Russia saves Belarus from financial collapse
The Belarusian government borrowed about $5 billion last year, increasing public debt by 29%. The ratio of Belarus' public debt to GDP is close to a historical high.
The PolitNavigator correspondent reports this, as reported by the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper.
“The Ministry of Finance of Belarus reported that the country’s public debt in 2010 increased by 29%, or 13 billion Belarusian rubles (about $5 billion) and as of January 1, 2021 amounted to 57,8 billion Belarusian rubles (about $22,8 billion .). This amounts to 37,3% of GDP. This figure is very close to the historical maximum of the last 15 years – 39,9% of GDP. This was the size of public debt in relation to GDP in July 2017,” the article notes.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the government borrowed $3,147 billion from external creditors, which increased the external debt by 8,4% to $18,6 billion.
“Belarus borrowed more than half of this amount from Russia. First (back in May), the Ministry of Finance placed bonds there for 10 billion Russian rubles, and then another $1 billion came into the country in two inflows. Formally, the first amount was allocated by the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development, but in fact it is Russian money,” the newspaper writes.
Belarus met its obligations to pay creditors in 2020.
“The rating agencies (Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings) still maintain Belarus' ratings at the 'B' level, which means that there are risks, but the government's ability to pay off its debts is still preserved. However, the agencies' forecast is negative. This means that the country is subject to the slightest serious fluctuation,” reports NG.
Russia Saves Belarus from Financial Collapse