The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) has for the first time published data on the structure of Russia’s foreign debt. It appears that the state share of the debt far exceeds 50%. On January 1, 2006, the debt stood at $258.5 billion (the debt amount has not been corrected since then). According to CBR data, the state sector’s share of the debt, if calculated in broad outline (i.e., including borrowings by state-controlled banks and nonfinancial institutions), totalled $148.7b as of January 1, 2006. The amount is a $17.3b rise since October 1, 2005. The figures reveal that the state’s actual foreign debt was nearly twice as high as previously thought, having grown by 13% in the past three months, while external borrowings by private companies totalled $109.8b, far lower than previously thought.
Source: WWW.KOMMERSANT.RU, May 31, 2006
