NICOSIA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus's public debt will fall below 100 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of this year after the repayment of the last instalment of a 2.5-billion-euro (2.75 billion U.S. dollars) Russian debt, a Ministry of Finance document said on Friday.
The document, distributed to parliamentary deputies ahead of a debate on the country's 2020 budget, said that public debt at the end of 2019 will drop to 97.4 percent of GDP, compared to 102.5 percent at the end of last year.
It said that the ministry is scheduled to repay Cyprus's debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which contributed 1 billion euro of the 10 billion euro bailout of the eastern Mediterranean island in 2013, thereby bringing down the sovereign debt to 89.1 percent by the end of 2020.
It estimated that the debt will drop to 77.5 percent of GDP by the end of 2022.
The ministry quoted Statistical Service data showing that the budgetary surplus in the first six months increased by 3.6 percent to 700 million euros, compared with an increase of 2.4 percent in the same period of 2018.
It also said that the budgetary surplus of the Cyprus Asset Management Company (KEPIDES) is expected to increase this year, boosting the ability of the state to repay its sovereign debt.
KEPIDES manages properties worth about 7 billion euros, which secured bad loans of the former state-owned Cyprus Cooperative Bank, which were acquired by the government when the lender was sold to Hellenic Bank last year.
The Finance Ministry said that the government has no problem financing its operations from the international markets.
"Cyprus has been upgraded by rating agencies to investment grade, there is unhindered access to the international market and the returns on Cyprus bonds are at an all-time low," the document said. Enditem
