Debt stock of a country’s is total public debt issued home and abroad and has not yet been repaid. Public debt may be issued domestically and held by residents (domestic debt), or outside the country and held by non-residents (foreign debt).

Open Data Albania, has conducted a research, based on data from the Bank of Albania, Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund regarding the structure of the debt stock of the Albanian state over the years. The data are cumulative, so the stock of debt of a year includes total debt issued by that year.

The stock of public debt for 2010 (at the end of the third quarter) was about 715.5 billion Albanian Lek (ALL) or 58.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Of this total, 407.5 billion ALL were domestic debt (57%), and 308 billion ALL was foreign debt (43%).

Over the years the share of domestic debt and external resulted as is shown in the graph below:
 

*GDP for 2010 is an estimate of the IMF
* For 2010, debt data are up in the third quarter of 2010
Source: Bank of Albania, Ministry of Finance, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania (ODA)

As can be seen from the graph, there is a clear increase in the share of foreign debt versus domestic debt. During 2010, was issued for the first time the Eurobond  in foreign capital market at the amount of EUR 300 million, with maturity 04/11/2015.

Annual interest payments on this bond are 7.5% or 22.5 million euros per year. The revenues from Eurobonds were used for prepay the loan taken in 2009, and to meet the needs for financing the budget.

Domestic debt and external has changed according to the chart below:
 

*GDP for 2010 is an estimate of the IMF
* For 2010, debt data are up in the third quarter of 2010
Source: Bank of Albania, Ministry of Finance
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania (ODA)

Based on the data, domestic debt since 2008 has increased by only 1.8%, while foreign debt has grown by about 58%, clearly demonstrating the Albanian state strategy of providing capital to foreign markets.

Regarding the holders of domestic debt, it is held mainly by the banking system. More specifically domestic debt holders appear as in the table below:
 

Source: Ministry of Finance
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania (ODA)

While foreign debt holders appear as in the table below
 

Source: Ministry of Finance
Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania (ODA)

Holders of foreign debt are multilateral institutions (IBRD , EIB , etc.) and private creditors (foreign banks).  During the last two years the share of private creditors has increased from 17.4% in 2008 to 27.4% in 2010.

Although the issue of Eurobonds, increases the diversification of Albania’s public debt, being Eurobonds (issued in a currency different from local currency, and interest and the repayment of debt when it matures, it is necessary to exchange the currency Euro) and the increased weight of foreign debt in general, increases the risk of exchange rate and cost of debt if the Euro (or other currencies) currency strengthened against ALL.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
European Bank of Investments

Comments and Analysis: Open Data Albania
Contributed by: R.E