For the second quarter of 2018, Kazakhstan’s foreign debt decreased by $2.2 billion, the National Bank of Kazakhstan reported.
“The reduction of debt was also due to the balance of payments. In particular, through the repayment of foreign loans raised from affiliated organisations of China and syndicates of financial organisations. Also, debt decreased due to a reduction in demand from foreign investors for short-term notes of the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The external debt of Kazakhstan has shrunk due to a decrease in the market value of debt securities of Kazakhstan issuers, a negative exchange rate difference,” the financial regulator said.
It is noted that on July 1, 2018, the external debt of Kazakhstan amounted to $164.4 billion, or 96.3% of GDP.
“In the structure of foreign debt, still 63% is occupied by inter-company debt, 26.1% by external debt of Other sectors to unrelated creditors, 7.2% by public external debt of the government and the National Bank of Kazakhstan, 3.7% by external liabilities of the Banks sector, including second-tier banks and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan,” the National Bank stressed.
For analytical purposes, the external debt of organisations controlled by the state is allocated separately in the structure of external debt. These include banks and organisations in which the public sector directly or indirectly owns more than 50% of equity interest.
“The debt of these entities as of July 1, 2018 amounted to $26.5 billion. The decrease in the second quarter of 2018 by $0.6 billion was due to the early repayment of the Samruk-Kazyna loan attracted in 2015 to acquire a 50% stake in KMG Kashagan BV. Also, debt reduction occurred due to a decrease in the market value of Eurobonds of quasi-state issuers,” the National Bank noted.
The National Bank clarifies that the net foreign debt of Kazakhstan amounted to 46.6 billion dollar. For the second quarter, debt increased by $0.5 billion. "At the same time, the public sector and Banks are net lenders to the rest of the world, while Other sectors are net borrowers,” the financial regulator said.
