PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF STATE DEBT MANAGEMENT IN THE MODERN CONDITIONS

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the theoretical aspects of the state debt, the peculiarities of the structure of Ukraine's debt obligations and the management of the state debt under martial law. State debt is defined as the total amount of the state's debt obligations for the return of received and outstanding credits (loans) as of the reporting date, arising as a result of state borrowing. The article analyzes the state debt depending on the sources of its formation for the period 2018–2022. It was established that the structure of the state budget is dominated by external debt, which on average makes up 60% of the total state debt, and about 40% is internal debt. Both the internal and external debt during the years under study had a growing tendency, and the rate of growth of the external debt was significantly higher. The indicators of the dynamics and structure of the general and direct public debt of Ukraine were evaluated. It was determined that the share of direct state debt in the total amount of debt is about 90%, the state-guaranteed debt accounts for about 10%. According to the Budget Code, the state debt should not exceed 60% of GDP, and the budget deficit should not exceed 3% of GDP. In 2022, the national debt of Ukraine is almost equal to the value of GDP – 97.2%. Financial instruments for attracting resources to the state budget have been studied. It was established that a significant part of borrowings in the structure of the state debt is occupied by government bonds on the domestic market, loans from international financial organizations, government bonds on the foreign market (37%, 30%, 22%). The directions for optimizing the debt policy and measures to reduce the debt burden for Ukraine in war conditions have been determined: achieving political support from international partners regarding irreversible international financial assistance; approval of a new debt strategy under martial law conditions; implementation of restructuring of debt obligations in agreement with creditors regarding changes in the term of payment of payments, reduction of the amount or interest rate; submission of an application to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank regarding Ukraine's inclusion in the list of countries eligible for debt cancellation procedures.