The volume of Uzbekistan's total external debt as of July 1 reached US$ 20.7 billion, recording a 20% or US$ 3.4 billion increase year-to-date, the Central Bank said in a report.
The external debt includes public and private borrowings, US$ 13.2 billion and US$ 7.5 billion, respectively. Over the first year-halfexternal government debt increased sharply, with the growth trend expected to persist until the year-end. “This is due to the attraction of new borrowings to finance government programs for the development of industries and territories,” the report says.
The private sector debt in the first six months began to increase again mainly due to the growth of borrowings of banks, the regulator noted.
The debt increase was mainly attributable to the public sector (US$ 3.1 billion), of which US$ 1 billion was through international bonds. Private sector debt increased by US$ 330.3 million.
The bulk of private external debt is in the oil and gas and energy sectors - US$ 5.1 billion (68.5%), followed by the banking sector (US$ 1.3 billion), telecommunications (US$ 246.7 million) and textile (US$ 139.4 million) sectors.
