The country's external debt declined to some extent in the first quarter of the current fiscal FY23 thanks to lower public borrowings due to stalled less-priority projects amid sluggish economic situation.
The debt fell by over $2.54 billion to $92.69 billion in the July-September quarter of FY23 from $95.23 billion in the previous quarter (April-June period of FY22), according to latest figures of Bangladesh Bank.
In the January-March and October-December quarters of the last fiscal, the foreign debt figures -- $93.23 billion and $90.79 billion -- showed an upward trend.
Of the total Q1 debt, the public sector accounted for $67.29 billion, down $0.73 billion from the previous quarter while private sector debt declined by $0.55 billion to $25.40 billion.
Of the private sector debt, about $11.05 billion was directly borrowed by the power, gas and petroleum sectors, followed by the manufacturing sector $4.22 billion and trade and commerce around $3 billion.
