Belarus to pay over $2.4 bln in foreign debt in 2014
MINSK. Nov 27 (Interfax) - The Belarusian Finance Ministry plans to repay foreign debt of $2.43 billion, it said in an article on the 2014 budget draft, published in the ministry journal.
Payments to international financial organizations will increase by $174.2 million compared to the planned amount for 2013 and will total $1.84 billion. The increase is mainly due to EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund debt repayment.
The ministry said it is due to pay an extra $246.7 million in principal debt at $588.6 million in 2014 due to repayment of loans from the Bank of China and to Venezuela.
Belarus will continue to service loans from the IMF, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Russia, EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund, banks in Germany, China, Venezuela and Belarusian Eurobonds.
Foreign debt servicing payments are expected to increase by $255.8 million on 2013 to $785.3 million, which will require budget spending of 7.69 trillion Belarusian rubles. This is due to an anticipated increase in the volume of foreign debt due to $5.6 billion being raised in 2013-2014.
Belarus plans to spend a total of 10.04 trillion Belarusian rubles on servicing government debt.
The Finance Ministry plans to issue $800 million in government bonds to refinance foreign debt in 2014.
The budget draft envisages limits that will ensure government debt remains within economic safety levels. The limit for domestic debt is 50 trillion Bel. rubles, for government guaranteed domestic debt it is 36 trillion Bel. Rubles and for foreign debt it is $15.5 billion. The limit on government guaranteed foreign debt is $3 billion.
Spending on servicing domestic debt in 2014 will increase by 1.33 trillion Belarusian rubles to 2.34 trillion Bel. rubles. The increase will be down to the issue of foreign currency government bonds in 2013 and 2014.
The Finance Ministry said that as of October 1 2013 there was foreign debt of $12.3 billion, up by $314.1 million, or 2.6%, since the start of the year (taking into account exchange rate differences). Foreign government debt repayments since the start of the year have totaled $1.36 billion. Belarus paid $1.12 billion on IMF stand-by loan debt, $112.5 million to the Russian government, $48.8 million to the Venezuelan Economic and Social Development Bank, $67.5 million to Chinese banks and $7.1 million on other foreign government loans.
The foreign government debt forecast for the end of 2013 says it should not exceed 20.2% of GDP and domestic debt should be 2.9% of GDP. GDP is forecast to increase 8.5% in real terms to 672.4 trillion Belarusian rubles in current prices ($75.1 billion at the predicted average annual exchange rate of 8,950 Bel. rubles /$1).
The Finance Ministry says foreign government debt may increase to $17 billion, or 22.7% of GDP in 2013.
The Belarusian authorities hope to refinance foreign debt due in 2013 with the sixth tranche of the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund and domestic borrowing of up to $500 million.
The official exchange rate on November 27 stood at 9,320 Bel. rubles /$1.
