April 2 (SeeNews) - Moldova's foreign debt rose to $6.973 billion (8.596 billion euro) in 2017 from $6.235 billion at the end of 2016, provisional data from the country's central bank, BNM, showed on Monday.
The 11.8% increase was mainly due to financial assistance from international lenders in the three months through December, BNM data showed.
In December, the EU released 36.3 million euro of a total of 47 million euro requested by Moldova to help the country boost exports to the EU and speed up reforms in the administration. Also in December, the IMF decided to make available to Moldova $22 million under the current three-year funding arrangement. Moldova already received a total of $57.5 million in two tranches under the current three-year credit facility of $183.1 million, approved in November 2016.
At the end of December, Moldova also owed a total of $610 million to the International Development Association, $296 million to the International Monetary Fund, $188 million to the European Investment Bank, $84 million to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and $65 million to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Its biggest creditor states were neighbouring Romania with $171.4 million, Japan with $58 million and Russia with $46 million.
Details follow (in millions of dollars):
|
end-2017 |
end-2016 |
General government |
1,722.54 |
1,481.68 |
Monetary authorities |
264.29 |
292.28 |
Banks |
440.44 |
375.23 |
Other sectors |
2,707.54 |
3,020.84 |
Direct investment: inter-company lending |
1,838.89 |
1,065.20 |
TOTAL |
6,973.70 |
6,235.23 |
The end-month foreign debt figures released by the BNM exclude trade credits, non-resident deposits in Moldovan banks and local currency in possession of non-residents. The BNM releases figures for those liabilities quarterly, in a balance of payments report.
($=0.8111 euro)