Page 136 - bne IntelliNews SE Outlook Regions 2024

to 31.2% one year earlier, according to data published by the Ministry of Finance.
The year-end figure may be slightly higher, but below the 34.5% at the end of 2022, when the country borrowed massively to buy natural gas from the free market in the face of Russian threats to cut off gas exports.
In absolute terms, the public debt was MDL98.3bn (just over €5bn) at the end of September 2023.
The stock of internal debt increased by 20.8% y/y and accounted for 40.5% of the total public debt. This was nearly 2pp higher than in September 2022.
The stock of foreign public debt advanced by 11.5% y/y and diminished its weight in total to 59.5%.
Moldova’s public debt service more than doubled in the first three quarters of 2023, to MDL3.7bn (€190mn). Of this, nearly three-quarters was domestic public debt service, comparatively more costly compared to the foreign debt typically extended at preferential rates by the IFIs.
The public debt rose quickly to 3.3% of GDP during the last quarter of 2022, as the external development partners helped Moldova overcome gas supply issues.
However, the country had a consistent buffer of natural gas at the beginning of the 2023/2024 heating season and thus does not need supplementary financing for further purchases.
Nevertheless, the country needs financing for a multitude of other projects and will keep exploring ways to issue Eurobonds, although the lower interest rates in the local market have diminished towards the end of 2023 making domestic borrowing affordable.
136 SE Outlook 2024 www.intellinews.com