Page 44 - TURKRptOct19
P. 44
Turkish lenders' loan debt repayment obligations (red) are going down. The real sector's external debt repayment obligations (green) are going up. Overall financing needs remain high.
Turkey’s overall external debt repayment obligations for the next 12-month period stood at $179.2bn at end-July.
The figure stood at a record high of $185.9bn at end-February 2018 but declined to $173.9bn at end-October 2018 as a result of the ‘curing’ effect of the August currency crunch. But a significant recovery in Turkey’s external financing needs has not been observed since then.
When lenders’ and corporates’ obligations to their branches and affiliates abroad are excluded, Turkey was obliged to repay $159bn in foreign debts across the next 12 months as of end-July, up from $155.3bn as of end-2018.
Turkish lenders’ credit repayments across the next 12 months amounted to $38bn at end-July, down from $44.2bn at end-2018, while the real sector’s debt rose to $81.3bn from $74.3bn.
The data suggests that Turkish banks have been transferring their external debt weight to the real sector, but Turkey’s overall exposure has not shown an improvement since the sharp decline in October 2018.
44 TURKEY Country Report October 2019 www.intellinews.com