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Gross External Debt in Bulgaria Climbs, Driven by Long-Term Liabilities

Business » FINANCE | October 5, 2024, Saturday // 13:27

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Bulgaria: Gross External Debt in Bulgaria Climbs, Driven by Long-Term Liabilities

Bulgarian National Bank; Photo: Stella Ivanova

At the end of July 2024, Bulgaria's gross external debt reached 43.69 billion euros, or 43.6% of the country's GDP, marking an increase of 1.23 billion euros compared to the same period in the previous year, when the debt stood at 42.46 billion euros, or 45.2% of GDP. This is according to data from the Bulgarian National Bank.

Short-term liabilities amounted to 7.82 billion euros at the end of July 2024, representing 17.9% of gross debt and 7.8% of GDP, an increase of 481.3 million euros year-on-year. A year earlier, this figure was 7.34 billion euros, accounting for 17.3% of gross debt and 7.8% of GDP.

Long-term liabilities reached 35.87 billion euros, or 82.1% of gross debt and 35.8% of GDP, by the end of July 2024. This represents an increase of 748.6 million euros compared to July 2023, when long-term liabilities were 35.12 billion euros, or 82.7% of gross debt and 37.4% of GDP.

By the end of July, 26.2 billion euros, or 60% of gross external liabilities, had a residual maturity of more than one year, and 78.9% of gross external liabilities were denominated in euros, a slight decrease from 79.3% the previous year.

The gross external debt of the General Government sector reached 10.13 billion euros, or 10.1% of GDP, by the end of July 2024, up by 620.8 million euros compared to the previous year. The Central Bank’s external liabilities stood at 2.03 billion euros, or 2% of GDP, a slight decrease of 4.3 million euros year-on-year.

External liabilities of "Other monetary financial institutions," including banks and money market funds, reached 6.36 billion euros, or 6.4% of GDP, an increase of 535.7 million euros compared to the previous year.

The external liabilities of "Other sectors" grew to 12.25 billion euros, or 12.2% of GDP, an increase of 328.8 million euros from a year earlier. Meanwhile, intra-company lending decreased to 12.91 billion euros, or 12.9% of GDP, down by 251 million euros from the previous year. Intra-company lending continued to hold the largest share of external debt at 29.6%, compared to 31% in July 2023.

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