Ukraine aggregate state debt jumps 7% in December

Ukraine’s state and state-guaranteed debt rose 7.1%
m/m to USD 90.3 bln as of Dec. 31, the Finance Ministry reported on Jan. 26. State
domestic debt surged 11.3% m/m to USD 35.4 bln, while state foreign debt jumped
5.2% m/m to USD 44.5 bln. State-guaranteed debt increased 1.9% m/m to USD 10.4
bln.

In UAH terms, overall state debt gained 6.4% m/m in December
to UAH 2,552 bln, or 62.9% of Ukraine’s expected GDP in 2020.

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The growth
of state debt in December exceeded our expectations. The state domestic debt
surged amid ever-high receipts from the placement of domestic bonds. The increase
in state foreign debt was mostly due the tap issue of Eurobonds for USD 600 mln
and the disbursement of an EU loan for EUR 600 mln.

The lower growth of the state debt in UAH terms was
mostly the result of 0.7% hryvnia appreciation in December.