S&P: Global Sovereign Debt to Touch $50 Trillion

By: Taarek Refaat

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (SEE)- S&P Global Ratings predicted on Thursday a new jump in governmental borrowing raising global sovereign debt to $ 50 trillion in 2019.

The credit rating agency expects sovereign borrowers to acquire about $ 7.78 trillion this year, up 3.2 percent from last years' estimates.

"Up to 70 percent ($ 5.5 trillion) of the total sovereign debt will be located to refinance compounding interests of long-term debt obligations, resulting in a net borrowing requirement of $ 2.3 trillion amounting for 2.6 percent of GDP," Standard & Poor's analyst Karen Vartapitov said.

He added that the 6 percent rise in sovereign debt occurred partially due to fluctuations in the exchange rates.