Page 29 - IRANRptMar21

6.2 ​Debt
Iran - Gross external debt 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
External debt (USD bn)
7.406 7.006 5.441 6.322 7.475 8.481 10.910 9.339 9.031
External debt (% GDP)
3.31 1.28 1.45 1.18 1.94 2.03 2.45 2.05 1.6
Source: World Bank, CEIC
Iran’s foreign debt at ‘nearly zero’
IMF forecasts Iran’s net debt at 44% of GDP
Iran’s total external debt at $9.33bn in March 2019
Iran’s deputy minister of economic affairs and finance has said the country’s foreign debts are currently very insignificant at nearly zero, Tasnim News Agency reported on January 20.
Utilising foreign debt could be a good opportunity for the government to meet investment needs inside Iran, Mohammad-Ali Dehqan Dehnavi added.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has estimated that the Iranian government's net debt will reach around $260bn by the end of 2020, equivalent to 44% of Iran's GDP.
Before the reimposition of heavy US sanctions on Tehran in 2018, the net debt stood at less than $118bn.
Muddying the picture, however, is the fact that estimates of how much crude oil Iran manages to sell on the grey market despite US sanctions vary rather widely.
The IMF, meanwhile, has also calculated that Iran's total budget deficit for the current fiscal year will be around $58bn.
Iran's total external debt decreased 17% to $9.33bn at the end of the previous Persian financial year (ended March 20), according to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and IBENA on July 8.
Despite suffering from bad debt internally, Iran is in a remarkably strong position in terms of its international debt, most notably down to international lenders not being allowed to interact formally with the Islamic Republic.
The central bank report shows that Iran's external debt reached $9.339bn at the end of the Iranian fiscal year ending March 2019. In comparison, Turkey’s external debt reached $286.2bn at the end of 2018, according to its central bank, ​Hurriyet ​reported.
Iran’s short-term external debt totalled $7.18bn at the end of March this year and $2.15bn is mid-term and long-term debts.
The central bank report then switches to euros saying, “Iran’s potential commitment was placed at €8.23bn of which €6.33bn belongs to mid-term and long-term debts and €1.86bn belongs to short term debts”.
“At end of March 2019, Iran’s external debt was placed at $9.3bn, recording a decrease of $0.4 billion over its level at end-February 2019." the CBI said. The CBI added, "At the end of March 2018, Iran’s external debt was placed at $11.3bn, recording a decrease of $2bn over its level during Iran’s fiscal year.”
29​ IRAN Country Report March 2021 www.intellinews.com