fall in tourism, lower fish exports and a drop in capital inflows. The package “aims to rebuild international reserves to prudent levels,” said IMF deputy managing director Takatoshi Kato.
The Maldives will undergo a 36-month program to reduce fiscal deficit and maintain existing social programs. It will also reduce the size of its government, cut public sector salaries, introduce corporate taxes and privatise loss-making enterprises while protecting the poor through targeted subsidies.
The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which took a number of the nation’s low-lying resorts, triggered an economic collapse that has seen its debt rise from 55.2 percent in 2004 to 91.6 percent of gross domestic product.
Got something to say? Join the export forum here at DynamicExport.com.au.
