Finance
Public debt jumps 3.8 percent
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| in the red: The debt owed to commercial banks has grown, in part, because of loans needed to finance the Carretera Madden-Colón.1092815 |
The country’s outstanding public debt reached $10.9 billion at the close of last month, according to data from the Dirección de Crédito Público del Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (MEF).
That figure is $401 million, or 3.8 percent, higher than that registered at the end of 2007. The increase recorded this year is due in part to additional credit agreements with commercial banks, which added $163 million.
Panama owes $287 million to the World Bank (WB) and another $933 million to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). During the past eight months, the country’s debts with these institutions have increased by $70.3 million and $42.2 million, respectively.
Arrears with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), however, have declined progressively over the last several months. In December, the country owed, $5.2 million, which has since been reduced to $1.3 million. MEF officials reported that the entity is planning to pay that balance in full before the end of this year.
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