The government has deposited MVR 1 billion into the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF), according to the Ministry of Finance.

The ministry said the figure is about 10 percent lower than the same period last year. By the first week of June last year, MVR 935 million had been deposited into the fund.

Under this year’s state budget, MVR 2.4 billion was allocated for deposits into the SDF, and bout 40 percent of the target has been met so far.

Revenue from the airport development fee is the primary source being channelled into the fund.

SDF has been used to cover a significant portion of state debt obligations this year, including sukuk payments. The budget allocates MVR 4.1 billion for debt repayment this year.

Overall, the state is expected to spend MVR 12.9 billion on debt repayment and MVR 5.5 billion on interest payments, bringing total debt servicing costs to MVR 18.4 billion. This is about 29 percent of total government expenditure.

At the end of last year the fund stood at MVR 10.9 billion, of which MVR 8.3 billion was invested in domestic securities such as Treasury bills, leaving an estimated usable balance of MVR 2.4 billion.