16 June 2004 02:34
Finance Ministry expects $500 mln saving on debt payments
MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - The Finance Ministry expects a $500 million saving on foreign debt payments in 2004, a
spokesman for the ministry told the press on Wednesday.
"Earlier agreements were going to be reached on clearing foreign debt, but this will not happen before the end
of 2004 so there will be a saving," he said.
There will also be a saving on payments due to exchange rate differences as the ruble continues to see an upward
trend, he said.
Finance Ministry materials submitted for a government meeting on June 17 say that foreign debt interest payments will
total 207.5 billion rubles in 2004, instead of the 223.2 billion rubles envisaged in the budget.
The materials also suggest reviewing the average annual exchange rate of the ruble to 29.1 rubles/$1 instead of 31.3
rubles/$1, on which the Finance Ministry based the 2004 budget. [RU ASIA EUROPE EEU EMRG ECI MCE GVD EUB FRX] me
[Interfax] |
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