Improving Public Debt Management
In the OIC Member Countries
173
and governments. Regarding private credit, these countries have difficulties to finance
themselves on international capital markets. Official creditors lend at preferential interest
rates and at longer maturities than private creditors. Consequently, the case study countries
with a high share of external public debt have lower interest rates and longer average
maturities in their government debt portfolio.
Other case study countries such as Egypt and Lebanon strongly rely on the domestic debt
market. High interest rates on government debt and preferences for safe lending reduce the
incentives of banks to provide credit to the private sector in these countries, giving rise to a
crowdingout of bank loans to the private sector. Banks tend to invest in shortterm
instruments to avoid asset and liability mismatches with shortterm bank deposits.
Table 4-12: Comparison of Debt Levels and Structures in Case Study Countries (2015)
Country
Income
group
Debt (%
of GDP)
Share of
ext. debt
(% of
total)
Avg.
interest
rate (%)
ATM
(years)
Debt
maturing in 1
year (% of
total)
ATR
(years)
Fixed
rate
debt (%
of total)
Gambia Low 91.6 54.8 6.0 7.5 7.3 97.1
Mozambique Low 74.8 83.2 2.9 13.5 2.7 12.6
Togo Low 61.9 46.9 3.3 5.7 18.9 5.7 88.8
Uganda Low 35.4 62.9 4.0 11.9 14.1 11.6
Egypt Lowermiddle 87.7 8.7 11.3 2.2 55.1 2.2 100.0
Indonesia Lowermiddle 27.3 58.7 9.4 8.8 86.3
Nigeria Lowermiddle 11.5 18.1 10.8 7.2 36.1 7 99.0
Sudan Lowermiddle 68.9 88.8
Albania Uppermiddle 71.9 46.9 4.9 55.9 3.2
Iran Uppermiddle 17.1 13.6*
Kazakhstan Uppermiddle 23.3 26.0 100.0
Lebanon Uppermiddle 139.1 13.8 6.4 4.3 20.4 4.3 100.0
Turkey Uppermiddle 32.6 35.1 6.4 67.6
Oman High 20.6 59.8 100.0
Saudi Arabia High 5.8 0.0
Note: ATM = Average Time to Maturity; ATR = Average Time to Refixing, * = value for 2013.
Sources: WEO (2016), World Bank, public debt management strategies, calculations by the Ifo Institute.Given the different debt levels and structures, debt management strategies vary among the
case study countries. Out of the 15 case study countries, eleven countries have developed
formal debt management strategies (see Table 413). Uganda, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria,
Albania and Lebanon have published numerical targets for risks in the public debt portfolio.
Turkey has set numerical targets but does not disclose these numbers. Gambia, Mozambique
and Togo have set general objectives but do not formulate specific targets. Saudi Arabia, Sudan,
Kazakhstan, and Oman have not or do not disclose targets.