Foreign obligations declared by the private sector as of March 31, 2012 totaled
US$ 68,540 million, implying an increase of US$ 1,242 million in the first quarter of the year. Of the
total stock, US$ 65,086 million corresponded to non-financial private sector debts (NFPS) and
US$ 3,454 million to private financial sector (SPF) commitments.
The external debt of the NFPS registered an increase of US$ 1,853 million in the first quarter of 2012,
largely explained by the increase in commercial debts of US$ 1,452 million,
especially in the debt for imports of services and in the financing of exports.
Likewise, financial debts increased by US$ 401 million.
Liabilities for the financing of imports of goods registered an increase of US$ 323 million
in the first quarter of the year and reached a stock of US$ 25,592 million as of March 31, 2012.
On the other hand, debt for advances and pre-financing of exports of goods increased by US$ 586
million, mainly explained by the oilseeds and cereals sector (in line with the sector’s production cycle
).
Foreign obligations for services increased by US$ 544 million during the
first quarter of 2012, showing a year-on-year increase of around 45%. This increase,
similar to that observed in the last quarter of 2011, reflects an acceleration in the rate of change
with respect to previous periods due to higher debts for royalties, professional services and other related companies.
Fresh financial funds received during the quarter amounted to US$679 million.
Likewise, 94 companies were recipients of fresh funds, the main recipients being the
oil and the chemical, rubber and plastic industries.
The SPF’s foreign obligations totaled a fall of US$ 611 million during the first
quarter of 2012, mainly explained by the net cancellation of commercial credit
lines for US$ 448 million, in a context of a decrease in imports, a slowdown
in local credit in foreign currency and growth in local credit in domestic currency. Credit lines
applied to import financing registered a decrease of US$
392 million in the quarter, while those for export financing fell by US$
56 million, totaling a stock of US$379 million.
The average rate paid for interest-bearing debt stood at 6.06% per annum, while the implied rate on the total external debt of the NFPS stood at 2.57% per annum.
The average life of the NFPS external debt stood at 1.33 years while the external debt of the
financial sector stood at 3.53 years, resulting in the average life of private external debt as of
31.03.12 being 1.44 years.
