Ukraine state debt slides 1% m/m in August

Ukraine’s state debt slid 1.1% m/m to USD 74.9 bln in
August, the Finance Ministry reported on Sept. 24. Domestic debt dropped 3.8%
m/m to USD 26.8 bln, foreign debt increased 0.9% to USD 37.9 bln, and
state-guaranteed debt declined 1.4% m/m to USD 10.1 bln.

In UAH terms, the state debt climbed 4.5% m/m, with
foreign debt rising 6.7% m/m to UAH 1,071 bln and domestic debt improved 1.7%
m/m to UAH 759 bln. In August, state debt amounted to UAH 66.7% of Ukraine’s
2017 GDP.

Evgeniya Akhtyrko: The rise of
foreign debt was due to the placement of USD 725 mln in international discount notes
on Aug. 23. At the same time, Ukraine’s debt to IFIs declined USD 37 mln, or 0.4%
m/m. The debt increase in UAH terms was due to a 3.9% hryvnia depreciation
during August.

For 2018, we project that the state debt will rise
to USD 78.2 bln (67.6% of GDP), assuming IMF cooperation is maintained.