Public debt rises to some JD28.6b by end of February; budget deficit down

AMMAN — The Kingdom's public debt rose to JD28.6144 billion by the end of February, constituting 94.4 per cent of the estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP), compared with JD28.3083 billion during the same period of last year, while the general budget deficit after grants dropped to JD122.5 million, compared with JD312.4 million for the same period last year, the Finance Ministry said.

In its monthly bulletin, the ministry reported that the deficit prior to the grants reached JD160.5 million, compared with JD377.5 million for the same period of 2018, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The Finance Ministry had forecast that in the 2019 General Budget Law that the deficit would reach 645.6 million after grants.  

According to ministry data, domestic revenues increased to JD1.1161 billion at the end of February of this year, compared with JD1.0627 billion last year, attributed to the rise in tax revenues by some JD48 million and the rise in non-tax revenues by JD5.6 million. 

Public revenues, both local and foreign, increased to JD1.1541 billion, a 2.8-per cent swell from the JD1.1278 billion recorded during the same period last year, according to Petra. 

The total expenditure dropped to JD1.2766 billion by the end of February, compared with JD1.4402 billion during the same period last year, an 11.4-per cent decrease that was attributed to the drop of current expenditures by 10.3 per cent and capital expenditure by 32.4 per cent, the bulletin indicated.

Meanwhile, the ministry said that the debts of the National Electricity Power Company (NEPCO) and the Water Authority amounted to JD7.4 billion, according to Petra.

The net public debt at the end of February of this year amounted to JD 27.267 billion, constituting 90 per cent of the estimated GDP, compared with JD26.9006 billion or 89.7 per cent of GDP at the end of February 2018.

The external debt (budget and guaranteed) at the end of February 2019 dropped to reach JD12.0739 billion, constituting 39.8 per cent of the estimated GDP, compared with JD12.0875 billion or 40.3 per cent of GDP during the same period last year.

According to the monthly report, debt servicing reached JD87.1 million in comparison with JD66.2 million for the same period of 2018.

As for the public internal debt (general and independent budgets), the amount hit JD15.1931 billion at the end of February, constituting 50.1 per cent of the GDP, in comparison with JD14.8131 million or 49.4 per cent of the GDP in 2018.