Central government debt down 5% since June
The central government’s debt fell by 5.6 per cent between June and September to €22.5 billion.
The figure amounts to a €1.33bn reduction over the course of the three-month period in question and is also €1.24bn less than the level of government debt in September last year.
The debt reduction came as the government made an early €300 million repayment on a domestic bond which was due to expire in January 2024, and after a €1bn European medium-term bond matured.
T-bill maturities during the period in question amounted to €75m, while the government also made €18m in bond repayments to natural persons and €17m in loan repayments.
In addition, the European Investment Bank disbursed €45m to Cyprus in July and August for infrastructure projects.
58.4 per cent of Cypriot central government debt is held in foreign bonds, while a further 28.8 per cent is held in the form of a European Stability Mechanism loan. A further eight per cent of debt comes in the form of loans from the European Investment Bank, the Development Bank of the Council of Europe, and the European Union’s Sure Fund.