Russian foreign debt up 0.06% to $556.2 bln in Q2 - Central Bank estimate
MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - Russia's foreign debt grew $323 million or 0.06% to $556.185 billion from $555.862 billion in Q2 2015, the Central Bank said in an estimate, posted on its website.
The foreign debt reached a record $732.779 billion on July 1, 2014, after which it shrank by $176.917 billion or 24.1% in the three quarters to April 1, 2015.
The foreign debt of nonbanking sectors of the economy grew by $5.311 billion or 1.5% in Q2 2015 to $361.766 billion. Companies' debt on loans decreased by $839 million or 0.4% to $212.579 billion, and obligations on debt securities shrank by $196 million or 2.6% to 7.402 billion.
Corporate debt grew with an increase in debt obligations to direct investors and private equity firms, by $3.366 billion or 2.6% to $131.015 billion, as well as an increase in other debt, by $2.944 billion or 120% to $5.399 billion.
Banks, meanwhile, reduced their debt by $5.219 billion or 3.4% to $148.959 billion in Q2, approximately by the same amount that the nonbanking sector's debt grew.
The Central Bank's debt shrank by $1.217 billion or 10.4% to $10.456 billion in Q2.
The foreign debt of government agencies, however, rose by $1.448 billion or 4.3% to $35.004 billion. Debt to nonresidents on ruble government securities, which grew by $1.433 billion or 9.6% to $16.304 billion, accounted for virtually the whole increase in the foreign state debt. The $1.268 billion decrease in the debt on government securities in Q1 - to $14.871 billion from $16.139 billion as of January 1 - was therefore offset in Q2.
Based on the ruble's official exchange rate against the U.S. dollar, the debt on ruble securities to nonresidents shrank by an estimated 57 billion rubles in Q1, to 857.3 billion rubles from 914.3 billion rubles, and grew by 53.1 billion rubles in Q2, to 910.4 billion rubles.
Finance Ministry have in recent months noted growing interest from nonresidents in Russian domestic government bonds. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said recently that investors from China have acquired 50 billion-60 billion rubles worth of federal OFZ bonds in 2015. He said that, "having acquired the first amount of such paper and realizing that this is a profitable investment, good and reliable, our Chinese partners will be able to expand the scale of their investments in the Russian economy."