“Spurred by a sharp rise in government and corporate borrowing as the coronavirus pandemic wears on, the global debt load increased by US$15 trillion in the first three quarters of 2020 and now stands above US$272 trillion,” the IIF said in its latest Global Debt Monitor, out on Wednesday. In the euro zone, government action led to an increase of US$1.5 trillion in public debt over the same period, to reach US$53 trillion. In emerging markets, debt levels grew to over 248 percent of GDP, with Lebanon, China, Malaysia and Turkey experiencing the biggest rises in non-financial-sector debt. However, the coronavirus pandemic is not the sole factor to blame for the massive level of global debt. “The pace of global debt accumulation has been unprecedented since 2016, increasing by over US$52 trillion,” the IIF said.

Source: The Standard November 19, 2020 10:47 UTC