Zee Beam News

01.11.2006 - IntelliNews Today - According to FinMin, Russia ’s sovereign foreign debt stood at USD 50.1bn as of Oct 1. Thus, the debt saw a 31.3% q/q decline in Q3/06. The debt to PC countries amounted to USD 1.9bn as of Oct 1 after Russia repaid most of the debt in August. The debt to non-PC countries amounted to USD 2.9bn as of Oct 1 against USD 3.5bn as on Jan 1. The debt to former communist bloc states stood at USD 2bn as of Oct 1, flat in ytd terms. The trade debt and sovereign bond debt also remained unchanged at USD 1.1bn and USD 5.7bn respectively. According to deputy PM Alexander Zhukov’s recent statement, Russia ’s foreign debt will be gradually reduced to USD 40bn during next three years. The foreign debt is mainly repaid from the stabilization fund which accumulates the abnormal profits received due to high oil prices on the world market.