Maldives gross international reserves increase to $355.6 million

Maldives central bank, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has revealed that the country's gross international reserves has increased to $355.6 by the end of May 2013.

The June 2013 Economic Review published by the central bank yesterday states that the increase in reserves has increased the foreign reserves to 2.6 months of imports, a 13 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

The review shows that the gross international reserves stood at $342.2 million at the end of April 2013.

Gross international reserves increased on a monthly and annual basis during May 2013.

Months of imports are the gross international reserves divided by average imports of the past 12 months. Months of imports show the number of months that imports can be financed by the existing reserve position at the end of the month. The current international reserve holds enough foreign currency for 2.6 months of imports.

As per the latest government cash flow statement, total revenue from January to May this year amounted to MVR 4.6 billion, while total expenditure reached MVR5.6 billion.

The government cashflow statement shows that the total revenue increased more than the increase in total expenditure from January to May 2013, compared to the same period in 2012. The central bank states that the increase in revenue was contributed by the rise in tax revenue, mainly from goods and services tax and business profit tax.

Meanwhile, nontax revenue fell during this period owing to the decline in transfers from state owned enterprises and government administrative fees. The increase in expenditure was brought about by the rise in current expenditure despite the fall in capital expenditure.