Turkey: Private sector foreign debt down in March

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - Outstanding short- and long-term debts of Turkey’s private sector declined in March, the Turkish Central Bank said on Monday.

The total foreign debt of private sector saw $170.2 billion as of March, falling by $3.5 billion.

The private sector's short-term overseas loans – excluding trade credits – totaled $9.1 billion in March, down $605 million compared to the end of last year.

Some 83.7% of short-term loans consisted of the liabilities of financial institutions, the bank said.

Broken down by currency, the majority of Turkey's short-term credit, 39.1%, was in US dollars, while 35.8% was in euros, 22.3% in Turkish liras, and 2.8% in other currencies.

On the other side, the private sector's long-term debt fall by $2.9 million to $161 billion over the same period.

The Central Bank said 43% of the total long-term foreign loans were owed by financial institutions and 57% by non-financial institutions.

On their currency composition, long-term loans totaled $161 billion, with 63.4% consisting of US dollars, 32.6% in euros, 2.2% in Turkish liras, and 1.8% in other currencies, it added.

Based on a remaining maturity basis, the private sector's total outstanding foreign loans indicate principal repayments of $42.2 billion over the next 12 months by the end of March.