Ethiopia’s Public Sector Debt grew threefold in the past five years.

The total outstanding external debt surged from 5.6 Billion USD in 2009/10 to 14 Billion USD in 2013/14, according to the data HornAffairs obtained from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

More than half of the amount is directly owed by Ministry of Finance, while the rest belongs to public enterprises.

Of the 5.6 Billion USD borrowed by public enterprises, 2.6  Billion USD is guaranteed by the government (via the Ministry of Finance and/or the state owned bank Commercial Bank of Ethiopia).

The Government-guaranteed loans were by large contracted by the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO), Sugar Corporation, Ethiopian Railways Corporation and Ethiopian Shipping Lines.

Whereas, the non-government guaranteed borrowings, totaling  2.9 Billion USD, went to Ethiopian Airlines (EAL) and Ethio-Telecom.

Two third of the debt (i.e. 6 Billion USD) is owed to Multilateral Creditors – such as the IMF and the World Bank as well as other multilateral development banks.

On the other hand, 4 Billion USD is owed to Bilateral Creditors – i.e. governments and their agencies (including Central Banks), autonomous public bodies or official export credit agencies.

The rest came from Private Creditors – i.e., “private bondholders, private banks, other private financial institutions, and manufacturers exporters, and other suppliers of goods that have a financial claim”, according to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

Stay tuned for detailed analyses and charts of Ethiopia’s debts, creditors, interest rate and more.

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