18 June 2004 16:15
Russian foreign debt down 14 per cent from year 2000, structure not optimal
Moscow, 18 June: Russia's foreign debt of has fallen by 14 per cent since the year 2000 but its structure
"continues not to be optimal". This was announced at the collegium of the Audit Chamber today by the
chamber's auditor Sergey Sokhin when presenting the results of the analysis of the positions on the state debt.
It was noted at the collegium that in the year 2000 foreign debt amounted to 139bn dollars and by the beginning of
this year it fell to 120bn dollars. However, according to the auditor, "its structure continues not to be optimal
from the point of view of managing the debt". As at 1 January, only 35.9 per cent of the liabilities were in
"foreign-currency-denominated securities with which operations can be conducted so as to make use of market
conditions". At the same time, the auditor noted, credits from the governments of foreign countries account for 45
per cent of the total foreign debt of the country. "Debts of that kind are not suitable for making use of the
opportunities at the world financial markets," Sergey Shokhin stressed.
The expert analytical report will be forwarded to the chambers of the Federal Assembly.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
