Ukraine's gross foreign debt grows to 90.7% of GDP in Q4 23 - NBU

MOSCOW. March 26 (Interfax) - Ukraine's gross external debt grew by $10.6 billion to $161.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, increasing from 89.3% to 90.7% of GDP, Ukrainian media reported, citing the National Bank of Ukraine's (NBU) website.

The gross external debt of the state sector rose by $10.5 billion to $98.3 billion, or 55.2% of GDP, while the private sector debt edged up by $0.3 billion to $63.2 billion, or 35.5% of GDP.

The state sector debt grew due to net borrowing on loans from international partners in the amount of $7.4 billion and $0.6 billion from the International Monetary Fund, as well as the weakening of the dollar ($2.5 billion). The external debt of the central bank decreased by $0.2 billion to $2.2 billion due to scheduled payments to the IMF.

The foreign debt of other Ukrainian banks was almost unchanged at $1.7 billion, while the external debt of other sectors decreased by $0.1 billion to $40.3 billion, as the reduction of debt on trade credits by $0.6 billion was offset by the growth of debt on credit and loans by $0.5 billion.

The intercompany debt of companies in direct investment relations grew by $0.4 billion to $21.2 billion, as foreign debt on credit and loans from direct investors rose by $0.6 billion in the quarter, the NBU said.

Growth of private sector debt due to exchange rate changes totaled $0.8 billion in the quarter.

The overdue debt of the real sector on unguaranteed loans (including from direct investors) grew by $1.4 billion in the quarter to $26.1 billion.

Cyprus accounted for 48.2% of private sector debt on unguaranteed loans (including intercompany debt), as its share shrank by 0.3 percentage points in the quarter. The share of the Netherlands, United States and Germany grew by 0.9, 0.1 and 0.1 pp, respectively, to 8.2%, 3.1% and 3.1%, while the share of the United Kingdom was unchanged at 10.8%.

Cyprus' share of the overdue real sector debt on unguaranteed loans shrank to 54% from 57% and the UK's share decreased to 8.5% from 9.0%, while the Netherlands' share grew to 9.6% from 6.2%.

The short-term foreign debt grew by $0.2 billion to $40.7 billion in the quarter, with the government debt increasing by $0.3 billion to $4.9 billion and the NBU's shrinking by $0.1 billion to $1.0 billion.

The banking sector is due to repay $1.3 billion in the next 12 months, while the real sector (including intercompany debt) is due to pay $33.6 billion. The growth of future payments on long-term loans by $0.9 billion was completely offset by the reduction of debt on trade credits by $0.6 billion and short-term loans by $0.3 billion, the NBU said.

The U.S. dollar remained the main currency of Ukraine's foreign borrowing, accounting for 47.7% of the external debt at the end of 2023, though its share shrank by 1.7 pp in the quarter. The share of SDR and the hryvnia decreased to 10.2% from 10.5% and to 1.4% from 1.6%, respectively, while the share of debt in euros grew to 37.8% from 35.4%.