Epress.am News from Armenia
The Armenian national debt is comprised of two components: external and internal. External debt, in turn, consists of two parts: debt owed by the state government and debt owed by the Central Bank. The Armenian government has submitted a bill to the National Assembly, by which it wants to separate the government's debt from that of the Central Bank. Under current law, Armenia's national debt should not exceed 60% of GDP; however, according to the new bill, loan limitations prescribed by law will only be applied to the government debt, which would make it possible to receive more loans. Aram Manukyan, opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) parliamentary faction secretary, criticized the bill at the parliamentary session on Friday, June 19, stating that this amendment “opens wide horizons for accumulation of new debts.”
“If the loans of the Central Bank are not included in the limits prescribed by law, then it will increase maximum allowable threshold for government debt. In addition, the Central Bank can now borrow loans without limitation, since according to the proposed amendments, the limits will only apply to the government debt. This means that the government wants to increase the size of the national debt of Armenia, which as of April 2015 amounts to USD 4.6 billion,” the oppositionist said.
The lawmaker referred to the statistics of the last 7 years, according to which Armenian national debt has gradually grown.
“In 2008, the national debt amounted $ 1.5 billion – 13% of GDP. In 2013, it increased by 2.5 times and amounted to USD 3.9 billion, in 2015 the debt is USD 4.6 billion; it has grown three times compared to 2008. GDP fell from [USD] 11.6 billion to [USD] 10.9 billion,” Manukyan pointed out. Besides, he added, there is no provision in the government's bill on how the debt would be paid.