Yameen alleges usable reserves are 'down to two digits' and criticises debt‑repayment strategy

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has claimed that the Maldives Monetary Authority’s (MMA) usable reserves have fallen to “just two digits”, questioning the government’s ability to build what it calls an “international‑class economy”.

Speaking at a rally of his party People’s National Front (PNF) on Sunday evening, Yameen said Maldivians “know the real situation” of the country’s finances, and alleged that the foreign currency reserves the MMA can actually use have now dropped to almost “two digits” in millions of dollars. Usable reserves generally refer to the portion of official reserves that is immediately available for external payments after accounting for short‑term obligations.  

Yameen also criticised the way the state has recently met its external debt obligations, saying there was no foreign party willing to lend to the Maldives. His remarks come after the MMA settled a USD 400 million currency swap facility taken under an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), a key line of support previously used to bolster reserves and manage foreign‑exchange pressures.  

“The MMA’s usable reserves are now down to two digits,” Yameen said, adding that when looking at the country’s debt‑repayment capacity and the way recent repayments were made, “there is no international lending institution that wants to lend more to Maldives without an ally.” His comments framed the reserve position and debt dynamics as a constraint on the government’s economic ambitions.

Yameen further pointed to external assessments, noting that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has forecast a sharp slowdown in the Maldivian economy this year, partly due to instability in the Middle East affecting tourism and global conditions. According to ADB projections, Maldives’ economic growth is expected to slow to around 1.0 percent this year, compared to an estimated 5.4 percent last year.

He also referred to measures taken by the MMA to defend the rufiyaa. The central bank’s open market operations (OMO) have so far absorbed around MVR 3 billion from circulation, according to MMA figures, in an effort to ease pressure on the currency. The rufiyaa has remained under strain, with the dollar trading above MVR 20 on the parallel market for about a year, even as the official rate is held at MVR 15.42 plus a band. 

Yameen used these points to argue that the government’s narrative of building a strong, globally competitive economy is at odds with the underlying reserve position, debt pressures and currency market stress he described. The government and MMA have not yet publicly responded to his specific claim that usable reserves are “down to two digits”.