BEIRUT, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Global credit rating agency Moody's said Thursday that Lebanon may have to reschedule its debt despite the measures taken to reduce its deficit in the 2019 state budget, local media reported.
"Lebanon may have to reschedule its debt due to the slowdown of capital flows to the country and the decline in deposits growth," Moody's was quoted by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
However, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh announced two days ago that the deposit base declined by 3 billion U.S. dollars but the governor was optimistic about Lebanon's capability to draw more funds thanks to the attractive interest rates on offer.
Also, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil announced following Moody's statement that the financial situation in Lebanon is under control.
Lebanon's public debt reached 82.95 billion dollars at the end of June 2018, up 8.5 percent from 76.5 billion dollars a year ago while budget deficit reached 11.5 percent of GDP.
Lebanon's Parliament is currently discussing the 2019 state budget with the aim to reduce budget deficit to 7.6 percent of GDP.
