Interfax, Russia
April 28 2012

Armenian state debt at 41.7% of GDP at end-2011

YEREVAN. April 28

Total Armenian state debt stood at $4.129 billion at the end of last
year, representing 41.7% of GDP, Deputy Armenian Finance Minister and
treasury chief Atom Dzhandzhugazian told the press on Saturday.

The Finance Ministry had predicted that state debt would amount to
41.3% of GDP at end-2011.

Dzhandzhugazian said that foreign state debt amounted to $3.568
billion, or 36.1% of GDP, at the end of last year. Domestic state debt
was $560 million, or 5.7% of GDP. Of foreign debt, government
obligations accounted for $2.951 billion, or 29.8% of GDP and Central
Bank of Armenia obligations to $617 million.

As of March 31 this year, Dzhandzhugazian said, Armenia’s state debt
was at $4.196 billion, including $3.634 billion in foreign debts ($3.3
billion – government, $631 million – Central Bank), and $562.2 million
in domestic debts.

During the financial crisis, Armenia’s debt burden doubled,
Dzhandzhugazian said, although the country continues to be thought of
as a country with a low debt level. The cost of servicing state debt
will be rising until 2015, and then it will start to go down, he said.

Per its state-debt law, Armenia can increase that debt to 50%-60% of
GDP, while the government is obligated to keep the country’s budget
deficit to no more than 3% of GDP.

Cf