REUTERS
Some UAH 119.2 billion and UAH 345.2 billion were allocated for servicing and paying off public debt, respectively.
Public and government-guaranteed debt of Ukraine at the end of 2019 decreased from 62.7% to 51.6% of GDP, the Ministry of Finance said in a commentary regarding the performance in fiscal year 2019.
"According to operational estimates, public debt at the end of 2019 amounted to UAH 1.764 trillion in hryvnias, and $75.5 billion in dollar equivalent, having decreased in relation to GDP to about 45% at the end of 2019. The government-guaranteed debt at the end of the year was estimated at about 6.6% of GDP," the report says.
In the framework of the Government Debt Management Strategy in 2019, the share of government debt denominated in national currency was increased from 33% to 41%. The weighted average term of domestic government loan bonds was also increased: from nine months in 2018 to about two years in 2019. Yields on government bonds decreased significantly: in hryvnia by 7.22 percentage points to 11.78% for three-month government bonds and by 7.08 percentage points up to 11.42% for annual government bonds.
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"The yield on the latest borrowings in the domestic market in U.S. dollars was a record low 3.86%, and the latest government bonds denominated in euros were at a record low 2.22%, the lowest in the history of modern Ukraine," the report adds.
In total, in 2019, UAH 119.2 billion and UAH 345.2 billion was allocated for servicing and paying off public debt, respectively.
"During this period, domestic borrowing amounted to UAH 341.2 billion (of which UAH 222.6 billion accounted for borrowing in hryvnias), while external borrowing in hryvnia equivalent amounted to UAH 63.8 billion. Against the background of macroeconomic stability and the expected economic growth of Ukraine, demand for domestic bonds was supported by non-residents, who gained easier access to domestic bonds due to Ukraine joining the Clearstream network. The share of domestic bonds in the portfolio of non-residents reached 14.1% at the end of December," the report reads.
UNIAN memo. The volume of public and government-guaranteed debt of Ukraine in 2018 increased in dollar terms by $2.02 billion, or 2.6%, to $78.32 billion. In hryvnia equivalent, it increased by UAH 26.94 billion, or 1.3%, to UAH 2.169 trillion. In relation to GDP, in 2018, it dropped to about 62.7% from 71.8% in 2017.