Public debt ratio slightly down in May

AMMAN — The Kingdom's public debt amounted up to JD25.150 billion at the end of May this year, comprising 92.6 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) estimated by the Finance Ministry at JD27.170 billion, compared to 93.4 per cent at the end of 2015.

The debt of the National Electric Power Company and the Water Authority of Jordan contributed JD7.6 billion to the total public debt, according to a bulletin by the Finance Ministry covering the January-May period, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

The Kingdom's debt accumulated in the last few years because of external reasons related to the Syrian refugee influx, the halt to gas supplies from Egypt and the subsequent reliance on costlier heavy oil for electricity generation. 

At the end of 2015, the net public debt increased by JD594 million to reach JD23.442 billion, compared to JD22.848 billion at the end of the previous year, the ministry figures indicated. 

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry bulletin indicated that the monetary deficit stood at JD369.9 million at the end of May this year, compared to JD363.4 million in the same period of 2015, excluding foreign grants. 

The bulletin indicated that the initial deficit, which represents local revenues minus the total spending (except for interest payments), at the end of May this year stood at around JD16.1 million compared to a JD20.3 million surplus in the same period of 2015.

Total revenues and foreign grants stood at around JD3.011 billion compared with around JD2.862 billion, registering a JD14.9 million increase in the same comparison period. 

Foreign grants alone in the first five months of this year stood at around JD211 million compared to around JD26.8 million in the January-May period of 2015. 

Local revenues stood at JD2.800 billion at the end of May 2016 compared to JD2,594 billion at the end of May 2015; whereas, total spending stood at around JD3,170 billion compared to JD2.957 billion in the corresponding period the year before.