Turkey's foreign debt stock increases in 2nd quarter

Turkey’s gross foreign debt stock increased $11 billion in the second quarter of 2011, reaching $309.6 billion or about 39 percent of the country’s gross national product, according to figures published by the Treasury on Friday. Meanwhile, the net foreign debt stock reached $178.8 billion.

The net public debt stock was 299.9 Turkish Liras, whereas the general management nominal debt was 484.4 liras, according to the data. The private sector’s share of the total foreign debt stock made up 65.3 percent, whereas the public sector’s share was 30.8 percent and the Turkish Central Bank’s share was 3.9 percent. The Treasury said the foreign debt stock increased by about $1.7 billion in the second quarter, due to volatility in foreign exchange rates. “It is also clear that the foreign borrowing appetite of Turkish companies, especially banks, improved further in the second quarter,” Özgür Altuğ of BGC Partners said in a short note to investors on Friday.

The short-term foreign debt stock reached $85 billion in the second quarter, 27 percent of the total foreign debt stock. “This is probably the highest share in Turkish history,” Altuğ said.


/Hurriyet Daily News/