Chairman of the Board of the State Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of Turkmenistan Rakhimberdy Jepbarov shared the positive economic indicators of the country at the TIF 2024 Investment Forum in Ashgabat.
According to Jepbarov, Turkmenistan’s foreign trade turnover in the first half of 2024 exceeded US $ 9 billion, demonstrating a trade surplus of US $ 2.973 billion. This indicates the growing economic activity and attractiveness of the country for foreign trade partners.
One of the key factors of sustainable economic growth is an effective investment policy.
Turkmenistan’s external financial obligations are fulfilled on time, and the level of public debt remains low. According to the Fitch Ratings, the country’s public debt is only 3.8% of GDP and is projected to decrease to 2.9% by the end of 2026.
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Turkmenistan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency (LTFC) Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’. The Outlook is Stable. This resulted from strengthened sovereign balance sheet, extremely large external reserves and a balanced fiscal position.
Jepbarov stressed that Turkmenistan actively cooperates with leading international financial organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Saudi Development Fund and the OPEC Development Fund. The country fulfills its financial obligations in a timely manner when implementing various projects, as evidenced by the experience of mutually beneficial cooperation between Turkmenistan and foreign companies and international financial institutions.
During Jepbarov’s speech, the following data were presented on the slides of his presentation:
The loan portfolio structure by economic sector as of August 31, 2024.
• Oil and gas industry – 27%
• Electric power industry – 25%
• Transport and communications – 18%
• Chemical industry and textile industry – 17%
• Agriculture – 7%
• Private sector – 5%
• Healthcare – 1%.///nCa, 10 September 2024