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Belarus' gross foreign debt reported up 0.8 percent in first quarter

The nation's gross foreign debt increased by $183.2 million, or 0.8 percent, in the first three months of 2010 to $22,243.5 million, said the National Bank of Belarus, BelaPAN reports.

The gross foreign debt reportedly stood at $2,348 per capita as of April 1, 2010, up from $2,327 as of January 1.

In particular, the government's foreign debt declined by 0.7 percent to $4,891.5 million and banks' foreign debts by 1.8 percent to 3,487.2 million, while monetary authorities' foreign debts rose by 16.3 percent to $4,493.4 million.

As for the other sectors of the economy, their foreign debts decreased by 3.7 percent to $8,592.4 million.

Direct investment decreased by 2.5 percent in the first three months to $779 million.

A total of $1,730 million went toward servicing the nation's foreign debt in the period, or 15.7 percent of Gross Domestic Product and 27.7 percent of the export of goods and services. Interest payments accounted for $140.1 million of the amount.

Belarus' gross foreign debt rose by $6,875.8 million, or 45.4 percent, in 2009 to $22,029.9 million, the National Bank said.