In response to a question put forward by Kinbidhoo MP Abdulla Riyaz, who represents the government aligned Jumhoory Party (JP), at a session of the parliamentary budget review committee, the minister said that Champa Brothers, which owns several resorts, had bought government securities worth MVR 221 million. He added that Crown Tours Maldives, another company affiliated with the same family, had bought additional T-Bills worth MVR 16 million. Minister Jihad revealed that Pension Fund, managed by the Pension Administration Office, had bought the highest percentage of the government securities, amounting to a total of MVR 3.7 billion. The country's main bank, Bank of Maldives Limited (BML) had also bought a percentage of the T-Bills, he said. The minister said that the interest rate for the securities have been lowered to a range between 3.5 to 4.6 percent. The opportunity to purchase the securities via the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) is open to all entities, he added. “Lowering the T-Bill rates in turn decreases bank interest rates, which was our main objective in slashing the interest rate,” remarked Jihad. The proposed budget worth MVR27.457 billion (USD1.7 billion) for the coming year which is MVR3.1 billion more than this year was submitted to the parliament for review on Thursday. Revenue is estimated to be at MVR28.7 billion, which includes grants projected to be worth MVR1.5 billion. The proposed budget also includes a deficit which is expected to be at MVR3.4 billion at the end of the year. A parliamentary committee, headed by ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) parliamentary group leader Ahmed Nihan Hussein Manik who represents the Villimale constituency, is currently reviewing the proposed budget. The parliament is expected to begin the general debate on the committee’s findings on Monday.