Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has reported injecting a total of USD993.7 million to the domestic market in 2022, which is a 53% increase compared to 2021.
According to the Maldives central bank, the surge is attributed to the significant increase in US dollar sales to cater to the rising foreign exchange demand of the public and state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
MMA allocated the largest portion of US dollar sales to SOEs at USD726.0 million which is 73% of the total. This is also an annual increment of 90% due to the rise in global oil prices and the increment in cost of external borrowings.
MMA also continued to allocate US dollars to commercial banks to meet the foreign exchange demand of public and local businesses. US dollar sales to commercial banks stood at USD267.7 million, making up 19.3% of the total and a 1% increase in 2021.
Central bank allocated USD158.1 million as normal weekly allocations, and another USD33.3 million for Maldivians traveling abroad for medical and educational purposes. MMA also sold USD60.9 million under the category of facilitating a limit of USD500 per person via Bank of Maldives (BML) for Maldivians traveling abroad.
MMA provided a total of USD15.4 million through banks to cater to other foreign currency requirements, including US dollar to Hajj and Umrah groups.
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