简体中文
South Korea's foreign debts declined in the first quarter due to a reduction in short-term debts, offsetting a rise in long-term liabilities.
Foreign debts were 410.3 billion U.S. dollars as of the end of March, down 3.3 billion dollars from three months earlier, Bank of Korea (BOK) and the Finance Ministry said in their respective statement on Wednesday.
External liabilities, which mature in one year or less, reduced 4.5 billion dollars from three months earlier to 122.2 billion dollars as of end-March, while long-term debts due more than one year increased 1.3 billion dollars to 288 billion dollars over the same period.
The ratio of short-term debts to the total external liabilities fell 0.9 percentage point from three months earlier to 29.8 percent at the end of March, dipping below the 30 percent mark for the first time since the country received the bailout funds from the International Monetary Fund during the 1997 Asian foreign exchange crisis.
"Trade credit of companies reduced, but foreign currency borrowing from banks increased for the trade purpose," an official at the Finance Ministry told Xinhua. "Local bond purchases by foreigners rose, but the devaluation of the South Korean currency offset the rise in foreign debts denominated in foreign currency."
Foreign holdings of local bonds reached 95 trillion won (85 billion U.S. dollars) as of the end of March, up from 91 trillion won three months earlier. The South Korean won depreciated 3.7 percent against the greenback during the first quarter.
The nation's ability to repay foreign debts improved amid continued rise in foreign reserves. External credit, or the money to receive from overseas, rose 8.6 billion dollars from three months earlier to 544.5 billion dollars as of end-March.
Net credit, or external credit minus external liabilities, increased 11.9 billion dollars from three months earlier to 134.2 billion dollars at the end of March. The ratio of total foreign debts to gross domestic product was 36.6 percent as of end-March.
