Turkish private sector's external debt at $163B in August

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish private sector’s outstanding foreign loans totaled $162.9 billion as of August, down $5.9 billion from the end of last year, the Central Bank said on Friday.

Short-term loans, excluding trade credits, received from abroad totaled $7.6 billion, up by $106 million over the same period.

Liabilities of financial institutions made up 79.3% of all short-term loans, the bank said.

Broken down by currency, 39.4% of the Turkish private sector’s short-term credit was in US dollars, 38.8% in euros, 18.3% in Turkish liras, and 3.5% in other currencies.

The private sector’s long-term foreign debt fell by $6 billion to $155.3 billion over the same period.

Most of the long-term loans – 65.8% – were in US dollars, followed by 30.9% in euros, 1.5% in Turkish liras, and 1.8% in other currencies.

The private sector’s total outstanding loans received from abroad, based on a remaining maturity basis, point to principal repayments of $43.6 billion for the next 12 months by the end of August, the bank said.