Page 27 - IRANRptJun19

6.2 Debt
Iran - Gross external debt 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
External debt (USD bn)
20.030 17.344 7.406 7.006 5.441 6.322 7.475 8.481 10.910
External debt (% GDP)
4.281 2.929 1.258 1.366 1.277 1.577 1.9 2.0 2.4
Source: World Bank, CEIC
Iran's external debt stood at $10.9bn in 2018, up 28.6% compared to the figure in 2017, due to sanctions placed on the country, according to CEIC data. The ratio of external debt to GDP stood at 2.4% in 2018.
The World Bank (WB) said in its International Debt Statistics 2017 report that Iran’s foreign debt stood at $6.3bn in 2015, falling substantially by almost 64% compared to the figure in 2011, thanks to the post-sanctions country being able to access frozen assets in several nations, including the US.
The report said that in 2015 Iran's long-term foreign debt was $2.3bn, its foreign short-term debt was $2.0bn and its debt owed to international financial organisations was also $2.0bn. The ratio of external debt to GDP stood at 1.6% for 2015, down from 2.9% in 2011.
7.0 FX
Iran’s central bank reportedly working on mechanism to calm forex market rattled by sanctions
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is set to launch a new “mechanism to control foreign currency exchange rates,” Mehr news agency reported on May 7 quoting an official at the regulator.
The news of the latest attempt to get a grip on the market broke as the Iranian rial (IRR) sank to around a seven-month low against the USD by late trade on Tehran’s Ferdowsi Street—the epicentre of free-market foreign currency trading in the country. The IRR sank to 154,000 to the dollar on the unofficial market, compared to 150,500 rials the previous day—according to Bonbast.com—as the ramping up of sanctions and other moves by the US against Iran seemed to take a toll.
The unnamed banking official reportedly told the news agency that a “unified foreign exchange market” system was being finalised and that the new mechanism would be inaugurated as soon as next week.
The new mechanism is likely to be something of a repeat of previous efforts by the CBI to rein in unofficial market currency dealers so that their rates more closely match the officially set exchange rates.
However, the CBI will want to avoid previous mistakes seen during spring last year which saw the IRR drop 70% in a matter of weeks against the dollar
Iran - FX
Dec-16
Mar-17
Jun-17
Sep-17
Dec-17
Mar-18
Jun-18
Sep-18
Dec-18
Currency (units per EUR) (eop)
34,056
34,859
37,057
39,666
43,273
46,522
49,268
48,754
48,108
Currency (units per USD) (eop)
32,375
32,422
32,489
33,805
36,064
37,743
42,590
42,000
41,995
27 IRAN Country Report June 2019 www.intellinews.com