You're reading: Finance Ministry: Ukraine’s state debt on September 5 reaches Hr 360.5 billion

Ukraine's state debt as of Sept. 5, 2011 reached Hr 360.5 billion, with the threshold value as of late 2011 being Hr 375.6 billion, a representative of the state debt management and international cooperation department at the Ukrainian Finance Ministry, Kostiantyn Kuznetsov, said at a roundtable in Kyiv on Sept. 12.

He said that as of late 2011, Ukraine’s gross state and state-secured debt is expected to reach 42.5% of GDP, as of late 2012 – 41.9% of GDP, as of late 2013- 37.9%, and 2014 – 35.3%. The indicators for state debt alone are expected at 29.2%, 27.6%, 26.3% and 25.7% respectively.

"The Finance Ministry insists that the indicator [the gross state and state-secured debt limit] should be set at 40% of GDP," Kuznetsov said, adding that Ukrainian law restricts the limit to 60%.

As reported, Ukraine’s gross state and state-secured debt as of June 1, 2011 came to Hr 469.576 billion, growing by 6.5% or by Hr 28.281 billion in the five months ending on May 31, 2011.

Kuznetsov also said that the Finance Ministry has sufficient resources to service the state debt, including a $2 billion debt to Russia’s VTB Bank at the end of 2011. However, he said that a final decision on the terms of the debt payment to the bank had to be made with due regard to situation on the foreign and domestic financial market: The government is in talks with the bank.

"As for VTB’s credit… successful talks are being held," he said.

"We can carry this instrument over to next year," he added.