Public debt ratio to GDP up by 0.6% at end of October

AMMAN — The total public debt swelled by the end of October 2018 to reach around JD28.5 billion, constituting 94.9 per cent of the estimated gross domestic product (GDP), compared with JD27.2692 billion in 2017, or 94.3 per cent of the GDP.

The Finance Ministry explained that the increase was caused by the debts of the National Electricity Power Company and the Water Authority, which amounts to JD7.4 billion, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

The ministry added that the net public debt increased by JD1.661 billion by the end of 2017, amounting to JD27.0966 billion and constituting 90.4 per cent of the GDP until the end of October 2018, compared with JD25.4357 billion, or 88 per cent of the GDP, in 2017.

Meanwhile, local revenues increased to reach JD5.6843 billion by the end of October, compared with JD5.5137 billion during the same period of last year, according to the ministry’s monthly report.

The increase was driven by tax revenues, which constituted to JD93.2 million of the total, whereas other revenues amounted to JD77.4 million.

External grants amounted to JD263.3 million until the end of October, an increase of JD53.4 million from last year’s JD209.9 million. 

Public revenues were up by JD224 million, reaching JD5.9477 billion, compared with JD5.7236 billion during the same period of 2017.

The ministry’s data showed that the existing balance of external debt increased by JD175.3 million at the end of October 2018 to total JD12.0424 billion, constituting 40.2 per cent of the GDP estimated at the end of the month, compared with JD11.8672 million or 41.1 per cent of the GDP by the end of the same month last year. 

The report also showed that the net balance of the domestic debt increased to JD15.0542 billion at the end of October, constituting 50.2 per cent of the GDP, compared with JD13.5686 billion or 46.9 per cent of the GDP at the end of 2017, comprising a rise of JD1.4856 billion. 

The ministry explained that the increase was driven by the domestic debt to address the deficit of the state budget, which amounted to JD1.4 billion and the independent institutions’ debt that reached JD118.3 million.