COLOMBO -- In an apartment block facing Colombo's coast, members of the large Maldivian diaspora in the Sri Lankan capital are discussing economic developments at home. The latest topic: a decision by the government of President Abdulla Yameen to float the country's first sovereign bond, seeking to raise $200 million.
Commercial bankers in Sri Lanka, the Maldives' closest neighbor, are also tuning in for more details. "We still don't know the yield and the date of the issue," a senior commercial banker in Colombo said, asking not to be identified. All that is known is that the bond will have a maturity of five years and will be issued within March.
