SEOUL, May 27 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's foreign debt grew in the first quarter due to an increased short-term debt, central bank data showed Wednesday.
The foreign debt rose 4.2 billion U.S. dollars from three months earlier to 774.4 billion dollars at the end of March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).
The short-term foreign debt with a maturity of less than one year expanded 4.2 billion dollars to 183.6 billion dollars, while the long-term external liability was unchanged at 590.8 billion dollars.
The ratio of short-term foreign debt to total external liability added 0.4 percentage points from three months earlier to 23.7 percent at the end of March.
The ratio of short-term foreign debt to foreign reserves gained 1.4 percentage points to 43.3 percent.
The net external credit, or external credit minus foreign debt, shrank 7.6 billion dollars from three months earlier to 365.5 billion dollars at the end of March, keeping a downward trend for a second straight quarter. ■
