Gross external debt down slightly in 2012 to 76.6% GDP
25 March 2013
The gross external debt of Ukraine increased 7% (USD 8.8 bln) in 2012 to USD 135.1 bln, or 76.6% of GDP by Jan. 1, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported on March 22.Short-term external debt increased only 2.6% up to USD 60.9 bln, including USD 27.7 bln in the current portion of long-term debt.
Alexander Paraschiy: Long-term credits for the economy’s real sector (USD 6.6 bln) and trade credits (USD 3.5 bln) were the key reasons for external debt growth in 2012. At the same time, the banking sector and NBU decreased their external liabilities by USD 3.6 bln and USD2.6 bln in 2012, respectively. Despite impressive external government borrowings in 2012 (USD 3.85 bln), the state’s external liabilities increased only USD 1.5 bln owing to solid external redemptions arranged throughout the year.
The short-term external debt (USD 60.9 bln) primarily stems from short-term trade credits (USD 21.0 bln), USD 11.4 bln debt of the banking sector and the current portion of long-term debt of other sectors (USD 11.1 bln).
All in all, Ukraine’s foreign debt remains quite high though it decreased as a percentage of GDP from 77.3% (as of Jan. 1,2012) to 76.6% (Jan. 1, 2013). Liabilities maturing by the year’s end (45.1% of total debt) also are impressive but we see a high probability for a safe rollover of the debt if IMF cooperation is resumed.
