The Lebanese gross public debt reached $65.86B in the first eight months of 2014, rising by 8.86% from its value in the same period last year. As a percentage of GDP, Lebanon’s gross public debt went from 134% by August 2013 up to 138% by the same period this year. Worth noting, the Institute of International Finance forecasted Lebanon’s gross public debt to rise to 146% of GDP by 2014.
Debt in domestic currency, grasping a share of 60.35% of total gross debt, surged by 16.05% year-on-year (y-o-y) to reach $39.75B; while foreign currency debt barely lost 0.53% y-o-y to $26.11B.
The Net Public Debt, which is net of public sector deposits at commercial banks and the Central Bank, grew by 7.46% annually, reaching $55.59B.
Commercial banks remained the major holders of LBP denominated government debt, having a share of 52.0%, followed by 30.7% for the Central Bank, and 17.3% for the non-banking sector.