PHNOM PENH, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government had a total public debt stock of 12.18 billion U.S. dollars at the end of the first quarter of 2025, up 1.24 percent from 12.03 billion dollars at the end of 2024, according to the Cambodia Public Debt Statistical Bulletin on Friday.
Published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the bulletin showed that 99 percent, or 12.06 billion dollars, was public external debt and 1 percent, or 118.33 million dollars, was public domestic debt.
The composition of the public debt stock comprised 48 percent in USD, 18 percent in Special Drawing Rights (SDR), 11 percent in JPY, 10 percent in CNY, 8 percent in EUR and 5 percent in local and other currencies, the bulletin said.
During the January-March period this year, the government signed new concessional loans with development partners in a total amount of 78.81 million dollars, which accounted for 3 percent of the ceiling permitted by law, it said.
"Overall, all the loans are highly concessional with an average grant element of around 50 percent," the bulletin said.
The bulletin said the Southeast Asian country had paid debt services to development partners in the amount of 237.8 million dollars in Q1 of 2025.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Aun Pornmoniroth said all the loans had been used to finance public investment projects in the priority sectors that support long-term sustainable economic growth and increase economic productivity.
Cambodia's public debt situation is currently at a controllable level and continues to remain "sustainable" and "low risk" of debt distress, he said in the bulletin.
The kingdom's total public debt is at 18.4 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), which is far lower than the threshold of 40 percent, according to the bulletin. ■
