Russia anticipates drop in foreign debt

BBC Monitoring Service

Moscow, 19 September:

Russia's foreign debt will fall to 132bn dollars by 1 January 2003 from 143.3bn dollars at the beginning of this year, according to materials drawn up for a foreign debt commission meeting in the State Duma today.

The documents state that the foreign debt structure needs to take into account a reserve for possible changes in interest rates and currency exchange rates. Including this reserve, the foreign debt will be 142bn dollars at the beginning of 2003, compared to 147.7bn dollars at the beginning of 2001.

At the beginning of this year the foreign debt included 67bn dollars owed to foreign governments, including 47.4bn dollars to the Paris Club of creditors, 5.2bn dollars to countries not in the Paris Club, and 14.3bn dollars to former Comecon members.

Debts to foreign commercial banks and firms totalled 6.6bn dollars. These debts are expected to be eliminated completely by 1 January 2003.

Debts to international financial organizations stood at 16.1bn dollars at the beginning of this year, and are expected to drop to 13.4bn dollars by the start of 2003.

Debts on foreign currency government securities are expected to rise to 52.6bn dollars by 2003 from 47.2bn dollars at the beginning of 2001, with debt on Eurobonds growing to 41.9bn dollars from 36.4bn dollars and debt on Finance Ministry bonds remaining unchanged at 10.8bn dollars.

The foreign currency debt to the Central Bank of Russia is expected to drop to 6.3bn dollars by 2003 from 6.4bn dollars at the beginning of this year.