Ukraine state debt declines to 50% of GDP in 2019, MinFin estimates

Ukraine’s state and state-guaranteed debt rose 1.9%
m/m to USD 84.4 bln in December, the Finance Ministry reported on Jan. 28.
State domestic debt rose 3.4% m/m to USD 35.0 bln, while the state foreign debt
inched up 1.0% m/m to USD 39.3 bln. State-guaranteed debt underwent no changes,
staying at USD 10.0 bln.

In UAH terms, overall state debt inched up 0.4% m/m to
UAH 1,998 bln. State debt concluded the year at about 50% of GDP, dropping from
60.9% of GDP in 2018, MinFin estimated.

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: State
domestic debt in December increased as the volume of newly attracted debt (the
equivalent of UAH 25.7 bln) exceeded the value of local bonds redeemed in
December (the equivalent of UAH 8.2 bln). In addition, a 3.2% appreciation of
the national currency in December contributed to the debt growth in USD terms.

State debt falling to 50% of GDP is a noteworthy
achievement, which is the result of prudent fiscal policy amid consistent
economic growth. The mid-term government strategy assumes a decline in the
debt-to-GDP ratio to 43% in 2022.