Moldova's state debt is expected to grow by 10 billion lei in 2024, but its share in GDP will amount to 36.7%, which is an acceptable indicator.
Finance Minister Petru Rotaru announced this while answering the MPs’ questions during the presentation of the draft law on the state budget for 2024 in Parliament. He said that this is an acceptable indicator of the debt-to-GDP ratio, as up to 60 per cent of the GDP is considered safe for developing countries. The Finance Minister also said that Moldova plans to spend more than 5.1 billion lei on the servicing of the state debt in 2024. He explained that the planned increase in the expenses for the servicing of the external public debt is conditioned, among other things, by the fact that almost all the loans were pegged to the Euribor interest rates, which have recently risen due to the economic crisis, and if earlier they were at a maximum of 1.8 per cent, now they are at 3.9 per cent. Therefore, the increase in the expenses for the servicing of the external state debt does not necessarily mean that Moldova has started taking more loans. Petru Rotaru also emphasized that Moldova does not take commercial loans, but concessionary loans, with "vacations" on payments for at least 3 years, with preferential interest rates and a repayment period of 10-15-20 years. "These are favorable terms. In the period of economic regression, the increase in the budget deficit and the receipt of new loans and grants is designed to stimulate consumption in the country and investment, which is good in the crisis and will allow to achieve the desired sustainable economic growth," emphasized the head of the Ministry of Finance. // 07.12.2023 - InfoMarket
