Serbian foreign debt reaches USD 33.26bn

Belgrade, Feb. 06, 2010, (Source: B 92) - Serbia's foreign debt reached USD 33.26bn at the end of November 2009 – 2.7 percent up compared to a month earlier. The figure also means there was a 8.3 percent increase compared to the end of 2008, Head of the Market Research Institute (IZIT) Miloje Kanjevac said on Wednesday. Serbia's foreign debt has increased 3.2 times since the end of 2000, when it totaled USD 10.83bn, Kanjevac told a press conference. For most of the last decade, the private sector incurred more debt, increasing it from 2.03bn in 2000 to 23bn, but the state took over the lead at the end of 2008. Private sector debt made up 18.8 percent of the total debt in 2000 and 70.7 percent in 2008. Private sector debt dropped to 69.2 percent of the total debt in November 2009, while state debt totaled 30.8 percent. The total public sector debt rose from USD 8.8bn in 2000 to USD 10.26bn in November 2009, and was up 14 percent compared to the end of 2008. Kanjevac said that the state increased its indebtedness under the pressure of the economic crisis. He assessed that the foreign debt will continue to grow, mostly because of the effects of the public debt.