by
May 16 – May 22, 2011

Foreign currency shortage: growth of debts and unpaid loans

The situation has not changed
Foreign currency shortage: growth of debts and unpaid loans

Without new stabilization loans, the situation with the payment of energy bills, as well as other foreign currency payments by economic entities vis-?-vis banks and suppliers, will become worse.

On 1 April 2011 external arrears of Belarus for natural gas amounted to 213.2 billion rubles (about $ 70 million) (debt for February supply of gas). However in the first half of April this $ 70 million debt was repaid by Belarus and on 23 April Belarus paid for March supplies of gas. However, the bulk of the amount transferred to the Gazprom for gas was formed from the foreign currency loans of the banks given the amount of sales at the BCSE within the 30% mandatory sale was insufficient to meet the needs of Beltransgaz.

For the second month in a row there is an increasing spike in unpaid foreign currency loans. The volume of unpaid loans issued by the Belarusian banks in foreign currency on 1 May 2011 amounted to USD 295.1 million, i.e. it increased by 97.8% in January-April. In April, the growth of problematic foreign currency loans amounted to 41.9% against 29% in March.

According to the NBoB, the highest rate of the increased distressed debt to the banks was in the private sector. On 1 May arrears by private companies amounted to USD 131 million (increased by 56.9% in April) following the March rise by 2.3 times. In January-April problematic foreign currency loans of the private sector increased as compared with the beginning of this year by 5.3 times.

State-owned enterprises increased their foreign currency debt by 42.4% in the course of the past 4 months or by $ 146 million. April was marked with a sharp increase in overdue foreign currency debt by SOEs: by 38.4% compared with 0.7% in March.

State-owned enterprises increased their foreign currency debt by 42.4% in the course of the past 4 months or by $ 146 million. April was marked with a sharp increase in overdue foreign currency debt by SOEs: by 38.4% compared with 0.7% in March.

Private individuals, as before, decreased the foreign currency debt: on 1 May it was USD 18.1 million, which is 16.6% less as compared with the beginning of the year, including the April decline by 3.7% and in March by 7.4%.

Arrears of the “Belposhta” to the “Mail of Russia” on money transfers between Russia and Belarus, was 195 million rubles on 21 April. In mid-April the “Mail of Russia” reported that due to non-paid financial obligations by the “Belposhta” under the agreement on the exchange of international wire transfers, the Russian company could terminate the payment of money orders from Belarus.

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