Bank of Maldives (BML), on Wednesday, announced the approval of a USD 5 million 'Murabaha Financing Facility' by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), becoming the first Maldivian partner institution to work with ITFC.
The ITFC partnership will support BML's initiatives to provide financial support to small and medium enterprises (SME)s, particularly the import of raw materials from international markets.
"The financing comes at a critical time as SMEs in the Maldives and other OIC member countries face the social and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which has disrupted global trade and strained financial resources", said BML.
"While the economy has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank has continued to take proactive measures to support local businesses", said BML's CEO and Managing Director Tim Sawyer.
"The facility will help make a positive contribution to the development of the local business sector”.
Commenting on the agreement, ITFC's CEO Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol emphasized that "a central tenet of the ITFC strategy is to facilitate lines of financing to local partner financial institutions like Bank of Maldives to provide SME access to working capital that is key for the country’s economic growth and their ability to participate in global value chains".
ITFC is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group. The primary objective of the corporation is to advance trade among member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Since it commenced operations on January 2008, the institution has provided over USD 51 billion of financing to OIC members.
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