The total external debt of the private sector as of September 30, 2004
amounted to US$ 56,400 million, of which US$ 48,961 million (87%)
corresponded to the non-financial private sector (NFPS) and US$ 7,439 million
(13%) to the financial sector (SPF).
The process of reducing the amount owed abroad by the private sector
continued. The decrease in private external debt in the quarter was US$
954 million, corresponding to US$684 million to the non-financial
private sector and US$270 million to the financial sector.
The NFPS reduced its debts for export financing (US$ 455
million) and financial debts (US$ 365 million), and increased for the fourth
consecutive quarter consistent with the increase in the level of external purchases
of goods, the debt for imports (US$ 132 million).
The use of own funds abroad (US$ 360 million) and the net application
of foreign currency from export collections to the cancellation of advances and
pre-financing of exports from abroad (US$ 343 million), were the
main mechanisms for reducing the external indebtedness of the NFPS.
An increasing proportion of the reduction in NFPS external
liabilities is due to the actual cancellation by debtors, as the importance of debt forgiveness and/or capitalization decreases
.
The NFPS renewed 75% of the principal maturities of debt securities and
financial loans that took place in the quarter (US$ 3,524 million), and
cancelled 10% of them (US$ 346 million). The remaining 15% was in
default (US$ 524 million).
The continuation of the external normalization process was reflected in the quarter
in the granting of new long-term financing from abroad. In the
quarter, NFPS received new financial funds in the amount of US$ 477
million, mainly for the mining and oil sectors.
The financial sector received new debt capitalizations, and given the liquidity situation
, canceled commercial and financial credit lines from abroad.
The amounts owed on deposits of non-residents and
debt securities issued also decreased. These variations were offset by the
increase in other financial debts.
Financial institutions did not register defaults on their principal maturities
corresponding to financial loans and debt securities that occurred
in the quarter (US$ 666 million), as they canceled US$ 202 million (30%) and
refinanced the remaining US$ 464 million.
