State-owned enterprises (SOE) and joint stock companies (JSC) in which the state is a stockholder, as well as local public authorities, will have to report on transactions of contracting external loans, reports Info-Prim Neo, quoting Minister of Finance Veaceslav Negruta. He said that a set of law amendments was being developed in this regard. “Unfortunately, there are cases when we learn too late about these loans and the report about the level of foreign debts isn’t complete. Besides, any entity that manages public money or public property should report the transactions when they start the negotiations regarding these foreign loans, not when they already have contracted them. The expertise of the Ministry of Finance could be requested”, he said. “We have enough experience to offer consultations, recommendations on how to optimize the interest during negotiations, to obtain other improved loan conditions and help the company or the local public authority to avoid getting too indebted”, the official added. The audit of public debt, state securities and state refinancing in 2011, presented by the Court of Accounts, has shown a series of gaps in reporting debts by enterprises in the public sector. This made necessary for the Ministry of Finance to strengthen the measures meant to increase the responsibility of these companies’ managements, to improve the mechanism of inter-institutional communication and coordination (between Ministries and other authorities that manage enterprises) in the process of reporting public debt, including foreign debts, and to organize periodic verifications of the reports. According to the audit report, the balance of public debt at the end of 2011 registered 5.84 billion lei, which is 35.5 million lei less than the limit stipulated by the budget law for 2011, but 537 million lei more than at the beginning of the year. The balance of the state’s foreign debts at the end of 2011 was $1,142 million, which is $26.3 million more than in 2010 (as a result of the negative fluctuation of the exchange rate). The overall debt of companies to the state budget at the end of 2011 (from loans) was 3267.5 million lei. The debt for loans refinanced to companies and local authorities from internal and external sources accounts for 2859.6 million lei. The balance of public debt at the end of 2011 was 24005.4 million lei (over 24 billion), which is 1061.1 million lei more than in 2010. It includes the debt managed by the government -19226.5 million lei, the one administered by the National Bank – 3024.7 million lei, the debt of companies in the public sector- 1543.3 million lei, the debt of territorial administrative units -210.9 million lei. On December 31, 2011, the debt level was 29.2% of the GDP, which is 2.7% less than in 2010.