Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday signed off on Canada’s latest loan to Ukraine, a total $450 million to buy heating oil. Canadian loans total $1.95 billion to date..“Canadians are firmly committed to supporting the government and people of Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s illegal and barbaric invasion,” Minister Freeland said in a statement. “Today’s disbursement of $450 million in loans will help Ukraine purchase the heating fuel it needs before winter.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, Ukraine on July 21 suspended payments on foreign debts worth US$129.9 billion prior to the February 24 invasion by Russia. The bond rating agency Fitch Ratings on July 22 downgraded Ukrainian bonds to its worst rating. “The war looks set to continue well into next year,” wrote analysts..Fitch Ratings said Ukraine’s deficit is currently running at 29% of GDP, “a record high for Ukraine.” Its national debt is projected to reach 103 percent of GDP by the end of 2023..“Fitch forecasts the Ukrainian economy will contract 33% in 2022 with a shallow recovery of 4% in 2023 constrained by ongoing war,” wrote analysts. Inflation in Ukraine is currently 22% Nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s population, a total 6.7 million refugees, have fled the country..Cabinet has not commented publicly on the impact of a Ukrainian default. A total 146 countries worldwide have defaulted on their debts since 1960, according to a 2019 Bank of Canada report Database Of Sovereign Defaults..“Looking ahead we conclude defaults are likely to pick up again over the next decade given growing public debt burdens in many advanced and emerging market countries,” said the pre-war Bank report. “Government debt defaults are a recurring feature of public finance.”.Major defaults include Mexico in 1982, Chile in 1983, Russia in 1998, Argentina in 2001 and Greece in 2012. The Republic of Ireland in 2010 skirted insolvency after receiving European Union loans equivalent to 40% of its GDP..“Defaults had their biggest global impact in the 1980s peaking at US$450 billion or 6% of world public debt by 1990,” said Sovereign Defaults..“The frequency of such events may be on the rise again and could be more closely correlated with rising public debt burdens than at any time since the 1930s,” wrote the Bank of Canada. “With many advanced and emerging market governments grappling with fiscal challenges these are trends worth watching alongside other potential risks to global financial stability.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland yesterday signed off on Canada’s latest loan to Ukraine, a total $450 million to buy heating oil. Canadian loans total $1.95 billion to date..“Canadians are firmly committed to supporting the government and people of Ukraine in their fight against Putin’s illegal and barbaric invasion,” Minister Freeland said in a statement. “Today’s disbursement of $450 million in loans will help Ukraine purchase the heating fuel it needs before winter.”.According to Blacklock's Reporter, Ukraine on July 21 suspended payments on foreign debts worth US$129.9 billion prior to the February 24 invasion by Russia. The bond rating agency Fitch Ratings on July 22 downgraded Ukrainian bonds to its worst rating. “The war looks set to continue well into next year,” wrote analysts..Fitch Ratings said Ukraine’s deficit is currently running at 29% of GDP, “a record high for Ukraine.” Its national debt is projected to reach 103 percent of GDP by the end of 2023..“Fitch forecasts the Ukrainian economy will contract 33% in 2022 with a shallow recovery of 4% in 2023 constrained by ongoing war,” wrote analysts. Inflation in Ukraine is currently 22% Nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s population, a total 6.7 million refugees, have fled the country..Cabinet has not commented publicly on the impact of a Ukrainian default. A total 146 countries worldwide have defaulted on their debts since 1960, according to a 2019 Bank of Canada report Database Of Sovereign Defaults..“Looking ahead we conclude defaults are likely to pick up again over the next decade given growing public debt burdens in many advanced and emerging market countries,” said the pre-war Bank report. “Government debt defaults are a recurring feature of public finance.”.Major defaults include Mexico in 1982, Chile in 1983, Russia in 1998, Argentina in 2001 and Greece in 2012. The Republic of Ireland in 2010 skirted insolvency after receiving European Union loans equivalent to 40% of its GDP..“Defaults had their biggest global impact in the 1980s peaking at US$450 billion or 6% of world public debt by 1990,” said Sovereign Defaults..“The frequency of such events may be on the rise again and could be more closely correlated with rising public debt burdens than at any time since the 1930s,” wrote the Bank of Canada. “With many advanced and emerging market governments grappling with fiscal challenges these are trends worth watching alongside other potential risks to global financial stability.”
