Uzbekistan's external debt up to 17.3 bln USD

TASHKENT, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan's total external debt increased 9.5 percent in 2018 from the previous year, reaching 17.3 billion U.S. dollars as of January 1, 2019, the country's central bank said.

The trend of the growth of foreign debt in public sector will continue in the coming year, the central bank said in a report published late Saturday.

The share of the private sector in foreign debt is 7.2 billion dollars, or 42 percent, while the state share is 10 billion dollars, or 58 percent, the report said.

The private sector debt consists of external borrowings received without the guarantee of the government of Uzbekistan, including debt on loans provided by foreign parent companies. The state sector debt is composed of loans received by the government or under the state guarantee, according to the central bank.

The largest part of the private foreign debt is from oil, gas and energy sector, amounting to 5.5 billion dollars. The banking sector comes next with 978.2 million dollars' debt.

Foreign debt in public sector increased significantly in 2018 and the current growth trend is expected to continue next year due to the attraction of new foreign borrowings to finance the state development programs, the central bank explained.