03 February 2011
BEIRUT: Figures released by the Bank for International Settlements show Lebanon’s external debt totaled $23.7 billion at the end of September 2010, ranking it in 43rd place globally and in 16th place among developing states.
Lebanon also ranked in 7th place among 15 offshore centers and 4th among 20 countries in the Middle East & Africa region, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.
The figure represents the outstanding amount of international debt securities issued by both public and private institutions in the country. Lebanon accounted for 0.09 percent of the world’s and for 2.1 percent of developing nations’ outstanding external debt.
Globally, Lebanon came ahead of Czech Republic, Colombia and China and behind Qatar, South Africa and Switzerland. Lebanon’s outstanding external debt increased by 0.1 percent in the first nine months of 2010 compared to an increase of 8.9 percent in developing countries and a 1.2 percent rise in offshore centers. It totaled $23.66 billion at the end of 2009.
Lebanon’s stock of external debt at end-September 2009 was above the average of $16.8 billion for developing countries.
Lebanon accounted for 1.5 percent of offshore centers’ total external debt, ranking ahead of Panama and behind the West Indies. Further, Lebanon accounted for 15.8 percent of international debt securities in the Middle East & Africa region, ahead of Israel with $16.4 billion and behind Qatar with $25.7 billion. The outstanding amount of international debt securities in all offshore centers totaled $1.530.4 trillion, while that of developing countries reached $1.109.9 trillion as at end-September 2010. In parallel, Lebanon’s net debt issuance totaled $67 million in the first nine months of 2010, ranking it in 63rd place globally and in 34th place among developing countries. Globally, it came ahead of Liechtenstein, Aruba and Uruguay and behind Barbados, Nigeria and Panama. Lebanon's net debt issuance in the first 9 months of 2010 was lower than the global average net issuance of $12.1 billion and the average net issuance in developing countries of $2 billion. It accounted for 0.7 percent of the Middle East & Africa's net issues. – The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2011.
