The total external debt of the private sector amounted to US$ 60,364 million as of
31.12.20032
, of which US$ 51,025 million (85%) corresponded to the non-financial
private sector (NFPS) and US$ 9,338 million (15%) to the private financial sector (SPF).
̧ The high concentration in a relatively small group of debtors is
one of the characteristics of the external obligations of the private sector over the
last two years. At the end of 2003, out of a total of 9,000 filers, the 30 largest
NFPS debtors accounted for 45 per cent of the sector’s external liabilities, and the top
300 accounted for 86 per cent.
In the biennium 2002-2003, the reduction in the external debt of the private sector was in the order
of US$ 17,230 million, 22% of the value recorded at the end of 2001. The contraction of the
external debt declared by the NFPS reached US$ 10,170 million (17% of the
NFPS debt as of 31.12.01), while the external obligations of the SPF were reduced
by US$ 7,060 million (43% of the initial debt of the sector). The reduction in the amount
owed has taken place in all forms of private sector indebtedness.
̧ Debt capitalizations and/or forgiveness amounted to a total of
US$ 7,135 million in the biennium, being one of the main causes of the reduction of private external debt
.
̧ The use of the NFPS’ own funds abroad for the cancellation of its
external commitments reached US$ 3,735 million in the last two years,
constituting the second most important factor in the reduction of the sector’s external
debt. This mechanism was used fairly uniformly with a value of around
US$ 450 million quarterly.
̧ The sharp increase in foreign purchases of goods in 2003 (54%
compared with the previous year) in the context of the sustained recovery in the country’s level of economic activity
was not accompanied by a greater net use of external credit
for imports.
Private external debt at the end of December 2003 represented 1.8 times the value of
annual exports of goods and services (2.5 at the end of 2001) and 4.3 times the value of
the BCRA’s international reserves (5.3 at the end of 2001).
