Page 9 - Debt

Centre's debt stands at Rs 155.6 trn in March 2023, 57.1% of GDP

The central government's debt stood at Rs 155.6 lakh crore or 57.1 per cent of the GDP at the end of March 2023, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. "The Central Government's debt was Rs 155.6 lakh crore as on March 31, 2023. It has reduced from 61.5 per cent of GDP in 2020-21 to 57.1 per cent of GDP in FY 2022-23," Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. The debt of state governments at the end of 2022-23 is estimated to be about 28 per cent of GDP. Replying to another question, Chaudhary said the Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) in the Indian economy has increased from Rs. 45.41 lakh crore (constant 2011-12 prices) in 2018-19 to Rs 54.35 lakh crore in 2022-23 (Provisional Estimates). "The government is implementing the 'Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure' (2020-21 & 2021-22) and 'Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment' (2022-23 & 2023-24)," he said. The government ..

GreenCell Mobility receives Rs 3,000 crore in debt funding from REC

The fund will be used to acquire 3,000 e-buses and support energy storage and charging infrastructure

Confident of meeting debt maturities in FY24: Vedanta CFO Shrivastava

The company is committed to reducing debt as its "high-quality" assets continue to generate a healthy cash flow, Sonal Shrivastava said in a statement. "We are prudent in raising capital"

Amid Pak's economic crisis, Punjab govt to spend Rs 2.3 bn on new vehicles

Meanwhile, Pakistan's external debt servicing obligations are $ 2.44 billion for the current month of July 2023, including $ 2.07 billion in non-guaranteed debt owed to China

G20 to discuss int'l debt architecture, more loans to developing nations

Countries like Zambia and Ghana have been waiting for big creditors to make progress in providing debt relief under the so called "Common Framework", which is led by the G20

Structured flexible capital: Beyond traditional debt and equity

High-yield debt markets have limited depth in India and founders don't want to be seen taking on expensive debt, which is perceived as a sign of stress

States' debt cost continues to rise to nearly 7.5% to Rs 16,200 cr

States continue to pay higher interest rates to investors for their debt, with the latest weighted average cost rising to 7.46 per cent at Tuesday's auctions wherein nine states raised Rs 16,200 crore. The weighted average cut-off/yield on state government securities (SGS) rose by 5 bps to 7.46 per cent in the auction held on Tuesday, from 7.41 per cent in the last weekly auction, despite a stable weighted average tenor of 16 years and the money raised was in line with the amount indicated for this week in the auction calendar, according to a note by Aditi Nayar, the chief economist at Icra Ratings. Accordingly, the spread between the 10-year SGS and 10-year government of India security yield eased mildly to 32 bps from 34 bps last week.

Debt-trapped Pakistan set to become fourth biggest IMF borrower: Report

Debt-trapped Pakistan will become the fourth largest IMF borrower in the world after receiving a fresh loan of USD 3 billion in the next nine months under the standby arrangement reached with the global lender. Pakistan, which is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1947, was on March 31, 2023, ranked fifth in the list of countries with the highest borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing the global lender's data. However, Pakistan will move to the fourth place in this list when it receives another USD 3 billion in the next nine months under the Stand-By Arrangement made with the Washington-based global lender on Thursday. The deal, which still needs to be approved by the IMF'S board, comes after an eight-month delay. Earlier, in terms of loans from the IMF, Argentina ranked first with USD 46 billion, Egypt stood in second place with USD 18 billion, Ukraine came in third with USD 12.2 billion

Lenders may move NCLT on Reliance Naval & Engineering debt resolution

In talks with Hazel Mercantile to extend the deadline of payment

Sri Lanka gets parliamentary nod for domestic debt restructuring plan

A special session of Sri Lanka's Parliament on Saturday overwhelmingly approved the cash-strapped government's domestic debt restructuring (DDR) plan, a vital element in the bankrupt nation's bid for recovery from the worst economic crisis. Domestic debt restructuring (DDR) is a key condition in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, through which a bailout package of USD 3 billion was approved for Sri Lanka in March. The IMF programme unlocks more help from international funding agencies. Accordingly, the World Bank, earlier this week, approved USD 700 million in financing as budgetary and welfare support for Sri Lanka, which is facing its worst economic crisis since it won independence from the British in 1948. The DDR plan won parliamentary approval with 122 lawmakers voting for it while 62 going against it. After a 10-hour marathon debate, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena opted to take the vote ending the debate at 7.30 pm. The approval of the DDR came as members fr

Sri Lanka's parl committee approves debt restructuring plan with amendments

Sri Lanka's parliamentary oversight committee comprising members from both government and opposition on Friday approved the proposed domestic debt restructuring (DDR) plan with certain amendments, as part of the efforts to revive the island nation's bankrupt economy. The majority of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) approved the resolution following the second day of deliberations which began on Thursday, an official release said Earlier, the Cabinet approved the debt restructuring plan on Wednesday after which it was referred to the public finance committee in parliament. The committee approved the resolution by a majority subject to certain amendments made at the committee meeting held, the release said. The COPF approval was the last of the formalities before the resolution is set to be discussed in parliament on Saturday. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the finance minister, held a flurry of meetings with different sectors to apprise them of the DDR programme

India's external debt rises $5.6 bn to $624.7 bn at end-March 2023

India's external debt rose marginally to USD 624.7 billion annually at end-March 2023, although the debt-GDP ratio declined, as per a Reserve Bank data released on Friday. The external debt rose by USD 5.6 billion from USD 619.1 billion at end-March 2022. "The external debt to GDP ratio declined to 18.9 per cent at end-March 2023 from 20 per cent at end-March 2022," said the Reserve Bank's data on India's External Debt as at end-March 2023. Valuation gains due to the appreciation of the US dollar compared to the Indian rupee and major currencies such as yen, SDR, and euro were placed at USD 20.6 billion. "Excluding the valuation effect, external debt would have increased by USD 26.2 billion instead of USD 5.6 billion at end-March 2023 over end-March 2022," the central bank added. At end-March 2023, as per the data, long-term debt (with original maturity of above one year) was placed at USD 496.3 billion, recording a decline of USD 1.1 billion over its level at end-March 2022. The

Sri Lanka to spare banks in $19.8 bn local debt restructuring plan

Sri Lanka will spare banks from being part of its local debt restructuring plan because of the possible impact on deposits, while the bulk of the burden will be shared by the Central Bank and superannuation funds, officials said Thursday. Sri Lanka's Cabinet a day earlier approved a plan to restructure nearly half of its $42.1 billion local debt following a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund. A special Parliament sitting has been convened for Saturday to seek approval for the plan. The government has announced a bank holiday until next week to prevent any speculation-triggered bank run. Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said the treasury bills owned by the bank will be converted into treasury bonds with a longer maturity period and the same has been proposed to superannuation funds. If those funds are unwilling to be part of the plan they may have to pay a 30% tax instead of the 14% special treatment effective now. Sri Lanka is also seeking to reduce ..

US public debt is projected to reach 181% of economic activity in 30 years

The Congressional Budget Office is giving the world a concerning look at the US government's ledgers: ever higher deficits, greater government spending and tax revenues that only begin to increase when existing tax cuts expire. The nonpartisan agency estimates in its latest 30-year outlook, released Wednesday, that publicly held debt will be equal to a record 181 per cent of American economic activity by 2053. That compares with a projected 98 per cent at the end of this budget year, a sign the government is getting more dependent on debt to pay for Social Security, Medicare, the military, infrastructure and an array of programs that benefit millions of households. The higher debt load is not all that shocking given the deficit spending of the past two decades. But the CBO figures do offer a bit of comfort in that annual deficits after 2042 are lower than forecasted in the agency's report from last year. This is because the primary borrowing and interest rate costs are lower than wha

SL's domestic debt restructuring plan approved by special cabinet meeting

Sri Lanka's special cabinet meeting on Wednesday unanimously approved the government's Domestic Debt Restructuring (DDR) plan under which the cash-strapped government aims to restructure USD 17 billion out of the total USD 41.5 billion external debt over five years. The proposed Domestic Debt Restructuring programme proposed by the Finance Ministry has been approved by the special cabinet meeting, a statement by the President's Office said. "All government MPs were notified a short while ago at the presidential secretariat. Next, the proposal will be submitted at the next parliament session for discussion, the statement said. The plan will now be referred to the public finance committee in Parliament ahead of Saturday's parliamentary session. Earlier, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the minister of finance, explaining the DDR programme said the government aims to restructure USD 17 billion out of the total USD 41.5 billion external debt over five years. Today's meeting

Adani eyes Rs 90,000 cr EBITDA in 2-3 yrs on the back of robust biz growth

Embattled Adani group is eyeing a 20 per cent year-on-year growth in pre-tax profits to reach Rs 90,000 crore EBITDA in 2-3 years on the back of robust growth in businesses ranging from airports to energy, according to a company note. Earlier this month, the group repaid loans aggregating USD 2.65 billion to complete a prepayment programme to cut overall leverage in an attempt to win back investor trust post a damning report of a US short seller. The ports-to-energy conglomerate is now looking at robust growth in sectors such as airports, cement, renewables, solar panels, transportation and logistics, and power and transmission, it said adding several of Adani's new infrastructure investments will also begin to fructify and generate cash in the coming years. Adani is expected to see an increase of more than 20 per cent in EBITDA on a consolidated basis in the coming years as it drives robust and sustainable growth across its business portfolio. Its target EBITDA of over Rs 90,000 ..

India's debt burden will be stable or decline slightly, says Moody's

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday said the key determinant of India's fiscal strength and the credit profile will be debt affordability and projected a downward trend for the debt burden. "As long as nominal GDP growth holds, India's debt burden will be stable or decline slightly," Moody's said. In a report, it said India's fast-growing GDP, which is estimated to average 11 per cent in nominal terms, is a key driver of the projections of a downward trend in the country's debt burden. "As in the past, the key determinant of fiscal strength and the credit profile will be debt affordability and in particular the proportion of revenue absorbed by interest payments," Moody's said. India has a relatively high level of general government debt, estimated at around 81.8 per cent of GDP for 2022-23, compared with the Baa-rated median of around 56 per cent. The country also has a low debt affordability, in terms of general government interest payments as a percentage of revenues, which f

After restoring OPS, debt-ridden Himachal hits market for Rs 800 cr loan

Despite facing financial restrictions, CM is saying the government is actively focused on resource mobilization by initiating measures to generate additional revenue for the exchequer

Explained: What's the US debt ceiling crisis

The US debt ceiling is a legal limit set by Congress on the amount of money the US government can borrow to pay its bills. It’s like a financial cap that the government cannot exceed

Despite heavy supply, debt cost slips marginally for states to 7.32%

Despite larger than notified supplies, the average cost for the states that hit the market on Tuesday will be less in terms of coupons, which slipped by 3 bps to 7.32 per cent. Twelve states have raised Rs 17,300 crore through state government securities in the auction held on Tuesday, which is a sharp 47 per cent higher than the indicated Rs 11,800 crore for this week in the auction calendar. In spite of that, the weighted average cut-off eased by 3 bps to 7.32 per cent from the last auction. The fall is also regardless of the fact that there was a mild rise in the weighted average tenor to 16 years from 15 years, Icra Ratings said in a note. The spread between the 10-year SGS and 10-year Central government security yield remained stable at 35 bps relative to the past week, Aditi Nayar, the chief economist and the head of research & outreach at the agency, said in the note.