Foreign Debt Not Going Away
The Central Bank of Russia has begun publishing final data on Russia's foreign debt in 2006. The total foreign debt of the Russian economy was $309.7 billion, of which state debt was $45.1 billion. About half of the corporate debt was attributable to state companies as well. It was clear from the statistics that the foreign debt began to grow more quickly at the end of last year. It increased 15 percent, that is, $40.4 billion, in the fourth quarter, and increased $52.2 billion across the whole year.
The state share of the foreign debt was reduced in 2006 from 28 percent ($71.1 billion) to 14.6 percent ($45.1 billion). It will continue to fall in 2007, but at a more moderate pace. The debts facing the state, such as that to the German development bank Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, which received about 12 billion rubles from the stabilization fund in February and March of this year, are more complex than the debt t the Paris Club that was repaid early last year.
The debts of banks and companies is growing quickly. Last year, banks' debt grew $50.1 billion to $101.2 billion, and companies' debt grew from $125 billion to $195 billion. The Central Bank's statistics do not differentiate between state and private companies, but a document issued a year ago, Analytical Representation of the Foreign Debt of the Russian Federation to Nonresidents,” indicated that the share of state companies and banks was 40 percent.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 03, 2007
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