Croatia's gross foreign debt at the end of June reached EUR 46.5 billion, or 780 million more than at the end of 2011, according to the latest figures from the Croatian National Bank (HNB).
Following a mild rise in foreign debt in the first quarter of the year, foreign borrowing intensified in the second quarter, increasing by EUR 600 million, the central bank said in its latest bulletin. Of that amount, about EUR 100 million was the result of euro depreciation against the US dollar.
The foreign debt growth in the second quarter was mainly fuelled by an increase in foreign liabilities from the central government. At the same time, private companies, and to a lesser extent non-banking financial institutions, also increased their foreign debt, while commercial banks and public enterprises reduced their foreign liabilities.
The rise of central government debt in the second quarter, after a marginal increase in the first three months, was the result of the issue of USD 1.5 billion in government bonds in April. The debt was compounded by the shipyards' foreign liabilities of about EUR 300 million which the government assumed as part of the restructuring process.
At the end of June, the government's foreign debt totalled EUR 8.2 billion, or 17.6% of the country's foreign debt.
