Public Debt Of Belarus Reaches Historical Maximum

The external public debt increased by $ 2 billion since the beginning of the year.

The external public debt of Belarus since the beginning of the year increased by 14.7%, or $ 2 billion, to $ 15.7 billion as of September 1, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The entire state debt of Belarus as of September 1, 2017 amounted to Bn 39.6 billion, having increased by Bn 2.7 billion, or by 7.2%, compared to the beginning of the year, tut.by reports.

In January - August, the state attracted foreign loans for $ 2.656 billion. The main volume, $ 1.4 billion, came from placing eurobonds. The Eurasian Stabilization and Development Fund (two tranches of $ 600 million), the Russian government and banks ($ 353.1 million), the banks of China ($ 190.4 million), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ($ 108.7 million), and the EBRD (3.6 million) became major lenders.

To repay the external public debt, Belarus transferred $ 697.8 million in eight months (to the government of the Russian Federation — $ 264.3 million, to the banks of China — $ 217.5 million, to the ESDF — $ 176.6 million, to the IBRD — $ 38.5 million, to the US — $ 0.7 million, and to the EBRD — $ 0.2 million).

The domestic national debt decreased by Bn 0.9 billion, or 8.7%, to Bn 9.3 billion, since the beginning of the year.

In January - August 2017, the amount of the domestic currency government bonds placed by legal entities and individuals reached $ 414.1 million. The bonds for $ 997.9 million and Bn 170.5 million were repaid.

The Ministry of Finance is concerned about the growth of expenses for servicing the public debt, the share of these payments in the volume of expenditures of the republican budget in 2016 was more than 10%, while in 2010 — about 2%. The share of borrowing last year amounted to 41.7% to the GDP, the critical level being 45-50%.

It is already known that next year, new borrowings will be required to settle Belarus' external debt. External liabilities denominated in foreign currency will amount to $ 2.5 billion in 2018, about $ 1.7 million is planned to be refinanced through new loans. In particular, we are talking about a new placement of Eurobonds.