Lebanese Gross Public Debt Reached $66.21B by October

Lebanese gross public debt reached $66.21B, increasing by 4.33% year-to-date (y-t-d) by October 2014. Gross public debt accounted for 146% of Lebanon’s GDP, compared to 140% of GDP in December 2013. Gross local currency debt jumped by 7.81% since year-start to a value of $40.26B, capturing a share of 60.82% of gross public debt. In contrast, debt denominated in foreign currencies displayed a 0.65% decline, during the same period, to $25.94B as of end-October 2014. Net public debt, which is equal to the total public debt less the government’s deposits at both commercial banks and the Central Bank, widened 5.73% y-t-d to $56.23B by October 2014. Regarding outstanding T-bills denominated in local currency, commercial banks maintained their position as the major holder, with a share of 51%, followed by the Central Bank with 31.7% and the non-banking sector with 17.1%.

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