The government of Mauritius has revealed that public debt has surged by Rs16.6bn in just six months, with foreign debt surpassing Rs80bn to reach Rs83.8bn. This figure does not include Rs8.2bn allocated for the extension of the Plaine-Corail regional airport.
The Central Electricity Board is now grappling with Rs9.2bn in loans, while the State Trading Corporation is showing signs of financial improvement. National debt now stands at Rs511.9bn, compared to Rs495.6bn in June 2020.
The IMF Staff Report is expected to shed more light on the economy at the upcoming IMF Board meeting. Public debt is divided as Government Securities (Rs382bn), Foreign debt (Rs83.8bn), and Public Enterprises Total Debt (Rs60.4bn). The Public Enterprises Debt has decreased by Rs4bn over the past six months.
State Trading Corporation has significantly decreased its debt, from Rs9.3bn in June to Rs4.2bn in December. Various entities make up the debt burden, including SBM Infrastructure Development Co. (Rs16.7bn) and MauBank Holdings (Rs7.5bn).
The government’s borrowing requirements include Rs270bn in long-term financial instruments and Rs41.9bn in Treasury Bills and short-term loans.
The overall GDP has seen an increase from Rs610.9bn to Rs651.7bn, leading to an improvement in the public sector debt ratio relative to GDP.
The Foreign debt spiked to over Rs80 million in the first half of the current fiscal year. The Rodrigues Regional Assembly’s debt remains at zero.
The CEB’s financial situation has worsened, with a total debt of Rs9.2bn, including non-guaranteed local debt of Rs6.1bn. The CEB was left with foreign debts guaranteed by the government of Rs3.1bn at the end of the previous year. STC is making progress towards financial stability by reducing its debt.
The IMF mission had to cancel a press meeting in mid-January due to severe weather conditions from Tropical Cyclone Belal.
Source: Le Mauricien
