CYPRUS: Central government debt rises to €18.6bn in Q4

Cyprus Central Government debt rose to €18,626 mln in the fourth quarter of 2014, up €360 mln from €18,266 mln in the previous quarter, according to figures released by the Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO).

About 31% of the debt is held in the domestic market and 69% in the foreign market.
The debt excludes intragovernmental obligations and debt of state-owned enterprises.
In December, the sixth tranche by the ESM for €350 mln was disbursed as part of the €10 bln bailout plan, while the IMF’s contribution of €86 mln was suspended due to parliament’s stalling on a crucial forclosures bill that would help banks recover assets and reduce the level of high-risk non-performing loans, presently at 50% of the national loanbook.
In November and December the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank disbursed €15 mln and €25 mln, respectively, for infrastructure projects in primary and secondary education.
The issuance of retail bonds continued with sales of €38 mln over the quarter.
Short term securities dominated the market issuance activity, according to the PDMO dta, with the total issuance volume in short term securities, including all rollovers, at €869 mln.
The weighted average cost of Treasury Bills for the tenors up to 3 months fell further by 47 basis points vis-à-vis the previous quarter to 3.45%. The stock of short term debt, in nominal terms, increased from €716 mln at the end of September to €736 mln at year end 2014.
In November and December, 10-year domestic bonds worth €55 mln had matured. The remaining debt redemptions related to short term debt issued within the quarter or during the previous one. In gross terms, i.e. including rollovers, there were €889 mln in redemptions of Treasury Bills. Additionally loan amortisations amounted to €60 mln, the PDMO concluded.