S.I.B. Says Debt to G.D.P. Ratio Has Improved Significantly Since 2020

Osmond Martinez

The Statistical Institute of Belize, S.I.B., reports that Belize’s debt-to-G.D.P. ratio has made a forty-five percent fall from a hundred and thirty-three percent in 2020 to eighty-eight percent, where it currently stands. S.I.B. points to the restructuring of the Super Bond to what is now the Blue Bond as a major contributor. C.E.O. in the Ministry of Economic Development, Doctor Osmond Martinez told the media on Wednesday that there were other factors that also contributed to the drop.

Dr. Osmond Martinez, C.E.O., Ministry of Economic Development

“One of the things that the government did first was the Blue Bond transaction, which reduced the debt by twelve percent – one transaction, twelve percent – which is a record throughout the whole world. Actually, the Finance Environment from Suisse has considered it a unique transaction in the world and actually has awarded Belize for such transaction. Two, the debt to G.D.P. – the previous administration did not want to do the G.D.P. rebase. Why? Because the G.D.P. rebase would have affected the present year in terms of growth. So last year’s growth, when we look at the rebase n G.D.P., we have been sixteen percent, but this year, under the old methodology, for example, Q One would have been almost ten percent. Now with this new methodology, it’s only a little bit over five percent, almost six percent. So, it’s more accurate. Consumption, the last time it was calibrated, was using data from 1984 to 1996. They used the 2000 baseline. Now we have done it. We calibrated it now. So now there is more consumption because the population is much higher, there are more tourists in Belize. So that got calibrated. The next part that got calibrated is investment. We need to do some work because the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is not being captured within the investment and that plays a big role.”