The bonds of the Maldives slumped after Fitch Ratings downgraded the island nation’s debt for the second time in two months over a deepening financial crisis in the tourist paradise.
The south Asian archipelago’s sukuk, a debt compliant with Islamic religious law, fell to 71 cents on the dollar on Thursday as the rating agency flagged “intensified pressures” over its plummeting currency reserves. The bond traded at more than 80 cents at the start of August.
The majority of the Maldivian government’s $3.4bn external debt is held by the export-import banks of China and India, making the country’s mounting debt crisis a showcase for rivalry between the two Asian powers.